What resources did the Maori have?

What resources did the Maori have?

Much of the peninsula was covered with bush, which was rich in food, fibre and timber resources. Fern root was an important part of the diet, and the climate and soils were very conducive to the cultivation of kūmara (sweet potato).

How do the Maori use their natural resources?

Maori sustainable practices were applied to many different kinds of natural resources. Maori created a calender that revolved around every crop’s harvesting period. Their knowledge extended to how plants could be used as medicine and how they could heal certain ailments.

What is a traditional resource used by Maori in NZ?

New Zealand has two types of Flax Bush. The harakeke is the more common as it grows in lowland swampy areas, while the other variety – wharariki grows on high elevations such as hill-sides. Maori used flax for a wide range of products following their arrival in Aotearoa 800 years or so ago.

What tools did Māori use?

In the 1300s, Māori were transporting both finished tools and selected raw materials around the country.

• Adzes and chisels. The most important tools were adzes (toki) and chisels (whao).
• Making an adze. Making a stone adze was a skilled job.
• Flake tools.
• Drills and files.

What did Māori use trees for?

Māori revered the forest for its beauty, spiritual presence, and bountiful supply of food, medicines, and weaving and building materials. The forest is called by many names – ngahere, ngāherehere, nehenehe, ngahengahe, wao, waonui and waoku. In Taranaki, motu or motu rākau refer to a stand of trees or patch of bush.

Did Māori have metal tools?

Stone resources that were discovered and used by Māori are found at different sites around the country. Stone was highly valued in pre-European times as Māori did not have metal tools.

What is the Māori view about use of land and resources in New Zealand?

Māori regard land, soil and water as taonga (treasures). Māori are the kaitiaki (guardians) of these taonga, which provide a source of unity and identity for tangata whenua (local people). The loss of ancestral lands is a key issue for Māori.

How did the Māori protect the environment?

In the past, people followed traditional practices when they were hunting, fishing, growing or finding food. These helped them to care for the environment. They included: temporary bans (rāhui) on taking food from an area.

What crops did the Māori grow?

These crops included wheat, potatoes, maize, carrots, cabbage and other vegetables. Māori also began raising sheep, pigs, goats and poultry. Potatoes were easier to grow than kūmara, and pigs could be fattened quickly, so pork, pūhā and potatoes became a new staple meal.

What were Māori tools made from?

A collection of images based on tools used by early Māori. These tools were made from wood, stone, bone and even jade (pounamu) found in the rivers of New Zealand.

What weapons did the Māori use in the land wars?

Maori Weapons

• Large stone patu.
• Patu Ōnewa.
• Patu Parāoa.
• Taiaha.
• Taiaha head in detail.
• Mere Pounamu.
• Wooden Wahaika.

What kind of food did the Maori people eat?

One early source of food for the Maori was the moa, a large flightless bird. There were originally 24 species of moa ranging in size from that of a turkey to one that was 3.7 metres high. All moa were herbivores and lived on twigs, shrubs, leaves and tree fruits…The moa were hunted to extinction soon after the arrival of the Maori.

Why is Maori culture important to New Zealand?

Māori culture forms a distinctive part of New Zealand culture and, due to a large diaspora and the incorporation of Māori motifs into popular culture, it is found throughout the world.

What did the Maori use to make ropes?

Over time, Maori learnt to scrape and extract the fibre or muka from the leaves to create a stringy like material that when twisted and braided to make ropes. The ropes were used to make all sorts of things from fishing nets and animal traps, to sandal-type shoes and generally just to secure and tie things down.

What did Maori use the soot from the kauri tree for?

The gum of the Kauri tree was also prized by Maori as an early form of fire-starter. Furthermore, the soot that was left-over from the burnt Kauri gum or kapia was mixed with animal fat and then used as a pigment to colour the skin during the tattooing of moko (facial tattoos).