| Robert Bollt and his team of volunteer excavators could hardly believe their eyes or their luck when they uncovered this ultra rare whale tooth pendant in layer E of square P2. This followed the discovery of a reel ornament and a number of adzes all within the same few square meters, speculation was that a buried Moa Hunter could not be far away! |
| Complimenting perfectly the whale tooth pendant, this small reel closely parallels the New Zealand Moa Hunter examples. Similar reels have also been found by Yosi Sinoto in the Marquesas (Hane) and Society Islands (Huahine). There can be no doubt that these ornaments played an important role in the life of the Early East Polynesians. |
| This adze type is very rare in Tubuai and in Eastern Polynesia in general being untanged and almost quadrangular in cross section. Similar adzes from the Wairau Bar burials are pictured by Duff 1956 (see burial No. 29, Duff, R. 1956. The moa-hunter period of Maori culture. Government Printer, Wellington) |
| Over 150 cubic meters excavated and meticulously screened to recover a huge bounty of Early East Polynesian artifacts..... |
| go to the next page ATIAHARA Showcase |
| or try this link to see the ATIAHARA 2007 Excavation Team |
| or try this link to the ATIAHARA History page |
| or try this link to see The Shutler Profile - ATIAHARA Trench |
| or try this link to see the ATIAHARA 1995 Radiacarbon dating results |
| Go to Comparative Implementology | go to cyclopaedia.org |
