TITLE:
Pre-European Māori Pā as a Model for Traditional Hilltop Fortresses in Wider World Context
AUTHORS:
Hong-Key Yoon
KEYWORDS:
Pā-Kainga, Māori, European, Hilltop Fortress, Korean
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Anthropology,
Vol.16 No.2,
May
26,
2026
ABSTRACT: The two types of pre-European settlements of the Māori people are pā—a palisaded fortress, and kainga-unfortified settlements on flatland. Pā are normally located on strategically chosen sites where natural defence conditions, such as the top of a cliff or steep slope, headland or hilltop, are available. A well palisaded pā and unfortified or crudely palisaded kainga nearby are mutually dependant on each other for security and resources. The crops cultivated and wild food resources collected by the people of the kainga supplied both themselves and the pā, which offered protection during times of conflict. This paper examines how the relationship between pā and kainga in Māori culture can serve as a model for understanding the relationships between traditional fortified hilltop fortresses and nearby unfortified settlements in various regions, including Europe, Korea, and the Pacific Islands.