Other crops imported by the Polynesians were the taro, yam and also the paper mulberry, which was used to make bark cloth.

For the tribes further south, living in a much cooler climate and where crops were less easily cultivated, hunting the Moa and the seal remained the main activities for food resources.

When the Moa and other species of flightless birds eventually became extinct a few centuries later, fish and shellfish become the staple diet of the Māori, in supplement to the kumara. Seals and whales were also hunted. Fishing was a very important economic activity, and fishing rights still take extreme importance today.

With diminishing resources in other areas, the major food resources now became the Weka (flightless aquatic bird), the Barracouta (fish abundant in the southern hemisphere and related to the great mackerel family), eels, and the Titi (muttonbird). The roots of the Ti kouka (cabbage tree) were baked, producing a sweet sugary substance.

Food was preserved in various ways. The Barracouta, and other fish, would be baked and then hung on very high poles, in order to dry out and then preserved for the winter months. Birds were dried and then packed in fat within large bags. The bird flesh was able to be preserved for up to several years by this method.

Before the advent of the "Pa" (a fortified village), the early settlers lived in small undefended settlements known as "kainga". These were mainly established in sheltered coastal locations, often near to harbours or estuaries.

The kainga consisted of one or more inhabitations, and included structures for storing food and an area for communal food preparation. Food was cooked in the ground, on hot stones, a typically Polynesian feature. The food would be either cooked out in the open, or under a sheltered area which would be separate from the main dwelling house.

Kainga house plans have been located in New Zealand on sites at Palliser Bay, in the North Island, and have been dated back to the 12th, 15th and 16th centuries.

The most famous of these sites is situated at Wairau Bar, in the northern area of the South Island, and is dated between the 11th and 13th centuries. It appears to have been a centre of stone adze fabrication.

As time went by the kainga became larger, including some defences. This began to happen when tensions started arising over rights to areas rich in food resources.

Construction of the larger and more fortified "pa" has been recorded as commencing over 500 years ago. A pa is a fortified settlement, including ditches, banks and palisades as protection. The fortified pa included a much more complex internal organisation than that of the smaller kainga dwelling. Whereas the kainga had only one cooking area, the pa had several. Pits for storing food were established outside of the perimeter palisades. The well fortified pa were practically invulnerable to attack. Each pa was dedicated to a tribal god.

Inter-tribal warfare became frequent, and with the arrival of Europeans and muskets, leading to the inter-tribal Musket Wars, the pa took on a new type of fortification in order to adapt. As the British troops discovered, during the New Zealand wars, a well-fortified pa was extremely difficult to take. The battle of "Gate Pa" was a perfect example.

Prominent landmarks indicated the boundaries of a tribal territory - mountains, lakes or rivers.