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Gender, Status and Shellfish in Precontact Hawaii

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Gender, Status and Shellfish in Precontact Hawaii San Jose State University SJSU ScholarWorks Master's Theses Master's Theses and Graduate Research 2009 Gender, status and shellfish in precontact Hawaii Robin Helene Connors San Jose State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses Recommended Citation Connors, Robin Helene, "Gender, status and shellfish in precontact Hawaii" (2009). Master's Theses. 3666. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.wkvy-5wrk https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/3666 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses and Graduate Research at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GENDER, STATUS AND SHELLFISH IN PRECONTACT HAWAII A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Anthropology San Jose State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by Robin Helene Connors May 2009 UMI Number: 1470975 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform 1470975 Copyright 2009 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 © 2009 Robin Helene Connors ALL RIGHTS RESERVED SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY The Undersigned Thesis Committee Approves the Thesis Titled GENDER, STATUS AND SHELLFISH IN PRECONTACT HAWAII By Robin Helene Connors APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY Dr. Mark McCoy, Departmeniartment dfAnthropologofAnthropoloKy Date ^_ _^-^^ ^^^ ^ Aft~\\ LlOQ^ Dr CharlesDarrah, Department of Anthropology "TJate DuElizabeth Weiss, Department of Anthropology Date APPROVED FOR THE UNIVERSITY Associate Dean Office of Graduate Studies and Research Date ABSTRACT GENDER, STATUS AND SHELLFISH IN PRECONTACT HAWAII by Robin H. Connors This thesis addresses the topics of status and gender and the role of women in the political economy of Hawaii in pre-contact Hawaiian women using marine shell remains found in household middens occupied between the 15th through 19th centuries AD. Ethnohistoric literature describing gender roles within the kapu system, a system of traditional rules and beliefs that delineated behavioral roles, is compared with artifact assemblages found in coastal habitation sites occupied from 1400 to 1900 AD in the district of North Kohala, Hawai'i Island, Hawaii. The contributions of women to domestic, political and ritual components of Hawaiian society can be found in the archaeological record. As women were the principal gatherers of shellfish and echinoderms, marine invertebrates, shell midden analysis provides us with a clearer picture of the practices of women as they interacted with the natural environment and the complex cultural sphere of Hawaiian society. Three factors were determined to discern patterns in the female-linked activity of collecting shellfish and distributing the food source to various households: density of distribution, variability of taxa in the midden deposit, and relative size of individual specimens from five molluscan genera. Patterns of taxon selection and distribution were compared to architectural and male- linked artifact assemblages in household sites, associating shellfish to the status and gender of the pre-contact occupants of the study area. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the people whose support and assistance made this work possible. First, to my Graduate Chair, Dr. Mark McCoy whose revisions and remarks spurred me on to completion, thank you. Second, to my friends and colleagues Dr. Julie Field and Dr. Kathy Kawelu with whom I surveyed, cleared, mapped, excavated, screened and sorted in the blazing Leeward sun, and who generously provided me with the encouragement, opportunities and resources I needed to continue my research, Aloha no, mahalo nui loa. Third, I was assisted by the efforts of my husband, Dennis Connors, who helped me to make sense of the endless strings of raw data that this project began with and to my children, who repaired hard drives and accompanied me on-line in convoluted investigations of text manipulation in Windows Vista. Without the sincere support from these people, and many others, this thesis would have been incomplete. Me kealoha pumehana. And lastly, to the common women of ancient Hawaii, whose strength, generosity and skill remain a legacy for all Hawaiians today. CONTENTS FRONT MATTER List of Figures ,, ix List of Tables xii CHAPTER 1: GENDER, STATUS AND SHELLFISH 1 Gender, Status and Shellfish 1 Research Design 5 Thesis Presentation 8 CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND OF HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY ...10 Part 1: Historic Sources 11 European Voyagers, Missionaries and Native Seminarians 