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| Maui Archaeological Survey | |
|---|---|
| Name | Maui Archaeological Survey |
| Caption | Field survey team at a heiau site on Maui |
| Type | Archaeological survey |
| Location | Maui, Hawaiʻi Islands |
| Established | 20th century |
| Coordinator | Bishop Museum; University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa |
| Discipline | Archaeology |
Maui Archaeological Survey The Maui Archaeological Survey is a long-term program of systematic field inventory, documentation, and analysis focused on prehistoric and historic sites on Maui and nearby islands. It brings together specialists from the Bishop Museum, University of Hawaiʻi at Māmoa, National Park Service, Hawaiʻi State Historic Preservation Division, and tribal organizations to record heiau, fishponds, habitation complexes, petroglyphs, and historic plantations. The project informs cultural resource management for agencies such as the Department of Land and Natural Resources (Hawaii) and supports nominations to the National Register of Historic Places.
The survey integrates multi-disciplinary teams including archaeologists from University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, maritime archaeologists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, ethnohistorians connected to the Bishop Museum, and cultural practitioners affiliated with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Its goals align with regulatory frameworks such as the National Historic Preservation Act and consultations under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act when applicable. Fieldwork sites span districts like Lahaina, Hāmākua, and Kahului and often intersect with landscape features referenced in oral traditions associated with aliʻi and kānaka ʻāina.
Initiated in the mid-20th century by scholars from the Bishop Museum and later formalized by faculty at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, the survey expanded after collaborations with the National Park Service at Haleakalā National Park. Objectives include inventorying archaeological sites for compliance with state laws administered by the Hawaiʻi State Historic Preservation Division, mapping traditional land divisions (ahupuaʻa) such as Hāmākua Poko and Waiheʻe, and documenting coastal features like loko iʻa associated with chiefdom economies. The program has produced cultural resource reports used by agencies like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and stakeholders including Kamehameha Schools and local community trusts.
Survey teams employ pedestrian survey techniques standardized by the Society for American Archaeology and the Archaeological Institute of America, complemented by remote-sensing approaches such as LiDAR acquired with partners like NOAA and aerial imagery from United States Geological Survey. GPS mapping integrates data into geographic information systems used by Hawaii Statewide GIS Program and the Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center. Subsurface testing follows protocols informed by the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and involves stratigraphic shovel testing, flotation analysis processed in university labs, and radiocarbon dating via collaborations with University of California, Berkeley and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for marine contexts. Ethnohistoric methods reference archives at the Bernice P. Bishop Museum and missionary journals held at Yale University and Harvard University, while community-based participatory research involves cultural practitioners from Hoʻokipa Community and Hawaiian-language experts from Kamehameha Schools.
Survey work documented major concentrations of ritual architecture such as the heiau complexes near Lahaina and agricultural terraces in ʻĪao Valley tied to traditional irrigation systems found elsewhere on Hawaiʻi and Molokaʻi. Notable findings include extensive loko iʻa complexes at Mokuʻula adjuncts, previously undocumented petroglyph panels near Kipahulu, and plantation-era features associated with Alexander & Baldwin and Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company operations. Marine surveys identified submerged artifact scatters and anchorage features comparable to sites managed by Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Assemblages of stone tools, adze fragments, and shell midden deposits provided material culture parallels to collections at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum and comparative sequences from Oʻahu and Kauaʻi.
Radiocarbon determinations and stratigraphic sequencing place many Maui assemblages within Polynesian settlement models that link early occupation to voyages associated with navigation traditions also evidenced in sites on Tahiti and Marquesas Islands. Chronologies align with regional ceramic absence and lithic typologies comparable to sequences on New Zealand and Society Islands, while later deposits record contact-era transformations following encounters documented in journals of Captain James Cook and missionary records tied to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Ethnographic parallels with chants and genealogies preserved in collections at the Bernice P. Bishop Museum and Hawaiian Historical Society provide cultural context for chiefs, kānaka, and resource management practices.
Conservation strategies coordinate with the Hawaiʻi State Historic Preservation Division, National Park Service, and private stewards such as Kamehameha Schools and community land trusts. Management actions include erosion control, invasive species removal coordinated with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and interpretive signage developed with guidance from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and cultural practitioners. Site stewardship initiatives parallel programs run by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and integrate traditional reclamation approaches advocated by Hawaiian cultural organizations.
The survey has reshaped archaeological practice in the islands by promoting community-based research models exemplified by partnerships with Office of Hawaiian Affairs and Kamehameha Schools, influencing graduate training at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and informing federal consultations under the National Historic Preservation Act. Its datasets underpin nominations to the National Register of Historic Places and inform management in protected areas such as Haleakalā National Park and marine conservation zones like Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Public outreach, collaborative exhibitions at the Bishop Museum, and educational programs with Kamehameha Schools and local ʻohana groups have enhanced stewardship and cultural revitalization across Maui.
Category:Archaeology of Hawaii Category:Maui