A massive work of art dating back at least 500 years has resurfaced along the beaches of Hawai’i. Although usually obscured by the Pacific Ocean’s waters, a 115-foot-long sequence of ancient petroglyphs is visible once again on Oahu’s eastern coast near the Pililaau Army Recreation Center. First documented in its entirety in 2016, researchers estimate Hawai’ian artists etched the figures into lithified sandstone around half a millennium ago. The series includes 26 individual designs measuring between 5.9 inches and 6.6 feet tall, 18 of which likely depict humans. Eight of those appear to be male genitalia, while the others are arranged in dynamic poses. The largest figure, for example, appears to extend one hand towards the sky and the other towards the ground beneath it.
“While it is difficult to pin down an exact date, these could [potentially] be upwards of 600 years old, based on nearby sites,” Laura Gilda, the site’s principal archaeologist, said in a statement released by the United States Army on July 28.
Gilda added that her team has already documented the engravings to share with local Indigenous community members while also ensuring the site remains protected against damage from any curious visitors. According to the US Army Garrison Hawai’i’s cultural resources program manager, the petroglyphs are only occasionally revealed after seasonal tidal changes and wave fluctuations shift the beach’s sands to expose the artwork underneath it.
Illustrative stone etchings or petroglyphs are one of humanity’s oldest forms of artistic expression. Archeological records indicate the first people to arrive and settle on the Hawai’ian islands were Polynesian sailors around 940–1200 CE. The local community would grow and evolve on its own for nearly 600 years before British Captain James Cook arrived in 1778, marking the first known contact between Hawai’i and Europeans.
With the help of European weaponry, King Kamehameha I conquered and unified the islands under his rule in 1795, establishing a dynasty that would last nearly a century in spite of multiple instances of outside interference. Meanwhile, the Hawai’ian monarchy encouraged a multiethnic society, and in 1840 went so far as to form a constitutional monarchy guaranteeing voting rights regardless of race, gender, or wealth.
By 1893, however, outside corporate interests including the Dole fruit and vegetable company orchestrated an illegal coup to wrest control away from the largely independent Indigenous nation. Queen Liliʻuokalani was subsequently deposed through the help of the US Marines, after which the islands briefly became the Republic of Hawai’i until its US territorial annexation in 1898. Hawai’i became the 50th state in 1959.
Speaking with the Associated Press, native Hawai’ian cultural practitioner Glen Kila explained that the mural was likely crafted to illustrate religious or ceremonial beliefs prior to the arrival of Europeans. At 72-years-old, Kila said he didn’t hold any animosity against the US, despite a childhood that included violent run-ins with local military personnel.
“We were proud and knew where we came from, so we never fostered any hatred for the military because one day we believed that the land will eventually return to us,” he said.
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