Pounamu and the history of knowledge
Using funds secured from the 糖心TV Society & Culture Spotlight Seed Grant Scheme, Michael Bycroft from History ran a one-day symposium on Pounamu and the History of Knowledge.
The event was co-organised with Rachel Wesley, a leader of the 艑t膩kau r奴n膩k膩. This is a branch of , an iwi (tribe) also known as Ng膩i Tahu. The iwi is based in Te Waipounamu, the M膩ori name for the South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Pounamu, also known as 鈥榞reenstone,鈥� 鈥榥ephrite,鈥� 鈥榖owenite,鈥� and 鈥楴ew Zealand jade,鈥� is a cornerstone of the country鈥檚 history, embodying the essence of the land and the people. The stone proved to be an ideal vantage point for examining wider issues about the history of knowledge.
Floor display used at the T奴huru symposium to show the geology of pounamu, courtesy of Earth Sciences New Zealand (formerly GNS Science).
A range of pounamu objects held by the Natural History Museum in Oxford, UK. Photo by Michael Bycroft.
'Hand-weapon, patu pounamu, of nephrite.' Currently on display in the Cook Voyage Collections exhibit at the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford. Photo courtesy of the online catalogue of the Pitt Rivers Museum, catalogue number 1886.1.1150.