2020-10-07 P. Kirch and J. Swift - Archaeological investigations of long-term sustainability
Channel: Archaeological Research Facility, UC Berkeley
Date: 2020-10-07

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Archaeological investigations of long-term sustainability: A case study from the loʻi kalo of Hālawa Valley, Molokaʻi (Hawaiian Islands)
Speakers: Patrick V. Kirch, Professor of Anthropology Emeritus, UC Berkeley and Professor of Anthropology, University of Hawaii, Manoa; Jillian A. Swift, Curator of Archaeology at Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii
Abstract: Food sovereignty concerns are keenly felt in the Hawaiian Islands, which are overwhelmingly reliant on imported foods amidst the compounding challenges of population growth, climatic instability, and now a global pandemic. Many Native Hawaiian Organizations have advocated for the restoration of traditional Hawaiian agricultural practices, especially irrigated systems for growing taro (loʻi kalo), as a highly productive and sustainable alternative. Although the sustainability of these systems is frequently claimed, it has rarely been empirically tested, particularly across long durations. Archaeology therefore affords a unique opportunity to characterize and measure the development and sustainability of traditional agricultural systems across centuries-long time scales. Here, we report on the early stages of our NSF-funded collaborative research project, which investigates the long-term sustainability of traditional Hawaiian wet-valley agro-ecosystems, focusing on Hālawa Valley, Molokaʻi as a case study. We combine archaeological survey and mapping, targeted test excavations, and reanalysis of previously excavated collections from Hālawa Valley to develop a landscape-scale understanding of agricultural development and intensification. Chemical analyses of soils and faunal remains will be applied to track changes in nutrient flows and availability. We are also working in collaboration with individuals and organizations on Molokaʻi to apply this knowledge of past Hawaiian agricultural landscapes and practices towards the renewal of traditional agriculture and food sovereignty in Hawaiʻi.
About the Speakers:
Patrick V. Kirch is Class of 1954 Professor of Anthropology Emeritus at U. C. Berkeley, and currently Professor of Anthropology at the University of Hawai'i, Manoa. The author of more than 20 books and several hundred articles and chapters, Kirch has carried out archaeological research throughout the Pacific Islands for more than fifty years. His current research focuses on the sustainability of traditional agricultural practices in Polynesia.
Jillian A. Swift received her Ph.D. from the Department of Anthropology, U.C. Berkeley in 2016 and is currently the Curator of Archaeology at Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. She is especially interested in reanalyzing previously excavated collections using cutting-edge archaeological science methods. Her research focuses on deep-time human land use and environmental management strategies in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific, with an eye towards applications to present-day sustainability challenges.
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