Archaeology of Poverty (‘Ilihune) in the Hawaiian Islands

Abstract

Poverty (‘ilihune) is a commonplace social problem rarely discussed by anthropological archaeology. The purpose of this editorial is to demonstrate how metrics of food abundance/scarcity, status, and exchanged goods can achieve a fuller picture of the political economy and address the roots of poverty. In the case, historical evidence from Hawaiian language newspapers suggests the mid-19th century is when we can expect to find more people began to experience poverty.