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Science and Sensitivity: A Geochemical Characterization of the Mauna Kea Adze Quarry Complex, Hawai'I Island, Hawaii

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Peter R. Mills
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Hawaii at Hilo, 200 W. Kawili St., Hilo, HI 96720 (millsp@hawaii.edu)
Steven P. Lundblad
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Hawaii at Hilo, 200 W. Kawili St., Hilo, HI 96720 (slundbla@hawaii.edu)
Jacob G. Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Hawaii at Hilo, 200 W. Kawili St., Hilo, HI 96720 (smithjg@hawaii.edu)
Patrick C. McCoy
Affiliation:
Pacific Consulting Services, Inc. 720 Iwilei Rd. Suite 424, Honolulu, HI 96817 (pat.mccoy@pcsihawaii.com)
Sean P. Naleimaile
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2424 Maile Way, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 (naleimai@hawaii.edu)

Abstract

The Mauna Kea Adze Quarry Complex is the largest-known prehistoric quarry in the Pacific Basin. The main extraction areas are located at an extreme altitude (3,800 m), near the summit of Hawaii's tallest mountain. The Mauna Kea summit region and the quarry are considered by many Hawaiians to be a sacred landscape and archaeologists must consider the ethical tensions involved in conducting Western science in these areas. Although provenance studies of basalt adzes are integral to the examination of pre-contact Hawaiian economics, former studies of Hawaiian adze distribution have been limited in scope, and conventionally relied on destructive petrography and petrology for the analyses. Published geochemical data on the quarry are derived from only eight samples analyzed with destructive methods. In order to better define the variation within the quarry, and to develop a more culturally sensitive approach, we employed nondestructive energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) of whole-rock samples to characterize 820 flakes and 47 geological samples from the quarry complex. This study offers the first reliable estimation of the overall range of geochemical variability in the complex. These results suggest that nondestructive EDXRF can be used to differentiate Mauna Kea basalts from other known Hawaiian quarries, but more characterization of other quarries is necessary to confirm exclusive separation of sources. The results further demonstrate that EDXRF is capable of detecting intra-site geochemical variation in Mauna Kea quarry material.

Résumé

Résumé

La cantera de azuela en Mauna Kea es la cantera prehistórica más grande en la Cuenca Pacífica. La región principal de extracción se sitúa a una altitud extrema (3800 m), cerca de la cima de la montaña más alta en Hawaii, Mauna Kea. La cima de Mauna Kea y la cantera constituyen un paisaje sagrado de la cultura tradicional de Hawai, y los arqueólogos necesitan considerar los conflictos éticos al trabajar investigaciones científicas en estos sitios. Aunque los estudios sobre el origen de azuela basáltica son integrales para el análisis de la economía precolombina en Hawaii, los estudios precedentes de la distribución de azuelas hawaianas han sido limitados en alcance y, de una manera convencional, han sido basados en la petrología y la petrografía destructiva para sus análisis. Los datos geoquímicos publicados sobre la cantera se derivan de solamente ocho muestras que han sido analizadas por medio de métodos destructivos. Para definir mejor la variación geoquímica en la cantera, y para crear un método má sensible a la cultura hawaiana, empleamos la Fluorescencia de Rayos X para la Energía Dispersiva (EDXRF), no destructiva, de 820 lascas y 47 muestras geológicas de la cantera. Este estudio presenta la primera valoración sólida del alcance posible de la variabilidad geoquímica en la cantera. Los resultados sugieren que la EDXRF no destructiva se puede utilizar para diferenciar el basalto en Mauna Kea de otras canteras hawaianas, y también puede detectar la variación geoquímica desde dentro de la misma cantera.

Type
Reports
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2008

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