North Polynesia (7,821 – 6,094 BCE): Early Holocene — Cloud Forests, Stable Currents, and Lagoon Productivity

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: Koʻolau windward amphitheaters and perennial streams; Maui Nui channels (Auʻau, Pailolo) with strong tidal jets; Kauaʻi’s deep valleys (Waimea, Hanalei); Midway’s carbonate rim.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

• Early Holocene thermal optimum: warmer SSTs, relatively stable trades; consistent winter swell.

• Orographic rainfall intensified cloud-forest belts; lowland wetlands formed behind beach ridges.

Biota & Baseline Ecology (No Human Presence)

• Expansion of endemic lowland and mesic forests (pandanus, hardwoods)—before later human-driven shifts.

• Anchialine ponds and estuarine inlets matured—ideal for future fishpond (loko iʻa) engineering.

Long-Term Significance

A high-productivity mosaic (ridge forest–valley stream–reef lagoon) emerged—an environmental “blueprint” for later integrated ridge-to-reef food systems.