Study Traces Roots of Hawaiian Temples

Hawaiian temple building on the island of Maui changed as the culture
diversified, says Northern Illinois University anthropologist Michael Kolb.
“Its monumental architecture is directly linked to economic, political and
ritual development, not unlike the most famous early civilizations, such as
the Maya or ancient Egyptians.”

His recent study finds that the temples on Maui, known as heiau, were
built over the course of at least 500 years, with cycles of construction
peaking in periods of political tension. The study, the most detailed of its
kind to date, will be published in a forthcoming issue of Current
Anthropology.

Kolb collected and conducted radiocarbon dating on 90 samples from the
ruins of 40 temples, including several smaller temples that were newly
discovered. The radiocarbon dates indicate the earliest temples were built
in the 13th century, with construction continuing into the early 19th
century.

Kolb’s study also identifies four periods of peak construction that
correlate with important social and political trends discussed in the oral
histories of Hawaii.
“It’s clear that the temple system evolved as part of a long trajectory of
social and political change that also saw a shift from ancestral to sacrificial
worship.”

Kolb’s radiocarbon dating identified the ruins of Pihana temple, located in
Halekii-Pihana State Park, as being the oldest known temple site on Maui.
The median radiocarbon date from the temple places its construction at
about A.D.1214, although the temple was renovated at least seven times
thereafter.

The well-known Pi’ilanihale temple, the largest and among the most
well-preserved ancient temples on Maui, also is among the oldest,
according to Kolb’s findings. Its median radiocarbon date places
construction at about A.D. 1294. Pi’ilanihale also was remodeled at least
twice thereafter.

Polynesians discovered and began to inhabit the Hawaiian Islands as early
as A.D. 300, but the first western contact wasn’t made until 1778, with
the arrival of British explorer Captain James Cook.

In the early 1800s, when King Kamehameha the Great united the
Hawaiian Islands, he remodeled and rededicated all of the major temples.
In all, about 250 temples stood on Maui. Most were abandoned or
destroyed after Christianity was introduced in 1820.

Today there are about 120 known temple sites on the island, where the
ancient foundations and/or other remnants can still be found, Kolb said.

“Temple ruins are found on all the Hawaiian Islands, but Maui has some of
the best preserved sites,” Kolb added. “So I was able to study the entire
Maui kingdom and gather a geographically diverse sample with many
radiocarbon dates for both small and large temples.”

Compiled by Sally Kimbel