Holocene Landscapes of Waimanalo Bay: Archaeological Investigations at Bellows Beach, O'ahu
Date
06/01/05 12:00 AM
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10
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1
Starting Page
47
Ending Page
68
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Abstract
The late Holocene landscape of the Waimanalo coastal plain on 0 'ahu was substantially transformed by
fluctuations in sea level during the past few thousand years as well as by the channel history of Waimanalo (Puha)
Stream following the retreat of the mid-Holocene Kapapa Stand of the Sea after about 2,000 years ago. Mapping
and dating the distribution of buried alluvial deposits has contributed to a model of the channel history of
Waimanalo Stream. Radiocarbon dates of the alluvial deposits calibrate approximately within the range of 1,380
to 1, 610 years before present. These data support reconstruction of the late Holocene geomorphic and cultural
landscape of Waimanalo Bay, and the resulting model provides a new context to understand the archaeological
record of human settlement and land use in the region. Evidence from the current project suggests Waimanalo
Stream once flowed parallel to the coastline for a significant diĀ§tance. As a result, relict channels that formed
prior to the arrival of Polynesian colonists would have created an environment with greater agricultural
opportunities than if the stream had flowed straight into the sea as it does today. Further, land surfaces along the
shoreline as well as behind the coastal dunes may have been alternately scoured or buried by alluvial processes of
the stream throughout the Holocene.
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geomorphology, landscape change, Waimanalo, archaeology, sea level
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23 pages
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