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Household Labor Practices and Dryland Agroforestry in Upland Kula, Maui Island.
- Source :
- Journal of Field Archaeology; Dec2023, Vol. 48 Issue 8, p623-636, 14p
- Publication Year :
- 2023
-
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]
- Subjects :
- HOUSEKEEPING
FARMS
UPLANDS
AGROFORESTRY
AGRICULTURE
EXTENDED families
FORCED labor
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00934690
- Volume :
- 48
- Issue :
- 8
- Database :
- Supplemental Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Field Archaeology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 173468151
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00934690.2023.2263698