Avifaunal extinctions, vegetation change, and Polynesian impacts in prehistoric Hawai'i
J. Stephen Athens
International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc., 2081 Young St., Honolulu, HI, 96826–2231 USA
Search for more papers by this authorH. David Toggle
International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc., 2081 Young St., Honolulu, HI, 96826–2231 USA
Search for more papers by this authorJerome V. Ward
Pacific Palynology, PO Box 14, Sweet Briar, VA, 24595 USA
Search for more papers by this authorDavid J. Welch
International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc., 2081 Young St., Honolulu, HI, 96826–2231 USA
Search for more papers by this authorJ. Stephen Athens
International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc., 2081 Young St., Honolulu, HI, 96826–2231 USA
Search for more papers by this authorH. David Toggle
International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc., 2081 Young St., Honolulu, HI, 96826–2231 USA
Search for more papers by this authorJerome V. Ward
Pacific Palynology, PO Box 14, Sweet Briar, VA, 24595 USA
Search for more papers by this authorDavid J. Welch
International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc., 2081 Young St., Honolulu, HI, 96826–2231 USA
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Pre-contact avifaunal extinctions in Hawai'i generally have been attributed to human predation and/or landscape alteration by colonizing Polynesians. However, until recently there have been insufficient data for evaluating most of the important variables involved in this issue. This situation has changed with recent archaeological, paleontological, and wetland coring research conducted on O'ahu's ‘Ewa Plain, a hot, dry emerged limestone reef characterized by numerous sinkholes. The main evidence obtained from this research includes (1) wetland coring data that stratigraphically demonstrate forest decline before any burning, (2) radiocarbon dating of bones of rats and extinct birds that provides a time frame for their occurrence unavailable from stratified deposits, and (3) the radiocarbon-based history of human settlement of the 'Ewa Plain.
Based on this evidence the argument is made that (1) at least some major avian extinctions occurred within the period immediately following Polynesian colonization, (2) these extinctions were due primarily to the rapid decline of their native lowland forest habitat, (3) human settlement of the 'Ewa Plain occurred after native forest collapse, not coincident with it, and (4) the main source of destruction of the native forests was the introduced Polynesian rat, Rattus exulans, not Hawaiian agricultural clearing and burning. This model also explains the absence of large quantities of bird bone in early sites (in contrast to other places in Polynesia and Micronesia), and the absence in early middens of many plants (notably Kanaloa kahoolawensis) that were common in the native forest.
References
- Athens, J.S. 1997. Hawaiian Native Lowland Vegetation in Prehistory. In Historical Ecology in the Pacific Islands, ed. by P.V. Kirch and T.L. Hunt. Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut, pp. 248–270.
- Athens, J.S., M.W. Kaschko, and H.F. James 1991. Prehistoric Bird Hunters: High Altitude Resource Exploitation on Hawai'i Island. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 31: 63–84.
- Athens, J.S. and H.D. Tuggle 2001. A Review of “early” radiocarbon dates from the ‘Ewa Plain. MS. International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc., Honolulu,
- Athens, J.S., J.V. Ward, and S. Wickler 1992. Late Holocene Lowland Vegetation, O'ahu, Hawai'i. New Zealand Journal of Archaeology 14: 9–34.
- Athens, J.S. and J.V. Ward 1993. Environmental Change and Prehistoric Polynesian Settlement in Hawai'i. Asian Perspectives 32(2): 205–223.
- Athens, J.S. and J.V. Ward 1999a. Paleoclimate, Vegetation, and Landscape Change on Guam: the Laguas Core. Chapter V in Archaeological Inventory Survey of the Sasa Valley and Tenjo Vista Fuel Tank Farms, Piti District, Territory of Guam, Mariana Islands, by B. Dixon, J.S. Athens, J.V. Ward, T. Mangieri, and T. Rieth, Report prepared for Dept. of the Navy, Pacific Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i. International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc., Honolulu, pp. 121–151.
- Athens, J.S. and J.V. Ward 1999b. The Holocene Paleoenvironment of Palau. Vol. IV of, Archaeological Data Recovery for the Palau Compact Road, Babeldaob Island, Palau: Historic Preservation Investigations, Phase II. Draft final report prepared for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pacific Ocean Division, Ft. Shafter, Hawai'i. International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc., Honolulu.
