Travers.— Notes on the Evtinction of the Moa. 59 
“6th. This branch of the Polynesian race possessed a very low standard 
of civilization, using only rudely chipped stone implements, whilst the 
Maoris, their direct descendents (by which Dr. Haast evidently meant 
‘“‘successors”’) had, when the first Europeans arrived in New Zealand, 
already reached a high state of civilization in manufacturing fine polished 
stone implements and weapons. 
‘7th, The Moa-hunters, who cooked their food in the same manner as 
the Maoris of the present day do, were not cannibals. 
‘8th, The Moa-hunters had means to reach the Northern Island, 
whence they procured obsidian. 
“9th. They also travelled far into the interior of this island to obtain 
flint for the manufacture of their primitive stone implements. 
“10th. They did not possess implements of Nephrite (greenstone). 
“11th. The polishing process of stone implements is of considerable 
age in New Zealand, as more finished tools have been found in such 
positions that their great antiquity cannot be doubted, and which is an 
additional proof of the long extinction of the Moa.” 
Many of these “conclusions’’ will be considered sufficiently startling 
by those who take the trouble to analyse the grounds upon which Dr. 
Haast affects to have arrived at them, but with a view to the sequel, and in 
order that no injustice may be done to Dr. Haast with reference to such of 
them as are specially under consideration in this paper, I think it right to 
extract from his publications the various passages in which he attempts to 
support them either by argument or evidence. 
“ Another argument,” says Dr. Haast,* ‘in favour of this supposition, 
namely, that Dinornis must have become extinct much earlier than we 
might infer from the occurrence of bones lying amongst the grass, is the 
fact, proved abundantly by careful enquiries, that the Maoris know nothing 
whatever about these huge birds, although various statements have been 
made to the contrary, lately repeated in England; however, as this question 
stands in close relation to the age of the Moa-hunting race, I shall leave it 
until I proceed to this portion of my task. 
“The testimony that Moa bones have been found lying loose amongst 
the grass on the shingle of the plains, together with small heaps of so-called 
Moa stones, where probably a bird has died and decayed, is too strong to 
be set aside altogether, or to be explained by the assumption that the bones 
became exposed, as I suggested before, through the original vegetation 
haying been burnt extensively. We are, therefore, almost compelled to 
ey Trans. N. Ds Inst.,” Vol, iy, Pp Zi. 
