Admittedly, the course format for the 1997 field season is experimental. There are advantages and disadvantages to this approach. Truly comprehensive survey coverage of each location of often not achieved, therefore artifact inventories are representative and not final. Archival sources, one important root of historic archaeology investigation, are not adequately exhausted. Yet a diversity of experiences in both methodologies and subjects makes for a richer educational adventure, which is after all a large part of our goal.
Educational experiences can accomplish needed survey work.
As far as maritime archaeology and history are concerned, the Marine Option Program, as yet the only institutional agency practicing this type of investigation here, aims for promoting the intelligent stewardship of submerged cultural resources in the islands. Hawaii's maritime past is unique, intimately tied to a variety of dynamic cultures throughout the Pacific. Increasing public awareness of the types of resources out there may sometimes be as critical as pursuing individual site detail. This report, then, is a student-produced introduction to several significant maritime locations on the island of Hawaii's Kona Coast. Not only did the class learn certain technical aspects of this research, but gained as well from the experience of working and living in one of the very special places of the Pacific.