Extinct and Extirpated Birds and Other Vertebrates in the Faunal Assemblage of Hālawa Cave, a Rockshelter in North Hālawa Valley, O’ahu, Hawai’i

Abstract

Hālawa Cave (50-Oa-B01-020) is a rockshelter located about 4.8 km inland of Pearl Harbor in the North Hālawa Valley, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i. Evidence of Native Hawaiian occupation is found in an approximately 50 cm deep midden, inside of the 6 x 8 m/sq shelter. The site appears to have been intermittently occupied as a base for local resource procurement beginning no later than the fifteenth century and continued to be used into the nineteenth century. Wood cutting was an important activity associated with the site. The vertebrate fauna is represented by a sample of 65 specimens including fish, bird and mammal bones. This assemblage provides evidence of limited vertebrate animal use, resource procurement areas, local paleoenvironment, and butchering. Fish species dominate the assemblage. Two of four avian species are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and globally extinct, or extirpated from O‘ahu. Remains of the extinct O‘ahu moa-nalo (Thambetochen xanion) and the endangered Hawaiian Petrel (Pterodroma sandwichensis) occur in sediments from the occupation of the site, however only the Hawaiian Petrel is firmly associated with human occupation. Introduced species, including Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus), dog (Canis lupus familiaris) and pig (Sus scrofa) were significant food sources consumed at the site. The vertebrate assemblage reflects a broad based procurement strategy with each vertebrate class being a significant contributor to the biomass represented in the assemblage.