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Abstract
Pounamu plays a very important role in Māori culture (New Zealand) and is a taonga (treasure) of the people. Pounamu is a result of the intricate, unique geological context of the Zealandia microcontinent in the SW Pacific successfully separated from Gondwana in the Late Mesozoic but cut half in a NE-SWE trending right-lateral strike-slip dominated plate boundary separating the Indo-Australian and Pacific Plates within the continental lithospheric segment of Zealandia. Along this nearly 500 km onshore structural zone, a set of narrow Paleozoic to Mesozoic lithospheric terrains assembled among ophiolite belts such as the Dun Mountain Terrain. Metasomatic influence on the ancient seafloor in combination with high-grade regional metamorphic forces along the evolving plate boundaries, a globally unique region with high geodiversity formed, giving way to the assemblage of metamorphosed ultramafic bodies to generate great variety of greenstones, referred as pounamu by Māori. The perfect physicochemical conditions of this rock made it to become a key geomaterial for tool-making and trade subjects within the Māori culture.
Keywords
- ophiolite
- ultramafic
- geological terrain
- metasomatic
- basalt
- amphibole
1. Introduction
The most famous and well-known Māori symbolic tools of geologic origin are the polished stone tools (dominantly adzes and chisels), pendants, etc., made from pounamu: a very esthetic, yet elegant looking rock, geologically nephrite and/or bowenite [1, 2]. Nephrite in mineralogical sense is a rock type of a combination of a variety of the calcium, magnesium, and iron-rich amphibole minerals (double chain silicate group) tremolite and/or actinolite (https://www.mindat.org/min-29085.html [Accessed: November 15, 2023]). Chemically it can be expressed as Ca2(Mg, Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2 indicating a molecular water-rich mineral species with a potential gradual assemblage of mineral combinations of Mg to Fe ratio. In the contrary, bowenite is a hard, compact variety of the serpentinite species (it is a rock composed predominantly of one or more serpentine group minerals, and its name refers to the texture of a snakeskin) such as antigorite that is best to express chemically as Mg3(Si2O5)(OH)4 (https://www.mindat.org/min-260.html [Accessed: November 15, 2023]). Nephrite is commonly grouped into the informal but commonly used “stone” group of jade that itself is not a unique rock type. It can be either a nephrite that is dominantly a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of minerals or jadeite which is a rock dominantly composed of a silicate of sodium and aluminum in the pyroxene group of minerals that is dominated by a single chain silicate group (pyroxene) mineral. Another common informal name used in New Zealand for 7 is “greenstone,” which is a major umbrella term for anything that is gemstone quality “green” stone.
According to Tamati Te Otatu, a Māori chief from the eighteenth century, pounamu has the same value for the Māori as gold for the “white people”: “Let the gold be worked by the white men. It was not a thing known to our ancestors. My only treasure is the pounamu (Kati ano taku taonga nui i te pounamu). Fern-root may be found. When my ko strikes against a fern-root, I break that root and see if it is of a good mealy kind, but that [the gold], a sandfly is larger than it.” [1].
Why did the Māori choose this particular type of rock as the most sacred material representing nature for their ornaments? What geological factors influenced the first inhabitants of New Zealand to turn their attention to this (or other) type of rock and, indeed, to make it the most prized of all? The questions above shed light on the development of (late Neolithic) human societies from a perspective that few people attach much importance to. Namely, the extent to which the development of human society is influenced by the inanimate natural environment regarding local (or even remotely collected) rock types.
2. Geoarchaeological context of pounamu
In general, the rock types that could be used to create everyday objects of use in a neolithic society are important to distinguish from those collected primarily to make tools with no practical use. To produce practical tools (e.g., adzes, perforated axes, flat chisels, elongated axes, or maces), mechanical resistance, good machinability, easy availability and/or common occurrence are important aspects of the raw material. The combination of excellent mechanical properties and the high frequency of occurrence of the raw materials is a very rare phenomenon. In most cases, the raw material is either particularly common or has very good physical properties; however, both are strongly related to the geological background (i.e., frequency and types of occurrences of raw materials and their physical characteristics).