- Athens, J.S. and J.V. Ward 2000. Paleoenvironmental Study of Fishponds at Fort Shafter, O'ahu, Hawai'i. Appendix F in Fort Shafter: Cultural Resource Investigations at Hawai'i's First U.S. Military Post, by M.J. Tomonari-Tuggle, S. Hamilton, and K. Slocumb. Report prepared for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pacific Ocean Division, Fort Shafter, Hawai'i. International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc., Honolulu, pp. F-1,F-58.
- Athens, J.S., J.V. Ward, H.D Tuggle, and D.J. Welch 1999. Environment, Vegetation Change, and Early Human Settlement on the ‘Ewa Plain: A Cultural Resource Inventory of Naval Air Station, Barbers Point, O'ahu, Hawai'i; Part III: Paleoenvironmental Investigations. Report prepared for Dept. of the Navy, Pacific Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i, under contract with Belt Collins Hawaii, Honolulu. International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc., Honolulu.
- Atkinson, I.A.E. and H. Moller 1990. Kiore, Rat Polynesian. In Handbook of New Zealand Mammals, ed. by C. M. King. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 175–192.
- Atlas of Hawaii 1983. Atlas of Hawaii, 2nd edition. Dept. of Geography, University of Hawaii. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu.
- Beardsley, F. 2001. Phase II, Intensive Survey and Testing, Naval Air Station Barbers Point. Report 1629.1–053101 prepared for Dept. of the Navy, Pacific Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i. Paul H. Rosendahl, Ph.D., Inc., Hilo, Hawai'i.
- Blinn, D.W. 1999 Diatoms. Appendix F in Environment, Vegetation Change, and Early Human Settlement on the ‘Ewa Plain: A Cultural Resource Inventory of Naval Air Station, Barbers Point, O'ahu, Hawai'i; Part III: Paleoenvironmental Investigations, by J.S. Athens, J.V. Ward, H.D Tuggle, and D.J. Welch. Report prepared for Dept. of the Navy, Pacific Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i, under contract with Belt Collins Hawaii, Honolulu. International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc., Honolulu, pp. 237–244.
- Carlquist, S. 1980. Hawaii: A Natural History (2nd Ed.). Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawa'i, Kaua'i, Hawai'i.
- Campbell, D.J. 1978. The Effects of Rats on Vegetation. In The Ecology and Control of Rodents in New Zealand Native Reserves, ed. by P.R. Dingwall, I.A.E. Atkinson, and C. Hay, pp. 99–120. New Zealand Department of Lands, Survey Information Service 4.
- Christensen, C.C. and P.V. Kirch 1986. Nonmarine Mollusks and Ecological Change at Barber's Point, O'ahu. Bishop Museum Occcasional Papers 26: 52–80. Bishop Museum, Honolulu.
- Clark, J.S. 1988. Particle Motion and the Theory of Charcoal Analysis: Source Area, Transport, Deposition, and Sampling. Quaternary Research 30: 67–80.
- Collins, S.L. 1995. Avifaunal Remains from the Kawailoa Site, O'ahu Island (BPBM Site 50–Oa-D6–62). Hawaiian Archaeology 4: 4–16.
- Cuddihy, L.W., and C.P. Stone 1990. Alteration of Native Hawaiian Vegetation: Effects of Humans, Their Activities and Introductions. University of Hawaii Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit. Distributed by University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu.
- Davidson, J. 1992 Editorial. New Zealand Journal of Archaeology 14: 5–7.
- Davis, B.D. 1990. Human Settlement in Pristine Insular Environments: A Hawaiian Case Study from Barbers Point, Southwestern O'ahu. Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Anthropology, Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu. University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
- Dye, T. 1994a. Population Treends in Hawai'i Before 1778. The Hawaiian Journal of History 28: 1–20.
- Dye, T. 1994b. Apparent Ages of Marine Shells: Implications for Archaeological Dating in Hawai'i. Radiocarbon 36(1): 51–57.
- Dye, T. 2000a. Effects of 14C Sample Selection in Archaeology: An Example from Hawai'i. Radiocarbon 42(2): 203–217.
