12/19/2025
The California Academy of Sciences has awarded its highest honor, the Fellows Medal, to Dr. Patrick Vinton Kirch (Anthropology, University of Hawaii at Manoa), recognizing his groundbreaking contributions to understanding the evolution of complex societies, preindustrial agriculture, and human–environment relationships across the Pacific. He was recently interviewed about the award and his work by Hawai‘i Public Radio's Catherine Cruz. [Interview: https://buff.ly/YjsUuY5]
For decades, Professor Kirch has used islands as powerful “model systems,” conducting extensive archaeological and ethnographic research throughout Hawaiʻi and Oceania, and sharing his insights through 25 books and more than 300 scholarly publications. We are pleased to be the publisher of several of his titles, five of which are currently in print:
- Feathered Gods and Fishhooks: The Archaeology of Ancient Hawai‘i, Revised Edition (with Mark D. McCoy)
- Heiau, ‘Āina, Lani: The Hawaiian Temple System in Ancient Kahikinui and Kaupō, Maui (with Clive Ruggles)
- Kua‘āina Kahiko: Life and Land in Ancient Kahikinui, Maui
- Unearthing the Polynesian Past: Explorations and Adventures of an Island Archaeologist
- The Growth and Collapse of Pacific Island Societies: Archaeological and Demographic Perspectives (edited with Jean-Louis Rallu)
Dr. Kirch is also on the editorial board and a contributor to the Journal of Polynesian Archaeology and Research. [https://buff.ly/NDQ92Ya]
Congratulations to Professor Kirch on this remarkable recognition and his lasting impact on science, scholarship, and island studies!
(Picture: Patrick Kirch at a book signing in October 2023 for Feathered Gods and Fishhooks)
