Floodwater Farming of Ritual Offerings at Kaunolu and Mamaki on Leeward Lana'i, Hawai'i

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06/01/11 12:00 AM

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12

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1

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27

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46

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Abstract

Archaeological survey and mapping of the traditional Hawaiian village sites of Kaunolii and Mamaki on the leeward coast of Lana' i during 1991 revealed possible evidence of the controlled use of periodic floodwaters in two dryland farming feature complexes. Limited excavations at two of these locations in 1998, and the quantification of an optimal annual yield for various indigenous agricultural products, suggests these particular features were far from capable of sustaining the pre-Contact population predicted for each settlement, even given peak amounts of rainfall. Given the close proximity of these features to two temples or heiau at both sites, it appears likely that the crops produced here were grown primarily to supply the priests, or kahuna, and chiefs, or ali 'i, with agricultural offerings needed during ritual events which may have proliferated after both temples were enlarged and redesigned under the aegis of Maui polities by AD 1650. Agricultural intensification in this particular case could therefore be considered a direct response to increasing religious and socio-political

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Archaeological survey, Surveying, mapping, indigenous agriculture, Lana'i, Kaunolii, Mamaki, heiau

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20 pages

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