Na Mea Kahiko o Kahikinui Studies in the Archaeology of Kahikinui, Maui Patrick V. Kirch Editor Oceanic Archaeology Laboratory Archaeological Research Facility University of California, Berkeley The Oceanic Archaeology Laboratory (OAL) is one of several research labs which together comprise the Archaeological Research Facility, an Organized Research unit of the University of California at Berkeley. The OAL is under the direction of Patrick V. Kirch, Class of 1954 Professor of Anthropology at Berkeley. Current research projects of the OAL conducted by graduate students and research affiliates include studies of the Lapita cultural complex of Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia, paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Holocene period in the southern Cook Islands, rock art in relation to settlement patterns in the Marquesas Islands, household archaeology in Hawai'i and the Southern Cook Islands, and transformations of Hawaiian houses and settlement patterns in the post-contact period. Additional information on the OAL and the Archaeo- logical Research Facility at Berkeley may be obtained through our web site: http://www.berkeley.edu/arf/ Aerial view of coastal sites 309 and 311 (MI1) in KTpapa Ahupua'a, Kahikinui. Photo by P. V. Kirch. ISBN 1-882744-08-X Na Mea Kahiko o Kahikinui Studies in the Archaeology of Kahikinui, Maui Nai Mea Kahiko o Kahikinui Studies in the Archaeology of Kahikinui, Maui Edited by Patrick V. Kirch With Contributions by Patty J. Conte, Boyd Dixon, W. Koa Hodgins, Patrick V. Kirch, Michael J. Kolb, Valerie Nagahara, Erika C. Radewagen, and Cindy Van Gilder Special Publication No. 1 Oceanic Archaeology Laboratory Archaeological Research Facility University of California, Berkeley 1997 Publication of this volume was made possible, in part, by the Class of 1954 Chair Fund of the University of California, Berkeley. Library of Congress Card Number 97-072940 ISBN 1-882744-08-X ? The Authors, 1997 Published by the Oceanic Archaeology Laboratory, Archaeological Research Facility, University of Califomia at Berkeley Berkeley, CA 94720 USA For information on obtaining additional copies of this, or other publications of the Archaeological Research Facility, contact the ARF Administrator at 232 Kroeber Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720. Phone (510) 642-2212, fax (510) 643-9637. Email arf-aa@qal.berkeley.edu. All rights reserved. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Dedicatd to Peter S. Chapman wo iniated the modem archaeoAga/study of K(ah,inui andto Ka 'Ohana 0 Kahikinul in recognition oftheir eft to preselYe and pelpetuate the cu/atra//egacyoflKahikOnu/ Contents List of Figures and Tables ..................................................................x Foreword. Ross Cordy ................................................................. xii Acknowledgments ................................................................. xiv Contributors ................................................................. xv Chapter 1. Kahikinui: An Introduction. Patrick V. Kirch ...............................................................1 Kahikinui: An 'Aina Malo'o ..................................................................2 The Moku of Kahikinui ..................................................................4 Kahikinui in History ..................................................................5 Recovering Kahikinui's Deeper Past: The Contribution of Archaeology ...................9 Chapter 2. The Cultural Landscape of KTpapa and Nakaohu Ahupua'a: A Preliminary Report on an Intensive Archaeological Survey. Patrick V. Kirch ............................... 12 Introduction ................................................................. 1 2 The 1966-67 Chapman/Bishop Museum Survey ...................................................... 12 The U.C. Berkeley Kahikinui Project ................................................................. 13 Background and Objectives ................................................................. 13 Field and Laboratory Methods: 1995-97 Survey ................................................ 15 The KTpapa-Nakaohu Survey: Results to Date ........................................................ 16 Patterns of Site Distribution ................................................................. 18 Agricultural Features ................................................................. 18 Residential Features ................................................................. 19 Ritual Features (Heiau) ................................................................. 21 Post-Contact Structures ................................................................. 25 Conclusion ................................................................. 26 Acknowledgments ................................................................. 27 Chapter 3. Upland Forest Periphery Subsistence and Settlement in the Ahupua'a of KTpapa, Nakaohu, and Nakaaha: A Preliminary Assessment. Boyd Dixon, Patty J. Conte, Valerie Nagahara, and W. Koa Hodgins ........................................... 28 Introduction ................................................................. 28 Preliminary Survey Results ................................................................. 30 Agricultural Features ................................................................. 30 Unpaved Terraces ................................................................. 30 Soil Filled Terraces ................................................................. 30 Prepared Surfaces ................................................................. 31 Planting Circles and Garden Enclosures ............................................................ 31 Uma ................................................................. 31 Residential Sites ................................................................. 31 Terraces, Walled Terraces, and Terraced Platforms ........................................... 