9th

International Conference on Easter Island and the Pacific

CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DYNAMICS
June 21st 26th 2015
Ethnological Museum Dahlem, Berlin

Abstracts (in alphabetic order of the authors)

Keynote address
Stevenson, Christopher M.
Prehistoric ecodynamics on Rapa Nui: declines in productivity and population displacement
Recently completed climatic modelling and the chronometric dating of landscape use have revealed a
fluid pattern of settlement prior to first European contact in AD 1722. In the region known as Te Niu,
on the islands northwest coast, the presence of a rain shadow reduced annual precipitation to
approximately 630cm per year and made successful farming difficult. At elevations greater than
250m, higher rainfall over the millennia had leached the soil of crop-sustaining nutrients to the point
that intensive gardening was not feasible. About AD 1650 the population living in Te Niu left for
other areas and the abandonment of upland elevations soon followed by AD 1710. This decline in
agricultural productivity and subsequent population displacement is likely to have placed a significant
stress upon the economic and political systems of the eleven regional chiefdoms. This situation may
have led to the emergence of annual revitalization ceremonies such as the Birdman Cult held at
Orongo whose appearance converges with the declines in regional food yields.


01

Abarca Faria, Sofia

Riu, el canto primal de Isla de Pascua

Presentation of my book "Ru, the Primal Songs of Easter Island", based on the knowledge of Maria
Elena Hotus, Master of Ancestral Songs research.
1) Unpublished analysis of 23 ancestral songs whose lyrics reveal important aspects of their ancient
culture.
2) New classification of songs based on the theme of his lyrics and not in its musical structure.

Subdivisions:
Love:
Ru Ate Manava Mate / Hoko Ru
Commitment: Ru o te Koro Ngongoro Moa
Marriage:
Ru o te Nonio Vi e / Ru Ha Ipo-ipo / Ru Haka Kio)
Pregnancy:
Ru o te Umu Rae / Ru o te Topa Hanga o te Poki / Ru o te Umu Tahu)
Births:
Ru Nananga Pito / Ru o te Moa Kona / Ru o te Umu Takap / Ru Ka Huru)
Welcome:
Ru o te hakareka ana pae mai te manu hiri tuu a ranga)
Community: Koro Hakareka, Koro Ei / Ru o te Koro Paina
Culture:
Ru o te Umu Hatu / Ru o te Umu Pareha Onga)
Spirituality:
Ru o te Aku-aku / Ru E te Ua Manavai / Ru Ate Atua
Sadness:
Ru Tangi / Ru Ate Manava More
Death:
Ru o te Umu Takap / Ru Papaku /Himene Papaku
Ru Introduced: Ut / Himene Hare Pure / Ru o te Umu Gnognoro Atua

02

Andreassen, Olaug Irene Rsvik / Martinsson-Wallin, Helene

Digitized Rapanui artefacts, then what?

Digitizing museum collections is an exciting possibility for museums to display -and for audiences to
discover- objects that there never will be enough space to exhibit physically. Yet the digitization of
ethnographic collections raises questions of concern about its process and reception as these
collections often have problematic origins and consist of objects that can be important for the
contemporary cultural identity of their source community. With more and more collections going
online people in source communities can now discover objects of their ancestors that they didnt
even knew existed. The less exciting side of this is that they also may discover objects that were
collected without the proper consent and be disappointed with the often erroneous and poor
documentation done by the museum.
Most museum anthropologists, who normally take pride in defending the source communities point
of view, can feel divided between such positive and problematic sides of digitization and unsure of
how to do things right. And in addition many of us are probably also burdened by a feeling of guilt for
wrong doings of our anthropological ancestors and therefore really want to do things better now.
So in the case of Rapa Nui how can we make the digitization of Rapanui artefacts in foreign
collections more useful to the Rapanui community?

03

Armstrong, Felipe

Anthropomorphic art of Rapa Nui: bodies, objects and persons

Anthropomorphic art from Rapa Nui have been traditionally divided into types (e.g. wooden
figurines, moai, rock art, etc.), which have been studied in isolation from each other. These studies
tried to answer specific questions regarding their meaning, technical requirements, or associations to
specific myths. The use of ethnographical and early historical accounts has been key in these
interpretations.

