title: Intertidal habitat mapping for ecosystem goods and services: Tairua harbour

authors: Needham, Hazel Rosemary

abstract: In January 2013, Waikato Regional Council (WRC) contracted the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), to develop rapid assessment techniques for mapping of intertidal habitats associated with the provision of ecosystem goods and services. Ecosystem goods and services are defined as ‘the direct and indirect benefits that humankind receives or values from natural or semi-natural habitats’ and include the provision of food and raw materials, waste treatment, processing and storage, disturbance prevention, sediment retention, water filtration and regulation, nutrient regulation, gas and climate regulation, habitat structure and cultural services such as spiritual heritage and leisure and recreation (Townsend et al. 2010). Assessment techniques were to be trialled and implemented for the intertidal area of the Tairua estuary with the view of providing:

 • Descriptions of habitat types that may be linked to levels of ecosystem goods and services. 

• Descriptions of the techniques involved in differentiating and mapping habitats, and an analysis of the precision and accuracy/validity of the methods. 

This report documents the evolution of the methodology and a proof of concept using Tairua estuary as a test case to build a habitat map. The goal is to generate precursor maps that will facilitate the mapping of ecosystem goods and services in the near future.

text: Intertidal habitat mapping for ecosystem goods and services: Tairua harbour In January 2013, Waikato Regional Council (WRC) contracted the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), to develop rapid assessment techniques for mapping of intertidal habitats associated with the provision of ecosystem goods and services. Ecosystem goods and services are defined as ‘the direct and indirect benefits that humankind receives or values from natural or semi-natural habitats’ and include the provision of food and raw materials, waste treatment, processing and storage, disturbance prevention, sediment retention, water filtration and regulation, nutrient regulation, gas and climate regulation, habitat structure and cultural services such as spiritual heritage and leisure and recreation (Townsend et al. 2010). Assessment techniques were to be trialled and implemented for the intertidal area of the Tairua estuary with the view of providing:

 • Descriptions of habitat types that may be linked to levels of ecosystem goods and services. 

• Descriptions of the techniques involved in differentiating and mapping habitats, and an analysis of the precision and accuracy/validity of the methods. 

This report documents the evolution of the methodology and a proof of concept using Tairua estuary as a test case to build a habitat map. The goal is to generate precursor maps that will facilitate the mapping of ecosystem goods and services in the near future.

year: 2014

title: Changes in frequency of seizure-like events in stimulated cortical slices

authors: Mason, J.

subjects: electrical stimulation

abstract: Epilepsy affects nearly 3 million people in the United States alone. Given the fact that many people suffer from seizures that are intractable to pharmacological intervention, research groups are investigating the use of electrical stimulation to interact with and ameliorate symptoms of epileptic seizures. In mouse cortical slices made seizuregenic through chemical means, we applied precision controlled current pulses and measured local field potentials through a four point probe system to investigate the response of seizing tissue to electrical stimulation. We have determined that the frequency of the spontaneous seizure-like events may be modified by low amplitude, current controlled stimulation (0.5 μA). Differently from previously thought, this change in frequency is however not accompanied by any alteration of the tissue permittivity or conductivity during the inter-seizure interval.

text: Changes in frequency of seizure-like events in stimulated cortical slices Epilepsy affects nearly 3 million people in the United States alone. Given the fact that many people suffer from seizures that are intractable to pharmacological intervention, research groups are investigating the use of electrical stimulation to interact with and ameliorate symptoms of epileptic seizures. In mouse cortical slices made seizuregenic through chemical means, we applied precision controlled current pulses and measured local field potentials through a four point probe system to investigate the response of seizing tissue to electrical stimulation. We have determined that the frequency of the spontaneous seizure-like events may be modified by low amplitude, current controlled stimulation (0.5 μA). Differently from previously thought, this change in frequency is however not accompanied by any alteration of the tissue permittivity or conductivity during the inter-seizure interval.

year: 2010

title: An interface of mātauranga Māori and archaeology to generate a whakapapa of pā tawhito

authors: McIvor, Isaac

subjects: Māori

abstract: Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge, epistemology) is foundational to iwi-Māori pasts and is essential to generating new knowledge about those pasts. Archaeology (the study of the physical remains of past human activity) is also an invaluable tool in understanding human history in Aotearoa New Zealand. Few studies have explored an interface between the two forms of knowledge, yet such an approach has great potential to develop new insights about the past that are relevant to descendants today. 

This thesis explores an interface between mātauranga Māori and archaeology to develop a whakapapa (relational genealogical framework) of the development of pā with a case study in Waikato. The word “pā” can refer to any tangata whenua (Indigenous people of the land, i.e., local Māori) settlement or village, but commonly refers to fortified forms, including villages, food stores and places of refuge. Many pā tawhito (historically occupied pā) have physical evidence that may simultaneously enhance descendant identity and well-being through ancestral connections and be a source of potential archaeological information. Researchers have recorded over seven thousand pā across the country (on the New Zealand Archaeological Association’s ArchSite database) at a much higher density than similar fortifications elsewhere in Oceania. Despite this proliferation, only limited and imprecise archaeological findings demonstrate when tangata whenua began constructing pā in their fortified form. We also do not sufficiently understand pā construction sequences through space and time.