For polished stone tools of everyday use, the best rock types are the following. (1) Dominantly, but not necessarily equigranular igneous rocks containing minerals entangled with each other in a non-directed fabric (e.g., ophitic gabbro, subophitic dolerite, microholocrystalline phonolite). (2) Non-foliated high-grade metamorphic rocks containing minerals entangled with each other (e.g., hornfels, contact metabasite basic rocks affected by two distinct metamorphic events, firstly a regional and after that a contact metamorphism). (3) Dominantly equigranular and monomineralic rocks with minerals of high hardness and resistance to weathering processes (e.g., Na-pyroxenite (a high-pressure metaophiolitic rock). Some common rock types, like quartzites (various grade monomineralic metamorphic rocks) and sandstones, are made of very hard and resilient minerals; however, this is not enough as other factors, like foliation or weak cohesion between crystals, deteriorate the quality of the raw material and make machinability difficult. On the other hand, there is another group of common rock types, the carbonates
3. Geological context of pounamu
Māori people took the method of preparation of stone tools from the East Polynesian homeland [3]. They may have a wide petrological knowledge as the most valued rock types for adzes (both sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic in origin) are related to specific regions (a specific argillite from D’Urville Island/Rangitoto ki te Tonga; a rare, aphanitic basalt from the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand; and especially greenstones/pounamu found in very distinct and remote areas of the South Island) [4]. In addition to these three important and widely used rock types, each Māori tribe used the rocks found in their territory (e.g., flint and quartzite) to make adzes, as the more noble raw materials required invasion of enemy territory or trade [2].
From these rock types the sedimentary (argillite) and the igneous (basalt) were chosen because of their quite easy machinability and these were used as adzes in everyday life. On the other hand, greenstones are harder to polish and are often particularly difficult to access, while polished stone tools made from them have symbolic rather than practical significance. Green-colored rock types (“greenstones”) are very often used for stone tools in many parts of the world such as in Neolithic Europe [5, 6]. Perhaps to be able to develop a “greenstone” usage within an early human community required relatively easy access and understanding of the source region’s geological assets [6].
These rocks are almost without exception metamorphic rocks, dominantly metabasites and metaultrabasites (eclogite, Na-pyroxenite, omphacite/jadeite schists, metabasalt, metadolerite, nephrite, serpentinite) hence their source regions had to be associated with some sort of (meta)ophiolite belts [5] or ancient suture zones [7] that are common mostly in the Eastern Mediterranean region [8], Apennine Peninsula in Italy [5, 9, 10], in the older cratonic regions such as Fennoscandia [11, 12, 13, 14] or associated with a low viscosity Archean lava flows of komatiites [15]. In the formation of greenstone, the post-emplacement seafloor processes as well as the long-lasting hydrothermal effect in the mafic to ultramafic, mostly oceanic crustal material together with subsequent regional metamorphism generate a very diverse rock assemblage [16]. The pounamu occurrences within New Zealand follow major ultramafic belts such as the Dun Mountain Ophiolite Belt (Figures 1–3), which runs across the South Island of New Zealand on the surface. Tracing pounamu in a geological sense helped significantly establish the New Zealand Terrain concept, and it is a clear indicator of plate boundary processes and terrain amalgamation [17].
Figure 1.
The geological features of the South Island of New Zealand based on the 1 to 1-million scale geological map (
Figure 2.
Digital terrain model (DEM) of the South Island of New Zealand based on the Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) 8-m resolution topographic data clearly showing the position of the Alpine Fault (steep topographic escarpment running across the western side of the South Island) where ultramafic pods hosting pounamu showed by a box near Hokitika. The map also showing the displaced Dun Mountain Terrain mafic and ultramafic rocks at Jackson Bay and the Nelson area (light purple boxes).
Figure 3.
LINZ 10-m resolution satellite imagery marking the major westward tributary of rivers from the steep escarpment of the Alpine Fault promoting rapid erosion and weathering out of the hard pounamu into the alluvial plains, mostly around the Hokitika region. Yellow fields mark the Dun Mountain Terrain ultramafic successions.
The New Zealand greenstones are dominantly nephrites [18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24]. About New Zealand greenstone heritage a digital library provides vital information and inventory (https://www.greenstone.org/ [Accessed: February 19, 2024]) [25]. In contrast, the Greenstone resources and their indigenous, Māori legislative aspects are clearly outlined [26]. These New Zealand greenstones are mono- or bimineralic rocks composed of crypto- or microcrystalline amphiboles of the tremolite-actinolite series (https://www.mindat.org/min-29085.html [Accessed: November 15, 2023]). These metaophiolitic rocks occur in three large geological units of the South Island (Figure 1): The Dun Mountain-Maitai-, the Caples-Waipapa, and the Torlesse Terrane in Westland and West Otago [27].