On the contrary, the proposed paper will present a research focusing on the anthropomorphic art of
Rapa Nui as a whole, addressing the different ways in which the human body was used as a referent
in the construction of a diverse set of objects. The role of their materiality, as well as their formal and
iconographical aspects will be discussed, together with the social implications of the aesthetic
decisions evidenced in this set of material culture. Specifically, I will discuss the role of these objects
on three main aspects of ancient Rapanui social life: i) the construction of notions about the body, ii)
the construction of personhood, and iii) the reproduction of ontology(ies).
This paper will present preliminary results of my PhD project/research, addressing the multiplicity of
bodies constructed by ancient Rapa Nui and the effects they had in the overall production and
reproduction of social and cultural dynamics.

04

Ayres, William S. / Wozniak, Joan / Ramrez, Jos Miguel

Ahu structural change at Ura Uranga te Mahina, Rapa Nui

At Ura Uranga te Mahina, an ahu ritual and religious center on Rapa Nuis south coast, field studies
provide evidence to evaluate models of the structural evolution of the islands stone megalithic
complexes. They also enable stabilization planning for architecture and conservation of various stone
types. Excavations provide data about the chronological development of separate ahu units as well
as of statue styles. Several building stages, covering a time frame from at least 650 BP to the early
historic period, are represented, and two sets of stone images and one isolated statue at the site can
be linked to major building or remodelling episodes. Comparison with other key ahu complexes on
the island reinforces the evidence for considerable variation in the elaboration of such sites.

05

Barber, Ian

New archaeological evidence of pre-Hispanic sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam) in southern
Polynesia: a dated storage complex at Prkaunui, New Zealand
Eighteenth-century records of sweet potato/kumara (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam.) and gourd/hue
(Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standl.) cultivation from apical Polynesia have been interpreted widely as
prima facie evidence of pre-Hispanic transoceanic culture contact. Even so, an alternative if minority
argument that early sixteenth century Iberian explorers transferred these American crops into
Oceania has some currency still given debate over botanical kmara identifications or chronologies in
Polynesia before AD 1500. One way around the debate is to date Mori archaeological crop
production and storage evidence from central to southern, cool-temperate New Zealand where
Polynesian cultivation was restricted to kmara and hue. Following that assumption, this paper
presents new evidence of a pit complex constructed in the precise form of a seasonal kmara storage
facility from Prkaunui, southern New Zealand. Radiocarbon determinations that bracket this pit-
building sequence are analyzed to establish a pre-Hispanic construction chronology for the
Prkaunui complex and to reassess the accepted southern Polynesian margins of kmara
production and storage.

06

Boersema, Jan J.

Pondering the population numbers of Easter Islands past

It was not until 1877 that the first census was conducted on Easter Island (by Alphonse Pinart). For
the preceding period we must base our calculations on historical sources (written accounts of early
visits), comparative studies (e.g. population density on other Polynesian islands), indirect estimates
(based on the number of houses; or on available nutrients) and/or population dynamics (number of
settlers; time of arrival; sex ratio and growth rate). In this paper I will discuss a number of approaches
that have been taken to arrive at figures for the islands population, most notably at its peak shortly
before the supposed collapse. The outcomes vary between a couple of thousands and tens of
thousands. I will argue that the high estimates are unlikely. Possibly there was no such thing as a
pre-collapse peak at all.

07

Brito, Carmen / Seelenfreund, Andrea

DOCUMENTARY FILM

Buscando a Isla de Pascua: la pelcula perdida (Searching for Isla de Pascua: the lost film.)
The documentary is based on the discovery of some film rolls at the flea market in Valparaso, Chile
and the realization that these were negatives and part of discarded film material from the lost
Chilean movie "Isla de Pascua", filmed on Easter Island by Jorge di Lauro and Nieves Yankovic in
1961. The documentary relates the search for the original film by an archaeologist and a film
restorer, the background to the film and its original makers, based on interviews to Chilean
filmmakers and film researchers, the Rapanui people and most importantly the main character that
features in the original film. The documentary records the reactions and impressions of the people
on Rapanui after the screening of the original materials found, which had never before been shown
on the island. The footage of the original film shows life on the island before the onset of commercial
flights, tourism and the installation of the Chilean administration.
Director: Carmen E. Brito
General Production: Andrea Seelenfreund.
Screenplay: Carmen E. Brito and Andrea Seelenfreund.
Restoration footage: Carmen E. Brito
Assistant: Tatiana Sanhueza.
Director of photography: Rodrigo Sandoval, Rodrigo Castro.
Camera: Rodrigo Castro, Rodrigo Sandoval.
Sound: Claudio Mercado.
Production Assistant: Josefina Arriagada.
Field Production: Leo Pakarati and Paula Rossetti.
Editing: Carmen Brito and Rodrigo Castro
Post production image: Rodrigo Sandoval.
Post Production Sound: Matas Valdes.
Length: 1 hour. Color.
Language: Spanish. Sub titles (Rapa Nui): Spanish

