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AN EARLY PREHISTORIC SITE AT BELLOWS BEACH, WAIMANALO, OAHU, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
Author(s) -
Pearson Richard J.,
Kirch Patrick Vinton,
Pietrusewsky Michael
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
archaeology and physical anthropology in oceania
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.501
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1834-4453
pISSN - 0003-8121
DOI - 10.1002/j.1834-4453.1971.tb00136.x
Subject(s) - prehistory , archaeology , bellows , shore , bay , geography , hearth , geology , midden , subsistence agriculture , oceanography , agriculture
A STRATIFIED prehistoric site located in sand dunes at Bellows Air Force Base on the windward coast of Oahu, Hawaiian Islands, was excavated daring 1967. A living area containing pits and house remains dating from a.d. 600 was excavated according to natural layers. The artifacts are similar to those found from the South Point (Ka Lae) area of Hawaii and to early types from the Marquesas Islands. Osteometric data on five burials found in pits are presented. The remains of domesticated dogs and pigs, in addition to those of the Hawaiian rat, were recovered. It is thought that the O18 or Bellows Site was occupied by a co‐residential domestic group relying on the sea and agricultural areas in Waimanalo Valley for their‐subsistence. During the winter of 1967, United States Air Force personnel at Bellows Air Force Base on windward Oahu notified the Bernice P. Bishop Museum that construction work in several areas of the base had unearthed human skeletons, thought to be prehistoric. Mr. Lloyd Soehren investigated the area on several occasions, suggesting that locations removed by several hundred metres from the shore of Waimanalo Bay appeared to be isolated burials, while the locus near the shore appeared to be a village site. A crew of volunteers began work on the supposed village for about eight week‐ends in February and March, under the joint supervision of Mr. Soehren and the senior author. During the month of August, 1967, a portion of the site was excavated by a crew of about 10 for 14 working days as part of a field training programme of the Summer Session of the University of Hawaii.