The South Kohala Field System: Historical Ecology of a Marginal Landscape

This dissertation examines the ways that natural and anthropogenic factors interacted to shape productivity in the South Kohala Field System (SKFS), an ancient agricultural system in leeward Kohala, Hawai‘i Island, over time. To answer this question, I analyze archaeological, soil nutrient, and remote sensing data (satellite data, photogrammetric digital surface models) to test which factors contributed most to agricultural productivity in the SKFS. These data suggest that soil nutrient capacity, geomorphology, and flow irrigation potential were especially important in deciding which areas to cultivate. However, agriculture in the SKFS was less about maximizing productivity but utilizing all areas possible to cultivate, even if those areas may not have been successful every year. In addition to this archaeological question, this project was developed with the goal of providing useful data for a local community's sustainability and resilience initiative. Archaeological survey suggests that community management would be positive for the landscape, particularly for preservation of archaeological sites currently negatively impacted by erosion. Adaptive reuse of agricultural features, however, would likely be better suited to upper elevations (higher rainfall, easier road access) than the area with the densest concentration of archaeological features.