New Zealand Journal of Archaeology Index  >  Vol 30 Kahn

Tool Production at the Nu'u Quarry, Maui, Hawaiian Islands: Manufacturing Sequences and Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Analyses

Jennifer G. Kahn, Peter Mills, Steve Lundblad, John Holson, Patrick V. Kirch*

ABSTRACT

We discuss a recently discovered basalt quarry, Site NUU-123, on the island of Maui and present a case study of small scale adze production in the Hawaiian archipelago. Our detailed reduction stage analysis of adze preforms, blanks, and debitage documents that the full range of production activities, from early stage blank manufacture to late stage preform trimming, is represented at the quarry. New EDXRF data refine the geochcmical characterisation of the Nu'u quarry with respect to Haleakala, the other known quarry on Maui Island. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that the quarry produced a diverse range of adze types, mainly for local population needs. Data from the Nu'u quarry do not support the notion that later Hawaiian adze assemblages are highly standardised or that manufacture focused exclusively on rectangular cross-sectioned adzes. Finally, we argue that production at small to moderate scale quarries in Hawai'i like Nu'u was sometimes more diverse than that described for the regional production centre at Mauna Kea.

Key words: ADZE QUARRY, HAWAI'l. ADZE TYPES, MANUFACTURING STAGES, REDUCTION MODEL. GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISATION, PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION.

J.G. Kahn: Department of Anthropology, Bishop Museum, 1525 Bernice Street, Honolulu, HI. 96817-2704, jennifer.kahn@bishopmuseum.org; 

P. Mills: Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai'i at Hilo; 

S. Lundblad: Department of Geology, University of Hawai'i at Hilo; 

J. Holson: Pacific Legacy Inc.; 

P.V. Kirch: Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley.

Ó Copyright New Zealand Archaeological Association.  

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