08

Browder, Christopher

Rapa Nui oral tradition as it relates to scientific evidence

The oral tradition of Easter Island has been used to support scientific conclusions and, conversely,
scientific evidence often corroborates the oral tradition. In fact knowledge of one may help to better
understand the other allowing for new scientific conclusions to be made. This paper and
presentation address some of the discrepancies between excerpts of the Rapa Nui oral tradition
recorded in the past. They will also attempt to show how comparisons between the oral tradition
and related scientific evidence may lead to a better understanding of the un-deciphered rongo-
rongo script while helping to reveal the origins of the Rapanui people, details of their culture and
history, the specific engineering methods used by the natives in the past, the primary reasons for
deforestation, and the ultimate causes of the societal collapse of the ancient culture.

09

Brown, Andrew / Crema, Enrico

Regional population model in New Zealand prehistory

Population dynamics are an important component of archaeological explanations of culture change
in Polynesia. Within the region, population growth has been seen as both a primary cause of change
and a useful proxy measure of socio-political complexity, land tenure and subsistence practices.
Typically, the pattern inferred in Polynesia consists of two phases: (1) initial rapid growth followed by
(2) reduced growth as populations approach carrying capacity (Kirch 1984; Tuljapurkar et al. 2007).
The logistic growth pattern is a useful basic model of population growth in Polynesia. However, as
Kirch (1984; 2007) suggests, the pattern of population growth and expansion involves feedback
between ecological, demographic and cultural factors. Therefore individual islands and island groups
will exhibit unique patterns of change. In New Zealand, a logistic pattern of population growth is
implicit in many culture change models, with the exception of southern New Zealand. This paper
employs radiocarbon dates to develop proxies of three regional population models and test the
conceptual models that currently pervade in New Zealand archaeology.

10
Castaeda, Patricia / Riveros, Katherine / Rivera, Antonio / Rojas, Gloria / Torres, Paulina /
Seelenfreund, Andrea
Science workshop for children on Rapa Nui: getting to know our botanical heritage
Every human group establishes a particular way of interacting with its environment. Rapa Nui society
has been no exception to the rule. Since the very beginning, of mythical settlement, islanders have
used and given meaning, to the different plants species on their islands. Their plants were
transported with humans during the process of migration and island colonization, in what has been
called the transported landscapes, and has been used to reconstruct island settlement history. Our
research project has built on this model in order to reconstruct the history of human movements to
Rapanui.
In order to socialize the scientific approach of our project to the larger Rapanui community, we
designed a Science Workshop adapted to children (8 to 13 years old). The aim of the workshop was

to generate a learning space for the children to understand the relationship between science, plants,
culture and their heritage. The workshop used a hands-on approach with methods from both the
Natural and the Social Sciences, for a meaningful learning process for the children on the island. We
present the results of the workshop. (Fondecyt Grant 1120175).

11

Cauwe, Nicolas / de Dapper, Morgan

The moai along the ancient paths of Rapa Nui. A new study
Recently the Belgian archaeological mission had the opportunity to re-examine some 46 statues
scattered along what are generally called the camino de los moai, ancient roads which are thought
to have been used to transport the stone giants from the quarries. Many authors interpret this
scattering of statues as proof that only complete and finished moai were moved and that their
transport was suddenly interrupted. Two circumstances make this idea improbable. The first is the
fine state of preservation of these statues: almost half of them are intact, despite their supposed fall.
Others are broken, but the fragments remain contiguous to one another, meaning the breaks result
from subsidence which occurred when the statues were lying down, not from the impact of their fall.
The second element which argues against the fall of the statues is the presence of chocking stones,
showing that the horizontal position of these moai was premeditated, an intention which is
confirmed by their excellent state of conservation. Furthermore, some years ago, an erection pit was
found during excavations made at the vicinty of one the these images. Obviously, new assumptions
are necessary concerning the statues scaterred along the roads.

