North Polynesia (6,093 – 4,366 BCE): Middle…

North Polynesia (6,093 – 4,366 BCE): Middle Holocene — Reef Highstands and Coastal Wetland Expansion

Geographic & Environmental Context

North Polynesia includes the Hawaiian Islands chain except Hawaiʻi Island (the Big Island) — principally Oʻahu, Maui, Kauaʻi, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Niʻihau — plus Midway Atoll.

• Anchors: Leeward Oʻahu pocket beaches; Maui Nui bay-head deltas; Kauaʻi–Niʻihau leeward limestone benches; Midway lagoon passes.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

• Hypsithermal period: modest sea-level highstand created wide back-reef ponds and wetlands; episodic droughts alternated with Kona-storm winters.

Biota & Baseline Ecology (No Human Presence)

• Estuarine fish (mullet, milkfish) and invertebrates flourished in calm lagoons; freshwater prawns and gobies occupied stream mouths.

• Dune–strand flora stabilized shorelines; seabirds remained abundant roosting on outer islets and atolls.

Long-Term Significance

Coastal wetlands and back-reef ponds that later become loʻi (taro pondfields) and fishpond basins reached mature form.