Coral 230Th Dating of the Imposition of a Ritual Control Hierarchy in Precontact Hawaii

doi:10.1126/science.1105432

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Coral ²³⁰Th Dating of the Imposition of a Ritual Control Hierarchy in Precontact Hawaii

Patrick V. Kirch¹^* and Warren D. Sharp²

In proto-historic Hawaii (1500–1795 A.D.), as in manyother evolving polities, temples functioned as centers for controlover production and the extraction of surplus food and goods.Thorium-230 dates (uncertainty ± $~$ 10 years) on branchcoral dedicatory offerings from temples in the Kahikinui district(Maui) indicate that its temple system was constructed within60 years, far more rapidly than indicated by radiocarbon dating.Introduction of the temple system in 1580–1640 A.D. coincidedwith predatory expansion and consolidation of the Maui polityto form an incipient archaic state.

¹ Department of Anthropology, 232 Kroeber Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
² Berkeley Geochronology Center, Berkeley, CA 94709, USA.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: kirch{at}sscl.berkeley.edu

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