Alekoko Fishpond

Abstract

The cultural role and antiquity of fishponds are among the endlessly fascinating subjects in Hawaiian archaeology, first considered most seriously by Kikuchi (1973, 1976). For those fishponds of particularly large size, one may wonder how the necessary labor was assembled and directed for such an undertaking. Moreover, fishponds required vigilant maintenance of weeding and cleaning in order to remain productive (Kikuchi 1976:298). Presumably, chiefs were involved in the construction of the larger fishponds, and at least some of these features may relate to political and ideological developments in pre-Contact Hawaiian society.