12

Charleux, Michel

Eiao, the workshop-island. The first results of seven long-term missions

Located at the northernmost part of the Marquesas Islands, more than 1,600km Northeast of Tahiti,
Eiao has one of the largest sources of fine-grained basalt in the Eastern South Pacific (the other one
being that of Pitcairn). Deserted today, the island had probably been inhabited since the eleventh
century by early Marquesans. A few years after setting foot on the island, they discovered the
exceptional properties of its basalt for shaping tools whose reputation for excellence exceeded the
archipelago. It should be recalled that geo-chemical analyses made it possible to certify that these
tools were "scattered" to other islands of the Marquesas archipelago (B. Rolett), but also to further
remote islands (M. Wessler).
The island became a "workshop-island", the remains of this quasi-industrial activity are innumerable
workshops and layers of flakes covering up to several tens of square meters. It is however in the
MEI.D06 quadrangle, that we observe the highest density of built structures, workshops and
impressive accumulations of flakes. It is also in this area that we note the existence of two impressive
very deep pits, surrounded by a high ridge of rubbles, apparently dug by man and which could have
been one of the basalt extraction areas. The activity on the island, spanning between the eleventh
and eighteenth centuries, fits perfectly in the general Marquesan chronology.

13

Charleux, Michel

The stemmed pieces of the island of Eiao (Marquesas Islands)

Unusual tools in the toolkit of the Polynesians, the mata'a of Rapa Nui, are typologically bifacially-
flaked stemmed artifacts. Except for a piece made of basalt reported by Alfred METRAUX in 1940, all
the mata'a were made from obsidian. This is why the discovery of a dozen stemmed basalt pieces on
the island of Eiao (Northern Marquesas, French Polynesia) is of particular interest.
These pieces correspond to a flake of basalt from which, through a succession of retouches, a tang
making the fitting possible is cleared. Although none of them has been found in stratigraphic
position, this does not exclude the possibility of relative antiquity, dates obtained on different sites
spanning the eleventh to the eighteenth centuries.
Their low frequency reflects a desire to shape for a specific, but very occasional use. Should we see a
ceremonial related to a particular object? The functional analysis reveals the percussion action of a
material similar to wood of soft to medium hardness.
In the present state of discoveries, despite disturbing similarities between Eiao pieces and mata'a,
this convergence of shape seems insufficient to establish the evidence of relations between Eiao and
Rapa Nui.

14

Conrich, Ian

Heroes and villains: the popular depictions of adventurers and archaeologists on Easter Island
In the popular fiction that circulates around Easter Island, earthly visitors predominantly fall into one
of five groups: the troubled superhero, the curious tourist, the stranded voyager, the adventurer or
explorer, and the archaeologist or scientist. In reality, adventurers and archaeologists were for many
years the mainstay of the island's visitors with people like Katherine Routledge and Thor Heyerdahl
figuring significantly within its history. Others drawn to the mystery of the moai include Jacques
Cousteau, most noted for his deep-sea explorations, who visited the island in 1978. It is therefore not
surprising that the adventurer and archaeologist frequently appear in Easter Island fiction. What is
interesting, though, is the way in which the fiction tends to separate these figures into heroes or
villains.
Perpetual adventurers Indiana Jones, Lara Croft, Scooby-Doo, and Doctor Who have all encountered
the moai. In a Doctor Who novel, an anthropologist steals a rongorongo tablet from the island
thereby cursing a family, with the good Doctor travelling there many years later to unravel the
mysteries. Meanwhile, Scooby-Doo and gang investigate the moai and find that one is hollow, and is
acting as a cover for a corrupt scientist. This is extended in other stories with stairs or passageways
discovered underneath or near the moai. The many caves that exist around the volcanic island and
which are yet to be fully charted, have served in fiction as convenient secret lairs and as underground
chambers for hiding great treasures, or for hatching dastardly plans. In this paper, I will focus on
comic books, noelvs, films and advertising in a study that considers the cultural function of these
recurring figures.

