The ecology of marine exploitation in prehistoric Hawaii (original) (raw)
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Archaeofauna, 2004
ABSTRACT: This paper presents information from an ecological marine faunal survey conducted in the traditional district of Kahikinui, Maui, Hawaii. The survey documented coastal environments throughout the district and described the faunal diversity and abundance of vertebrates and invertebrates. These modern data are used as a comparative base for zooarchaeological data, and to identify areas that were potentially useful to Hawaiians for fishing and collecting in the past. Comparative analysis of zooarchaeological remains from Kahikinui demonstrates that considerable variability exists among social groups in regard to strategies of animal exploitation; elites had a specialized subsistence strategy while commoners maintained a more generalized strategy. Both groups targeted specific marine resources that are still available in Kahikinui. Elites located their largest coastal chiefly household and ritual complex in an area with great faunal diversity and abundance, and with a well-developed bay, providing easy access to the sea, while commoners lived in more marginal areas. Differences in consumption patterns between elites and commoners can be explored through an ecological framework and explained by combining multiple lines of evidence – modern ecological, ethnographic, and archeological. This paper focuses on the ecological survey and the use of ethnographic data to explain differences in subsistence patterns.
2009
Archaeological data-recovery excavations at Site Complex 50-10-05-4157, near the northwestern corner of the Island of Hawai‘i, showed that by the fourteenth century AD people prepared food at what later became the center of the site complex, presumably during (a) short-term visit(s). The recovery of an increasing amount and variety of marine and terrestrial remains from a sixteenth-century deposit in the same area indicates more intensive use of the locale. The recovery of turtle, shark, coral and urchin abraders, specialized fishing gear, bird and pig bones, and basalt and volcanic glass scrapers from a seventeenth-century altar-like feature conform to male-related activities in the ethnographic record. By the eighteenth century, stonewalled structures had spread to the southern portion of the site complex, some of them most likely being co-residential common houses. Recovery of historic period materials suggests that both the center and southern portions of the site complex were o...
This paper reviews salient points about the prehistory of fishing in the Pacific region. Fishing began in this region about 35,000 years ago along the coastal areas of New Ireland. This provided the beginnings of a maritime technology which ultimately led to the discovery and settlement of many thousands of islands in the Pacific by people sharing a common language family known as Austronesian. In this discussion about fishing in the Pacific I focus attention mainly on the tropical areas of island Oceania, but give some attention to communities in temperate waters, such as New Zealand. Throughout this region there are about 1500 species of fish, with changes in natural abundance patterns mainly by latitude. Seasonal effects are largely confined to the colder southern waters. A few areas, such as the Marquesas Islands and Easter Island, are generally regarded as having impoverished marine faunas. This is mainly because of the absence of developed coral reefs. However, archaeological studies on several islands in the Marquesas group certainly show that fishing was a very important activity for these people. Access to fish stocks, therefore, does not seem to have been a limiting economic factor for oceanic communities. Although there are a large number of fish species in the Pacific, only about 50 were taken in any abundance by prehistoric people. An even smaller number of these were focused on. In the tropical areas, 6 families of fish account for 66% of all fish taken, and in New Zealand 6 families account for 85% of all catches. Statistics of this kind come from research in the Archaeozoology Laboratory at the Museum of New Zealand. We have studied archaeological fish remains from 24 different island groups in the tropical Pacific and 126 archaeological sites in New Zealand. The combined minimum number of individuals is greater than 50,000. This represents a good sample from which to make general observations about fishing behaviour. In addition, measurements are made on archaeological bones to reconstruct the size-frequency diagrams of fish catches, so that changes through time can be observed for select species. The six most common fish types in order of relative abundance are as follows: Tropical Pacific Temperate New Zealand Family Common Name Family Common Name Scaridae Parrotfish Gemphylidae Barracouta etc Epinephelidae Grouper Mugiloididae Blue Cod Lethrinidae Emperor Sparidae Snapper Balistidae Triggerfish Labridae Spotty etc Coridae Tuskfish Moridae Red Cod Scombridae Tuna etc. Odacidae Greenbone There are some notable discrepancies in relative quantities of fish types in archaeological sites from one part of the Pacific to another which are not due to