The other, much rarer greenstone is a special type of serpentinite, which is a fine-grained metaultrabasite called bowenite, and it is composed by a variety of antigorite. It can be found only in a very small area in the Fiordland region (Figures 1–3) of the South Island [28, 29] (https://www.mountainjade.co.nz/blogs/news/exploring-the-pounamu-bearing-rivers-of-new-zealand [Accessed: November 15, 2023]).
4. New Zealand pounamu
Pounamu is generally found in rivers in specific parts of the South Island as nondescriptive boulders and stones (https://www.mountainjade.co.nz/blogs/news/exploring-the-pounamu-bearing-rivers-of-new-zealand [Accessed: November 15, 2023]). Pounamu has been formed in New Zealand in four main locations: the West Coast (Figure 4), Fiordland, western Southland (Figure 5), and the Nelson district (Figure 6) [30, 31, 32]. It is typically recovered from rivers and beaches where it has been transported after being eroded from the mountains. The group of rocks from which pounamu comes are called ophiolites. Ophiolites are slices of the deep ocean crust and part of the mantle. When these deep mantle rocks (serpentinite) and crustal rocks (mafic igneous rocks) are heated up (metamorphosed) together, pounamu can be formed at their contact [28, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37].
Figure 4.
The main pounamu sources are dominantly derived from the Pounamu Ultramafic Belt (red star) within the Alpine Schist along the Alpine Fault that is shown on a LINZ 8-m resolution DEM. Note the orographic setting and its relationship with the narrow band of metaserpentine and metabasite as the source of pounamu (yellow and black lines parallel to the main faults near the red star).
Figure 5.
Red Hill on a Bing Satellite Image in the Nelson—Marlborough—Tasman region of the northern part of the South Island. Note the reddish hills of the Red Hill (red star) and Dun Mountain (yellow star) where major mafic rocks such as dunite crop out.
Figure 6.
Complex geotectonic situation within Fiordland (on LINZ 8-m resolution DEM) where the Dun Mountain Terrain rocks (Red Mountain—red star) narrowly connecting other terrains converging to the Alpine Fault. Greenstone derived from the main tributaries of the Cascade River and accumulating in alluvial fans close to the Tasman Sea.
Most New Zealand greenstones (nephrites) are made dominantly (≫99%) of microcrystalline amphiboles that are characteristic of low grade metabasites [28]. New Zealand nephrites were formed in two phases related to the regional metamorphism of ultrabasic-basic igneous rocks of oceanic origin, e.g., oceanic crustal material gone through regional scale metamorphic processes [27, 29, 30]. First the igneous rocks (harzburgite, gabbro, dolerite) were serpentinized, and after that in a narrow zone along the boundary of metabasic and adjacent metasedimentary formations amphiboles were formed during local metasomatic reactions. The petrogenetic processes took place under the following conditions. Low grade metamorphic reactions (prehnite-pumpellyite—actinolite facies; 250–300°C) are more common in the Dun Mountain-Maitai terrane (Figure 7) and in some parts of the Caples terrane, while low- to medium grade metamorphic reactions (pumpellyite-actinolite—lower greenschist; 300–470°C) are characteristic for the Haast Schist (Caples, Torlesse, Waipapa Terranes). Based on Sr-isotopic data of Adams et al. (2007) the Ca came from the metasedimentary rocks instead of an early metasomatism by serpentinization fluids, which can explain the extremely limited (and small-scale) occurrence of the nephrites. This process also explains the rarity of nephrites in general, and their common placer deposit appearance within riverbeds in the Hokitika region (Figure 2). Another limitation of nephrite formation is the proximity of mylonitic shear zones which act as migration channels for metasomatic fluids [27]. Most probably local shear is responsible for the felted fabric of amphiboles.
Figure 7.
The large fan of the Cascade River in the Fiordland represents a common source of pounamu and other dunite and serpentine rock varieties. The Red Mountain is in the far left of the image visually similar like the Red Hill in the Nelson area about 500 km in the north.
