The first New Zealanders

by Philip Houghton

"... While such traditions and studies have made clear many aspects of life in the past there has been little information on the physical life of the people themselves - the people who created this past. Many misconceptions exist as to what life was like for them. Many questions are asked. How tall and strong did they grow, what sort of diet did they have, how long did they live, how many children did a woman bear in a lifetime? What do we know of their day to day activities, what diseases existed amongst them and what bearing does this have on the health of the modern Maori? ... Philip Houghton presents some conclusions drawn from a scientific study of the past, and such questions as these are answered as clearly as the present evidence allows." -- Inside front cover.