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Reply to Barber: Marginal evidence for taro production in northern New Zealand between 1200 and 1500 CE

View ORCID ProfileMatthew Prebble, Atholl J. Anderson, View ORCID ProfilePaul Augustinus, Joshua Emmitt, Stewart J. Fallon, Louise L. Furey, View ORCID ProfileSimon J. Holdaway, Alex Jorgensen, Thegn N. Ladefoged, View ORCID ProfilePeter J. Matthews, View ORCID ProfileJean-Yves Meyer, Rebecca Phillipps, Rod Wallace, and View ORCID ProfileNicholas Porch
  1. aDepartment of Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia;
  2. bSchool of Environment, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand;
  3. cAnthropology, School of Social Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand;
  4. dResearch School of Earth Sciences, College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia;
  5. eAuckland War Memorial Museum, Auckland 1142, New Zealand;
  6. fTe Pūnaha Matatini, Auckland 1011, New Zealand;
  7. gField Sciences Laboratory, Department of Cross-Field Research, National Museum of Ethnology, 565–8511 Osaka, Japan;
  8. hDélégation à la Recherche, Gouvernement de la Polynésie Française, Papeete 98713, French Polynesia;
  9. iCentre for Integrated Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, Australia

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PNAS January 21, 2020 117 (3) 1259-1260; first published January 14, 2020; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1919037117
Matthew Prebble
aDepartment of Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia;
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  • ORCID record for Matthew Prebble
  • For correspondence: matthew.prebble@anu.edu.au
Atholl J. Anderson
aDepartment of Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia;
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Paul Augustinus
bSchool of Environment, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand;
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Joshua Emmitt
cAnthropology, School of Social Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand;
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Stewart J. Fallon
dResearch School of Earth Sciences, College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia;
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Louise L. Furey
eAuckland War Memorial Museum, Auckland 1142, New Zealand;
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Simon J. Holdaway
cAnthropology, School of Social Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand;
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Alex Jorgensen
cAnthropology, School of Social Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand;
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Thegn N. Ladefoged
cAnthropology, School of Social Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand;
fTe Pūnaha Matatini, Auckland 1011, New Zealand;
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Peter J. Matthews
gField Sciences Laboratory, Department of Cross-Field Research, National Museum of Ethnology, 565–8511 Osaka, Japan;
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Jean-Yves Meyer
hDélégation à la Recherche, Gouvernement de la Polynésie Française, Papeete 98713, French Polynesia;
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Rebecca Phillipps
cAnthropology, School of Social Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand;
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Rod Wallace
cAnthropology, School of Social Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand;
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Nicholas Porch
iCentre for Integrated Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, Australia
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We welcome Barber’s (1) comments and are grateful for the opportunity to respond. Our study of wetland taro (Colocasia esculenta) gardens during the initial colonization period (ICP) (1200 to 1500 CE) in New Zealand did not overlook the evidence from the Aupouri Peninsula (2⇓–4). We agree that gardens were probably established on mainland New Zealand, within the climate envelope shown in figure 1 of our paper (4), but in areas that lacked large-statured forests at Polynesian arrival. However, the fossil evidence from Motutangi does not meet the 3 criteria for defining ICP taro gardens met in our study of Ahuahu and subtropical French Polynesia:

  • 1) Reliable fossil proxies: We identify pollen, the most reliable fossil proxy for taro (5), but also clusters of small globular orbicular starch grains inside possible parenchyma cells, similar to those described by Horrocks and Barber (2). We doubt whether these can be used to distinguish taro, at least when using light microscopy to observe starches from indigenous New Zealand species. Barber (1) in his letter does not refer to the calcium oxalate raphides found at Motutangi, originally attributed to taro (2), perhaps because of a critique of this evidence that highlights the lack of direct association between fossil proxies (6). We would support a comprehensive study of starches present in the New Zealand flora, as has been conducted for other regions (7), and further exploration of other fossil proxies for taro and other economic plants (8), to improve taxonomic identification.

  • 2) High-precision radiocarbon dates: The dates on peat reported from Motutangi, unlike the several dates on identified macrobotanical remains from Ahuahu, do not meet widely accepted criteria for high-precision dating, as they contain mixed carbon sources (9).

  • 3) Description of crop ecosystems: Ancient crop ecosystems cannot be described without comprehensive analyses of biological remains from archaeological contexts. At Polynesian arrival, the Motutangi wetlands were dominated by the large-statured conifer Dacrydium cupressinum, requiring repeated firing to establish gardens, and Restionaceae (3), most likely Apodasmia similis, a rush which dominates the margins of regularly flooded estuaries or lakes and outcompetes other plants in nutrient-poor soils (10). This densely spreading rush likely posed difficulties for crop cultivation, although taro may have been competitive if grown in clumps over multiple seasons. The monocotyledon trees, Rhopalostylis and Cordyline, prevalent in the ICP fossil assemblages from Ahuahu, but absent from the Motutangi fossil records, indicate easily cleared forest with immediately workable, nutrient-rich soils. We also identify fossil pollen and seeds of several additional plants with economic value including leafy green vegetables (e.g., Rorippa divaricata and Sonchus kirkii), further indicating cultivation contexts. Furthermore, ditch irrigation, reticulation, and drainage features, similar to those described for Motutangi, were recently excavated on Ahuahu, at Waitetoke, with the fossil assemblages we present in our paper.

