Paired Geochemical And Technological Analyses Of Basalt Adze Debitage At The Halawa Dune Site, Moloka'I Island, Hawai'I

We analysed 1593 basalt artefacts from the Halawa Dune Site, on the easternmost part of Moloka'i Island, for a combination of geochemical and technological attributes to expose different reduction strategies related to basalt adze production and rejuvenation. West Moloka'i is well known as a location where many outcrops were quarried to make adzes, but the island's east side has not been widely perceived as a location where adzes were produced in significant quantities in the prehistoric economy. We infer, however, through large-scale geochemical non-destructive energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analyses, combined with technological analyses, that the majority of adzes at the Halawa Dune Site were manufactured from local resources, supporting a predominantly localised pattern of adze production and use. Approximately one third of the adze debitage clearly related to use and rejuvenation (DA) is made from non-local sources, but does not represent a heavy reliance on the full range of quarries on West Moloka'i, and may also include samples derived from other islands or archipelagos.