A coroner's inquest on a skull found on the banks of the Ruamahunga River in New Zealand in October 2004 has highlighted the mystery of a victim who could have been the first European woman in the country when she died more than 250 years ago.
Pathologists say the skull, found near Featherston in Wairarapa province, belonged to a Caucasian woman in her early 40s and radiocarbon dating indicated she was alive in 1742, give or take 30 years.
Historical records show that it was 1806 before the first two white women arrived in New Zealand, home of indigenous Maori tribes before the first European settlers came from Britain.
They were Kathleen Hagerty and Charlotte Edgar, two convicts who escaped from Australia on a ship.
Noting the difference of nearly a century between the radiocarbon dating and the first recorded European population in the region, coroner John Kershaw said: "It may mean radiocarbon dating is an imprecise science, and my decision is, therefore, imprecise.
"The person's name is unknown but was likely female and possibly of European descent aged between 40 and 45 years."
Kershaw said accidental drowning was a possible cause of death. - Sapa-dpa
Pathologists say the skull, found near Featherston in Wairarapa province, belonged to a Caucasian woman in her early 40s and radiocarbon dating indicated she was alive in 1742, give or take 30 years.
Historical records show that it was 1806 before the first two white women arrived in New Zealand, home of indigenous Maori tribes before the first European settlers came from Britain.
They were Kathleen Hagerty and Charlotte Edgar, two convicts who escaped from Australia on a ship.
Noting the difference of nearly a century between the radiocarbon dating and the first recorded European population in the region, coroner John Kershaw said: "It may mean radiocarbon dating is an imprecise science, and my decision is, therefore, imprecise.
"The person's name is unknown but was likely female and possibly of European descent aged between 40 and 45 years."
Kershaw said accidental drowning was a possible cause of death. - Sapa-dpa
