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more food, light, and heat. Thus there would be more fires and more wood charcoal produced, with increases correlated with population growth. Accordingly, the evidence indicates a rather complex model of arrested population growth, especially as a consequence of island life. This theory finds corroboration in archaeological censuses of abandoned habitation sites on leeward Hawai'i Island and Kaho'olawe Island, which indicate that the population peaked before Cook's arrival. The arrested growth model fits well with an estimated pre-contact population of between 100,000 and 150,000, derived primarily from the study of historical records.
123:
organized as single nonegalitarian corporate units on each island, which is essentially the same as ancestral
Polynesian society. During the expansion inland and growth phase which lasted until about 1500–1550, the formation of basic ahupua'a land units which saw the widening of the gap between chief and commoner as the concept of kinship increased within the local community with the formation of ali'i and maka'ainana classes. The significant reduction of population in the 16-17th century was a result of warfare and conquest among competing chiefs
22:
73:, when growth halted because of the introduction of unfamiliar diseases. This theory was originally advanced by Robert C. Schmitt and Lynn Zane, and it is still used to support an estimate of 800,000 to 1,000,000 people in the Hawaiian Islands in 1778. However, this theory relies on a hypothetical settlement date of AD 500 along with a doubling of population every 110 years. Modern high-precision
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from 1850, 1860, 1890 and the US Census from 1900 to examine the existing demographic structures and then use this to estimate previous population size. He then compares the rate of population declines from 1778 to 1900 and finds it consistent with the known impact of introduced infectious diseases in new populations.
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It is believed relying on the archaeological data and oral traditions, that the social organizations evolved after the initial settlement as the population increased. During the initial settlement and growth phase on the island the social organizations were characterized by semi-independent chiefdoms
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Swanson examines the controversy surrounding the
Hawaiian population and uses a new method of demographic backcasting to estimate a Hawaiian population of 683,200 in the year 1778 when Captain Cook arrived. In this methodology, Swanson uses existing population data from the Kingdom of Hawaii censuses
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The theory of constant population growth in Hawaii has scant support from the archaeological data and is contradicted by paleo-environmental evidence and radiocarbon dating of historical sites. The human imprint on the land increases along with population, as more and more people require more and
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of ca. AD 1150 and paleo-environmental evidence of early human impact on the land completely contradict the theory of constant population growth. Instead, the estimated population curve can be divided into three sections: pre-settlement, when no humans lived in Hawaii; the initial settlement and
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cannot have carried more than a hundred people, and perhaps even fewer. For the purposes of this article, "ancient" Hawaii is defined as the period beginning with the first arrival of human settlers, around AD 1100, and ending with their initial contact with the first
Western visitors.
56:'s arrival is not known; however, the large range of estimates from 100,000 to 1,000,000 illustrate the controversial nature of the topic and disagreement over the best methods for calculating it. What is known is that the first voyaging canoes that landed on Hawaiian shores during the
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growth phase, from approximately 100 people around 1150 AD to a peak in 1450 of approximately 150,000 people; and a phase of stability between 1450 and 1778, when apparent declines were followed by periods of growth.
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has since refuted that date, as well as the notion of linear population growth. Still, most
Archaeologists of Hawaii agree that the centuries preceding Western contact were ones of population growth.
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Robert C. Schmitt and Lynn Y. S. Zane, "How Many People Have Ever Lived in Hawaii?," unpublished typescript (Honolulu: Hawai'i State
Department of Business and Economic Development Library, 1977);
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David E. Stannard, Before the Horror: The
Population of Hawai'i on the Eve of Western Contact (Honolulu: Social Science Research Institute, U of Hawaii, 1989) 66-67g
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In the popular model of constant population growth, the human population of Hawaii expanded steadily from the first settlements until the arrival of
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at agricultural sites, and the decline of indigenous plants. The paleo-environmental data show that during 1450-1778 the construction of
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slowed dramatically, as did the clearing of land for agriculture. Accordingly, the estimated population in 1778 was 110,000-150,000.
448:
422:
When Did the
Polynesians Settle Hawai‘i? A Review of 150 Years of Scholarly Inquiry and a Tentative Answer by Patrick V. Kirch
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Feathered Gods and
Fishhooks: An Introduction to Hawaiian Archaeology and Prehistory by Patrick Vinton Kirch pg 297
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As population grew, so did its environmental imprint, including forest clearing by burning, building of
330:, Balancing Coercion and Consent in Eighteenth-Century Kānaka Maoli Statecraft, ANU Press, p. 51,
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296:"A new estimate of the Hawaiian Population for 1778, the year of first European Contact"
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Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.
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The exact population of the
Hawaiian Islands at the time of Captain
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construction as well as agricultural burning of lands for farming.
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409:
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355:The Hawaiian Journal of History, vol. 28 (1994)
324:"Gathering Momentum: Power in Hawai'i to 1770"
189:Decreasing agricultural burning until ~1600.
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387:"Pre-censal Population History of Hawai'i"
89:Population estimates based on an initial
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394:New Zealand Journal of Archaeology
58:discovery and settlement of Hawaii
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65:Constant population growth theory
444:History of immigration to Hawaii
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385:Tom Dye; Eric Komori (1992).
75:radiocarbon dating in Hawaii
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81:Arrested population growth
29:This article needs to be
211:Population bounced back
449:Native Hawaiian history
294:Swanson, David (2019).
109:Demographic Backcasting
322:D’Arcy, Paul (2018),
132:Estimated Population
328:Transforming Hawai‘i
200:Population declined
171:~110,000 to 160,000
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229:150,000 to 200,000
219:~120,000 - 600,000
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337:978-1-76046-173-7
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208:~100,000-400,000
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91:settlement date
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439:Ancient Hawaii
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161:up to 160,000
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148:1000 to 1219.
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41:November 2020
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71:Captain Cook
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433:Categories
343:2024-05-08
278:References
140:Population
118:Precontact
54:James Cook
205:1700–1778
194:1600–1700
183:1500–1600
168:1450–1500
158:1219–1450
400:. NA: 3.
239:~144,000
186:~150,000
174:Peak of
269:109,020
197:~96,000
31:updated
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300:Hulili
259:56,897
249:84,165
151:~100's
143:Notes
390:(PDF)
176:heiau
127:Table
103:heiau
99:heiau
332:ISBN
266:1896
256:1872
246:1850
236:1819
226:1805
216:1778
137:Term
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369:^
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