Five Centuries of Dryland Farming and Floodwater Irrigation at Hokukano Flat, Auwahi, Maui Island

Abstract

Excavations were undertaken at an intensive dryland cultivation site at Hokiikano Flat, Auwahi ahupua 'a, Kahikinui District, Maui. Survey for the Auwahi Wind Farm Project identified several agricultural features, including remnant portions of an intensive field system with regularly spaced embankments and water diversion features. The site encompasses a depositional basin of approximately 5. 9 hectares situated mauka of the Pu 'u Hokiikano cinder cone. This is the largest formal field system thus far recorded in Kahikinui. Six trenches totaling 195 m were mechanically excavated through field embankments and a probable 'auwai channel. This paper discusses the stratigraphy of the trenches, radiocarbon dating, nutrient availability of cultivated soils, and changing landscape induced by Hawaiian cultivation and land use practices. A sequence of five centuries of intensive land use and cultivation is presented