A Hypothesis Regarding the Absence of the Pecking Technique in Hawaiian Adze Making

Abstract

The absence of the pecking technique in adze manufacture in Hawai'i is a curious anomaly in East Polynesia. By the late 18th century, pecking was used to some degree in adze making almost throughout East Polynesia, but in Hawai'i it was completely absent. Different models have been suggested to account for the distribution of the pecking technique in Polynesia, but the issue remains unresolved. Although not employed in Hawaiian adze manufacture, the technology of pecking was known there, as it was throughout Polynesia, for the manufacture of artifacts such as sinkers, food (poi) pounders (in East Polynesia) and 'ulu maika gaming stones (specific to Hawai'i). It was not an innovative technology that somehow never reached Hawai'i, but rather a manufacturing method deliberately not applied to Hawaiian adzes.