Story: Kūmara

Distribution of Māori agricultural modifications

This map shows the distribution of key aspects of Māori agriculture – modified soils, borrow pits, stone formations (rows, mounds, heaps and alignments), slope trenches and wetland trenches. Māori modified soils for improved warmth and drainage by adding gravel or sand – borrow pits are the hollows from which the gravel was taken. Stone formations are found where the land was cleared of stones for gardening, or where stones were lined up to mark garden boundaries. Crops may have been grown in some of the rows.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Reference: Louise Furey, Māori gardening: an archaeological perspective. Wellington: Department of Conservation, 2006

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Source: Louise Furey, Māori gardening: an archaeological perspective. Wellington: Department of Conservation, 2006

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How to cite this page:

Peter Adds, 'Kūmara - Introducing kūmara to New Zealand', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/interactive/17353/distribution-of-maori-agricultural-modifications (accessed 28 March 2024)

Story by Peter Adds, published 24 Nov 2008