Archaeological Monitoring and Sampling During Emergency Flood Repair Construction, Waimanalo and Inoaole Streams, Bellows Air Force Station, Waimanalo, Ko`olaupoko District, Island of Oahu, Hawaii

Summary

A program of archaeological test excavations and construction backhoe monitoring was undertaken in conjunction with the Bellows Air Force Station Waimanalo and Inoaole Streams Flood Control Project. The purpose of the program was to identify and test the intact cultural deposits identified on the north banks of Waimanalo Stream and in any other area within the flood control project. No cultural deposit was observed along Inoaole Stream and, in fact, none were expected as archival research documented the recent rechanneling of the stream. Thus, all deposits in the area of Inoaole Stream would consist of modern fill. Two controlled test excavations units and two stratigraphic trenches were excavated along the Waimanalo Stream banks project area where at least three prehistoric intact subsurface cultural deposits were previously identified. Charcoal from the lowest of these cultural layers had been radiocarbon dated to A.D. 245-625 and around the 15 century A.D. The present program identified 3 layers containing cultural material. A radiocarbon date of A.D. 1410-1635 was from the base of the lowest layer. Another radiocarbon date, A.D. 430-905, was obtained from a charcoal concentration in an obviously alluvial riverbank deposit located at a bend of Waimanalo Stream, upstream from the location of the cultural deposits. The latter date suggests that the inland portions of Waimanalo valley was being exploited fairly early in prehistory, possible for slash and burn type of agricultural activities. Pollen sample taken from the alluvial deposit identified the presence of several shrub/small tree in the area prehistorically as well as pollen of Jussieua, a plant commonly associated with taro fields.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Department of the Air Force Cultural Resources Archive   •
• National Archeological Database (NADB)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Bellows Air Force Station

Principal Investigator(s): Kanalei Shun

Repository(s): Hawaii State Historic Preservation Division, HI

Prepared By(s): Archaeological Associates Oceania

Submitted To(s): U.S. Army Engineer District, Honolulu

Record Identifiers

Contract Number(s): DACA83-89-C-0028

NADB document id number(s): 7703564

NADB citation id number(s): 000000376995

Notes

General Note: The initial citation information for this record was migrated into tDAR from the National Archaeological Database Reports Module (NADB-R) and has since then been updated.

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