Archaeoastronomy helps to identify a ceremonial gathering place in pre-contact Hawai‘i
Ethnographic accounts indicate the existence in the Hawaiian Islands at the time of European contact of special places where people would gather during the Makahiki period, to offer tribute to the priests of the god Lono and for sports and other recreational activities. However, no such place had been positively identified to date. Now, through a combination of mapping, excavation, radiocarbon dating, archaeoastronomical analysis, and ethnography, a strong candidate has been identified in the uplands of western O‘ahu.
Pālehua is a rectangular walled enclosure, overlooking what were once extensive dryland farming areas. Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon samples indicates a probable date of construction around AD 1600, and the archaeoastronomical evidence shows that the long SSE wall was precisely aligned upon the rising position of the Pleiades at this time. It is well attested ethnographically that the acronychal rising of the Pleiades marked the beginning of the Makahiki season, a four-month period dedicated to Lono, the god associated with dryland agriculture. These things together, along with corroborating evidence such as the presence of branch coral—suggestive of ritual activity—strongly suggest that the Pālehua enclosure was indeed a Makahiki assembly place.
For more details see the full paper: “Ideology, ceremony and calendar in pre-contact Hawai‘i: astronomical alignment of a stone enclosure on O‘ahu suggests ceremonial use during the Makahiki season", by Timothy M. Gill, Patrick V. Kirch, Clive Ruggles and Alexander Baer, published in the September 2015 issue of Journal of the Polynesian Society. The paper can be downloaded from here.
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