This thesis is part of a broader Marsden-funded research project named ‘Rua Mātītī Rua Mātātā: A multidisciplinary investigation into the spatial-temporal role of pā in the development of Māori culture’. This project aimed to create a regional history of Waikato pā at the interface of archaeological science and mātauranga Māori. One side of the project included archaeological surveys and excavations in partnership with Waikato, Ngāti Apakura and Ngāti Maniapoto marae. This thesis focuses on the mātauranga Māori associated with pā in these areas and the broader Waikato region, and how tangata whenua and researchers may theoretically interface that information with archaeological knowledge.

The thesis has five research questions – each targeting a different facet of the whakapapa of pā in Waikato: (1) Why do kōrero (oral histories) include pā? (2) To what extent can we relate calendar years to whakapapa (tribal genealogies)? (3) When did warfare and pā construction develop in Waikato based on whakapapa? (4) Why did warfare and pā construction in Waikato develop at these times? (5) How do descendants relate to pā today?

Mixed methods included a thematic analysis of kōrero about pā and pakanga (warfare) from unpublished reo Māori (Māori language) manuscripts, Māori Land Court records, published sources and research interviews; the application of a Chronological Network Analysis (CNA) using ChronoLog software to relate whakapapa to calendar years; and a qualitative thematic analysis of research interviews with several Tainui descendants.

The review of textual information identified previously unrecognised primary reo Māori written texts for the vast majority of published twentieth-century Tainui kōrero authorities. Identifying these commonly uncited sources is a considerable contribution for future historians. Using a functionalist analysis of these sources, I argue that kōrero refer to pā as both real historical places and symbols of mana hapū (authority in collectives of extended families) in areas of land, their depth and breadth of occupation, socio-political changes and the strength of a community. Relating calendar years to whakapapa demands a historicisation of those structures, which is possible if one accepts the postmodern perspective that neither archaeology nor kōrero tuku iho (intergenerational oral histories) generate empirical or objectively true histories. Nonetheless, pursuing new and comprehensive understandings of the past is valuable.

A CNA model generated a 40-year median birthdate estimate span for over one thousand individuals born during the thirteenth to nineteenth centuries. Based on this whakapapa structure, kōrero pakanga (warfare histories) up until the battle of Mātakitaki in 1822 had five periods of higher frequency: 1420–1540, 1550–1580, 1600–1640, 1690–1730 and 1780–1822 CE. More conservative estimates combine the second and third periods, but the others are consistent. Smaller scale increases and decreases in the frequency of kōrero pakanaga were also present based on localised histories. The earliest kōrero pakanga correlate, if not slightly precede, the earliest known radiocarbon dates of pā fortification in approximately 1500 CE. Relative densities of kōrero pakanga and recorded archaeological pā also generally correlate by district.

Utu (rebalance) was the most common cause of warfare in kōrero across all periods. Meanwhile, conflict over mana rangatira (authority, influence, control) between related communities were more common in earlier kōrero pakanga. Warfare between more distantly related groups was more common from the 1600s and was commonly driven by utu and the occasional competition over whenua (land) and rawa taiao (resources). Contrary to anthropological literature, conflicts rarely resulted in conquest. Furthermore, there was a general increase in conflict size and political complexity in the later periods. The most recent layers of pā whakapapa are relationships held by living descendants who formed the qualitative interview group. I generated three themes based on interview responses: (1) pā (and wāhi tūpuna or ancestral places generally) are spaces of connection and identity affirmation; (2) colonising projects challenge those connections; and (3) descendants have kaitiakitanga (guardianship, through whakapapa) obligations to those places.

This thesis provides a whakapapa of pā, their origins, development, and importance to ngā kanohi ora (living descendants). It is only one among many potential interfaces between different ways to conceive and explain changes in time and space. The chosen method of exploring the interface treats it as multi-vocal, blurred, and complex. It exemplifies the potential avenues for fruitful knowledge generation between Western Science and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (in this case, mātauranga Māori). It also challenges the entrenchment of problematic terminology, such as “Prehistory” in Aotearoa New Zealand and demands space for, not only the protection of important wāhi tūpuna, but also the Crown’s development of resourcing, legislation, and policy to facilitate the exercise of kaitiakitanga. The results open potential ways in which archaeology may feedback into kōrero tuku iho in ways that are appropriate to the chronological whakapapa foundation of mātauranga ā-hapū.

text: An interface of mātauranga Māori and archaeology to generate a whakapapa of pā tawhito Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge, epistemology) is foundational to iwi-Māori pasts and is essential to generating new knowledge about those pasts. Archaeology (the study of the physical remains of past human activity) is also an invaluable tool in understanding human history in Aotearoa New Zealand. Few studies have explored an interface between the two forms of knowledge, yet such an approach has great potential to develop new insights about the past that are relevant to descendants today. 

