ARCHAEOLOGY AND HOLOCENE SAND DUNE STRATIGRAPHY ON CHATHAM-ISLAND

Four depositional episodes based on sand deposits and the soils on the m are proposed for Holocene coastal sand dunes on Chatham Island: Te O nean Depositional Episode (c. 5,000 to 2,200 years BP), Okawan Deposit ional Episode (c. 2,200 to 450 years BP), Kekerionean Depositional Epi sode (c. 450 to 150 years BP) and Waitangian Depositional Episode (c. 150 years BP to present day). Each depositional episode has two phases : an unstable phase with a high rate of deposition and no soil formati on, followed by a stable phase with a low rate of deposition and soil formation. The Okawan, Kekerionean, and Waitangian episodes closely ma tch late Holocene depositional episodes on the New Zealand mainland. T he earliest human occupation remains (Moriori) are in Kekerionean sand s and the inferred date for Moriori settlement of Chatham Island is be tween 400 and 450 years BP. Bones of Hooker's sea lion are found in Te Onean and Okawan deposits. The most recent bones are in Kekerionean m iddens and it is inferred that Hooker's sea lion was driven from the C hatham Islands by human predation. The depositional episodes appear to be unrelated to sea level changes, tectonic activity, or cultural inf luence. It is suggested that they may be related to coastal erosion in itiated by storms.