Dendt. — On Monori Relics. 131 



Whatever they may have intended to represent, the 

 Moriori idea of carving appears to have been extremely 

 crude. The figures certainly were to a large extent con- 

 ventionalised, but the inferiority to the workmanship of the 

 New Zealand Maori, both in conception and execution, is, 

 considering the undoubtedly close relationship of the two 

 races, very remarkable. Taken in conjunction with their 

 apparently complete ignorance of the art of tattooing, it cer- 

 tainly appears to indicate that the two races must have 

 branched off from one another at a very remote period in 

 their history, although the language appears to have under- 

 gone very little alteration. 



As manufacturers of stone implements of various kinds the 

 Morioris appear to have more nearly approached, if they did 

 not equal, the Maori standard of excellence. Stone chisels 

 of two very distinct types are met with. I give photographs 

 of two specimens which were given to me on the island. 

 Plate VI., fig. 10, represents a small chisel of yellowish chert, 

 almost cylindrical in form, and with a narrow cutting-edge. 

 This is probably one of those which Mr. Shand says were 

 termed "w/iao," and which were used for making holes. 

 Rg. 11 is a broad, flat chisel or adze of a hard grey stone, 

 well polished ; one side is quite flat, the other gradually 

 bevelled to the cutting-edge, while the side edges have been 

 ground flat. Eudely flaked chert " blubber-knives," such as 

 are represented m figs. 8 and 9, are still common on the 

 shore, but I was not fortunate enough to obtain any of the 

 well-known stone clubs described and figured by Sir Julius 

 von Haast.* Bone fish-hooks may be found amongst the 

 sandhills. Figs. 6 and 7 represent a couple which I picked 

 up in the neighbourhood of an old kitchen-midden, or shell- 

 mound, at Maturakau ; and sharpened pieces of birds' bones, 

 used, as I was told, for extracting shell-fish from their shells, 

 may be met with in similar situations (fig. 13). Sharks' 

 teeth bored for stringing as ornaments (figs. 14 and 15) are 

 also not uncommon. 



One evening, whilst staying with Mr. Chudleigh at 

 Wharekauri, I received an invitation from Mr. Abner 

 Clough, who is employed on the estate, to visit him 

 in his own quarters. Amongst the miscellaneous collec- 

 tion of articles which littered his table a remarkable- 

 looking piece of whalebone at once arrested my attention. 

 I found on inquiry that Mr. Clough had picked this speci- 

 men up in an old Moriori burial-ground amongst the sand- 



* Haast, " On the Stone Weapons of the Moriori and tne Maori " 

 (Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. xviii., p. 24). For further information concerning 

 Moriori stone implements, see Shand {Journal of the Polynesian Society, 

 vol. iii., p. 84 and Smith (Op. cit., vol. i., p. 80). 



