The face of ancient New Zealand

BY ALEX VAN WEL

The face of a woman who died on the Wairau Bar in Marlborough more than 600 years ago has been revealed using digital technology.

Affectionately known as "Aunty" by local iwi Rangitane, the image was generated from a skull found on the archaeological site more than 70 years ago.

The computer image shows a woman, thought to have been in her early 30s when she died, who may have held a place in the tribal elite.

Local iwi Rangitane believed her skull was the first to be uncovered on the bar during initial diggings in 1939.

Iwi spokesman Richard Bradley said the original find had been the one that unlocked the burial site.

He said the photo-image added a new dimension to the lives of the original Wairau Bar inhabitants.

"Instead of seeing a collection of bones and skulls, we start to see what the person looked like," he said.

"Up till now, all we've seen are figures in a museum that don't really bear much resemblance to how we see ourselves today.

"Looking at this image ... I can immediately think of a couple of people in my own family who bear a resemblance."

Rangitane count themselves as descendants of the bar's settlers 800 years ago.

Anthropologists believe the settlers to have been the first to have come to New Zealand from the islands of East Polynesia.

A valuable whale-tooth necklace was found with the woman's skull when it was uncovered, leading archaeologists to assume she had a special status, although they initially thought the skull was from a male.

Bradley said it only became clear in recent years that the skull was from a female.

"Because it was the first one ever found, we had been referring to it as `old No1'," he said.

"But our old ladies said that that wasn't right and while we didn't know who the person was or the person's name, it was still one of our ancestors and we should give her a little bit more respect.

"So, in sort of contemporary Maori fashion, she became known as `Aunty'."

The skull was returned to the Wairau Bar during a special ceremony last April, along with other human remains removed over the years.

The computer image is the work of facial anthropologist Dr Susan Hayes, from the University of Western Australia.

Hayes produced the image using CT scans of the skull and careful measurements.

"It is as close to a likeness as I can get on the basis of research that we know about the relationship between the skull and soft tissues," Hayes said.

- © Fairfax NZ News