Big Isle footprints
may be older than
it was believed

Carbon dating shows some
could go back as far as the
1500s, scientists say

By Gary T. Kubota
Star-Bulletin

Footprints found in the Big Island's Kau Desert are older than previously believed, according to scientists working with the National Park Service.

The footprints were once thought to be left by Keoua's army as it headed to do battle with the forces of Kamehameha I in 1790.

But Donald A. Swanson, the scientist in charge of Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said carbon dating shows some of the footprints could go as far back as the 1500s.

Swanson said volcanic ash that hardened the footprints indicates there were major explosions from eruptions.

The findings indicate Kilauea exploded intermittently for 300 years ending in 1790, with a force probably not as violent as Mount St. Helens but similar in terms of ash falling from the sky, Swanson said.

People walked on the wet volcanic ash before it hardened, leaving the footprints. Swanson said there were two volcanic ash layers with footprints.

The footprints are spread over an area about 3 to 4 miles wide by 4 to 5 miles long.

Warren Wulzen, a University of Hawaii archaeologist, says hundreds of habitation structures were found as well.

Wulzen speculates Hawaiians might have been using the structures as stopover points for trips into a nearby forest or for gathering a volcanic glass used to make scrapers and decorative items.