The Dun Mountain Ophiolite Belt (Figure 1) has been metamorphosed in western Southland and pounamu from this belt is found along the eastern and northern edge of Fiordland [38, 39]. The Anita Bay Dunite near Milford Sound is a small but highly prized source of pounamu. In the Southern Alps, the Pounamu Ultramafic Belt in the Haast Schist occurs as isolated pods which are eroded and found on West Coast rivers and beaches [33]. One source of inanga pounamu at the head of Lake Wakatipu is possibly the only jade mining site in the world with Government protection [40].
The formation of various greenstones including the highly valued pounamu is associated with the unique geotectonical evolution of New Zealand within the Zealandia geotectonic context [41, 42, 43]. New Zealand’s high-order stratigraphy framework shows well the geotectonic context of the Late Paleozoic-Mesozoic tectonic evolution of the basement rocks forming distinct lithospheric terrains that amalgamated over 100 million of year time scale [44, 45, 46]. In this process, plate margin processes and closure of ocean basins lead to the formation of narrow bands of wrapped oceanic crustal components into mafic to ultramafic lithological zones following more or less the plate boundary along convergence then collision took place [33, 36, 43]. On the tectonic map of New Zealand, the distribution pattern of the onshore basement rocks based on exposures and various geophysical data extraction highlights the long light lateral displacement zone along the Alpine Fault System in the South Island (Figure 1). In both ends of the major displacement zone, the main basement tectonic units are exposing typical ophiolites with the full spectrum of the base of an oceanic crust to the deep marine successions locked into the Dun Mountain and Maitai Terrain (commonly mentioned together). This interrelationship in continental scale is remarkably shown by the existence of the Red Hill area in the Nelson region in the north and the Red Mountains in the south in Fiordland [47, 48, 49]. These locations are the original places where the name dunite was derived, referring to the Dun Mountain in the north, and the redingote, which refers to the name of the Roding River in the north [50, 51]. These rocks show low metamorphic grades, but intense metasomatic processes rather formed during syn- or slightly post-accumulation times, creating sporadic zones of rodingite as a metasomatic rock assemblage [52] recording mafic to ultramafic intrusive zones in the ancient Late Paleozoic-Mesozoic oceanic realms. Between these nearly 500-km long displacement zone metamorphic processes affected the typical greywacke basin rocks. Along this transform plate boundary narrow (10 to 100 m wide) zones of ultramafic to mafic rocks with mild metamorphic imprint formed metabasites and metaserpentinite [37]. This zone is commonly referred to as the Pounamu Ultramafic Belt or Terrain, indicating its significance as a completely wrapped former oceanic basin preserved within the zone of the plate boundary. The Alpine Schists that are located right in proximity to the Alpine Fault (Figure 8) recognized including unusual metavolcanic rocks, cherts, and marbles all typical for an ofiolite-type rock zone [39, 53, 54, 55]. This type of rock is far more abundant in this rock assemblage than those forming the greywacke-dominated Torlesse rocks to the east. What is more distinct and convincing to look at this zone as an independent tectonic terrain is that the Alpine Schists also host a great variety of metaperidotite pods, referred to as the Pounamu Ultramafic Belt (PUB) [54]. High-quality but isolated pounamu is located only in very few locations in situ. In contrast, due to differential erosion caused by the significant hardness difference between nephrite and the host meta-ultramafics, boulders and gravelly bars within high-energy river systems preserved gemstone quality greenstones and formed the traditional source of pounamu in New Zealand (Figure 9) somehow, in a similar context but in a far more complicated geotectonic realm pounamu known from alluvial and glacial fans exciting the region where narrow Paleozoic and Mesozoic Terrain belt congregate into the Alpine Fault system in the Fiordland.
Figure 8.
Alpine Schist outcrop near Fox Glacier along the Alpine Fault composed of garnet-facies metamorphic rocks. Following the same zone sporadic metabasite and metaserpentinite form the Pounamu Ultramafic Terrain.
Figure 9.
Main fluvial outflow valleys are the main arteries pounamu carried out westward to the narrow West Coast coastal plains.
5. Geoheritage value and global comparison
What makes Greenstone so special that it is worth the effort to find and process it? Several factors can be considered, but they all have one thing common: all are somehow related to geology! In no particular order of importance, these are the following.
