Integration of coastal geomorphology, mythology, and archaeological evidence at kualoa beach, windward o'ahu, Hawaiian Islands

Abstract

Coastal geomorphology, mythic traditions, and archaeological evidence are integrated for a case study at Kualoa Beach in windward O'ahu, Hawaiian Islands. The creation of coastal landforms and the effects of high-sea events appear to be encoded in the language of myth and folklore. Archaeological deposits can be understood in relation to several natural and cultural processes of deposition, disturbance, and erosion over an uninterrupted sequence spanning at least six centuries. Earliest site use is documented at cal AD 1040 to 1280, placing it among the earliest securely dated occupations in Hawai'i. This occupation, represented by a firepit dense with midden, is located in a beachfront setting that was then but a tiny nub of what was eventually to become an elongated peninsula due to progradation of the landform by natural processes in later prehistoric, historic, and modern times. Progradation resulted in infilling of stranded ponds and exposure of the landform to new and changing conditions of deposition and erosion. Coastal transformation may be represented in tales of the goddess Hi'iaka creating coastal lowlands with the broken body of a slain dragon-like creature. The same mythic traditions may be metaphoric for overthrow of an older lineage or sociopolitical group. Other legends and traditions mention periodic high-sea events as major factors in landscape change. Show more