Doctoral Dissertation Research: Development of Irrigated Agriculture in Wailau Valley, Moloka'i, Hawai'i

在Michael Granes博士的指导下，Windy McElroy女士将进行她的博士论文研究。该项目将开发和测试可应用于夏威夷群岛特定湿地农业变化序列的通用模型。该项目将集中在位于莫洛凯偏僻的迎风海岸的Wailau山谷。在这里，一系列完整的灌溉农业梯田分布在936公顷的山谷中。Wailau在近100年前被遗弃，提供了一个以前从未被研究过的原始且保存完好的潮湿山谷。这项工作探索了地理扩张和集约化在夏威夷传统农业发展中的作用。创建了两个描述湿地农业发展的模型：第一个模型，根据实现最大农业产量来选择耕作地点；第二个模型，农民首先选择需要最少劳动量耕种的低风险地区，然后转移到需要更大农业劳动力投资的地区。这项研究将涉及绘制湿地农业系统图、进行考古发掘、开发地理信息系统(GIS)数据库、分析自然和耕作土壤中的养分水平，以及放射性碳测年。已顺利完成一季野外工作，调查山谷12.5公顷，绘制了近100个农业梯田。挖掘了一些梯田，并收集了木炭进行放射性碳测年。到目前为止获得的初步日期暗示了一种农业发展模式，即早在公元13世纪就开发了山谷深处的侧排水系统，远远早于沿主要河流的平坦低洼地带的开垦。后一类地区可能直到19世纪才被殖民。这些初步结果支持农业发展的第二种模式，因为较小的边排水含有因坡面侵蚀而恢复活力的土壤，建造梯田和种植芋头等湿地作物所需的工作量较少，而且不太容易发生洪水。这项研究的一个组成部分是莫洛凯居民的参与。一些住院医生已经完成了McElroy在2005年教授的考古培训计划。该计划旨在为莫洛凯居民创造可持续的就业机会，他们是该州失业率最高的居民之一。该课程包括2005年春季的入门课堂和实地讲授，以及2005年夏季在韦劳举办的考古学高级实地课程。招募这个项目的毕业生来协助这项研究，扩大了未被充分代表的群体对考古学的参与，因为莫洛凯是夏威夷原住民和多民族居民的家园。考古学家对农业发展的研究是一个领域，在这个领域，这些发现不仅对历史科学，而且对当代世界都具有潜在的重要意义。过去促进农业增产的因素，如技术和基因创新，今天也是相关的。过去农业系统的可持续程度也可能为理解如何在不过度破坏环境的情况下维持现代农业提供线索。

Under the direction of Dr. Michael Granes, Ms. Windy McElroy will conduct her doctoral dissertation research. This project will develop and test general models that can be applied to a particular sequence of wetland agricultural change in the Hawaiian Islands. This project will be focused on Wailau Valley, located on the remote windward coast of Molokai. Here, a series of intact irrigated agricultural terraces are distributed across a 936-hectare valley. Abandoned nearly 100 years ago, Wailau offers a pristine and well-preserved wet valley that has not been previously studied. This work explores the roles of geographic expansion and intensification in the development of traditional agriculture in Hawaii. Two models are created that describe wetland agricultural development: the first, in which locations for farming are chosen in relation to achieving maximum agricultural output; and the second, in which farmers first selected low-risk areas that required the least amount of work to cultivate and later moved to areas that would require a greater labor investment for farming. This research will involve mapping the wetland agricultural systems, conducting archaeological excavations, developing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data bases, analyzing nutrient levels in natural and cultivated soils, and radiocarbon dating. One season of fieldwork has been successfully completed, 12.5 hectares of the valley were surveyed, and nearly 100 agricultural terraces were mapped. A number of terraces were excavated and charcoal was collected for radiocarbon dating. Initial dates obtained thus far hint at a pattern of agricultural development in which side drainages deep in the valley were exploited as early as the 13th Century A.D., long before cultivation of the flat low-lying expanses along the major streams. These latter areas may have been colonized as late as the 19th Century. These preliminary results support the second model of agricultural development, as the smaller side drainages contain rejuvenated soils from slope erosion, require less effort to build terraces and cultivate wetland crops such as taro, and are less prone to the risk of flooding.An integral part of this research is the involvement of Molokai residents. A number of residents have completed an archaeological training program taught by McElroy in 2005. The program was designed to create sustainable employment opportunities for the residents of Molokai who have one of the highest rates of unemployment in the state. The course consisted of introductory classroom and field instruction in the Spring of 2005, and an advanced archaeological field course during the Summer of 2005 in Wailau. Enlisting graduates of this program to assist with this research broadens the participation of underrepresented groups in archaeology, as Molokai is home to a high percentage of Native Hawaiian and multi-ethnic residents.The study of agricultural development by archaeologists is one area in which the findings have potential import not only for historical sciences but for the contemporary world. The factors that promoted increased agricultural production in the past, such as technological and genetic innovations, are relevant today. The degree to which agricultural systems were sustainable in the past may also offer clues to understanding how contemporary farming can be maintained without excessive environmental damage.