Māori greenstone adze tradition

Timeline

1. c. -1000–1000Fiji–Tonga–Samoa · PolynesiaIslanders knapped tanged and shouldered adzes from basalt, tuff, and other stones, hafted with sennit lashing and wooden hafts, for canoe building, house construction, and woodworking; adzes also served as prestige items in inter-island exchange.
2. c. 1051–1060Eastern Polynesian islands · PolynesiaBy the 11th century, adze manufacture had developed specialized flaking, grinding, and polishing stages, with different island groups producing distinguishable typologies; the adze was not only a production tool but an artifact category marking craft specialization and chiefly authority, laying an institutional framework for the later pounamu toki.
3. c. 1250–1800South Island, New Zealand (Te Wai Pounamu) · South IslandAfter settling, the Māori developed pounamu source areas such as Arahura, carving nephrite into toki for woodworking and warfare, and developing derivative forms such as hei-tiki; pounamu was imbued with mauri and tapu attributes, becoming a core taonga in inter-tribal trade and peacemaking.
4. 1900New Zealand · New ZealandSince the 20th century, pounamu resources have been managed by iwi such as Ngāi Tahu under Treaty settlements, with traditional carving and museum repatriation advancing in parallel; toki pounamu have returned from colonial collectibles to the realm of living cultural heritage.