1. Household Labor Practices and Dryland Agroforestry in Upland Kula, Maui Island.
- Author
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Kolb, Michael J., Conte, Patty J., Curtis, Valerie, and Hayden, Jim
- Subjects
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HOUSEKEEPING , *FARMS , *UPLANDS , *AGROFORESTRY , *AGRICULTURE , *EXTENDED families , *FORCED labor - Abstract
The relationship between agricultural systems and the development of complex societies in ancient Hawai'i has been debated for decades. To contribute to this debate, we examine a terrace complex representing an extended family agricultural land plot in the Kula dryland field system of East Maui, Hawaiian Islands. Botanical, faunal, soil, and architectural analysis data reveal a variety of household labor practices related to agroforestry ca. a.d. 1400–1820. A pre-human open forest soil substrate was replaced with stone agricultural terracing which was in turn enclosed by upslope-downslope garden walls that parceled the terrace complex into distinct garden areas. These results lead us to conclude that a wide range of specialized upland activities were practiced, including food cultivation, forestry, pig husbandry, and bird-hunting. The net sum of these local activities helped underpin the formative process of larger regional-level agricultural systems which in turn can inform us about polity-level staple and wealth finance systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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