LESSON 11.6 Who were the people of Aotearoa?
LEARNING INTENTION By the end of this lesson you should be able to describe the main features of a Maori community explain how Aotearoa was founded and why this settlement was different to other Polynesian settlements.
Tune in As SOURCE1 shows, New Zealand is much further south than other Polynesian settlements.
SOURCE1 Polynesian explorers had to travel a vast distance to reach Aotearoa.
1. What challenges do you think being this far south would pose to the people settling this area? 2. Consider what you know about how Polynesians lived and what might have to change if they wanted to stay in this new land.
11.6.1 The land of the long white cloud Historians are not certain when and why the human settlement of New Zealand began. Archaeological evidence suggests that sometime between 800 and 1130 CE, a small group of Polynesian people, perhaps even a single family, sailed from the K̄uki ’̄Airani (the Cook Islands) to the coast of what would become Aotearoa. Why? There is not enough evidence to give a definite answer to the question of why the first settlers came to New Zealand. Some theories are: • They were escaping from war or disease.
• It was a search for land and resources because of island overpopulation. • A spirit of adventure developed through sophisticated skills of navigation. • A planned short voyage of exploration was blown off course.
Jacaranda Humanities Alive 8 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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