Published September 2015 (University of Hawaii Press)

Abundance and Resilience: Farming and Foraging in Ancient Kaua'i

Edited by Julie S. Field (Ohio State University) and Michael W. Graves (University of New Mexico)

This volume summarizes the results of nearly two decades of research on the archaeological remains of animals from the site of Nu'alolo Kai, located on the remote Na Pali Coast of the island of Kaua'i.  With chapters dedicated to the remains of fish, birds, turtles, and mammals (including wild seals and dolphins, and also domesticated dogs, pigs, cats, rats, and goats), and also the tools created from their bodies, this book examines the relationship between an emerging Hawaiian community and the ecosystem that provided for them over the past 500 years.  Examination of trends in animal abundance, the frequency of tools, and the demography of domesticated animals produces a concrete picture of ancient Hawaiian foraging and farming, and also provides an assessment of the resilience of species to predation, and practices that may have conserved populations.  This book also makes recommendations based upon archaeological trends for modern conservation goals.

For more information, please visit Dr. Field's research website:  http://u.osu.edu/juliefieldresearch/nualolo-kai-foraging-and-farming-in-prehistory/