186: Rock Art in NZ

Considering Maori art (as in surviving wood carving) is almost identical throughout the country, it is obvious that this only occurred after stronger Maori tribes invaded areas where smaller older tribes and ancient peoples once lived. For the old carvings of which only a few remain are very different. But Maori (as in Polynesian 'fleet' Maori, never did much in the way of rock art. Spirals were unknown to them until they saw the spirals petroglyphs the ancients carved. Spirals in rock are do not exist in the south because the ancients were in the north where it was warmer. Also of note is you won't find spiral patterns in rock anywhere than the west coast between New Plymouth and Port Waikato (with a few exceptions further north and south but on the same coastline). We believe Maori saw the spiral in the rocks and copied it on wood. Maori very seldom carved stone, only the ancients did that. Maori (Polynesian) never carved spirals... but Melanesians did). If we take Raglan as an example, there are not just spirals but many types of petroglyph and the old locals said to early settlers that they were made by the ancients of whom one old local (from about 1860) referred to when she indicated that the Raglan petroglyph rocks were made by the old ‘kings’ that were here before they arrived. That means that pre-political Maori recounted old stories that confirmed they were not the first and the first ones were here long before they were. Either oral history is accurate or it isn't.

There are two main forms of rock art in New Zealand- drawings, and petroglyphs where designs have been incised or pecked, or are carved in raised relief. The majority of the latter are two dimensional artworks engraved into rock faces (typically in or around a cave entrance for most petroglyphs in an area are close to a known or hidden cave), but there are also examples of three dimensional 'sculptures', although the latter are in the main restricted to smaller portable artefacts.

Drawings are far more numerous, constituting over 80 % of all recorded Maori rock art. The main mediums are red ochre (made from natural iron oxide deposits) and charcoal (generally in the form of soot or powdered charcoal rather than drawing with the end of a charred stick). Occasionally a piece of rock was used to write on a darker rock surface leaving a white chalk-like image.

Nearly 600 recorded Maori rock art sites have been throughout New Zealand. The majority (about 75%) are in the South Island, particularly in North Otago, South Canterbury and North Canterbury. Whe. we say art we mean cave paintings, not petroglyphs. Far fewer rock 'art' sites are known in the North Island. The 139 recorded sites in the North Island are quite different from those in the south. Most are incised and where pigments have been used they have been applied as a paint rather than using a dry 'crayon'. They are also far more geographically widespread, generally not in clusters, and are found on fine grained rocks like ignimbrite and papa as karst regions. Pecked-out spiral designs on volcanic rocks are also a feature of specific locality North Island rock art. Compared with the South Island, there is also much greater variability in the motifs depicted in North Island rock art sites.

The favourite subject of North Island rock art is the waka (dug out canoe) - a subject seldom depicted in South Island sites. Pecked-out spiral designs on volcanic rocks are also a feature of North Island rock art. Whereas there is considerable continuity in styles and motifs in the South Island rock drawing areas, there is much greater variability in the North Island. Trotter and McCulloch (1997) thought the marked regional variations may reflect a more settled agricultural lifestyle and more clearly defined tribal areas. Archaeological investigations and stylistic features also suggest North Island drawings are generally of more recent origin than their South Island counterparts".

The Whiritoa rock art site differs from most in that the art is in a sea-cave and the floor of the cave is subject to wave action during neap tides which alternatively washes away and deposits beach sand over the uneven hard rock floor of the cave. It would never have been a safe and dry place to camp. Given its proximity to the pa (directly above it and connected by some rather precarious steps cut into the rock face), it is likely the glyphs were made by inhabitants of the pa site rather than itinerant travellers or hunters. The glyph motifs also follow the general North Island pattern - they are very idiosyncratic. To the author's knowledge there is nothing similar to them elsewhere. This does not mean they are 'more special' than other North Island rock art sites, but they reflect the diversity and free form of North Island rock art. They could be regarded as 'community art'.

The second photo below is a zoomorphic representation once hidden in Matira Valley, the third photo below is one I found at Raglan, and I have never seen either recorded, or pictured, anywhere else.

Oh, and lets not forget this one on an NZ Archaeological Journal depicting something that isn't very 'Maori' at all.