Cultural distribution of obsidian along the Waikato-King Country coastline, North Island, New Zealand

Analyses obsidian artefact assemblages from 15 mostly 'early' (pre-AD 1500) archaeological sites along coastline between the Waikato River mouth in the north and Awakino in the south. Reports that while most are dominated by material from Mayor Island, they also contain a significant proportion of 'grey' obsidian from Taupo and Cooks Beach-Hahei, Coromandel Peninsula. Contends that the presence of obsidian from these source areas in a large number of sites suggests a well-developed exchange network continuing over perhaps 50-100 years. Discusses possible transportation routes for the obsidian. Source: National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, licensed by the Department of Internal Affairs for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand Licence.