Haast. — Researches in Sumner Moa Cave. 



63 



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... 



6 



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i . . 



9 



• ... 



. . . 



4 



. 



... 



1 4 



. ... 



... 



2 



, often very 



much 



10 



. . . 



... 



2 



. 





6 



• ... 



... 



3 



• 



... 



7 



The following shells were obtained in these sands, without doubt brought 

 with them into the cave by the waves of the sea, viz. : — Mactra discors, Jl. 

 donaciformis, Mesodesma cuneaia, Artemis subrosea, Turritella rosea, and frag- 

 ments of some others, but no estuary shells. 



Section No. 3 (PI. II.) gives the details of this important point. On the 



surface we found : — 



Ft. In. 



1. European deposits, dung of cows, goats, etc., wheaten 



straw, ashes 



2. Shell bed (Maori) 



3. Tussock and ash beds 



4. Shell beds 



5. Ash beds 



6. Ditto, mixed greatly with shells, 



decomposed 



7. Ash and dirt beds (lower series) 



8. Agglomeratic bed 



9. Ash bed 

 10. Marine sands to water ... 



11 10 



Amongst the shell beds, blocks of rocks, often of large size, were met with, 

 evidently fallen down from the roof, showing that since the formation of the 

 aojojlomerate bed the cave continued to be still insecure. 



There was thus conclusive evidence of the Moa-hunters having used the 

 cave occasionally as a cooking place ; whilst the absence of any shells proved, 

 as I shall also show, when speaking of the numerous Moa ovens amongst the 

 small hillocks of drift sand near the entrance of the cave, that the population 

 who exterminated our huge birds did not look with a favourable eye upon the 

 food, used almost exclusively by their successors, supposing that they could 

 have easily collected it. 



However, I may here observe, that near the oven in question, a few valves 

 of our common freshwater mussel {Unio aucldand.icus) were obtained, which 

 must have been brought by the Moa-hunters into the cave. 



For the next few days we continued to excavate towards the end of the 

 main cave, wdiere, near the entrance to the small middle chamber the marine 

 sands sometimes reached the surface, European, Maori, and Moa-hunter re- 

 mains being here occasionally mixed with each other, trodden down into the 

 sands by men or cattle. In a few more protected spots, ash and dirt beds, to a 

 thickness of several inches, remained undisturbed above these sands. 



Advancing from the entrance to the middle chamber towards the big frag- 

 ment of rock B, fallen from the roof, which is 6 feet broad by 12 feet long and 