Rarity . Nephrite occurs only as bedrock in narrow zones in the metaophioloites of the South Island and can be found mostly as pebbles in glacial and alluvial deposits. This may have contributed to the “divine” origin of Pounamu in particular since while the Māori could encounter the material of other pebbles and boulders relatively easily in the surrounding mountains, nephrites were hardly to be found in situ as bedrock.“Purity .” Nephrites are monomineralic rocks; they are composed almost only of amphiboles of the tremolite-actinolite series; in most cases, other minerals are less than 1 m/m% of the rock. There are only few rock types in New Zealand that are monomineralic; however, they are much less special in other ways. For example, quartzite is dominantly a monomineralic rock type but has a very wide range of colors, minor constituents, and thus appearance; limestone is composed almost only of calcite, despite the fact that it has many varieties depending on the origin of the rock (e.g., fossiliferous, oolithic, stylolithic). Aphanitic igneous rock may look uniform too; however, in other important external characteristics, they do not come close to the uniqueness of nephrite; obsidian would be the most likely candidate.Hardness and toughness . As composed dominantly of amphiboles, which are 5–6 on the Mohs Scale (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohs_scale), nephrite is hard enough to keep well-polished long enough, while not too hard to process. The rock-forming minerals are fine-grained and fibrous, and they are either felted due to the high strain rate of shear zones or unoriented and interwoven. Whether it is the first or the second type, the rock will be very tough and physically resistant.Resistance to weathering . Because it is monomineralic, it has a uniform weathering profile. It is quite resilient to weathering processes, which means that a polished surface of the rock will keep its appearance. In several thousand years, only a few cm wide weathering profiles could form on nephrite despite the particularly wet climate of Westland, South Island [9].Color, luster, transparency . New Zealand nephrites have various appearances, commonly greenish, more- or less translucent, especially if they are cut and polished and have a bright luster. Based on optical properties observed by the naked eye, there are several types of pounamu, which arise from fine impurities and/or weathering processes of the rocks [8]. Inanga: pearly white, grayish green, green, bluish green; it can be very translucent or quite opaque. Kawakawa: light- to dark green, even almost black with small black dots (opaque mineral inclusions), moderately translucent. Auhunga: pale green and opaque, color between kawakawa and inanga. Kahotea: green with white flakes. Kahurangi: apple green, highly translucent (and often flawless). Kōkopu: light to dark brown, light blue, olive- to yellow-green, golden yellow; always brownish mottled. Pīpīwharauroa: green and light green/white banded, causing chatoyant effect. Raukaraka: orange crust on green pounamu: an oxidized version of kawakawa. Totokweka: Like kawakawa, mineral inclusions are reddish, most probably due to oxidation processes. Tangiwai is not nephrite but bowenite; however, it is also called pounamu. It has an olive, brown, yellowish to bluish-green color, and it is moderately translucent.
All the above physicochemical features made pounamu a highly valuable geocultural treasure that influenced the Māori culture and vividly shaped the contemporary art and identity of New Zealand well beyond the traditional Māori aspects. Pounamu is part of New Zealand culture, and the usage of stones as guardians following original symbolic carvings provides the people a sense of the land that most New Zealanders highly appreciate. Pounamu, therefore, could be looked at as a significant geocultural element of the geoheritage of the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. As proposed earlier, the West Coast could form a key globally significant geopark that potentially could be listed as a UNESCO Global Geopark [56]. Within such geopark the pounamu and the geocultural aspect of it as a messenger of the terrain accretion of Zealandia should be considered seriously.
6. Conclusion
As in Europe or Asia, the nephrites gained a special position in polished stone implements, and it was the same in New Zealand. Only geological and mineralogical-petrological properties could mark nephrites a unique rock, a divine gift for the Māori people. In the eyes of the Māori people, pounamu is of great spiritual importance. It has become fully intertwined with Māori culture, an inseparable and identity-forming part of it. Even its collection and sale are highly regulated. Overcoming the fact that esthetics has always played an important role in the selection of symbolic tools in human societies, it is easy to see that the “rising” of pounamu happened almost exclusively due to geological factors. This finding goes a long way, as it clearly shows the influence that geological diversity and the inanimate natural environment have on us: preserving geodiversity, transfer of basic geological knowledge to future generations are an essential part of preserving our culture and traditions.
Acknowledgments
This report is a direct result of the Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (2019–2022, 2024–2025) research program conducted between Eötvös University, Budapest, Hungary, and Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
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