Addresses a central problem in anthropological archaeology: the emergence of "archaic states" whose distinctive feature was divine kingship. In this title, the author takes as his focus the Hawaiian archipelago, commonly regarded as the archetype of a complex chiefdom.

Contents Preface 1. From Chiefdom to Archaic State: Hawai‘i in Comparative and Historical Context What Are Archaic States? Theories of Primary State Formation Hawai‘i as a Model System for State Emergence Marshall Sahlins’s Challenge A Phylogenetic Model for Polynesian Cultural Evolution The Nature of Ancestral Polynesian Society How Did Contact-Era Hawai‘i Differ from Ancestral Polynesia? Was Hawai‘i Unique in Polynesia? 2. Hawaiian Archaic States on the Eve of European Contact Sources for Reconstructing Contact-Era Hawai‘i Hawaiian Polities: Size and Scale Class Stratifi cation and Divine Kingship Elite Art, Craft Specialization, and Wealth Finance Political, Administrative, and Settlement Hierarchies Systems of Production The Hierarchy of Priests and Temples The State Cults and the Ritual Cycle Land and Labor War Summary 3. Native Hawaiian Political History Genealogies of Renown, Traditions of Power Founding Traditions of Settlement and Voyaging Political Developments of the Fifteenth to Mid-sixteenth Centuries Usurpation and Political Consolidation in the Hawai‘i and Maui Kingdoms Dynastic Histories of the Seventeenth to Eighteenth Centuries Political Developments of the Contact Era Agency in History: Ali‘i Routes to Power 4. Tracking the Transformations: Population, Intensification, and Monumentality The Hawaiian Cultural Sequence Population and Demographic Trends Contrastive Agroecosystems Temporal Pathways of Intensifi cation Marine Resources and Aquaculture Monumentality and the Temple System Royal Centers and Elite Residence Patterns When Did the Hawaiian Archaic States Emerge? 5. The Challenge of Explanation Previous Explanations for Hawaiian Cultural Change Ultimate Causation: Population, Intensifi cation, and Surplus Proximate Causation: Status Rivalry, Alliance, and Conquest Why Did Archaic States Emerge First on Hawai‘i and Maui? Hawai‘i and Archaic State Emergence Notes Glossary of Hawaiian Terms References Index

"With unparalleled knowledge of Polynesia's history, ecology, languages, and archaeology, Patrick V. Kirch shows us how, when, and why Hawaiian society crossed the gulf from chiefdom to state. Elegantly crafted and eloquently stated, this compelling case study offers a model for understanding state emergence and the origins of divine kings."—Joyce Marcus, University of Michigan"This volume masterfully synthesizes diverse sources of evidence to richly document a key episode of political change in the Pacific. Historical, archaeological, linguistic, and a wealth of other data are effectively woven together to argue that an archaic state was founded prior to European contact on the island of Hawaii. Professor Kirch deftly and systematically integrates these empirical resources to elucidate how multiple causal factors operating over the short- and long-term prompted this political shift. The richness of the materials under study enables the author to enhance our perspective on this long-discussed episode of cultural change and how it can be understood at multiple spatial and temporal scales. The book is destined to become a key resource for both scholars interested in the deep history of Pacific peoples as well as researchers investigating preindustrial chiefdoms and states."—Gary M. Feinman, The Field Museum