31 Rectangular Enclosures ................................................................. 32 L-Shaped Enclosures ................................................................. 32 C-Shaped Enclosures ................................................................. 33 U-Shaped Enclosures ................................................................. 33 Windbreak Walls ................................................................. 34 Storage and Shelter ................................................................. 34 Rock Shelters ................................................................. 34 Enclosed Rock Shelters ................................................................. 34 Cairns, Boundary Walls, and Alignments ................................................................. 34 Cairns ................................................................. 35 vii Walls and Alignments .......................................................... 35 Ranching .......................................................... 36 Possible Burials and Lava Tubes .......................................................... 37 Mounds/Platforms .......................................................... 37 Lava Tubes .......................................................... 38 H6lua Slide Complex ........................................................... 38 Ritual Structures and Heiau ........................................................... 38 Subsurface Features not Associated with Surface Architecture ............................... 39 Preliminary Observations .......................................................... 39 Forest Periphery Subsistence .......................................................... 40 Exchange Networks .......................................................... 42 Pre-Contact Settlement .......................................................... 42 Post-Contact Changes .......................................................... 43 Chapter 4. Household Archaeology in the Ahupua'a of KTpapa and Nakaohu. Cindy Van Gilder and Patrick V. Kirch .......................................................... 45 Introduction .......................................................... 45 Household Archaeology .......................................................... 45 Traditional Households in Hawai'i .......................................................... 46 Methods .......................................................... 49 Preliminary Results ........................................................... 50 KTpapa Waena Cluster .......................................................... 50 KTpapa Uka Cluster .......................................................... 54 Nakaohu Kai Cluster ........................................................... 56 Radiocarbon Dating .......................................................... 59 Conclusions .......................................................... 59 Chapter 5. Na Heiau o Kahikinui: The Temples of Kahikinui. Michael J. Kolb and Erika C. Radewagen .......................................................... 61 Introduction .......................................................... 61 Scope of Work .......................................................... 62 Survey .......................................................... 62 Excavations .......................................................... 62 The Kahikinui Temples .......................................................... 63 Auwahi Ahupua'a .......................................................... 65 Luala'ilua Ahupua'a .......................................................... 65 Alena Ahupua'a .......................................................... 67 KTpapa Ahupua'a .......................................................... 68 Nakaohu Ahupua'a .......................................................... 70 Nakaaha Ahupua'a .......................................................... 71 Mahamenui Ahupua'a ........................................................... 72 Other Heiau .......................................................... 73 Kahuahakamoa Heiau ........................................................... 73 Moomoku and Makapaiki Heiau .......................................................... 73 Keahuaiea, Pu'u Kao, and Hoku-kano Heiau ...................................................... 73 St. Ynez Church ........................................................... 74 Discussion ........................................................... 74 Architecture .......................................................... 75 Excavation .......................................................... 76 Chronology .......................................................... 76 Acknowledgments .......................................................... 77 Bibliography ........................................................... 78 viii Figures Figure 1.1 View of the Kahikinui uplands in Nakaohu Ahupua'a ..................................................3 Figure 1.2 Map of Kahikinui District showing the general locations of its eight ahupua'a and other features ..................................................................6 Figure 2.1 Map of the Kipapa-Nakaohu area of Kahikinui, showing the geographic scope of the U.C. Berkeley survey project ................................................................. 14 Figure 2.2 A U.C. Berkeley field team member fills out a detailed site recording form in the coastal part of KTpapa Ahupua'a ................................................................. 16 Figure 2.3 Digitized map of the KTpapa-Nakaohu survey area .................................................... 17 Figure 2.4 Rectangular stone structure situated in the bottom of a stream channel in KTpapa Ahupua'a ................................................................. 20 Figure 2.5 Map of residential features and agricultural mounds situated around a small swale in the upland zone of KTpapa Ahupua'a .................................................... 