15

Corvaln, Javier

Initial Chilean schooling development in Easter Island as part of a process of colonization and
transculturation of the Rapa Nui population
This paper, the product of three years of cultural and historic research, including documentary
analysis and fieldwork in Easter Island, discusses how Chilean authorities have been implementing a
process of transculturation through compulsory education of Rapa Nui children and youngsters since
the beginning of the XXth Century. This project was sustained by previous evangelization efforts
initiated by Sacre-Coeur Congregations French missionaries whose regular contacts with the local
population resulted in a partly modified set of local cultural patterns.
During the first decades of the XXth Century, Chilean Government authorities continued with the
transculturalization process through schools on the basis of both the prevailing anthropological
theories and educational practices in Chile at that time and the relative benefits resulting from
indigenous childrens enrollment in western-style schools. Consequently, Eastern Islands educational
system was based on such concepts as civilization, Christianity and the acquisition of a language
considered to be superior to the Islands vernacular language, as was the general perception of
Spanish with respect to the Rapa Nui language.
Within the framework of this research project, we have already published an article on a journal of
Anthropology in Chile (From Evangelizing Colonial School to a competitive and segmented
educational system on Easter Island in Chungar 46:4:2014). The final outcome of this research will
be released in 2015 in the form of a book entitled One-hundred years of schooling in Easter Island,
published by Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Santiago, Chile.

16

Cruz Berrocal, Maria / Uriarte Gonzlez, Antoni / Millerstrom, Sidsel

A comparative approach to the study of fish traps in the Pacific: field work results from Nananu-i-
Ra, Fiji islands
In 2009 we carried out fieldwork in Nananu-i-Ra, one of the islands off the northern coast of Viti
Levu, the main island in the Fijian archipelago. We discovered and mapped a large concentration of
fish traps along different tracts of the Nananu-i-Ra coastline. Although fish traps are not a rarity in
Fiji, they are not widely spread all over the archipelago, but concentrated on particular areas. We aim
first to present our research on this evidence, highlighting the relevance of this kind of remains, very
little known or studied. We will explore potential explanations for these fish traps, related either to
social practices or to environmental conditions. Given the political and social homogeneity of the
Fijian society, particular occurrences such as fish traps potentially show some variability in social
practice that it is worth of study: nowadays shallow-water or coastal fishing is mainly carried out by
women in occasional manner, whereas the use and maintenance of the fish traps requires communal
work and social investment, as it is clear from other case studies. In fact we will use ethnographic and
archaeological case studies from Fiji, Taiwan and Hawaii to discuss fish traps in the Pacific at large.

17

Davletshin, Albert

A possible [ki] syllable in Kohau Rongorongo script of Easter Island: a case of a "semantic guess"
and its formalization
The staff sign (code 001 in Thomas Barthel's nomenclature) has highest usage frequency in Kohau
Rongorongo texts. It enters reduplicated sequences ABAB, BABA and AAA; here A denotes sign 001
and B - any other sign. Formation of such sequences indicates that staff is a phonetic sign, i.e., a
sign which transmits an abstract sequence of sounds (C)V, where C stands for a consonant and V
for a vowel. On the other hand, isolated occurrences of sign 001 suggest its logographic nature, i.e.,
its reading value corresponds to a lexical morpheme. Together with grammatical markers, such as
glyphs depicting sitting man, leaved vine and reed, staff appears as an introductory glyph for
numerous textual fragments that abound in rhetorical and poetic devices. Lists introduced by staff
remind of the most frequent speech verb of Rapanui k 'to say, speak' which shows a peculiar
distribution in texts. This interpretation is based on a semantic guess. Importantly, a few Rapanui
lexical morphemes have a CV structure and importantly, it is possible to arrive at the [ki] reading
basing on analysis of the introductory glyph only. If the proposed hypothesis holds, phonetic signs of
Kohau Rongorongo do not distinguish short and long vowels.

18

Davletshin, Albert

Po'u Hakanononga statue in the Cinquantenaire Museum, Brussels: iconographic analysis and
ethnographic parallels
The basalt statue Po'u Hakanononga was collected at 'Ahu 'A Rongo by the Franco-Belgian Expedition
(July 1934 - January 1935). The statue is in good preservation state and is about 3 m tall. It is
somewhat asymmetrical and aberrant in form due to its square head with an open mouth, straight
legs and rounded buttocks, suggesting that it may be one of the earliest Easter Island moai according
to stylistic criteria.
The present research stems from detailed visual re-examination of the original statue in Brussels.
Po'u Hakanononga shows several uncommon iconographic features unattested on other moai
maea: prominent male genitalia, oversized hands seemingly grasping a kind of long object and
symmetrical clusters of circles (previously interpreted as fishhooks in the literature). An overt
representation of male genitalia is typical for Eastern Polynesian sculpture and may be an archaic
feature. Four lines of circles remind body painting used during initiation rites in Oceanic cultures.
I suggest that the statue represents a stylistic variation of the iconographic theme "accession to the
office of paramount chief" a future chief is depicted putting on his maro loincloth and the
symmetrical carved circles refer to the body painting associated with the accession ritual.

