A fourteenth-century fishing camp at Purakanui Inlet, Otago

Abstract

Excavations at site S164/18, Purakanui, disclosed a concentrated midden which is dated to the later fourteenth century. This site was occupied on three occasions, but an analysis of the shellfish exploitation patterns, together with the extent and density of the shell midden, suggests that all occupations occurred within the space of a few years. Faunal and artefactual analyses indicate that the main function of the settlement was open-sea fishing for red cod and barracouta in particular. This is the first specialised fishing site of the Archaic period which has been reported in Otago, and its existence reinforces other evidence of functional variation in the settlement patterns of that time.