Craft Specialization and Adze Production on Hawai'i Island

Bayman, James M.; Nakamura, Jadelyn J. Moniz

doi:10.1179/jfa.2001.28.3-4.239

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…Some have also raised the possibility of state control over adze production and distribution (e.g. Bayman et al 2001;Cleghorn 1986;Hommon 2013:107-109;McCoy 1977).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cleghorn (1982Cleghorn ( , 1986 stated that master craftsmen and apprentices worked different parts of the huge ~20 km 2 Mauna Kea adze quarry complex on Hawai'i Island (McCoy 1977(McCoy , 1990(McCoy , et al 2012 and that high quality basalt outcrops were restricted for use by master knappers. The high levels of skill, huge quantities of debris and restricted use of valued and difficult to access sources (such as the barren, high altitude quarries on Mauna Kea above 3500 m), point to at least part-time specialists and raise the possibility of state level control of adze manufacture (Bayman et al 2001;Cleghorn 1986;Hommon 2013:107-109;McCoy 1977).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Determining the reduction sequence of Hawaiian quadrangular adzes using 3D approaches: a case study from Moloka'i

Clarkson

Shipton

Weisler

2014

Journal of Archaeological Science

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Hawaiian adze manufacture requires a great deal of skill and undoubtedly required long apprenticeships to achieve the finesse seen in many finished prehistoric adzes. Despite the presence of more than two dozen adze quarries in Hawai'i and previous attempts at replicating adze preforms and positing reduction sequences in Polynesia, there is no detailed study that clearly defines the steps and stages of quadrangular adze preform manufacture (the most common form in Hawai'i), and the resulting characteristic debitage. In this paper we examine the sequence of adze production for a population of 109 adzes from Moloka'i, documenting the transition from blanks to preforms to the finished objects that were transported away from quarries. Reduction intensity is measured using the Scar Density Index (Clarkson 2013) calculated from 3D scans. We document the sequence of cumulative additions of characteristic features to adzes (e.g. bidirectional edges, bevel, poll and tang) as reduction intensity increases. We also note the reasons for adze rejection at each stage of reduction. Our study provides the first detailed analysis of adze reduction in Polynesia facilitated and standardised by 3D scanning technology. Hopefully, it will serve as a useful benchmark for objectively and systematically comparing adze technology in other parts of Hawai'i and across Polynesia, leading to a better understanding of regional and temporal variation in adze technology.

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“…Some have also raised the possibility of state control over adze production and distribution (e.g. Bayman et al 2001;Cleghorn 1986;Hommon 2013:107-109;McCoy 1977).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determining the reduction sequence of Hawaiian quadrangular adzes using 3D approaches: a case study from Moloka'i

Clarkson

Shipton

Weisler

2014

Journal of Archaeological Science

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“…Finished adzes, flakes from adze use, and debitage from stone tool production are ubiquitous in Hawaiian archaeological contexts (9). In the past, archaeologists have presented conflicting hypotheses as to whether distribution of lithic tools in Hawai'i was carried out by craft specialists under chiefly aegis or by dispersed commoners with unhindered access to quarries (10)(11)(12)(13)(14). Advances in geochemical characterization of Hawaiian volcanic rocks permit the potential discrimination of local versus nonlocal sources of lithic tools (15)(16)(17)(18)(19).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpolity exchange of basalt tools facilitated via elite control in Hawaiian archaic states

Mills

Lundblad

Sinton

et al. 2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Ethnohistoric accounts of late precontact Hawaiian archaic states emphasize the independence of chiefly controlled territories (ahupua'a) based on an agricultural, staple economy. However, elite control of unevenly distributed resources, such as high-quality volcanic rock for adze production, may have provided an alternative source of economic power. To test this hypothesis we used nondestructive energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) analysis of 328 lithic artifacts from 36 archaeological features in the Kahikinui district, Maui Island, to geochemically characterize the source groups. This process was followed by a limited sampling using destructive wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WD-XRF) analysis to more precisely characterize certain nonlocal source groups. Seventeen geochemical groups were defined, eight of which represent extra-Maui Island sources. Although the majority of stone tools were derived from Maui Island sources (71%), a significant quantity (27%) of tools derived from extraisland sources, including the large Mauna Kea quarry on Hawai'i Island as well as quarries on O'ahu, Moloka'i, and Lāna'i islands. Importantly, tools quarried from extralocal sources are found in the highest frequency in elite residential features and in ritual contexts. These results suggest a significant role for a wealth economy based on the control and distribution of nonagricultural goods and resources during the rise of the Hawaiian archaic states.adze quarrying | geochemical sourcing | Polynesian archaeology T he varied sources of power used by elites during the processes of sociopolitical evolution are of great interest to historical anthropologists. Over the course of two centuries preceding initial contact with Europeans in A.D. 1778-1779, Hawaiian sociopolitical organization was transformed from a system of complex chiefdoms to one of emergent archaic states (1). Among the processes thought to have driven this transformation were population growth, intensification of agricultural production, materialization of ideology and ritual, and elite competition associated with territorial conquest (1-5). Hawaiian sociopolitical evolution has been characterized as a classic case of a "staple economy" in which elite control of agricultural surplus was key (3). Ethnohistoric descriptions of Hawaiian economic organization emphasize the independence of chiefly controlled territories called ahupua'a, which are often described as largely autonomous and self-sufficient (3, 6-8). Nonetheless, certain key resources were concentrated or available only in particular locales; control over their distribution and use is likely to have been an important source of economic power. Arguably, such control would have involved a form of "wealth economy" in which Hawaiian elites (ali'i) exercised control over economically important resources or materials that were differentially distributed over island landscapes (1).Most of the resources that would have underwritten a wealth economy consisted of perishable materials (e.g., salt, f...

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“…Consequently, archaeologists have used stone adzes to construct culture-historical sequences (e.g., Emory 1968;Kirch 1972;cf. Cleghorn 1992), to examine technology and craft specialization (e.g., Bayman et al 2004;Bayman and Moniz-Nakamura 2001;Cleghorn 1986;Lass 1994), and to identify patterns of interaction and exchange (e.g., Cleghorn et al 1985;Weisler and Sinton 1997) in pre-contact Hawai'i.…”

Section: Stone Adzes (Ko'i)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Technological Change and the Archaeology of Emergent Colonialism in the Kingdom of Hawai‘i

Bayman

2009

Int J Histor Archaeol

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Archaeologically informed history is vital for examining the consequences of emergent colonialism in the nineteenth century and earlier, since documentary sources are silent on many facets of everyday life. Interpretations of contact and colonialism in Oceania often highlight rapid changes in the technologies and practices of its traditional island societies. In Hawai'i, the top-down imposition of indigenous elite power greatly influenced the rate and character of technological change, as commoner access to European and American goods was initially curtailed in this highly stratified society. Although indigenous elites purposively used imported goods and technologies to materialize their hybrid identity-and to expand their political and economic power-this phenomenon presaged the development of unrestrained colonialism by Euro-Americans in the late nineteenth century. This study illustrates the need to examine a range of cultural and historical contingencies in studies of technological change during periods of emergent colonialism.

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Craft Specialization and Adze Production on Hawai'i Island

Cited by 15 publications

References 14 publications

Determining the reduction sequence of Hawaiian quadrangular adzes using 3D approaches: a case study from Moloka'i

Determining the reduction sequence of Hawaiian quadrangular adzes using 3D approaches: a case study from Moloka'i

Interpolity exchange of basalt tools facilitated via elite control in Hawaiian archaic states

Technological Change and the Archaeology of Emergent Colonialism in the Kingdom of Hawai‘i

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