Finally, we agree the Little Ice Age may have induced changes in crop choices and cultivation strategies, perhaps linked to shifts in fire regimes and enhanced forest clearance (11), although direct evidence for such a link is lacking.

Footnotes

  • ↵1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: matthew.prebble{at}anu.edu.au.
  • Author contributions: M.P. and N.P. designed research; M.P., A.J.A., P.A., J.E., S.J.F., L.L.F., S.J.H., A.J., T.N.L., P.J.M., J.-Y.M., R.P., R.W., and N.P. performed research; M.P., R.W., and N.P. analyzed data; and M.P. wrote the paper.

  • The authors declare no competing interest.

Published under the PNAS license.

References

  1. ↵
    1. I. G. Barber
    , Further wet-taro evidence from Polynesia’s southernmost Neolithic production margins. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 117, 1257–1258 (2019).
    OpenUrl
  2. ↵
    1. M. Horrocks,
    2. I. Barber
    , Microfossils of introduced starch cultigens from an early wetland ditch in New Zealand. Arch. Oceania 40, 106–114 (2005).
    OpenUrl
  3. ↵
    1. M. Horrocks,
    2. S. L. Nichol,
    3. P. C. Augustinus,
    4. I. G. Barber
    , Late Quaternary environments, vegetation and agriculture in northern New Zealand. J. Quaternary Sci. 22, 267–279 (2007).
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  4. ↵
    1. M. Prebble et al
    ., Early tropical crop production in marginal subtropical and temperate Polynesia. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 116, 8824–8833 (2019).
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  5. ↵
    1. M. H. Grayum
    , Comparatively External Pollen Ultrastructure of the Araceae and Putatively Related Taxa (Allen Press, 1992).
  6. ↵
    1. A. Fairbairn,
    2. S. O’Connor,
    3. B. Marwick
    1. A. Crowther
    , “Re-viewing raphides: Issues with the identification and interpretation of calcium oxalate crystals in microfossil assemblages” in New Directions in Archaeological Science, A. Fairbairn, S. O’Connor, B. Marwick, Eds. (ANU Press, 2009), pp. 105–118.
  7. ↵
    1. J. Mercader et al
    ., Morphometrics of starch granules from sub-Saharan plants and the taxonomic identification of ancient starch. Front. Earth Sci. 6, 146 (2018).
    OpenUrl
  8. ↵
    1. C. Krentscher,
    2. N. Dubois,
    3. G. Camperio,
    4. M. Prebble,
    5. S. N. Ladd
    , Palmitone as a potential species-specific biomarker for the crop plant taro (Colocasia esculenta Schott) on remote Pacific islands. Org. Geochem. 132, 1–10 (2019).
    OpenUrl
  9. ↵
    1. J. M. Wilmshurst,
    2. T. L. Hunt,
    3. C. P. Lipo,
    4. A. J. Anderson
    , High-precision radiocarbon dating shows recent and rapid initial human colonization of East Polynesia. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 108, 1815–1820 (2011).
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  10. ↵
    1. P. Wardle
    , Vegetation of New Zealand (Cambridge University Press, 1991).
  11. ↵
    1. R. Newnham,
    2. D. J. Lowe,
    3. M. Gehrels,
    4. P. Augustinus
    , Two-step human–environmental impact history for northern New Zealand linked to late-Holocene climate change. Holocene 28, 1093–1106 (2018).
    OpenUrl
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Reply to Barber: Marginal evidence for taro production in northern New Zealand between 1200 and 1500 CE
Matthew Prebble, Atholl J. Anderson, Paul Augustinus, Joshua Emmitt, Stewart J. Fallon, Louise L. Furey, Simon J. Holdaway, Alex Jorgensen, Thegn N. Ladefoged, Peter J. Matthews, Jean-Yves Meyer, Rebecca Phillipps, Rod Wallace, Nicholas Porch
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jan 2020, 117 (3) 1259-1260; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1919037117

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Reply to Barber: Marginal evidence for taro production in northern New Zealand between 1200 and 1500 CE
Matthew Prebble, Atholl J. Anderson, Paul Augustinus, Joshua Emmitt, Stewart J. Fallon, Louise L. Furey, Simon J. Holdaway, Alex Jorgensen, Thegn N. Ladefoged, Peter J. Matthews, Jean-Yves Meyer, Rebecca Phillipps, Rod Wallace, Nicholas Porch
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jan 2020, 117 (3) 1259-1260; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1919037117
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