The Aryan Maori

Record summary

Peter Buck’s early essay The Aryan Maori reflected a period when Polynesian origins were discussed through racial typologies and comparisons with Indo-European peoples. The title is a specific entry point into changing scholarly ideas about Māori identity, migration, and cultural affiliation before modern population genetics and archaeology. It can be compared with later work by Buck, Percy Smith, and European diffusionist writers. The argument is historically important but methodologically obsolete: linguistic resemblance, physical anthropology, and cultural comparison were often combined without the standards now expected for demonstrating biological or historical connection.