To the untrained eye, these rocks may appear to be just that. But the 800-year-old artefacts are signs of the earliest human occupation in Marlborough.
Estimated to have been used by Maori from about 1200 to 1250, the argillite, called pakohe by Maori, was one of the most useful tools in their daily lives.
Argillite is as strong as iron. It was used to make tools including adzes (toki), chisels (whao), small cutting blades and drill points.

One of the most interesting things that one learns when studying the history of Christmas is how little the holiday, as practiced by the majority of Canadians, has to do with Christianity. The physical embodiment of the season, a plus-sized elf with a penchant for flying reindeer and home-baking, has roots that are, if anything, more pagan and corporate than Christian.

Today is the beginning of the final countdown. We've got just 366 days -- thank you leap year -- until a comet strikes the planet, a massive solar flare microwaves the globe, and sentient machine life evolves into the avatar of the Old Gods and does away with the pestilence that is mankind. Alternatively you may believe we've actually due for a new Golden Age when the Mayan calendar cycles back around.

SURVEYS of the world’s largest reindeer herd have revealed an alarming decline that has left a question mark over the future survival of a Christmas icon.
The George River caribou herd, which roams the tundras of Quebec and Labrador, in Canada, has suffered a drop so severe that only 50,000 are estimated to remain, from a total of at least 385,000 a decade ago.

Around the year 800 AD the flourishing Maya civilization of Central America suddenly began a rapid collapse. A series of catastrophic volcanic eruptions were followed by two long periods of extreme drought conditions and unending wars between city states.