The myth of the noble moa

 

"Environmental Histories of New Zealand" is a collection of articles published in 2002, edited by Eric Pawson and Tom Brooking. I read two of them, "A Fragile Plenty: Pre-European Maori and the New Zealand Environment" by Atholl Anderson and "Contesting Resources: Maori, Pakeha, and a Tenurial Revolution" by Evelyn Stokes. Both contain a welter of evidence against the myth of the noble savage, the idea that Natives look like the aliens in "Avatar", live in fundamental harmony with Nature, are "natural conservationists", etc. 

Anderson´s article carefully argues that the Maori settled New Zealand between 600 and 800 years ago. No other humans had settled on the islands before that time. The theory that the species extinctions in New Zealand were caused by rats introduced by earlier temporary visitors is discarded. Maori and rats arrived together (so did dogs). Nor is climate change the cause. Many archeological sites confirm that the Maori heavily hunted the local animals for food. They also show that the initial Maori settlers were drawn to the "leeward province" (southern North Island plus eastern South Island), where large game was most abundant, including 12 species of flightless moa birds, large flightless geese and an abundance of seals and sea lions. In just a couple of centuries, many of these unique species had gone extinct - extirpated by the noble savages. 40 species of birds, a bat, three to five species of frogs, and an unknown amount of lizard taxa had been exterminated. Apart from hunting or egg-collecting, burning of forests and the introduction of rats were factors in the extinctions. The giant Haast´s eagle, which preyed on moas, went extinct when the Maori had killed its prey. Other animals were decimated, but not driven to exinction. This includes the New Zealand fur seal, the sea lion and the peculiar reptile known as tuatara. The animals had conservative life histories, moas only laying one or two eggs at the time, seals bearing a single pup. Flightlessness, ground nesting and diurnal habits made the moas tempting targets for hunting expeditions. 

The Maori also burned forests to clear the ground for settlement, horticulture and perhaps easier travel. Most NZ trees and shrubs are not evolutionary adapted to widespread fires, and therefore die outright if their habitat is torched. In place of forests, fernland and grassland grows instead. Forests were almost eliminated in the eastern part of South Island in a relatively brief period from 1300 to 1450. That the forests were largely devoid of food resources for humans is one reason why the Maori weren´t particularly interested in "conserving" it. 

Only after the leeward province had been stripped of its large game, did the Maori develop something akin to conservation - after first moving into the windward province (which comprises the western part of South Island and most of the North Island). The author says relatively little about this, but it seems the system was based on increasing territoriality and the building of forts, with exploitation of local plant resources being regulated by the territorial chiefs. In other words, a purely pragmatic strategy, not an example of "deep green spirituality". (Even later, population growth and constant wars propelled a return migration of some groups into the leeward province.)

Evelyn Stokes tries to sound more politically correct in her article, but she can´t hide the fact that the Maori voluntarily and swiftly integrated themselves into the new trading networks established by the White colonialists in the Pacific region. Pigs, potatoes and sweet potatoes were introduced late in the 18th century or early in the 19th ditto, even before Whites actually settled on the islands. The Maori soon traded with pigs, potatoes, fish, flax, kauri spars and timber. The Europeans were often dependent on Maori aid and labor to extract the resources sought after. Whaling was another important activity. Indeed, the crews of British whaling ships in the region were often Maori. Nor were the Maori particularly insular. Maori who worked onboard ships found their way to Sydney or even London, learned English and returned home with new experiences. Maori chiefs, who at this point still controlled New Zealand, allowed Whites to settle and marry Native women as a way to build alliances. And yes, the Maori bought firearms for the gold coins used as payment for their exports... 

The story ends with New Zealand becoming a British colony and the Maori being swindled out of their land. So I suppose the rest of the book deals with "Pakeha" (White European) environmental destruction...

None of the above means that the Polynesians were particularly "immoral". Rather, they were like everyone else. Humans hunt for food, expand their populations, wage wars and (gasp) trade in potatoes. That´s simply how our species evolved. But sure, I suppose some stray moa in the New Zealand highlands might have a different perspective on *that*...