- Dye, T. 2000b. A Bayesian Calibration of 14C Determinations from Two Sinkholes and a Surface Habitation Feature at Barbers Point, O'ahu. In Archaeological Data Recovery Report for the Archaeological Sites in the Proposed Barber's Point Harbor Expansion Area, Kalaeloa, Ahupua'a of Honouliuli, District of ‘Ewa, Island of O'ahu (TMK 9–1–14:2), by M. McDermott, D. Shideler, J. Winieski, and H.H. Hammatt. Report prepared for the Hawaii State Department of Transportation, Harbors Division, Honolulu. Cultural Surveys Hawaii, Inc., Kailua, O'ahu, Hawai'i.
- Dye, T. and E. Komori 1992a A Pre-Censal Population History of Hawai'i. New Zealand Journal of Archaeology 14: 113–128.
- Dye, T. and E. Komori 1992b. Computer Programs for Creating Cumulative Probability Curves and Annual Frequency Distribution Diagrams with Radiocarbon Dates. New Zealand Journal of Archaeology 14: 35–43.
- Dye, T. and D.W. Steadman 1990. Polynesian Ancestors and Their Animal World. American Scientist 78: 207–215.
- Dye, T. and H.D. Tuggle 1998. Land Snail Extinctions at Kalaeloa, O'ahu. Pacific Science 52(2): 111:140.
- Dye, T. and H.D. Tuggle 2001. Land Snail Extinctions at Kalaeloa, O'ahu. Internet Archaeology, Vol. 10. http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue10/dye.
- Fletcher, C.H., III, and A.T. Jones 1996. Sea-Level Highstand Recorded in Holocene Shoreline Deposits on Oahu, Hawaii. Journal of Sedimentary Research 66(3): 632–641.
- Franklin, L.J., S.T. Goodfellow, and W. Wulzen 1995. Final report, Phase II - Data Recovery Archaeological Mitigation Program, Ewa Marina Community Project, Volume I. Prepared for Haseko (Ewa), Inc., c/o Belt Collins Hawaii. Paul H. Rosendahl, Ph.D., Inc., Hilo, Hawai'i.
- Gagné, W.C. and L.W. Cuddihy 1990. Vegetation. In Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai'i, Vol. 1, by W.L. Wagner, D.R. Herbst, and S.H. Sohmer. University of Hawaii Press and Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, pp. 45–114.
- Grossman, E.E. and C.H. Fletcher, III. 1998. Sea Level Higher Than Present 3500 Years Ago on the Northern Main Hawaiian Islands. Geology 26(4): 363–366.
- Hammatt, H.H. and D.W. Shideler 1995. Data Recovery Plan for Archaeological Sites in the Proposed Barber's Point Expansion Area. Prepared for the Estate of James Campbell. Cultural Surveys Hawai'i, Inc., Kailua.
- Hunt, T.L. and R.M. Holsen 1991. An Early Radiocarbon Chronology for the Hawaiian Islands: A Preliminary Analysis. Asian Perspectives 30(1): 147–161.
- James, H.F. 1995. Prehistoric Extinctions and Ecological Changes on Oceanic Islands. Ecological Studies 115: 87–102.
10.1007/978-3-642-78963-2_8 Google Scholar
- James, H.F. and D.A. Burney 1997. The Diet and Ecology of Hawaii's Extinct Flightless Waterfowl: Evidence from Coprolites. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 62: 279–297.
- James, H.F., T.W. Stafford, D.W. Steadman, S.L. Olson, P.S. Martin, A.T. Jull, and P.C. McCoy 1987. Radiocarbon Dates on Bones of Extinct Birds from Hawai'i. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 84: 2350–2354.
- James, H.F. and S.L. Olson 1991. Descriptions of Thirty-two New Species of Birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Part II. Passeriformes. Ornithological Monographs 46: 1–88.
- Kirch, P.V. 1982a. The Impact of the Prehistoric Polynesians on the Hawaiian Ecosystem. Pacific Science 36(1): 1–14.
- Kirch, P.V. 1982b. Transported Landscapes. Natural History 91(12): 32–35.
- Kirch, P.V. 1985. Feathered Gods and Fishhooks: an Introduction to Hawaiian Archaeology and Prehistory. University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu.
- Kirch, P.V. 2000. On the Road of the Winds: An Archaeological History of the Pacific Islands Before European Contact. University of California Press, Berkeley.
