MRI/RUI Acquisition of an Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) Analyzer for the Geochemical Characterization of Archaeological Lithics in the Hawaiian Islands

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With support from a National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation award, Dr. Peter R. Mills and Dr. Ken Hon at the University of Hawaii at Hilo will establish a long-term research project identifying prehistoric trade patterns through the analysis of Hawaiian stone tools. Using an Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometer, they will establish geochemical "fingerprints" of stone tools that prehistoric Hawaiians quarried from various sites, and track the extent to which that material was traded throughout the islands. There is a continuing debate in Hawaii regarding the extent of self-sufficiency that Hawaiians maintained in their various island districts (ahupua`a). Some archaeologists argue that ahupua`a were virtually closed economic systems, and that Hawaiians rarely engaged in long-distance trade between districts or islands; others feel that long-distance trade in some valued commodities was common. The EDXRF analyzer will allow archaeologists to conduct rapid and non-destructive analyses of stone artifacts to determine the extent and distance to which stone tools were traded from the quarries. Attempts will be made to match tools and chipping debris found in domestic sites, with geochemical data collected on known prehistoric quarry areas. Samples that do not match known quarry sites may lead to the discovery of currently unknown quarry sites, or possibly to the identification of stone tools derived from other island groups, such as Tahiti and the Marquesas. By examining the extent to which stone tools in various districts were derived from non-local sources, archaeologists will be able to quantify prehistoric commodity exchange through time and space, and possibly identify some tools that were carried over thousands of miles of open ocean on prehistoric voyages.Dr. Mills and Dr. Hon will oversee the purchase, installation and calibration of an EDXRF spectrometer with the assistance of a laboratory technician who will prepare standard samples to help calibrate the data with other laboratories in California, Oregon, Washington, Otago and Aukland (that are working on similar projects in other regions). Over a three-year period, a multi-scalar research project will be initiated that will process thousands of stone samples obtained from sites on Hawaii Island, and currently housed in UH Hilo collections. This EDXRF system, which is especially designed for rapid and non-destructive analyses, will generate a quantum change in the level of sampling of prehistoric Hawaiian stone tools. A key feature of the equipment is that it is well adapted for undergraduate use, and will allow a new generation of Pacific Islander students (21% of the UH Hilo student body) to be trained in state-of-the-art geological and archaeometric techniques. In terms of the research, this project is important for the contributions it will make towards better understanding prehistoric trade in Hawaii and prehistoric open-ocean voyaging between islands and archipelagoes. It should also be highly significant in terms of attracting under-represented students to the fields of archaeology and geology. By providing UH Hilo students with the opportunity to learn a non-destructive method of analysis of prehistoric Hawaiian stone tools, it is hoped that more Native Pacific Island students will find common ground between scientific methodologies and the understanding/appreciation of their ancestral past.