Excavations at the Kipapa Rockshelter, Kahikinui, Maui, Hawai'i

Abstract

Test excavations of a late precontact to early contact rockshelter site in the traditional district of Kahikinui, Maui, Hawai'i, are discussed. The excavated cultural deposits primarily consist of three combustion features, two informal fire pits, and an earth oven. The deposit contained indigenous Hawaiian artifacts, such as basalt lithics, bone awls, and a fishhook. Fine-screening methods were employed with the use of kin. (1.59 mm) mesh, and relatively large amounts of fish bone and microfauna were also recovered. Using faunal and material culture evidence, it is argued that the rockshelter is a single component of a traditional Hawaiian household complex (kau hale), probably a cookhouse (hale kahumu). KEYWORDS: Hawai'i, Maui Island, archaeology, screen size, zooarchaeology, fauna, kau hale.