Feudal crop system pervaded in Hawaii.

PositionAnthropology

A pattern of earthen berms, spread across a northern peninsula of the big island of Hawaii, is providing archaeologists with clues to exactly how residents farmed in paradise long before Europeans arrived at the islands. The findings--reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences--suggest that simple, practical decisions made by individual households eventually were adopted by the ruling class as a means to improve productivity. "Archeologically, this kind of research is hard to do in most places since there is rarely a 'signature' for the agricultural activity, or a strong connection between the remains of a house and a plot of farmland," explains anthropologist Julie Field, principal author of the study.

Reid and her colleagues have spent three field seasons unearthing the remnants of the agricultural gridwork that date back nearly 600 years. The pattern was formed by a series of earthen walls, or berms, which served as windbreaks, protecting the crops. "In this part of Hawaii, the trade winds blow all the time, so the berms are there to protect the crops from the winds," she notes. "The main crop was sweet potato, which likes dry, loose soil. The berns protect the soil from being blown away."

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