19

Davletshin, Albert / Korovina, Evgeniya

The first Rapanui corpus of interlinear-glossed texts

A corpus of interlinear-glossed Rapanui texts was developed by the authors in 2012-2014. It is a
compilation of traditional Rapanui texts published by Alfred Mtraux, Fritz Felbermayer, Olaf Blixen
and Sebastian Englert supplied with interlinear glosses. It already includes about 50,000 Rapanui
words. The database provides easy and intuitive search either for particular words or grammatical
markers, forming a useful tool for the scholars working in different fields of Easter Island studies
anthropology, folklore research, Rongorongo studies and, first of all, for linguists.
Interlinear text presentation provides: 1) original orthography, 2) translation as given in the source,
3) normalized orthography with reconstructed phonetic transcription, 4) morpheme-by-morpheme
gloss in English and 5) enhanced unified translation (this part is still under development). Line 3 uses
special symbols to distinguish various linguistic entities including 1) syntactic groups, 2) lexical nuclei,
3) modifiers of lexical nuclei in postposition (attributes) and preposition (incorporated objects), 4)
flexions (reduplications of plural verbal forms) and 5) lexicalized derivational morphemes.
Such unprecedented detailed glossing of different levels proved to be advantageous for analyzing
and translating Rapanui texts and may also pave a way for future development of interlinear glossing
systems for other Polynesian languages.

20

de Laat, Mary

A possible key to rongorongo: the petroglyphs at Ana O Keke

A number of Easter Island petroglyphs contain figures, which are very similar to some of the signs of
the rongorongo-script. The finest examples can be found on the wall of a cave called Ana O Keke, the
Cave of the Setting Sun. In this place, located on the cliffs of the Poike peninsula, elite girls called
neru were confined to ritually bleach their skin and fatten their body. My poster will explore the
possibility that the petroglyphs of this cave could provide clues to the phonetic values of some of the
rongorongo-signs, because
1) a substantial amount of information regarding the neru cult has been preserved in traditions and
chants;
2) it can be shown that the mural is firmly embedded in this cultural context and, since it is mostly
figurative, its meaning can be explained using the data on the ritual;
3) the petroglyphs form a coherent whole, allowing for educated guesses at the meaning of the
abstract parts and the phonetic value of some of the glyph-like figures.
Subsequently, using the inscriptions on wood, the proposed phonetic values can be tested in various
settings. The initial identifications can then be employed to deduce the values of other signs.

10

21

Delsing, Riet

Kainga Rapanui, then and now

In this paper I discuss the conflictive ideas about land tenure on Rapa Nui. Recent land occupations in
the center of Hanga Roa, and in particular the conflict between the Investment Company Empresas
Transocenica and the clan Hitorangi, reveal the prolonged misunderstandings between the Chilean
State and some private investors, and the Rapanui people. I consider the Polynesian concept of
kainga for the case of Rapa Nui, versus the Chilean States perspective, one that considers Rapa Nui
to be Chilean territory, subject to Chilean legislation. I then discuss recent Rapanui land claims and
compare them with similar claims elsewhere in Oceania and Polynesia. I finally describe the case of
the hotel Hangaroa, built on Hitorangi clan land. I consider the ongoing land occupations - and
especially the controversy between the Hitorangi and the Schiess family of Santiago over the hotel
Hangaroa - to be of crucial importance in the struggle of the Rapanui people to recover their
ancestral lands.

