The Hālawa dune site, Moloka‘i, Hawaiian Islands: New excavations, redating, and new interpretations

Abstract

AbstractThe Hālawa dune site on Moloka‘i Island has played a key role in understanding early Hawaiian history. Initially excavated in 1969–1970 and regarded then as dating to the early phase of Hawaiian settlement, the site yielded a diverse artifact assemblage and the first evidence for round-ended house foundations in Hawai‘i. Prior attempts to refine the site’s chronology yielded inconsistent results. Renewed excavations and re-analysis of previously excavated collections from the site have allowed for recovery of a stratigraphically controlled sample of faunal materials and charcoal. AMS dating of candlenut endocarp indicates initial use of Mound A cal AD 1366–1610, with occupation continuing into the post-contact period. Matched pairs of candlenut and marine mollusk shell dates allow for the derivation of a Hālawa-specific marine reservoir value (ΔR = −267), in turn permitting the calibration of 12 dates on marine mollusk shells excavated from Mound B in 1970. Faunal materials from the 2020 Mound A excavation add new information on patterns of marine exploitation, and on a trend of increased frequency of domestic pig and dog over time. Charcoal identified from Mound A indicates largely native forest taxa, but with several Polynesian-introduced plants as well, including candlenut, breadfruit, and mountain apple.Keywords: Hawaiian archaeologyfaunal analysismarine resourcesresource intensificationradiocarbon dating AcknowledgementsPermission to undertake archaeological research on lands held by Pu‘u o Hoku Ranch was provided by the landowner Lavinia Currier, whom we thank for her interest in and support of our project. Galen McCleary, Savannah Forti, and Rudi Hunke of Pu‘u o Hoku Ranch also provided valuable assistance. The late Pilipo Solatorio, respected elder of Hālawa, gave his blessing to the project and followed our work with great interest. Greg Solatorio, Kylie Tuitavuki, Kepa Lyman, and Lexi St. Denis participated in the excavation; Tuitavuki, Lyman, and Emmaline Irvine assisted with laboratory analyses. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their detailed comments that helped to improve the article.Disclosure statementThe authors report there are no competing interests to declare.Additional informationFundingArchaeological research in Hālawa Valley, Moloka‘i, from 2020 to 2023 was supported by grant BCS-1939516 from the US National Science Foundation.