Gould, Richard A.

Griffin, P. Bion

Johnson, Donald

Pattison, Mae Kato

ScholarSpace at University of Hawai'i at Manoa

University of Hawaii at ManoaEnvironmental CenterCrawford 317. 2550 Campus RoadHonolulu. Hawaii 96822Telephone (808J 948-7361Office of the DirectorRL:0204HB 1129MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL RESEARCH. ON THE ISLAND OF KAHOOLAWEStatement forHouse Committee on Culture and the ArtsPublic Hearing25 February 1977byP. Bion Griffin~ AnthropologyRichard A. Gould, AnthropologyDonald Johnson, HistoryHB 1129 proposes an appropriation for archeological and historicalresearch on the island of Kahoolawe. This stfttemcnt is being submitted forreview to the Legislative Subconmittee of the Envi ronment bl Center of theUniversity of Hawaii. It does not, however, reflect an institutionalposition of the University.Kahoo1awe appears to be a unique, cultural resource which in somerespects 1s a veritable time capsule of life in ancient Hawaii. The principaldamage ·.der i vi ng "from its use as a bombing and arti 11 ery target seems to be:confined to a limited par~ of the island. Also, since there has been nofarming on Kahoolawe, there has not been the wholesale destruction of surfacestructures and shallow sites through bulldozing that is found on other Hawaiianislands. Discoveries there, to date, include ~ very large and well-prescribedstone adze quarry and workshop complex (second in size only to the one onMauna Kea), the largest obsidian quarry and workshop in the islands, numeroussmall habitation and task specific sites , and at least one large and probablypermanent village site. We know now that Kahoolawe was not, as previouslythought, simply a kind of "stopover" site for fishermen and other short-term ·visitors, but that it had a full-time Hawaiian population of its own.HB 1129 deserves support and passage to allow the Department of Land andNatural Resources (DLNR) to continue work already undertaken there. The researchto date has proven very productive and worthwhile and an· adequate evaluation ofthe remaining archeological materials , as well as collection of oral historiesis necessary . The information will allow placement of sites on the State andFederal registers of historic places, and potentially provide concomitantprotection. Furthermore, the rich cultural remains and the history they revealwill become much more available to the people of the State.AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYERPage 2 Rl:0204On the Mainland, there is growing recognition by the public of the lossesthat have occurred when unique cultural remains have been destroyed without anyeffort at adequate documentation and/or restoration. HB 1129 represents con-structive action to avoid such loss. Without the DLNR study, no systematic,complete coverage can be realized.

HB 1129, Making an Appropriation for Archaeological and Historical Research on the Island of Kahoolawe - Statement for House Committee on Culture and the Arts Public Hearing - 25 February 1977

http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/31111/1/RL0204.pdf

HB 1129, Making an Appropriation for Archaeological and Historical Research on the Island of Kahoolawe - Statement for House Committee on Culture and the Arts Public Hearing - 25 February 1977

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

ScholarSpace at University of Hawai'i at Manoa