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Catastrophic seismic-related events and their impact on prehistoric human occupation, coastal New Zealand

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

J. R. Goff  and
B. G. McFadgen
J. R. Goff
Affiliation:
Geo Environmental Consultants, 11 The Terrace, Governors Bay, Lyttelton RD1, New Zealand.
B. G. McFadgen
Affiliation:
Department of Conservation, PO Box 10420, Wellington, New Zealand.
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Extract

The catastrophic 1855 AD Wellington earthquake is used to predict likely environmental impacts of earlier seismic events (earthquake and tsunami) that have been reported for the Cook Strait region in the period following first human settlement 700 years ago. Environmental changes around Palliser Bay in prehistoric Maori times, inferred from archaeological research, parallel those that occurred in 1855 AD. We consider that devastation caused by earthquake activity and subsequent tsunami, rather than climatic deterioration invoked previously, precipitated the rapid abandonment of the Palliser Bay coast by human communities in the 15th century AD.

Keywords

Tectonicstsunamienvironmental changearchaeological site abandonmentPalliser Bayclimate changeMaori
Type
Papers
Information
Antiquity , Volume 75 , Issue 287 , March 2001 , pp. 155 - 162
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2001

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