Human Perceptions of Megafaunal Extinction Events Revealed by Linguistic Analysis of Indigenous Oral

2019-12-31T14:48:20Z

via https://ift.tt/2QDZlVe

Human Perceptions of Megafaunal Extinction Events Revealed by Linguistic Analysis of Indigenous Oral Traditions:

sixth-light:

This is a really neat piece of research just published (and open access!) which investigates whether Māori whakataukī (proverbs) that involve extinct or endangered birds reflect archaeological and historical evidence for the decline of those species and their presence in human settlements, and particularly how whakataukī about moa changed as moa were hunted to extinction. Apparently there’s at least one whakataukī about chickens, which were not successfully introduced by Māori to New Zealand even though they’re present elsewhere in the Pacific - how fascinating that it survived five centuries!

I really, really love this sort of bringing together of oral/traditional history and narratives - in the specific context of New Zealand mātauranga Māori - and Western scientific knowledge to learn more than you can with either on its own.

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lupin5th

Human Perceptions of Megafaunal Extinction Events Revealed by Linguistic Analysis of Indigenous Oral