- Kramer, Raymond J. 1971. Hawaiian Land Mammals. Charles E. Tuttle Co., Tokyo, Japan.
- Loope, L.L. and D. Mueller-Dombois 1989. Characteristics of Invaded Islands, with Special Reference to Hawaii. In Biological Invasions: A Global Perspective, ed. by J.A. Drake, F. DiCastri, R.H. Groves, F.M.J. Kruger, M. Rejmanek, and M. Williamson. John Wiley and Sons, Ltd., Chichester, United Kingdom, pp. 257–280.
- Lorence, D.H. and K.R. Wood 1994. Kanaloa, a New Genus of Fabaceae (Mimosoideae) from Hawaii. Novon 4(2): 137–145.
10.2307/3391582 Google Scholar
- Masse, W.B. and H.D. Tuggle 1998. The Date of Hawaiian Colonization. In Easter Island in Pacific Context South Seas Symposium: Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Easter Island and East Polynesia, ed. by C.M. Stevenson. G. Lee, and F.J. Morin. Easter Island Foundation Occasional Paper 4, Easter Island Foundation, Bearsville and Cloud Mountain Presses, Los Osos, California, pp. 229–235.
- McDermott, M., D. Shideler, J. Winieski, and H.H. Hammatt 2000. Archaeological Data Recovery Report for the Archaeological Sites in the Proposed Barber's Point Harbor Expansion Area, Kalaeloa, Ahupua'a of Honouliuli, District of ‘Ewa, Island of O'ahu (TMK 9–1–14:2). Report prepared for the Hawaii State Department of Transportation, Harbors Division, Honolulu. Cultural Surveys Hawaii, Inc., Kailua, O'ahu, Hawai'i.
- Moniz, J. J. 1997. The Role of Seabirds in Hawaiian Subsistence: Implications for Interpreting Avian Extinction and Extirpation in Polynesia. Asian Perspectives 36(1): 27–50.
- Moore, P.D., J.A. Webb, and M.E. Collinson 1991. Pollen Analysis. Blackwell, London.
- Morrison, K.D. 1994. Monitoring Regional Fire History Through Size-Specific Analysis of Microscopic Charcoal: The Last 600 Years in South India. Journal of Archaeological Science 21: 675–685.
- Mosby, J.M., K. Wodzicki, and H.R. Thompson 1973. Food of the Kimoa (Rattus exulans) in the Tokelau Islands and Other Habitats of the Pacific. New Zealand Journal of Science 16: 799–810.
- Murakami, G.M. 1992. Identification of Charcoal from Kahoolawe. Appendix H in Kahoolawe Excavations, 1982–83 Data Recovery Project, Island of Kahoolawe, Hawaii, by P.H. Rosendahl, A.E. Haun, J.B. Halbig, M. Kaschko, and M.S. Allen. Report 48–011592 prepared for Dept. of the Navy, Pacific Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i. Paul H. Rosendahl, Ph.D., Inc., Hilo, Hawai'i.
- Norman, F.I. 1975. The Murine Rodents Rattus rattus, exulans, and norvegicus as Avian Predators. Atoll Research Bulletin 182: 1–13.
10.5479/si.00775630.182.1 Google Scholar
- Olson, S.L. and H.F. James 1982. Prodromus of the Fossil Avifauna of the Hawaiian Islands. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology No. 365. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
10.5479/si.00810282.365 Google Scholar
- Olson, S.L. and H.F. James 1991. Descriptions of Thirty-two New Species of Birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Part I. Non-passeriformes. Ornithological Monographs 45: 1–88′.
- Patterson, W.A., J. J. Edwards, and D.J. Maguire 1987. Microscopic Charcoal as a Fossil Indicator of Fire. Quaternary Science Review 6: 3–23.
- Sinoto, A. 1976. A Report on Cultural Resources Survey at Barbers Point, Island of Oahu. Prepared for the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Pacific Ocean Division. Department of Anthropology, B.P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu.
- Sinoto, A. 1978. Archaeological and Paleontological Salvage at Barbers Point, Oahu. Department of Anthropology, Technical Report (ms. 030178). B.P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu.
