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2.Background
<br /> RESEARCH METHODS
<br /> The culture-historical context and summary of previously conducted archaeological and cultural research presented
<br /> below are based on research conducted by ASM Affiliates at various physical and digital repositories.Primary English
<br /> language and Hawaiian language resources were found at multiple state agencies, including the State Historic
<br /> Preservation Division,Hawaii State Archives,and the Department of Accounting and General Services Land Survey
<br /> Division. Digital collections provided through the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Papakilo and Kipuka databases,
<br /> Waihona`Aina,the Ulukau Hawaiian Electronic Library,and Newspapers.com.Lastly, secondary resources curated
<br /> at ASM Affiliates'Hilo office offer general information regarding the history of land use,politics,and culture change
<br /> in Hawaii,enhancing the broad sampling of source materials cited throughout this CIA.
<br /> CULTURE-HISTORICAL CONTEXT
<br /> While the question of when Hawaii was first settled by Polynesians remains contested,scholars working in the fields
<br /> of archaeology,folklore,Hawaiian studies,and linguistics have offered several theories.With advances in palynology
<br /> and radiocarbon dating techniques,Kirch(2011),Athens et al. (2014),and Wilmshurst et al. (2011)have argued that
<br /> Polynesians arrived in the Hawaiian Islands sometime between A.D. 1000 and A.D. 1200. This initial migration on
<br /> intricately crafted wa'a kaulua(double-hulled canoes)to Hawaii from Kahiki,the ancestral homelands of Hawaiian
<br /> deities and peoples from southern Pacific islands, occurred at least from initial settlement to the 13r'' century.
<br /> According to Fornander(1969),Hawaiians brought from their homeland certain Polynesian customs and beliefs:the
<br /> major gods Kane,Ka,Lono,and Kanaloa(who have cognates in other Pacific cultures);the kapu system of political
<br /> and religious governance; and the concepts of pu`uhonua (places of refuge), 'aumakua (ancestral deity), and mana
<br /> (divine power). Archaeologist Kenneth Emory who worked in the early to mid-20th century reported that the sources
<br /> of early Hawaiian populations originated from the southern Marquesas Islands (Emory in Tatar 1982). However,
<br /> Emory's theory is not universally accepted,as Hawaiian scholars in the past and present have argued for a pluralistic
<br /> outlook on ancestral Hawaiian origins from Kahiki(Case 2015;Fornander 1916-1917;Kamakau 1866;Kikiloi 2010;
<br /> Nakaa 1893;Poepoe 1906).
<br /> While stories of episodic migrations were widely published in the Hawaiian language by knowledgeable and
<br /> skilled ku'auhau (individuals trained in the discipline of remembering genealogies and associated ancestral stories),
<br /> the cultural belief that living organisms were hanau 'la(born)out of a time of eternal darkness(po)and chaos(kahuli)
<br /> were brought and adapted by ancestral Hawaiian populations to reflect their deep connection to their environment.As
<br /> an example, the Kumulipo, Hawai`i's most famed ko`ihonua (a cosmogonic genealogical chant), establishes a birth-
<br /> rank genealogical order for all living beings(Beckwith 1951;Liliuokalani 1978). One such genealogical relationship
<br /> that remains widely accepted in Hawai`i is the belief that kalo(taro)plants(in addition to all other plants,land animals,
<br /> and sea creatures), are elder siblings to humans (Beckwith 1951). This concept of hierarchical creation enforces the
<br /> belief that all life forms are intimately connected, evidencing the cultural transformations that occurred in the islands
<br /> through intensive interaction with their local environment to form a uniquely Hawaiian culture.
<br /> In Hawai`i's ancient past,inhabitants were primarily engaged in subsistence-level agriculture and fishing(Handy
<br /> et al. 1991). Following the initial settlement period, communities clustered in the ko'olau (windward) shores of the
<br /> Hawaiian Islands where freshwater was abundant. Sheltered bays allowed for nearshore fisheries (enriched by
<br /> numerous estuaries) and deep-sea fisheries to be easily accessed (McEldowney 1979). Widespread environmental
<br /> modification of the land also occurred as early Hawaiian kanaka mahi'al (farmers) developed new subsistence
<br /> strategies, adapting their familiar patterns and traditional tools to work efficiently in their new home (Kirch 1985;
<br /> Pogue 1978). Areas with the richest natural resources became heavily populated over time, resulting in the
<br /> population's expansion to the kona(leeward) side of the islands and to more remote areas(Cordy 2000).
<br /> Overview of Traditional Hawaiian Land Management Strategies
<br /> Adding to an already complex society was the development of traditional land stewardship systems, including the
<br /> ahupua'a. The ahupua'a was the principal land division that functioned for both taxation purposes and furnished its
<br /> residents with nearly all subsistence and household necessities. Ahupua'a are land divisions that typically include
<br /> multiple ecozones from mauka (upland mountainous regions) to makai (shore and near-shore regions), assuring a
<br /> diverse subsistence resource base(Hommon 1986). Although the ahupua'a land division typically incorporated all of
<br /> the eco-zones, their size and shape varied greatly (Cannelora 1974). Noted Hawaiian historian and scholar Samuel
<br /> Kamakau summarized the ecozones that could be found in a given ahupua'a:
<br /> Here are some names for the zones of]the mountains—the mauna or kuahiwi.A mountain is called
<br /> a kuahiwi,but mauna is the overall term for the whole mountain,and there are many names applied
<br /> 8 CIA for the Ld'Ipala Makai Planned Unit Development,Kapala`alaea 2,North Kona,Hawai i
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