Roger Duff
Duff excavated skeletons of moa, an extinct flightless bird, at Pyramid Valley in north Canterbury and at the Wairau Bar in Marlborough.Duff brought proof through his scientific papers of the existence of moa-hunters as an early and distinct form of Māori culture.He was highly critical of the hypothesis of American origins promoted by Thor Heyerdahl which was popularised by the voyage of the Kon Tiki.Over the years with accumulation of evidence (both pro and contrary) these three theories have all been modified to various degrees, but no one hypothesis has ever found universal acceptance (see Māori people).[3] In the 1977 Queen's Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services as director of the Canterbury Museum since 1948.