225: Waitaha?

This was found in Southland. Maori? Not at all. Waitaha? Well, they attribute it to that. No spirals, just concentric circles Maori do not do this, but Melanesians did. There is not one Waitaha attributed item (professionally) that has spirals upon it and certainly not concentric circles. But where did Waitaha come from?

They say it if from 1300-1500 but they don't know for sure do they. The stone type is slate and is only about 91mm in length. The trouble is that all of the most unusual artifacts in NZ that do not appear typically Maori have no proper research and testing done upon them, have gone missing or are unassessable.

You can clearly see a Melanesian type anamorphic figure and the closest NZ match is MoriOri. (see article on theTch’akat Henu on 13th November).

It's just another case of me saying one thing and the experts saying another... neither of whom have proof of either. However, it is not Maori.

Some say it is an amulet, but one that old would have wear marks from cordage and this has none. That doesn't mean it is not a pendant, it may be a sacred seldom handled items. Sadly there are no notes of where it was found and the context that goes with that.