Archaeology is limited as a tool to interpret the past. Specific events are rarely identifiable and the people who lived at a particular place, or their tribal affiliations, cannot be determined by archaeological methods. Broad patterns of activity can be identified in settlements. Archaeology can provide quantitative information on economy but only a partial picture is obtained for several reasons: generally only the bones, stone and shell survive to indicate what people ate, or as examples of technology. Radiocarbon dating provides a general indication of chronology, probably to within 100 years, but is unable to be precise on when a site was occupied.
Throughout this paper there are references to 'early' (Archaic) and 'late' (Classic), separating Maori culture into two broad periods of time. These are somewhat arbitrary as no date can be set for a change from one period to another. For a time after initial colonisation the settlers were culturally more East Polynesian than Maori but change in technology, social organisation and settlement, language and cultural practices occurred over the centuries prior to European arrival.
10