Face of the Day

, and Juana Atkins

January 28, 2021 . 6:30 AM

1 min read

“Calls to can John Banks over ‘stone age culture’ comments about Maori on Magic Talk”

The Spinoff

At the signing of the treaty in 1840 had Maori:

1. Discovered metallurgy, smelting, smithing or any other type of metal working?

2. Discovered the wheel?

3. A written language created by Maori for Maori?

4. A set of codified laws?

5. Any type of weapon that wasn’t made of wood or stone?

Image credit The BFD. Flat, broad-blade greenstone patu (clubs) were used by Maori warriors for close-quarter fighting. The patu was an ideal weapon for thrusting and jabbing at an opponent’s temple or ribs. The greenstone patu — mere pounamu — was the most revered of all Maori weapons.

6. Any defensive fortifications that weren’t made of wood? Had they developed motte and bailey castles made of stone, for example?

7. Developed the use of gun powder?

8. Developed the use of complex machinery leading to industrialisation?

The answers to these questions point to the fact that it is indeed true that Maori were a stone-age culture.

And, since we are talking about enlightenment, by 1840, the British had eschewed all forms of slavery. The inconvenient fact about the Maori stone age culture at that time was that they practised slavery widely. When New Zealand was colonised the British weren’t slavers but Maori were. As we have seen worldwide having a slaver in your family history is not a good look. At least if you are white.