Agriculture on Leeward Hawai'i Island: The Waimea Agricultural System Reconsidered

Abstract

An association of low earthen ridges, crosscutting irrigation channels, and small residential localities on the Waimea Plain was first documented in the 1980s during archaeological survey for proposed highway improvements between Kawaihae and Waimea town. Labeled the Waimea Agricultural System, this complex has been described in the archaeological literature as one of three late pre­Contact agricultural complexes that expanded and intensified agricultural production on leeward Hawai 'i Island. Recent investigations on the upper Waimea Plain indicate a need to reconsider at least the upland part of the field system. First, it is smaller than originally recorded, with some of the field ridges' found to be the result of World War II military activity. Second, much of the irrigation network, which was thought to be a defining component of the Waimea system, appears to be a result of mid to late-19th century commercial agriculture. The remaining earthen field ridges and dispersed residential sites provide evidence for late prehistoric use of the Waimea Plain. The earliest residential locations may date to the early A.D. 1400s, although the greatest concentration of radiocarbon-dated deposits falls in the late 1600s. The paucity of midden remains, multiple overlapping hearths, and minimal investment in structural features at these sites suggest seasonal and/or limited duration of use; most plausibly in support of dryland sweet potato production in nearby fields. The low earthen ridges appear to be windbreak accumulations associated with this or subsequent agricultural practices on the Plain.