I am currently a Ph.D. candidate working to complete the analytic and interpretive phases of my dissertation. My broad research interests include cultural landscape studies, agency and power, social memory, and the theory and methdology underlying spatial technologies.

Building on previous studies obegun in 1966, my research focuses on the late Expansion and proto-historic periods (A.D. ~1200-1795) of Mahamenui and Manawainui. Located on the leeward side of Haleakala, these two contiguous territories comprise the easternmost ahupua'a of the Kahikinui District and are situated upon substantially more mature volcanic substates (Kula Volcanic Series) than those throughout the rest of the district (Hana Volcanic Series). The exploration of this variability and the implications it may have had for Native Hawaiian settlement, social organization, agriculture, and ritual practice form an integral part of my dissertation.

I became interested in archaeology as an undergraduate at the University of Arizona, where I originally majored in astronomy. I soon switched majors and universities, completing my BA in anthropology at Cal in 1993. After working as a lab researcher for Professor Kent Lightfoot of UC Berkeley for one year, I embarked upon a MSc in computer applications in archaeology at the University of Sothampton, UK. It was there that I developed a lasting interest in geographic information systems (GIS), which formed a major component of my thesis. After completing the MSc in 1996, I returned to Berkeley to serve as the Lab Manager of the Archaeological Research Facility for three years. During that time, I was introduced to ongoing work in Kahikinui, Maui; in 1999 I began conducting my dissertation research there.

I have done archaeological and/or geophysical fieldwork in Arizona, Colorado, California, Hawai'i (Maui Island), the Society Islands (Mo'orea), and the United Kingdom. My areas of technical specialization include digital cartographic production (AutoCAD, Freehand, Photoshop); GIS (ArcGIS); desktop publishing (see Kirch 2002, From the 'Cliffs of Keolwea' to the 'Sea of Papaloa'; Kirch 2001, Lapita and Its Transformations in Near Oceania; and Kirch 1997, Na Mea Kahiko o Kahikinui); marine shell analysis; and a little recreational web design.

Publications

2004 P. Kirch A. Hartshorn, O. Chadwick, P. Vitousek, L. Holm, D. Sherrod, J. Coil and W. Sharp
Environment, agriculture, and settlement patterns in a marginal Polynesian landscape. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A. 101:9936-9941.

2002 P. V. Kirch (ed.), J. Coil, L. Holm, J. Holson, S. Kailihiwa, K. Kawelu, S. Millerstrom, and S. O'Day.
From the 'Cliffs of Keolewa' to the 'Sea of Papaloa': An Archaeological Reconnaissance of Portions of the Kalaupapa National Historical Park, Moloka'i, Hawaiian Islands. UC Berkeley: Archaeological Research Facility, Oceanic Archaeology Laboratory Special Publication No. 2.

1997 Lightfoot, Kent G., Ann M. Schiff, and Lisa Holm
Archaeological Field Investigations at NAVS. In The Native Alaskan Neighborhood: A Multiethnic Community at Colony Ross, vol. 2. Contributions of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility, no. 55, Berkeley.

1997 Lightfoot, Kent G., Ann M. Schiff, Antoinette Martinez, Thomas A. Wake, Stephen Silliman, and Lisa Holm
Culture Change and Persistence in the Daily Lifeways of Interethnic Households. In The Native Alaskan Neighborhood: A Multiethnic Community at Colony Ross, vol. 2. Contributions of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility, no. 55, Berkeley.

1995 Holm, Lisa
A Predictive Model for the Fort Ross Region, California. MSc. thesis in computer applications in archaeology. On file at the University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.

Presentations

2004 Holm, Lisa and Patrick Kirch
" Human-Landscape Interactions in Kahikinui, Maui: A Spatial Analytic Perspective. "Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Hawaiian Archaeology, Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i Island, Nov. 13-14.

2001 Holm, Lisa
“The Manawainui Archaeological Project.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Hawaiian Archaeology, Kahului, Maui Island, Oct. 5-7.
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