21 Figure 2.6 Map of a residential cluster (kauhale) in Nakaohu Ahupua'a ..................................... 22 Figure 2.7 Aerial photograph of a large stone enclosure in Nakaohu Ahupua'a, probably an intermediate-level heiau ................................................................. 23 Figure 2.8 Plan of Site 1, a notched heiau in Kipapa Ahupua'a .................................................. 24 Figure 2.9 Plan of Site 330, a fishing shrine or ko'a in Nakaohu Ahupua'a ................................. 25 Figure 2.10 Aerial photo of a high-walled rectangular enclosure in the coastal section of Nakaohu Ahupua'a ................................................................. 26 Figure 3.1 Archaeological site distribution within the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands Kahikinui house lots ................................................................. 29 Figure 3.2 Feature B406 Ti, habitation terrace, plan view .......................................................... 32 Figure 3.3 Feature B201 El, rectangular habitation enclosure, plan view .................................. 33 Figure 3.4 Feature B826 ER1, enclosed rock shelter, plan view ................................................. 35 Figure 3.5 Features B414 Wi and B415 Wi, pre-contact boundary walls and associated feature B413 TP1 ................................................................. 36 Figure 3.6 Feature A211 Wi, post-contact corral and ranch walls, plan view ............................. 37 Figure 3.7 Feature D201 LT1, modified lava tube ................................................................. 39 Figure 3.8 Holua slide (B904 P1) and associated features, plan view ......................................... 40 Figure 3.9 Feature B801 El, notched enclosure, plan view ........................................................ 41 Figure 4.1 Locations of household clusters discussed in Chapter 4 ........................................... 51 Figure 4.2 View of Site 742 ................................................................. 53 Figure 4.3 Small combustion feature exposed during the excavation of Site 742 ...................... 54 Figure 4.4 Pahoehoe-slab lined niche, situated in the northeast corner of Site 742 ................... 55 Figure 4.5 View of Site 752 after excavation ................................................................. 56 Figure 4.6 View of Site 45 after excavation ................................................................. 57 Figure 4.7 View of the post-contact stone walled enclosure, Site 334 ........................................ 58 Figure 5.1 Heiau locations in Kahikinui ................................................................. 64 Figure 5.2 Photograph of Site 183 facing upslope ................................................................. 66 Figure 5.3 Aerial photograph of Koholuapapa Heiau (Site 1386) and Kahu's House (Site 1387) ................................................................. 67 Figure 5.4 Plan-view map of Koholuapapa Heiau (Site 1386) .................................................... 68 Figure 5.5 Plan-view map of the Kahu's House (Site 1387) ....................................................... 69 Figure 5.6 Plan-view map of Kahikinui 1 (Site 175) ................................................................. 71 Figure 5.7 Plan-view map of Nakaaha Heiau (Site 1156) ........................................................... 72 Figure 5.8 Aerial photograph of Site 4279, view to the south ...................................................... 73 Figure 5.9 Plan-view map of Site 4279 ................................................................. 74 Figure 5.10 Approximate ages of the nine building episodes dated by radiocarbon dating or by diagnostic post-contact artifacts (Kahu's House) ........................................ 76 ix Tables Table 3.1 Archaeological features by descriptive type .............................................................. 30 Table 3.2 Radiocarbon dates from KTpapa Ahupua'a .............................................................. 43 Table 4.1 KTpapa site excavations, 1996 .............................................................. 52 Table 4.2 Radiocarbon dates from Kipapa household clusters ................................................... 59 Table 5.1 The surveyed temples of Kahikinui .............................................................. 63 Table 5.2 Distribution of survey temples by district (areas given in square meters) .................... 75 Table 5.3 Kahikinui temple radiocarbon dates .............................................................. 77 x Foreword This volume presents preliminary findings from archaeological fieldwork undertaken by three different institutions in Kahikinui District on Maui. The contributors agreed last year that one aim of our work should be to prepare nontechnical reports for public distribution in Hawai'i. In discussing the idea of such a volume, Patrick Kirch and I agreed that while the public in Hawai'i often is aware of archaeological fieldwork being conducted, all too rarely do they get a timely summary of initial findings. Often, results only become available some years later in highly technical reports. Easy-to-read summaries are rarely available. It seemed to us that providing such a summary of the Kahikinui research would be of considerable interest to the public. After all, it is the public-the taxpayer-who ultimately has paid for much (though not all) of this archaeology, be it through national granting agencies, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, state university programs, or the State of Hawai'i Historic Preservation program. The three institutions carrying out archaeological research in Kahikinui in 1996 were the University of California at Berkeley, Northem Illinois University (NIU), and the State of Hawai'i Historic Preservation Division (SHPD). The U.C. Berkeley program, under