22

Di Piazza, Anne

Archaeological and linguistic isochrone maps of the Pacific: an aid to understanding prehistoric
migrations?
Maps are rarely neutral depictions of space. They encode, simplify and abstract human experiences
of landscape according to particular needs and histories maps are socially and culturally
embedded (Thomas 2008:97). In this paper I will present anamorphic maps of the Pacific islands to
better understand prehistoric colonization and cultural interaction in the region. The resulting charts
will be distorted according to selected variables such as the radiocarbon dates of initial settlement,
linguistic traits such as shared cognate percentages as well as the time required to sail between the
islands by canoe. While my point of departure is the long standing problem of migration, my goal is
to develop a new geometry for the Pacific where distant islands or archipelagos become either
closer or farther away than they appear on Cartesian maps depending on the variables
investigated here. These anamorphic charts provide a means to envision a new seascape, one that
reflects that experienced by Oceanic navigators; a seascape that goes beyond maps based on latitude
and longitude.

23

Downes, Jane / Torres Hochstetter, Francisco / Torres Jeria, Paulina / Welham, Kate

Care for the future? Exploring relationships between education, knowledge exchange, and heritage
management in Rapa Nui

This paper examines the potential for heritage education and knowledge exchange to have positive
input into the management of cultural heritage sites. We evaluate the impact and legacy of this type
of participation on both Rapa Nui and other comparative World Heritage Sites, and examine a case
study that focuses on a current education and knowledge exchange programme being developed on
the Island itself. The work is a collaboration between the Officina Patrimonio Rapa Nui, Museo

11

Antropolgico Padre Sebastin Englert (MAPSE), CONAF, and educators and heritage professionals
from Orkney, and researchers from the Arts and Humanities Research Council funded project, Rapa
Nui: Landscapes of Construction. We examine how bringing school children, educators, and heritage
managers from synergistic landscapes and environments together can facilitate a broader overall
understanding of cultural heritage and the future challenges it faces. We also discuss how these
relationships and approaches can stimulate new pathways to more sustainable management
strategies and research plans, and ultimately improved knowledge exchange.

24

Dudgeon, John / Commendador, Amy / Tromp, Monica / Hazard, Rebecca

Continuity or collapse: evaluating the evidence for long-term subsistence on Rapa Nui
Our understanding of the subsistence practices of the prehistoric Rapanui have been largely based -
rightly or wrongly so - on the observations of European explorers, documentarians and
ethnographers, within a time window that is not contemporaneous with the majority of the islands
history. This has led to an implicit explanatory bias toward specific subsistence practices argued to be
associated with a degraded, or collapse-era phenomenon on the island and which is believed to be
unrepresentative of the full history of human occupation and cultural development. Our research has
addressed this issue using multidisciplinary bioarchaeological and biomolecular methods to infer the
subsistence component of well-dated individuals from the collections at Museo Antropolgico Padre
Sebastin Englert. Our evidence suggests that the diachronic picture for Rapanui subsistence is
significantly stable, finely-adjusted for the local climate, environment and ecology, and perhaps one
of a very few subsistence strategies which would have proved viable over 500 years of isolation from
the Polynesian and European cultural spheres. The evidence for local subsistence adaptations on
Rapa Nui should be viewed within the context of extended cultural persistence in a marginal
environment, versus the increasingly untenable collapse ideology

25

Dunn, Richard K. / Sherwood, Sarah / Van Tilburg, Jo Anne

The evolution, natural environment, and human use of Rano Raraku Crater: the interior quarry
region as revealed in recent geological mapping and coring, soils micro-morphological analyses and
excavations
This paper details results of recent geological mapping and coring, excavations, soils analyses, and
other scientific tests carried out in the Interior Region of Rano Raraku Archaeological Zone, the major
monolithic moai (statue) quarry of Easter Island (Rapa Nui). The geological setting is that of a collapse
structure on the remaining flank of an eroded volcano. Wood sample identifications and analyses
reveal the former presence of extensive palm forests as well as other large trees, including those
useful for canoe manufacture. Human use in the form of stone quarrying produced barren, dissected
slopes. Down wash of soils buried upright statues to a level of four to five meters. Abundant
microscopic fragments of charcoal throughout excavated levels illustrate the rate and pulse of
vegetation clearance and soils movement. Twenty-one dryland samples collected from two sub-
profiles, 15cm to 225cm depth and 245 to 430cm depth, respectively, were analyzed for pollen,
phytoliths, and starch. Phytoliths of banana (Musa sp.) leaves and paper mulberry (Broussonetia
papyrifera) leaf hairs found throughout most of the profile are evidence of Polynesian transfer and

12

cultivation within the crater. The implications of these and other results for cultural materials
preservation are discussed and new research directions suggested.

