Technological Change and the Archaeology of Emergent Colonialism in the Kingdom of Hawai‘i

Abstract

Archaeologically informed history is vital for examining the consequences of emergent colonialism in the nineteenth century and earlier, since documentary sources are silent on many facets of everyday life. Interpretations of contact and colonialism in Oceania often highlight rapid changes in the technologies and practices of its traditional island societies. In Hawai‘i, the top-down imposition of indigenous elite power greatly influenced the rate and character of technological change, as commoner access to European and American goods was initially curtailed in this highly stratified society. Although indigenous elites purposively used imported goods and technologies to materialize their hybrid identity—and to expand their political and economic power—this phenomenon presaged the development of unrestrained colonialism by Euro-Americans in the late nineteenth century. This study illustrates the need to examine a range of cultural and historical contingencies in studies of technological change during periods of emergent colonialism.