History of the Land
If you travel from the western border of Kaupo at Waiopai going east, you will see the land gradually transform from arid grassland to sparse trees and finally to dense forests. However, nearly every tree that you see along the way is an invasive species introduced since Westerners arrived. These include kiawe, christmas berry, koa…
Petroglyphs (images pecked or incised in stone) are present throughout Hawaiian archipelago, most notably on the Big Island, which contains tens of thousands of examples. The ancient Hawaiian artists who created these images were thoughtful in choosing locations for petroglyphs and pictographs (painted images). As archaeologist Sidsel Millerstrom has noted, “Petroglyphs were not randomly placed…
In most areas of old Hawaii, taro was the main crop. But in Kaupo, sweet potato was king. In fact, based on sheer amount of sweet potato field remains, Archaeologists Pat Kirch and others have estimated that the area could have had a population of up to 17,000 people at its peak. In May 1922,…
Kaupo is full of stories of chiefs during the period just before and after Western contact. In the early 1700s, Maui chief Kekaulike made Kaupo his royal seat. Soon after, Kaupo was a battleground between the chiefs of Maui and Hawaii Island. Kamehameha I, the first ruler of all the Hawaiian islands, first rose to…
In November 2005, archaeologist Patrick V. Kirch was exploring the Kaeke region in the uplands of Nuu when he came upon a curious assortment of basalt stones and flakes scattered on the ground. He immediately recognized the site as a place where native Hawaiians had fashioned adzes, the tools used to cut and shape wood….