11 European Voyagers 11 Missionary Accounts 15 Gender Depictions by Hawaiian Scholars 17 Part 2: Gender and Status 19 Gender Relationships as Kapu and'Noa 19 Status 22 Food 25 Part 3: Archaeology and Women's Labor 26 Women as Fishers 26 Women as the Producers of Finished Goods 28 The Social Structure of Distribution 29 vi Part 4: The Archaeology of Household, Community and Social Structure 31 Material Culture 31 Considerations of Diet 33 Shell and Social Organization 35 The Architecture of Household Archaeology 37 Settlement Patterns 41 CHAPTER 3: STUDY AREA AND METHOD 45 Part 1: The Natural Environment of Leeward North Kohala 45 The Natural Environment of the Study Area 45 The Marine Environment of North Kohala 47 Experimental Archaeology 53 Part 2: Survey and Field Methods 54 Terrestrial Survey 54 Field Methods 56 CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS OF SITES AND MIDDEN CONTENT 66 Part 1: Site Descriptions and Results of Excavation 66 KAL-10 Complex Feature Descriptions 66 KAL-23 Complex Feature Descriptions 67 KAL-30 A and B Complex Feature Descriptions 76 A Comparison of Male and Female Artifact Characteristics 81 Part 2: Analysis of the Shell Midden 85 Relative Concentration of the Midden 85 Midden Composition 86 Analysis of Composition Patterns 92 vii Unexpected Results for Conus spp. and Cellana spp 93 Gender Links and Taxon Distribution 94 Individual Size of Selected Taxa 95 Largest Sized Individuals 99 Smallest Sized Individuals 100 Factors Affecting Size of Individual Specimens 100 Summary of Relationships 101 CHAPTERS: DISCUSSION 103 Part I: Gender 103 Part 2: Status 106 Part 3: Political Economy 108 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION 110 REFERENCES CITED 112 APPENDICES 119 Appendix A Tables of Excavated Materials 120 AMS Radiocarbon Dates from KAL-10B 124 Appendix B Tables of Invertebrate Quantities for Each Test Unit 125 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Hawaiian Islands. Source: National Atlas of the United States 6 Figure 2: Hawai'i Island. Source: Lansat Mosaic NOAA....... 6 Figure 3: Tax Map Key (TMK) Showing Kalala ahupua 'a in the North Kohala District (Field 2007)......,....,........................... ................................ 7 Figure 4: Pe'a thatching with ti. Photo by K. Emory 14 Figure 5: Separate Structures. Image Source: www.sacredtexts.com 38 Figure 6: Hawaiian House and Platform. Source:www.gutenberg.org/files/18450/18450- h/images/p210,jpg...... 39 Figure 7: Kohala Field System Walls. Photo by Author 44 Figure 8: Topographic Map of North Kohala and Area of Study. US. Geological Survey Map 45 Figure 9: Ridgeline Structures in Kalala Ahupua 'a. Photo by Author....... 47 Figure 10: Shoreline Below Pahinahina Point. Photo by Author 48 Figure 11: Cellana spp. Limpet (Opihi). Photos by Author...... 49 Figure 12: Thaididae spp. Drupes (Maka 'awa). Photos by Author 49 Figure 13: Nerita. Photos by Author 50 Figure 14: Cowries. C. caputserpentis (1); C. mauritiana (r). Photos by Author.... 50 Figure 15: Study Area: Makiloa and Kalala Ahupua 'a. Map from Julie Field,.............. 54 Figure 16: TMK Map of Pahinahina, Makiloa and Kalala Ahupua'a 59 Figure 17: TMK Map of Makeanehu and Kaiholena Ahupua'a...................................... 60 Figure 18: KAL 30A with Baulk Sample in Left Foreground. Photo by Author 61 ix Figure 19: Example of Sorted Shell and Echinoderm. Photo by Author 63 Figure 20: Field Sketch of KAL-23. Julie Field 67 Figure 21: KAL-23 and KAL-10 Complexes Circled on GIS Map. Map From Julie Field 68 Figure 22: Metal Fish Hook. Photo by Julie Field 71 Figure 23: Historic Ceramic Trade Beads. Photo by Julie Field 71 Figure 24: KAL-23B TU 2 Views fromNE. Photo by Julie Field. 72 Figure 25: KAL-30B View to the North. Photo by Author 76 Figure 26: Detail of KAL-30B Construction. Photo by Author 80 Figure 27: Comparative Range of Male Linked Artifacts 83 Figure 28: Material Assemblages in Stone, Bone and Shell Associated with Women's Activities 84 Figure 29: Relative Concentration Indices for All Sites 86 Figure 30: KAL-10A TU 1 Shell Distribution by Weight (g) 87 Figure 31: KAL-10ATU 2 Shell Distribution by Weight 88 Figure 32: KAL-10B TU 3 Shell Distribution by Weight (g) 88 Figure 33: KAL-10C TU 4 Shell Distribution by Weight (g) 89 Figure 34: KAL-10C TU 5 Shell Distribution by Weight (g) 89 Figure 35: KAL-10C TU 6 Shell Distribution by Weight (g) 90 Figure 36: KAL-23A Shell Distribution by Weight (g) 90 Figure 37: KAL-23B Shell Distribution by Weight (g). 91 Figure 38: KAL-30A Shell Distribution by Weight (g) 91 x Figure 39: KAL-30B Shell Distribution by Weight (g) 92 Figure 40: Median Weight (g) for All Cypraea spp. in All Test Units 96 Figure 41: Median Weight (g) for Cellana spp. in All Test Units..
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