Interpreting Activities in North Halawa Valley, O'ahu: Adze Recycling and Resharpening

Abstract

Basalt flaked lithic artifacts are one of the main categories of cultural materials recovered from pre-Contact Hawaiian sites.l They are found in a variety of contexts, ranging from habitations to quarry sites, and most often are in the form of relatively undistinguished flakes. High-quality (fine-grained) basalt, however, was used to manufacture tools, particularly adzes. These were fashioned by flaking a preform from a basalt nodule or large basalt flake. Subsequently such preforms were finished more finely through additional flaking, and, in the final stages of preparation, were ground to produce polished adzes. The sequential process of adze manufacture has been amply demonstrated through studies of Hawaiian quarry sites, most notably Mauna Kea, and through knapping debris from secondary sites away from quarries, as well as habitation sites (e.g., Bayman and Moniz-Nakamura 2001; Cleghorn 1982, 1986; McCoy 1990; Weisler 1990).