This thesis explores an interface between mātauranga Māori and archaeology to develop a whakapapa (relational genealogical framework) of the development of pā with a case study in Waikato. The word “pā” can refer to any tangata whenua (Indigenous people of the land, i.e., local Māori) settlement or village, but commonly refers to fortified forms, including villages, food stores and places of refuge. Many pā tawhito (historically occupied pā) have physical evidence that may simultaneously enhance descendant identity and well-being through ancestral connections and be a source of potential archaeological information. Researchers have recorded over seven thousand pā across the country (on the New Zealand Archaeological Association’s ArchSite database) at a much higher density than similar fortifications elsewhere in Oceania. Despite this proliferation, only limited and imprecise archaeological findings demonstrate when tangata whenua began constructing pā in their fortified form. We also do not sufficiently understand pā construction sequences through space and time.

This thesis is part of a broader Marsden-funded research project named ‘Rua Mātītī Rua Mātātā: A multidisciplinary investigation into the spatial-temporal role of pā in the development of Māori culture’. This project aimed to create a regional history of Waikato pā at the interface of archaeological science and mātauranga Māori. One side of the project included archaeological surveys and excavations in partnership with Waikato, Ngāti Apakura and Ngāti Maniapoto marae. This thesis focuses on the mātauranga Māori associated with pā in these areas and the broader Waikato region, and how tangata whenua and researchers may theoretically interface that information with archaeological knowledge.

The thesis has five research questions – each targeting a different facet of the whakapapa of pā in Waikato: (1) Why do kōrero (oral histories) include pā? (2) To what extent can we relate calendar years to whakapapa (tribal genealogies)? (3) When did warfare and pā construction develop in Waikato based on whakapapa? (4) Why did warfare and pā construction in Waikato develop at these times? (5) How do descendants relate to pā today?

Mixed methods included a thematic analysis of kōrero about pā and pakanga (warfare) from unpublished reo Māori (Māori language) manuscripts, Māori Land Court records, published sources and research interviews; the application of a Chronological Network Analysis (CNA) using ChronoLog software to relate whakapapa to calendar years; and a qualitative thematic analysis of research interviews with several Tainui descendants.

The review of textual information identified previously unrecognised primary reo Māori written texts for the vast majority of published twentieth-century Tainui kōrero authorities. Identifying these commonly uncited sources is a considerable contribution for future historians. Using a functionalist analysis of these sources, I argue that kōrero refer to pā as both real historical places and symbols of mana hapū (authority in collectives of extended families) in areas of land, their depth and breadth of occupation, socio-political changes and the strength of a community. Relating calendar years to whakapapa demands a historicisation of those structures, which is possible if one accepts the postmodern perspective that neither archaeology nor kōrero tuku iho (intergenerational oral histories) generate empirical or objectively true histories. Nonetheless, pursuing new and comprehensive understandings of the past is valuable.

A CNA model generated a 40-year median birthdate estimate span for over one thousand individuals born during the thirteenth to nineteenth centuries. Based on this whakapapa structure, kōrero pakanga (warfare histories) up until the battle of Mātakitaki in 1822 had five periods of higher frequency: 1420–1540, 1550–1580, 1600–1640, 1690–1730 and 1780–1822 CE. More conservative estimates combine the second and third periods, but the others are consistent. Smaller scale increases and decreases in the frequency of kōrero pakanaga were also present based on localised histories. The earliest kōrero pakanga correlate, if not slightly precede, the earliest known radiocarbon dates of pā fortification in approximately 1500 CE. Relative densities of kōrero pakanga and recorded archaeological pā also generally correlate by district.

Utu (rebalance) was the most common cause of warfare in kōrero across all periods. Meanwhile, conflict over mana rangatira (authority, influence, control) between related communities were more common in earlier kōrero pakanga. Warfare between more distantly related groups was more common from the 1600s and was commonly driven by utu and the occasional competition over whenua (land) and rawa taiao (resources). Contrary to anthropological literature, conflicts rarely resulted in conquest. Furthermore, there was a general increase in conflict size and political complexity in the later periods. The most recent layers of pā whakapapa are relationships held by living descendants who formed the qualitative interview group. I generated three themes based on interview responses: (1) pā (and wāhi tūpuna or ancestral places generally) are spaces of connection and identity affirmation; (2) colonising projects challenge those connections; and (3) descendants have kaitiakitanga (guardianship, through whakapapa) obligations to those places.

This thesis provides a whakapapa of pā, their origins, development, and importance to ngā kanohi ora (living descendants). It is only one among many potential interfaces between different ways to conceive and explain changes in time and space. The chosen method of exploring the interface treats it as multi-vocal, blurred, and complex. It exemplifies the potential avenues for fruitful knowledge generation between Western Science and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (in this case, mātauranga Māori). It also challenges the entrenchment of problematic terminology, such as “Prehistory” in Aotearoa New Zealand and demands space for, not only the protection of important wāhi tūpuna, but also the Crown’s development of resourcing, legislation, and policy to facilitate the exercise of kaitiakitanga. The results open potential ways in which archaeology may feedback into kōrero tuku iho in ways that are appropriate to the chronological whakapapa foundation of mātauranga ā-hapū.

year: 2024-07