The people of Hauraki had little need to look outside of the area for the stone material needed for tools. An analysis of several excavated sites from the Auckland, Waihou and eastern Coromandel coast indicates local materials were predominantly used. The exceptions are metasomatised argillite from the Nelson-d'Urville region which appears in several sites as polished adze chips flaked off during reworking of damaged adzes, and pounamu (greenstone) from various South Island sources. Obsidian from Northland and the central North Island indicates there was widespread movement of stone in all directions.
Kokowai
Kokowai is present in a number of excavated sites, particularly at Oruarangi and Raupa in the Waihou area. Haematite-bearing rock, found in the Coromandel Ranges, was burnt to produce the brick-red colour of ochre, which, after being ground to a powder was used as a paint on bodies, clothing, canoes, buildings and other structures.
At Station Bay on Motutapu Island, kokowai was obtained by burning clay (Sullivan 1972).
Non-stone materials
The natural shell banks in the lower Waihou River valley, built up on old shorelines (Fig. 12), were exploited for shell to build up settlement sites on flat land adjacent to both the Waihou and Piako Rivers. Many sites north of Hikutaia have been artificially raised by the addition of shell to lift the living surfaces above the water table. Some named sites with shell fill include Whetakura and Hurumoimoi at Kirikiri, Paterangi and Oruarangi at Matatoki, Te Kari and other sites on or near the Hikutaia Stream, Turua and Puriri (Phillips 1994:419–420). In the case of Oruarangi, the largest site, it has been estimated 20,000 m3 of natural shell may have been added to the site over several periods of occupation (Best and Allen 1991:22).
On the Piako River, sub-fossil shell has been imported to sites to provide a base for the occupation surfaces. The shell fill elevated living surfaces up to 700 mm above the surrounding ground (Crosby and Loughlin 1992:13). The sub-fossil shell could be distinguished from the cultural deposits by the absence of soil or charcoal.
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