the direction of Prof. Patrick Kirch, involves a continuing study of two traditional Hawaiian community lands (ahupua'a). Under the direction of Prof. Michael Kolb, the NIU program focuses on religious structures (heiau) throughout Kahikinui. Under the direction of Dr. Boyd Dixon and myself, the SHPD continued a Kahikinui-wide study, with initial emphasis on surveying higher elevation sites in three ahupua'a, as part of the Kuleana Homestead project of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. These three Kahikinui projects are more than separate research endeavors that happen to involve the same area. They mark the start of a collaborative effort of great and, I think, exciting research potential. For the almost three decades that I have been involved in Hawaiian archaeology, it has been extremely unusual to have three research-focused projects of any scope going on in the same district. Actually, I am not aware that it has happened before; this is a first! More important, all three projects are interlinked. We are sharing information, and we are all looking at multiple research questions of similar interest. In other words, although not centrally directed, this Kahikinui work is a cooperative endeavor in many respects. Such cooperation among three institutions at a major scale has not occurred in Hawaiian archaeology for more than three decades. I personally have found this past year's work to be extremely stimulating. It has provided an opportunity for researchers, in the field and out, to discuss work and share new ideas. In the past, Hawaiian archaeology has tended to focus its efforts at the scale of the ahupua'a land unit, or smaller units within this. In Kahikinui, were are able for the first time to break beyond the ahupua'a and actively study with intensive fieldwork sizable sections of an entire traditional district (moku). Kahikinui originally contained eight ahupua'a or community lands. The U.C. Berkeley project is near to concluding a complete surface survey of two of these, Kipapa and Nakaohu, from sea level up to about 2,600 feet above sea level, while the SHPD has surveyed the highest elevations from 2,600-4,000 feet. The Berkeley survey builds upon work started in 1966 by Peter Chapman for the Bishop Museum, work in which Prof. Kirch participated as a young student and has long intended to bring to completion. The SHPD also surveyed the upper elevations of the adjacent ahupua'a of Nakaaha; in 1997 we will begin sample surveys of other Kahikinui lands. The NIU team has studied larger religious structures in the district-mapping, test excavating, and dating the larger and mid-sized heiau across the district. In addition, the Berkeley team has completed several extensive (horizontal) excavations at numerous house sites, to determine what the stone structures were used for and to identify locations of household activities. Clearly, all of this work is providing a massive amount of detailed archaeological information on an entire ancient Hawaiian district-a major step in Hawaiian archaeological research. This work is exciting for those interested in Hawaiian history. Ideas (sometimes called "models" or "hypotheses" by archaeologists) on major changes in Hawaiian culture from the time of first settlement to European contact and after abound in the archaeological literature of Hawai'i. Over the past two decades, scholars have begun to identify broad changes and their chronology, not only through archaeological studies, but also from the evidence of oral traditions and of ethnohistorical studies. But these are often only very general ideas. We desperately need to test these ideas with concrete archaeological information-to correct, refine, and improve our knowledge of Hawai'i's past. The current tri-institutional xi work in Kahikinui has vast promise to provide that long-needed testing. We are studying several major changes: early settlement and how outlying leeward (dryland) districts were utilized; when the leeward districts were permanently settled, the nature of that settlement, and population growth over the land (where, how fast, and the distribution of people); household organization and activity pattems; community organization and the change from kin-based land and community control; and, the rise of more complex political organization and how that impacted outlying districts, particularly in such arenas as pig husbandry, agricultural intensification, and religious offerings. Professors Kirch and Kolb have outlined many research questions and methods for approaching them in their respective grant proposals to the National Science Foundation and National Geographic Society. Boyd Dixon and I have also been working over the past year on developing a set of research questions. Eventually, it is my hope that we will all operate independently but with a set of research questions that have been jointly and cooperatively developed. Some of us may focus on a single issue, while others may study several interrelated questions. But the exciting thing is that we are finally embarking on gathering new data to test broad ideas in Hawaiian archaeology, and we are doing this on a district-wide scale. This has great potential to radically refine and perhaps change our ideas about Hawaiian history. Kahikinui has the potential to help answer these questions because it is one of the rare places in modem Hawai'i where massive urbanism, resort development, or commercial cultivation have not touched the land. Kahikinui was largely abandoned by the mid-1800s with its people moving elsewhere and relatively low-impact ranching dominated the district since then. As a result, most of the archaeological landscape is still intact. The shoreline sites are there, as are the sites all the way up into the remnant dryland forest. True as Prof. Kirch says in his Introduction, this was a dry land, an 'aina malo'o, and the ruler and highest chiefs lived elsewhere on Maui. But, this is almost a unique case in the major Hawaiian Islands where we have an