The Taupo obsidian source, central North Island, New Zealand

The Taupo source contains extensive deposits of high quality obsidian, which were exploited by pre-European Maori up until the eighteenth century. Although quarry sites have previously been recorded, inspection of those sites revealed no definite evidence of the physical extraction of material from outcrops in prehistoric times. Instead, field observations and a re-examination of artefact assemblages recovered from local cave shelters suggest that obsidian was probably procured mainly from colluvial deposits, in the form of natural blocks, and as cobbles from the nearby lake shore. New information on the visual characteristics and chemical composition of the Taupo obsidian is presented.