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zondag 24 augustus 2008 |
 R i d d l e O f T h e S k u l l What was a white woman doing in New Zealand 100 years before Europeans settled there? The discovery of a yellowing, cracked skull on a riverbank in New Zealand's North Island had baffled scientists. Their research has shown the skull belonged to a European woman who lived about 270 years ago - a century before the first known arrival of white settlers in the country. Even an inquest into the woman's death has failed to solve the mystery. Coroner John Kershaw, sitting in the town of Masterton, 50 miles from Wellington, decided after hearing expert opinions at the inquest that the skull belonged to a European woman aged between 40 and 45. 'This suggests that the deceased was alive somewhere in the South Wairarapa region (north-east of Wellington) in or about 1740,' said Mr Kershaw. Mr Kershaw said despite radiocarbon dating of the skull, historians had reported that the region was not settled by Europeans until after the New Zealand Company sent settlers to Wellington in 1840. The skull was discovered in October 2004 by a local resident as he walked by the Ruamahunga River, south-east of the small town of Featherston. Two Auckland forensic pathologists, Dr Rex Ferris and Dr Tim Koelmeyer, told the inquest that the skull was not Maori - the Polynesian people who were the first known inhabitants of New Zealand - and was almost certainly a European woman. They said that conclusion could be drawn because of the study of the size of the skull, and comparison of specific parts of the skull, such as the cheekbones and jaw, with skulls of other races. The woman's identity and cause of death could not be ascertained, and a verdict that 'death has occurred' was recorded.
Posted: 9:16:46 AM
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