Archaeological Research at Lake Mangakaware, Waikato, 1968–1970

Volume 12 Otago University Studies in Prehistoric Anthropology

Monograph No. 9 of the New Zealand Archaeological Association 

Foreword:
The excavation of sites on the perimeter of Lake Mangakaware in the Waikato produced an unprecedented range of wooden artefacts. These are shown in detail in the report . The publication of a full account of the excavations is appropriate in at least two respects.

First, funds spent in recent nonths on the purchase of Maori carvings abroad are not being matched hy expenditure on conservation equipment and expertise within New Zealand while public museums in all centres are unable to provide suitable storage and display facilities for the invaluable Maori carvings and textiles they hold.

Secondly, drainage of swarnps continues, not the least in the Waikato, and groups of organic artefacts, many at least as rich as those found at Mangakaware, are being lost. The organic material decays very quickly when the acidic and anaerobic conditions provided by wet swamps are removed.

Peter Bellwood is to be congratulated for the concentrated research at Mangakaware and for focussing attention on the inconspicuous but very rich Maori swamp pa.

My thanks are due to Professor Charles Highan of the Anthropology Department, University of Otago for making this joint publication possible and to Murray Webb for the cover design .

D.G. Sutton
President N.Z.A.A
1976-1978.