Geophysical and archaeological investigations in northern Kualoa Ahupua`a, O`ahu, Hawai`i

I conducted geophysical and archaeological investigations on O'ahu Island, Hawai'i alongside the University of Hawai'i Kualoa Field School. Previous research identified Polynesian colonization of the Hawaiian Islands occurring simultaneously with the accretion of Kualoa peninsula. Because of this we conducted investigations north of the peninsula in an attempt to research initial colonization. Previous archaeological excavations used a sampling strategy that resulted in discontinuous evidence with a lack of knowledge about site architecture and settlement expansion prior to and during peninsula accretion. We employed Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to perform a continuous subsurface survey over a large area with minimal cost to the environment and labor. GPR identified an anomaly on the northern Kualoa coast that we subsequently excavated and identified as a possible structural complex. It appears and is likely that there was some kind of extension from Kualoa peninsula to the northern Kualoa coastal plain. It seems logical that the northern Kualoa coast was occupied before the southern peninsula stabilized and as the peninsula grew south occupation followed.