page_title: Austronesian peoples
section_title: Rock art
hierarchical_section_title: Austronesian peoples / Culture / Rock art
caption_attribution_description: English: Identifier: historytradition00smit Title: History and traditions of the Maoris of the west coast, North Island of New Zealand prior to 1840 Year: 1910 (1910s) Authors: Smith, Stephenson Percy, 1840- Subjects: Maori (New Zealand people) Publisher: New Plymouth, N.Z. Printed for the Society by T. Avery Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: mselveswith hakas, dances, etc., within the house. Ngati-Pahiri had gatheredround the door of the house all armed with short weapons concealedunder their mats, ostensibly to witness the hakas, but in reality to fallon any of the guests who should attempt to escape when the time came.All being ready, Korehe gave the signal, and the house was set fire toin dozens of different places. The walls were so densely packed withmanuka that there was no forcing a way through, and those whoattempted to escape by the door were knocked on the head at once bythe men who guarded it. Thus—says my informant—the whole of thelarge party of Nga-Potiki-taua were destroyed and the death ofKopiri-taunoa avenged. It is said that the foundations of this house—Te Paro-o-tuwhera—may be seen to this day, and that it would hold a thousand people. Some years after this event Pakau-moumoua, who had originatedthe above massacre, paid a visit to his wifes relatives who were living *It is shown in Plate No. 10. Text Appearing After Image: Plate No. 10.The Kumara god, Rongo. ¥ HISTORY AND TRADITIONS OF THB TARANAKI COAST. 237 at Eaoa, on the Taranaki coast, and lie there occupied a house with afew other people. The Taranaki people, on hearing of this, thoughtit a good opportunity to wipe out the loss of their relatives, theNga-Potiki-taua, who had been burnt, and made preparations to thatend by attempting to surprise Pakau in his house at night. As theycame up to the attack Pakau shouted out&#160;: Kaua ahau e taia potia,tuhu atu tama a Kura-poupou hi luaho .— I dont want to be killed inthe dark&#160;; let the son of Kura-poupou (see Table 47) go forth&#160;! Theattacking party, hearing this, thought Pakau had a party of his ownpeople with him, so withdrew, and thus allowed Pakau to escape inthe darkness.^ TAKING OF WAI-MANU, (1770.)We have no certain information as to the length of time that)sed after the defeat of Taranaki (or Nga-Potiki-taua), north of.xiv Wai-whakaiho river, as described in Chapter IX., until theAi-Awa hapus ag Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.
context_page_description: The Austronesian peoples, or more accurately Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of various peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, Oceania and Madagascar, that speak the Austronesian languages. The nations and territories predominantly populated by Austronesian-speaking peoples are sometimes known collectively as Austronesia.
  Based on the current scientific consensus, they originate from a prehistoric seaborne migration from Taiwan, at around 3000 to 1500 BCE, known as the Austronesian expansion. Austronesians were the first people to invent maritime sailing technology which enabled their rapid dispersal into the islands of the Indo-Pacific. They assimilated the earlier Paleolithic Negrito, Orang Asli, and the Australo-Melanesian Papuan populations in the islands at varying levels of admixture. They also reached Rapa Nui, Japan, Madagascar, New Zealand and Hawaii at their furthest extent, possibly also reaching the Americas. A.G. Ioannidis et al. published in 2020 a genome analysis showing an Austronesian contact to South America around 1150–1200, the earliest one between Fatu Hiva from the Marquesas Islands, and Colombia.
context_section_description: There are around six hundred to seven hundred rock art sites discovered in Southeast Asia and Island Melanesia, as well as over eight hundred megalithic sites. The sites specifically associated with the Austronesian expansion contain examples of indigenous pictograms and petroglyphs. Within Southeast Asia, the sites associated with Austronesians can be divided into three general rock art traditions: the Megalithic Culture of Borneo, Sulawesi, and the Greater Sunda Islands; the Austronesian Painting Tradition of the Lesser Sunda Islands, coastal New Guinea, and Island Melanesia; and the Austronesian Engraving Style of Papua New Guinea and Island Melanesia. Despite proximity, these traditions can be distinguished readily from the Australo-Melanesian rock art traditions of Australia (except the Torres Strait Islands) as well as the interior highlands of New Guinea, indicating the borders of the extent of the Austronesian expansion.
  Dating rock art is difficult, but some of the sites subjected to direct dating pre-date Austronesian arrival, like the Lene Hara paintings of East Timor which has an age range of 6,300 to 26,000 BP. Conversely, others are more recent and can be dated indirectly by their subjects. The depictions of pottery, ships, and metal objects, for example, put certain rock art sites at a range of 2,000 to 4,000 BP. Some hunter-gatherer groups have also continued to produce rock art well into the present period, as evidenced by their modern subjects.
  The Megalithic Culture is mostly limited to western Island Southeast Asia, with the greatest concentration being western Indonesia. While most sites aren't dated, the age ranges of dated sites is between the 2nd to 16th century CE. They are divided into two phases. The first is an older megalithic tradition associated with the Neolithic Austronesian rectangular axe culture (2,500 to 1,500 BCE); while the second is the 3rd or 4th century BCE megalithic tradition associated with the (non-Austronesian) Dong Son culture of Vietnam. Prasetyo (2006) suggests that the megalithic traditions are not originally Austronesian, but rather innovations acquired through trade with India and China, but this has little to no evidence in the intervening regions in Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
  The Austronesian Painting Traditions (APT) are the most common types of rock art in Island Southeast Asia. They consist of scenes and pictograms typically found in rock shelters and caves near coastal areas. They are characteristically rendered in red ochre pigments for the earlier forms, later sometimes superseded by paintings done in black charcoal pigments. Their sites are mostly clustered in Eastern Indonesia and Island Melanesia, although a few examples can be found in the rest of Island Southeast Asia. Their occurrence has a high correlation to Austronesian-speaking areas, further evidenced by the appearance of metal (bronze) artifacts in the paintings. They are mostly found near the coastlines. Their common motifs include hand stencils, "sun-ray" designs, boats, and active human figures with headdresses or weapons and other paraphernalia. They also feature geometric motifs similar to the motifs of the Austronesian Engraving Style. Some paintings are also associated with traces of human burials and funerary rites, including ship burials. The representations of boats themselves are believed to be connected to the widespread "ship of the dead" Austronesian funerary practices.
  The earliest APT sites dated is from Vanuatu, which was found to be around 3,000 BP, corresponding to the initial migration wave of the Austronesians. These early sites are largely characterized by face motifs and hand stencils. Later sites from 1,500 BP onwards, however, begin to show regional divergence in their art styles. APT can be readily distinguished from older Pleistocene-era Australo-Melanesian cave paintings by their motifs, color, and composition, though they can often be found in the same locality. The most recognizable motifs of APT (like boats) do not occur in cave paintings (or engravings) t
caption: Carving of Rongo, the Māori deity (atua) of kūmara, from Taranaki, North Island, New Zealand
exif: {}