entire district with its archaeological sites and landscape largely intact. I have emphasized the archaeological and scientific excitement generated by these projects, but equally important, these studies have direct value and relevance for people on Maui today. Kahikinui is Hawaiian land, and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in partnership with a Native Hawaiian organization, Ka 'Ohana 0 Kahikinui, is currently developing a program to resettle parts of the district, replenish its forest resources, and protect its archaeological and cultural sites and historic legacy. The SHPD survey in the high elevations of Kipapa, Nakaohu, and Nakaaha was made in the area where Kuleana Homestead lots are soon to be awarded. This survey found important religious sites and other sites, including a previously unknown holua slide complex, as well as examples of many other kinds of sites. Some sites will be protected and preserved, and important information has been recorded from the others. Beyond the immediate Kuleana Homestead area, all of the projects have helped to identify important types of sites and landscapes across the district, and will provide the basis for preservation recommendations. This work will provide vital information for Ka 'Ohana 0 Kahikinui, who wish to manage the cultural resources of this vast moku; it will provide the basis for responsible site management and planning decisions by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. But most importantly, our studies will result in a more detailed history of Kahikinui, a history of how Native Hawaiian people lived on the land, a history of value to the new residents of Kahikinui, to Ka 'Ohana 0 Kahikinui, and to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. The close cooperation, fostered by traditional Hawaiian values of kokua and aloha, between archaeologists, state agencies, and Ka 'Ohana 0 Kahikinui shows a common purpose in striving to protect and improve Kahikinui. I hope that this volume of preliminary results stimulates public interest in our research. Patrick Kirch deserves special credit for supplying the editorial drive to compile this volume, and for providing the funding for its production. I hope it will be the first of several such volumes that will present important archaeological findings on Kahikinui, and present them in a nontechnical manner accessible to all. Ross Cordy Branch Chieffor Archaeology State Historic Preservation Division Department of Land and Natural Resources State of Hawai'i January 1997 xii Acknowledgments The authors of this volume would like to express their mdhalo nui loa to a number of persons and organizations who have given their kokua and otherwise made possible the research presented here. First of all, we thank the members of Ka 'Ohana 0 Kahikinui who have welcomed us into their midst, encouraged our efforts, lent a hand in the field, and stimulated our research with endless questions about ka po'e kahiko of Kahikinui. In particular, Mo Moler, Donna and Walter Simpson, Cyrus Ching, Russell Suzuki, Mahealani Kai'aokamalie, 'Aimoku and Lehua Pali, Gordeen Bailey, Don Smith, and Wayne and Laurie Ishikawa have been especially generous. Likewise, we are indebted to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands for recognizing the value of archaeo- logical research in Kahikinui, and for providing access to the lands under the Department's control. Chairman Kali Watson, and Department staff Carolyn Darr, Rick Arakaki, Ray Soon, and Joe Chiu have been unstinting with their aid and support. We would also like to acknowledge the continuing support of the State Historic Preservation Office, and its Chief Archaeologist Dr. Ross Cordy, who has encouraged the productive collaboration between several teams of archaeologists working in Kahikinui. The volume editor especially acknowledges the efforts of Lisa Holm in the preparation and and production of this volume. Many, many others have also helped and assisted in the various archaeological projects, and specific acknowledgments will be found at the conclusions of individual chapters. xiii Contributors Boyd Dixon is a staff archaeologist with the State Historic Preservation Division of the State of Hawai'i. Dr. Dixon received his Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut and has conducted archaeological research both in Hawai'i and Honduras. His current assignment is to survey and investigate archaeological sites within the Hawaiian Home Lands at Kahikinui. Patty J. Conte is a staff archaeologist with the State Historic Preservation Division of the State of Hawai'i, Maui branch office. W. Koa Hodgins is a staff archaeologist with the State Historic Preservation Division of the State of Hawai'i, Maui branch office. Patrick V. Kirch is Professor of Anthropology and holds the Class of 1954 Chair at the University of California, Berkeley. Born in Honolulu, Prof. Kirch received his Ph.D. from Yale University, and for some years was on the staff of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum. In addition to his archaeological research in Hawai'i over three decades, he has carried out studies in Tonga, Samoa, Futuna, Niuatoputapu, and the Cook Islands. Michael Kolb is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois. Prof. Kolb received his Ph.D. from UCLA, where he wrote his dissertation on heiau variation and chronology on Maui Island. Valerie Nagahara is a staff archaeologist for the State Historic Preservation Division, State of Hawai'i, Maui branch office. Erika C. Radewagen is a graduate student in the Department of Anthropology, Northem Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois. With Native Hawaiian and Samoan cultures in her ancestry, she is interested in applying an archaeological approach to Polynesian history. Cindy Van Gilder is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley. She has been carrying out archaeological research in Kahikinui since 1994, and has also done archaeological work in North America. xiv