Collaborative Research: The Paleoecology of Plant Use at Nualolo Kai, Kauai: An Integrative Study of Resource Change in Hawaiian Prehistory

来自夏威夷大学和威斯康星州大学的考古学家和古植物学家，在M。坟墓和M博士。杰拉杰将在夏威夷考艾岛西北海岸合作研究。该项目将结合联合收割机考古，考古植物学和古生态学分析的植物遗骸和文物，从一个网站位于偏远的Nualolo凯谷。该遗址保存了岛上最丰富的有机材料组合之一，这些有机材料来自几个以前的房屋，从公元前500年起至少被占用。公元1300-1900年。这项研究中使用的材料已经收集好了，首先是40多年前的主教博物馆，其次是夏威夷大学的研究人员，他们在20世纪90年代挖掘了该遗址的一小块区域。这些材料构成了一组无与伦比的数据。本项目的总体目标是将我们对人类-植物和动物资源相互作用的理解整合到山谷动态的自然和文化环境中。展示与Nualolo Kai的原生植被相关的人类传统植物使用的范围和强度; 2.调查人类利用植物资源和在山谷引入种植所产生的影响;以及3.研究植物和动物资源如何被利用，以及它们的分布如何随着时间的推移而改变，与环境，生态和文化特征有关。这些分析旨在检测长期的人类环境变化，本土和引进的植物，以及前定居者在群岛最古老岛屿之一山谷内植被和景观改造中的作用。这项研究将扩展到植被之外，以评估来自两个主要环境区的几种资源的潜在人类影响和共同进化变化：陆地环境中的植物，鸟类和驯养动物，以及海洋环境中的贝类和鱼类。在夏威夷的考古学研究中，这样的整合以前没有完成过。这项研究还将建立夏威夷本土植物在现有生态系统中的重要性，并展示如何重建自然环境，今天可以用来保护和保存本土植物类群。Nualolo Kai是夏威夷最重要的考古遗址之一，拥有广泛且保存完好的植物和动物收藏品，这些收藏品在夏威夷的其他任何地方都没有复制过，可能在太平洋。这项研究的学术价值在于它全面分析了一段时间以来陆地和海洋环境中的动植物开发情况。该研究以生态模型为基础，旨在评估人类引起的环境变化。有几个更广泛的影响。数据和结果将通过夏威夷大学和威斯康星州大学网站上的数据库向公众提供。专业人士，夏威夷土著和考艾岛居民将有机会访问该网站的集合。这项研究将在专业出版物和演示文稿中突出显示。本科生和研究生将参加该项目，以提高他们的技能，增加他们对夏威夷史前史的知识。研究结果将提供有关维护、保护和恢复该地区的见解，对当地资源管理人员尤其重要。

Archaeologists and palaeobotanists from the University of Hawaii and the University of Wisconsin, led by Dr. M. Graves and by Dr. M. Jeraj, will collaborate in research on the northwestern coast of Kauai island, Hawaii. The project will combine archaeological, archaeobotanical and palaeoecological analyses of plant remains and artifacts from a site located in the remote Nualolo Kai Valley. The site preserves one of the islands' richest assemblages of organic materials from several former houses, occupied for at least 500 years from ca. AD 1300-1900. The materials used in this study have already been collected, first by Bishop Museum more than 40 years ago, and second by University of Hawaii researchers who excavated a smaller area of the site in the 1990s. These materials constitute an unparalleled set of data. The overall goal of this project is to integrate our understanding of human-plant and animal resource interactions within the dynamic natural and cultural environment of the Valley.This research has three objectives: 1. to demonstrate the range and intensity of traditional plant use by humans in relation to native vegetation at Nualolo Kai; 2. to investigate the impacts that humans produced as they utilized plant resources and introduced cultivation to the Valley; and 3. to study how plant and animal resources were used and their distributions modified over time in relation to environmental, ecological, and cultural features. The analyses are designed to detect long-term human-environmental changes native and introduced plants, and the role of former settlers in the modification of vegetation and landscape within a valley on one of the archipelago's oldest islands. This research will expand beyond vegetation to assess potential human impact and co-evolutionary change across several resources from two major environmental zones: plants, birds, and domesticated animals from terrestrial contexts, and shellfish and fish from marine contexts. Such integration in archaeological studies in Hawaii has not been previously accomplished. This research will also establish the significance of native Hawaiian plants in pre-existing ecosystems, and show how reconstructions of the natural environment can be used today to conserve and preserve native plant taxa. Nualolo Kai is one of the most important archaeological sites in Hawaii, with extensive and extremely well preserved plant and animal collections that are not duplicated anywhere else in Hawaii and possibly in Pacific. The intellectual merit of the study lies in its comprehensive analyses of plant and animal exploitation from both terrestrial and marine environments over time. The study is informed by ecological models and is designed to evaluate human-induced environmental changes. There are several broader impacts. Data and results will be available to the public via databases made available on University of Hawaii and University of Wisconsin websites. Professionals, native Hawaiians and Kauai residents will have access to the site's collections. This research will be highlighted in professional publications and presentations. Undergraduate and graduate students will participate in the project to enhance their skills and increase their knowledge of Hawaiian prehistory. The results will provide insight on maintaining, preserving and restoring the area, particularly important for local resource managers.