- Spriggs, M. and A. Anderson 1993. Late Colonization of East Polynesia. Antiquity 67: 200–217.
- Stafford, T.W., Jr., P.E. Hare, L. Currie, A.J.T. Jull, and D.J. Donahue 1991. Accelerator Radiocarbon Dating at the Molecular Level. Journal of Archaeological Science 18: 35–72.
- Steadman, D.W. 1995. Prehistoric Extinctions of Pacific Island Birds: Biodiversity Meets Zooarchaeology. Science 267: 1123–1130.
- Stolk, A., T.E. Törnqvist, K.P.V. Hekhuis, H.J. Berendsen, and J. Van der Plicht 1994. Calibration of 14C Histograms: A Comparison of Methods. Radiocarbon 36(1): 1–10.
- Strecker, R.L. and W.B. Jackson 1982. Habitats and Habits. In Pacific Island Rat Ecology, ed. by T.I. Storer. Bishop Museum Bulletin 225. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, pp. 64–73.
- Strong, C.C. and R. G. Skolmen 1963. Origin of Drift-logs on the Beaches of Hawaii. Nature 197: 890.
- Temme, M. 1979. Polynesian Rat (Rattus exulans) in the Northern Marshall Islands. Ph.D. dissertation, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio.
- TenBruggencate, J. 1997. Team Nurses Last of Dying Species. The Honolulu Advertiser, Aug. 16, 1997.
- Tomich, Q. 1986. Mammals in Hawai'i. A Synopsis and Notational Bibliography. Bishop Museum Special Publication 57. B.P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu.
- Tribble, J.S., G.H. Garrison, J.S. Athens, C.B. Allen, C.G. Skilbeck, and E. Frankel 1999. Evidence for Early-Mid Holocene Sea-level on O'ahu, Hawai'i from Coastal Pond Sediments. In The Non-steady State of the Inner Shelf and Shoreline: Coastal Change on the Time Scale of Decades to Millennia in the late Quaternary, ed. by C.H. Fletcher and J.V. Matthews, PDF version of Abstracts with Programs, Inaugural Meeting of IGCP Project #437, “Coastal Environmental Change During Sea Level Highstands,” University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Nov. 9–12, 1999, pp. 184–189.
- Tuggle, H.D. 1997. The ‘Ewa Plain. Hawaiian Archaeology 6: 8–36.
- Tuggle, H.D. and M. Spriggs 2000. The Age of the Bellows Dune Site 018, O'ahu, Hawai'i, and the Antiquity of Hawaiian Colonization. Asian Perspectives 39(1–2): 165–188.
10.1353/asi.2000.0015 Google Scholar
- Tuggle, H.D. and M.J. Tomonari-Tuggle 1997a. Synthesis of Cultural Resource Studies of the ‘Ewa Plain. Report prepared for Dept. of the Navy, Pacific Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i, under contract with Belt Collins Hawaii, Honolulu. International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc., Honolulu.
- Tuggle, H.D. and M.J. Tomonari-Tuggle 1997b. A Cultural Resource Inventory of Naval Air Station, Barbers Point, O'ahu, Hawai'i: Part I: Phase I Survey and Inventory Summary. Report prepared for Dept. of the Navy, Pacific Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i, under contract with Belt Collins Hawaii, Honolulu. International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc., Honolulu.
- Vancouver, G. 1798. A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and Round the World … Performed in the Years 1790–1795 ( 3 vols.). Robinsons and Edwards, London.
- Wagner, W.L., D.R. Herbst, and S.H. Sohmer 1990. Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai'i ( 2 vols.). University of Hawaii Press and Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu.
- Wickler, S.K. and H.D. Tuggle 1997. A Cultural Resource Inventory of Naval Air Station, Barbers Point, O'ahu, Hawai'i; Part II: Phase II Inventory Survey of Selected Sites. Report prepared for Dept. of the Navy, Pacific Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i, under contract with Belt Collins Hawaii, Honolulu. International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc., Honolulu.
- Wirtz, W.O. 1972. Population Ecology of the Polynesian Rat, Rattus exulans, Kure Atoll, Hawai'i. Pacific Science 26: 433–461.
- Wodzicki, K. 1978/79. Relationships Between Rats and Man in the Central Pacific. Ethnomedicine V: 433–446.