The Kaua`i Archaeological Field School, founded back in 2008 and running for a month each summer, always finds a lot of great fossils and artifacts in the Makauwahi Cave excavations. How could it be otherwise, in such historically rich deposits, with about 20 energetic college students from all over the continent helping us dig, sift, identify, and archive the specimens?

Students were as always quite amazed to see the remarkable state of preservation and evident trends in the 10,000-yr record from the site. We reached the apparent floor of the growing Northwest Pit at 6.7 m, within a foot of the same depth as in the East Pit from our digs in the late 1990’s.
I think everybody’s favorite artifact this year, certainly mine, was a large carved wooden gourd stopper, elegant in its simple functional lines. This perfect artifact, centuries old and the first of its type found at the site, is made of a dull yellowish brown wood that we have seen in many other artifacts, probably kou (Cordia subcordata). That was, and still is, the Hawaiians’ wood of choice for kitchen implements, bowls, and anything in contact with food, as it was found that it did not impart a flavor to the food, unlike koa and some other possibilities.

We had a “full house” in the sinkhole almost constantly during the excavations, as visitors had a chance to watch, and even participate in, the exciting discoveries we were making every day in the sediments of the past. It was a unique educational experience for students and visitors alike, and especially children of all ages.
We plan to offer the Archaeological Field School again next summer, probably through the month of July. Join us for up to 12 fully transferable credits through the University of Hawai`i – Manoa. We hope next year, in addition to the Archaeological Methods Field Course for graduates and undergraduates and the ever-popular “Natural History of the Hawaiian Islands” course taught by Dr. Burney two evenings per week, to bring back the Polynesian Archaeology lecture course another two evenings per week.

Early registration for next summer’s courses begins in November, so check it out on the Makauwahi Cave Reserve Facebook page.