changes in natural abundance. These represent pockets of specialised fishing behaviour, and witness a dominating role of human choice; that is cultural factors, rather than economic factors, or environmental determinants. This has important theoretical implications when trying to model cultural or technological evolution in this region. Two notable forms of specialisation are the tuna fishing activities of people in the Marquesas and Society Islands, and marlin fishing in the Marianas. In a number of places in the Pacific we can observe significant changes through time in fish catches, not only in species abundance, but also in fish sizes. In a few cases, we can document changes in the natural environment over time, but most of the observed changes are probably related to cultural factors, including changes in food avoidance behaviour, such as totemism. One classic case of this concerns eels. In some societies eels are considered disgusting and dangerous to eat, whereas other groups consider them a delicacy. Such patterns of non-rational behaviour sometimes change through time. In New Zealand we have been able to observe significant changes in the size-frequency diagrams of prehistoric fish catches over time. We have been surprised to find that in most cases the average size of fish increased over the centuries. This is the case for several species, and for a number of archaeological sites. In early catches very small fish were being taken, far smaller than could be caught with baited hook. This suggests that entrapment techniques such as nets were common. Later in time, these very small fish are less abundant, and we believe this is because people were catching fish in somewhat deeper water, and making greater use of baited hook and line. Isotope studies of human bone have shown that fish were indeed important in the diet of many groups. However, in line with theoretical studies of the dietary requirements of humans, other ingredients assume great importance too. It is suggested that the overriding factor in maintaining a successful economy for prehistoric people in the Pacific was access to adequate supplies of either carbohydrate or fat, and that fish represented a highly reliable, and effectively infinite supply of protein which could be taken for granted. I therefore characterise fish stocks as a super-abundant supply of protein, far beyond the capacity of most prehistoric human communities to deplete. Finally, I make some comments about the ultimate origin of fishing technology in the oceanic island world. I do not consider that we can convincingly demonstrate any connection between Japan and Micronesia during the prehistoric period. However, there is a better chance that there was a connection between Taiwan and parts of the Mariana Islands. This has recently been revealed by discoveries of highly specialised dolphin fish fishing in Taiwan dating back as early as 5,000 BP. It is also present in the Marianas by 2,000 BP, but to the best of our knowledge it is found nowhere else in the Pacific world.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 2984 1534 618861 325 Hiotne 2 0 Co 2, 2007
Archaeology provides a long-term framework to document prehistoric resource use and habitat modification. Excavation at Nu'alolo Kai, Kaua'i, yielded a large, well-preserved shellfish assemblage. Analysis determined the susceptibility of mollusk communities to human foraging pressures in the past. Some coral reef and intertidal species, such as Turbo sandwicensis and Strombus maculatus, declined in abundance as a result of heavy exploitation. In contrast, shoreline mollusk communities remained fairly stable through time. Archaeological research provides baselines for modern conservation efforts and fisheries management.
Archeology from a Submersible: Rare Physical Evidence of Ancient Deepwater Bottom Fishing in Hawai‘i
2019
Historical accounts of off-shore fishing and methodology are documented in Hawaiian literature yet few accounts of ancient fishing grounds exist since locations were undisclosed and lost over time. A submersible dive (216 m) now provides evidence of a historical site and verification of traditional fishing techniques. A recovered artefact and photo documentation of stones scattered throughout the pinnacle distinctly fit historical descriptions of plummet and sinker stones used in bottom fishing. This paper documents the deepest substantiated pre-contact fishing site to date and substantiates reports of the ability of early Hawaiian fishers to return to fishing sites well offshore.
Human Impacts on the Nearshore Environment: An Archaeological Case Study from Kauai Hawaiian Islands
Archaeology provides a long-term term framework to document prehistoric resource use and habitat modification. Excavation at Nu'alolo Kai, Kauai yielded a large well preserved shellfish assemblage.Analysis determined the suceptibility of mollusk communities to foraging pressures in the past. Some coral reef and intertidal species, such as Turbo sandwicensis and Strombus maculatus, declined in abundance as a result of heavy exploitation. In contrast, shoreline mollusk communities remained fairly stable through time. Archaeological research provides baselines for modern conservation efforts and fisheries management.