Poi Pounders of Kaua'i Island, Hawai'i: Variability Through Time and Space

Abstract

Hawaiian poi pounders are unique artifacts whose potential to yield useful archaeological information has not been exhausted. Three varieties of poi pounders are recognized today: the common knobbed form, ring pounders, and stirrup pounders, yet a great deal of potential variability exists within the three categories. This research utilizes paradigmatic classification to examine stylistic variability in poi pounder morphology. Seriation is used to investigate patterns of interaction and transmission through time and space among Hawaiian groups. A relative chronology is proposed, in which stirrup pounders are the oldest pounder form, ring pounders are intermediate in age, and knobbed pounders are most recent. The seriations also illustrate a shift from variability to homogeneity, with poi pounders exhibiting more heterogeneity in the distant past and becoming increasingly homogenous through time. This supports the traditional explanation for the occurrence of the ring and stirrup forms on the island of Kaua 'i: they are survivals of an earlier era of Hawaiian prehistory. Spatial analyses indicate that knobbed pounders were more common on the leeward side of the island, while windward pounders were more variable in morphology.