Faunal and Floral Analysis of Two Archaeological Sites at Orongorongo River Mouth, South-East Cook Strait, New Zealand

Two small archaeological sites along the northern shore of Cook Strait New Zealand contained midden remains of fish and shellfish, together with charcoal from fired earth ovens and open fires. These remains provide insight into the food gathered and cooked by pre-European Māori in the period AD 1570 to 1720. The charcoal is mainly from coastal shrubby species, but some is from larger trees, suggesting forest close by during the time of occupation. Fish and shellfish species in the sites are all readily available close inshore. Following calculation of MNI, the macronutrient ratio (MNR) was estimated for each marine species, and collated to provide information on the total caloric energy from protein, fat and carbohydrate in the larger of the two middens. For the fish and shellfish combined, the energy from protein was found to be c. 64.9%. This is far above the mean maximal protein intake (MMPI), which has elsewhere been suggested as 35.1% energy, and usually set at c.30%. Simulations were carried out by adding increasing amounts of three carbohydrate rich plants to a daily diet of variable amounts of marine food, to find the point at which a satisfactory MNR can be achieved. The three main plants used were bracken fern rhizome (Pteridium esculentum), kūmara (Ipomoea batatas), and taro (Colocasia esculenta). This showed that a daily diet of 600g of marine food per day would require 1450g of kūmara to fall below the 30% threshold, yielding an MNR of 27:12:61, and 2000 kcal. A similar simulation with 300g of marine food and 1800g of kūmara would also yield 2000 kcal and achieve a MNR of 17:7:75. In these simulations, bracken rhizome fared similar to kūmara in reaching the 30% threshold. Taro was far superior to either, having far greater fat and carbohydrate reserves. Comparison of the Orongorongo MNR values with a range of other societies for which dietary data is available shows that people living in this area of Cook Strait New Zealand would probably be in a state of ‘fat craving’. This is supported by ethnographic observations in the protohistoric period

Charcoal · Fish · Fish <Actinopterygii> · Fishing · Marine fish · Midden · Shellfish · Taphonomy · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Paleopathology and ancient diseases