mauna kea has been the site of extensive archaeological research since the 1980s. approximately 27 percent of the science reserve had been surveyed by 2000, identifying 76 shrines, 4 adze manufacturing workshops, 3 other markers, 1 positively identified burial site, and 4 possible burial sites. by 2009, the total number of identified sites had risen to 223, and archaeological research on the volcano's upper flanks is ongoing. it has been suggested that the shrines, which are arranged around the volcano's summit along what may be an ancient snow line, are markers for the transition to the sacred part of mauna kea. despite many references to burial around mauna kea in hawaiian oral history, few sites have been confirmed. the lack of shrines or other artifacts on the many cinder cones dotting the volcano may be because they were reserved for burial.