Taro crop was grown in New Zealand since ancient times, Research

Taro was part of the early mix of agriculture production by the Maori in New Zealand, a new study has found. This root crop has been a primary staple food for most Polynesian societies as well as throughout the Western Pacific.

However, the new research refutes theories that taro was unable to be grown in New Zealand’s cooler climate. Palynologist Matthew Prebble of the Australian National University, who was part of the team of archaeologists, said taro was one of the first main crops where production was attempted right from colonization. Dr Prebble said there was a lot of investment in these early agricultural production systems. “So not only do we see evidence for fossil remains of taro, but we also see other evidence of large accumulations of different artefacts, and a lot of evidence for burning. So people were spending a lot of time clearing vegetation to establish gardens.”

Dr Prebble said they have seen evidence for a lot of activity on the island early on across a lot of different sites. He added that investment on taro was probably quite significant right at early colonization.