An archaeological analysis of social ranking and residence groups in prehistoric Hawaii

The complex political systems of aboriginal Polynesia have been of prominence in anthropological discussions of social and cultural evolution. This characteristic suggests that the archaeological record of Polynesia may be of critical value in testing propositions concerning variation and change in complex societies. This paper concentrates on the development of a conceptual framework and analytical methods for the study of prehistoric Polynesian social systems. The usefulness of this framework is illustrated by archaeological analysis of the social characteristics of two Polynesian communities from the Island of Hawaii.