Archaeology
Archaeology
Our three newest databases include the Ho‘omaka Hou Research Initiative (HHRI) Online Fishhook Database, the Hawaiian Archaeological Survey (HAS) Database, and the Rapa Nui Interactive Radiocarbon Database. The HHRI Online Fishhook Database contains over 4,000 fishhooks from cultural sites in Ka‘u, Hawai‘i Island that were excavated during the 1950s. The HAS Database includes data from all of the archaeological sites investigated in the State of Hawai‘i by Bishop Museum archaeologists. The database merges information from Bishop Museum’s early archaeological surveys with the records of its later contract archaeology projects to provide a comprehensive searchable catalog of over 12,800 archaeological sites. The Rapa Nui Interactive Radiocarbon Database is a spatial database that includes information on over 300 radiocarbon dates from archaeological research on Rapa Nui (Easter Island). All of these databases can be accessed by clicking the links below. Online Resources
Research in the Archaeology Department emphasizes the archaeology and environmental history of Hawai‘i and the broader Pacific. Current initiatives include:
Ho‘omaka Hou Research Initiative (HHRI)
Bishop Museum archaeologists have conducted numerous excavations in Hawai‘i and other areas of the Pacific, such as French Polynesia, Tonga, Samoa, and the Solomon Islands. This work has significantly added to our understanding of Pacific archaeological history, including past migration, settlement, cultural history, and environmental change. These collections continue to be researched as part of the Ho‘omaka Hou Research Initiative (HHRI), a collections-based research program established in 2013. HHRI endeavors to learn more from existing collections through the application of cutting-edge archaeological science methods and advances in archaeological theory.
Long-Term Sustainable Agriculture in Hālawa Valley, Moloka‘i
This NSF-funded collaborative research applies archaeological methods to investigate the long-term sustainability of Hālawa Valley’s agricultural landscapes. Our community-based project combines new analysis of previously excavated Hālawa Valley archaeological collections housed at Bishop Museum alongside new archaeological survey and excavation.
Project Principal Investigators: Jillian A. Swift (Bishop Museum), Patrick V. Kirch (University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa), co-Principal Investigator Noa Lincoln (University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa)
Zooarchaeological Investigations of Human Land Use and Sustainability across the Pacific
The arrival of humans and human-introduced species to island landscapes resulted in significant and lasting transformations to island ecosystems. New zooarchaeological and biomolecular analyses (e.g., stable isotopes, ancient proteins, ancient DNA) of Bishop Museum collections are offering new, high-resolution datasets for investigating past environmental change, human resource management, and long-term sustainability across the Pacific. Recent work applies these cutting-edge archaeological science methods to collections from Mangareva (French Polynesia), Tikopia (Southeast Solomon Islands), and Maui, Moloka‘i, and Hawai‘i Islands.
Bishop Museum is temporarily suspending public access to the Ethnology and Archaeology collections from August 16-November 12, 2023. Ethnology and Archaeology department team members are part of the Lahaina cultural recovery response plan and are working in service of Maui’s cultural needs. If your inquiry is NAGPRA related, please email the Registrar’s office by clicking here.
Explicit written permission to publish photographs of objects in the Archaeology Collection, as well as images and documents reproduced from paper documents or digital files owned by the Archaeology Department, must be granted in advance. Please refer to the Archaeology Department’s Photography and Reproduction Procedures.
Stephanie Abo Lambert, M.A.
Collections Manager
808.843.7609
stephanie.lambert@bishopmuseum.org
The Archaeology Collections are used for research, exhibits, and educational programs. They consist of an estimated two million artifacts and samples from both academic and commercial archaeological projects. The collections contain approximately 70,000 additional related items, including photographs, negatives, a reference library, and archival material that includes field notes, maps, and manuscripts. The collections are divided into two major collections: the Hawaiian Collections and the Pacific Collections. The Hawaiian Collections are the larger of the two, containing archaeological material and data from approximately 550 projects undertaken on seven of the eight primary Hawaiian Islands. The Pacific Collections, which includes smaller collections from Polynesia and the Western Pacific, houses archaeological material from more than 61 islands within 12 island groups. Supplementing these archaeology collections are reference collections containing shell, fauna, wood and seed, historical, and geological reference collections. The department also houses an education collection, which is used by the Archaeology and Science Education departments for outreach projects and public presentations.
There is much more to be learned from studying the materials housed in the Archaeology Collections. In 2013, the Archaeology Department established the Ho‘omaka Hou Research Initiative (HHRI) to foster collaborative collections-based research using cutting-edge scientific techniques. (Ho‘omaka hHou literally means “to begin anew.”) HHRI has generated new international, multidisciplinary research on collections from the Hawaiian Islands, Rapa Nui (Easter Island), New Britain, Tikopia, the Marquesas, and the Society Islands. This research has led to important new insights into the archaeological history of these islands, including updated chronologies for island migrations and settlement, and understanding how past people across the Pacific interacted with and managed their environments.
Be a Part of Our Story
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