The Geographic Range of Interaction Spheres During the Colonization of New Zealand (Aotearoa): New Evidence for Obsidian Circulation in Southern New Zealand

During the colonization of remote Pacific Islands, founding communities forged novel interaction spheres within newly settled archipelagos. We report on new research on the geographic range of interaction spheres in the first centuries of occupation of New Zealand based on geochemical source identifications from obsidian assemblages found along the coast of the Otago region in the southern South Island. Results suggest that while there is evidence for interaction spanning the entire archipelago, logistical limitations on long-distance mobility along the long north-south axis of New Zealand appear to have developed early on and may be important in understanding the development of territories later in Mori culture history.