ABSTRACT
Moa were a group of large, flightless birds endemic to New Zealand that became extinct within last few hundred years. This chapter provides a detailed study of number of lines of evidence from five archaeological sites indicated that none of the sites was a moa hunting kill site. The main indication of this was the low frequency of low meat value bones. Hunting any big game species was accomplished using two basic techniques: communal, where a number of hunters coordinate their efforts, and individual, where hunters work in isolation, usually to capture a single prey animal. The lithic remains from four sites were chosen for detailed lithic analysis: Minzion Burn, Coal Creek, Hawksburn, and Owens Ferry. The absence of marrow extraction, and some high value bones at the Rockfall II site was an evidence that it was not a habitation site. When raw meat is stripped from bones for drying, considerable contact occurs between butchering tool and bone being processed.
