TMT groundbreaking - live

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Here is some information I found about Hawaiian basalt mining on Mauna Kea. Most occurred between 1100-1800 AD, and was abandoned about the time of Western contact when steel axes became available:

On Mauna Kea — and probably such places have been found elsewhere — has been found a quarry, from which must have been taken in ancient times the material for stone axes. Judging from the quantity of chips and debris the amount of material removed from the place was very great. - David Malo
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The quarries extend over an area of approximately 7 1/2 square miles, although most sites are contained in a 1 and 1/2 square mile area between the 11,000 and 12,400 ft elevation.

The degree of specialisation implied and the extent of manufacturing activities at this one locality strongly hint that adze production exceeded local needs and that some adzes made on Mauna Kea were traded outside the island of Hawaii.
Patrick McCoy
Bernice P. Bishop Museum
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Now come new kinds of axes from the lands of the white man. Iron is plentiful now. The stone-ax (koi-pohaku) is laid aside.
Hawaiian Antiquities
by David Malo