A new chronology for the Māori settlement of Aotearoa (NZ) and the potential role of climate change in demographic developments

For decades, the initial human settlement of New Zealand (NZ) has been estimated to have occurred between the 12th and 14th centuries AD. Our modeling of a large terrestrial and marine radiocarbon dataset resulted in a new high-resolution chronology of Māori settlement and demography beginning in the mid-13th century AD. We show for the first time a measurable temporal difference between initial human settlement across the north and south islands supported by the fluctuating population, deforestation, and subsistence trends. This finding indicates that Māori adapted quickly to a large, diverse environment and dynamic temperature and precipitation patterns. This work heralds a new phase of chronometric contribution to understanding past cultural behavior.