Reappraising craft specialization and exchange in pre-contact Hawai`i through non-destructive sourcing of basalt adze debitage.

Authors

  • Peter R. Mills University of Hawaii at Hilo
  • Steven P. Lundblad Department of Geology, University of Hawai‘i, Hilo, Hawai‘i
  • Ken Hon
  • Jadelyn J. Moniz Nakamura
  • Elizabeth L. Kahahane
  • Adrian Drake-Raue
  • Tanya M. Souza
  • Richard Wei

Keywords:

Archaeology, Oceania, Craft Specialisation, Exchange, Hawaii

Abstract

Depictions of pre-Contact Hawaiian complex societies are framed in self-sufficient small land units (Ahupua‘a) that minimised the occurrence of long-distance commodity exchange and chiefly redistributive networks. We test the Ahupua‘a model by using non-destructive Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) to source 955 basalt flakes and cores recovered from Kahalu‘u Habitation Cave in the Kona district (~AD 1600–1800). Findings suggest that less than 7% of the basalt debitage was obtained from local sources.

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Published

06-07-2011

How to Cite

Mills, P. R., Lundblad, S. P., Hon, K., Moniz Nakamura, J. J., Kahahane, E. L., Drake-Raue, A., Souza, T. M. and Wei, R. (2011) “Reappraising craft specialization and exchange in pre-contact Hawai`i through non-destructive sourcing of basalt adze debitage”., Journal of Pacific Archaeology, 2(2), pp. 79–92. Available at: https://pacificarchaeology.org/index.php/journal/article/view/34 (Accessed: 28 March 2024).

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Articles