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The Pacific rat

The Pacific rat
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About this item

Title
The Pacific rat
Content partner
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Collection
Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Description

The Pacific rat (kiore) is not native to New Zealand and could only have arrived here with humans. In 1996 scientist Richard Holdaway obtained 15 Pacific rat dates, by radiocarbon dating, that were significantly earlier than the accepted date of Polynesian settlement of 1250–1300 CE. He dated some rat bones at up to nearly 2,000 years of age (50–150 CE). Most subsequent research has not supported this finding.

Format
Image
Date created
4 March 2009
Creator
Dick Veitch
Contributing partner
Department of Conservation
URL
https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/1783/the-pacific-rat

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