26

Edwards, Edmundo / Edwards, Alexandra

Recent field work on Raivavae (working title)

27

Esen-Baur, Heide-Margaret / Santos, Pedro

Digitization project of all extant Rongorongo tablets

Up to date only two scientists have published transcriptions of the entire rongorongo-corpus. These
transcriptions are each the result of personal study of a number, not all, original objects. Both
scientists had to rely to a lesser or greater extent also upon photographs, plaster casts, moulds, line-
drawings etc., made by others in the course of more than one hundred years. The two transcriptions
differ significantly in count, scale and details. Although the inadequacies of the transcriptions have
been addressed by the scientific community, the older transcription is generally used in rongorongo-
research today.
This unsatisfactory situation needs to be covercome. By resorting to available modern digitizing
techniques, such as 3D-digitization, this may well be possible. Digitization of cultural heritage objects
presents a number of challenges. In the case of the rongorongo-tablets, the valuable hardware and
personnel needs to travel widely to the objects and set up upon location comparable environmental
conditions. The objects themselves are and have been sensitive to environmental changes, such as
temperature and humidity and in some cases are already quite deteriorated. They come in complex
shapes and sizes, and first and foremost they are very unique.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research is one of the world's leading institutes for
applied research in visual computing and virtual and augmented engineering technology. The
Institute has been at the forefront of digitization of cultural heritage objects.
By using state-of-the-art technology Fraunhofer Institute scanned the Berlin-tablet using contact-free
digitizing technologies. Preparations are made to digitize all other extant objects. Digitizing all
dispersed objects optimizes scientific collaboration, fosters the discovery of new findings and
supports fast and efficient consensus, since the same virtual models can be made available to a wide
number of scientists simultaneously. In our presentation we shall discuss our findings in depth.

28

Espejo, Jaime / Haoa Cardinali, Sonia

Does it make sense to retain an extinct species sophora? The case of Toromiro ( Phil.) Skottsb.
This presentation will show the current development of the conservation work for the Sophora
toromiro in the last years, executed by different organizations and institutions. The work is analyzed

13

from a biological perspective, which gives interesting new insights concerning the certification of the
study material and innovative strategies for the reintroduction of the species. The initiatives will be
discussed in the light of conservation paradigms and classic genetics.
On the other hand the ethnobotanical significance of the species will be outlined which determines
the successfulness of the reintroduction of the plant as a holistic approach for the sustainable
conservation by the Rapanui community.

29
Fajreldin, Valentina / Torres, Francisco / Nahoe, Susana / Gomez, Rodrigo / Quinlan, Rolando
/ Estay, Alejandra / Fortin, Moira / Abarca, Sofia / Zamora Rapu, Annette / Ramrez, Francisca /
Seelenfreund, Andrea / Haoa, Virginia / Fuentes, Miguel
The situation of intangible heritage of Easter Island: arts, knowledge and spatiality
The intangible heritage of Easter Island is today a category that public institutions and the
community are trying to manage in order to generate culturally relevant policies of safeguarding it.
The different heritage manifestations that can be found today on the island reflect the existence of a
society with a great creative ability. This can be seen, on the one hand, by the position of importance
by which it is known worldwide. On the other hand, by the self-identification each islander has as a
Cultist figure of their own heritage.
However, nowadays there are a number of issues that threaten the continuity of such
manifestations, which are closely related to structural problems from the territorial perspective.
Other issues are related to the economy, politics and demographic of Rapa Nui. These problems and
concerns generate a context of vulnerability within its inhabitants.
This paper will review in detail this process and the contexts where it manifests.

30

Fajreldin, Valentina

The situation of the medical system in Rapanui and public politics: research progress
This presentation shows that the political dimension of the rapanui medicine remains one of the
characteristic features of this issue; now located in a context of openness to the global world and the
processes of hybridization.
It has been shifting towards institutionalization through processes of formalization of internal
organization, dialogue with the public authorities, participation in the funds. This has been producing
various forms of discourse on medical knowledge, ownership of medical resources and relevance of
medical agents, stressing in a novel way social relations.
Today, unlike the nationalist role that was ten years ago, today it is becoming but no suitable object
to health care institutions and policies of the continent.
I present how processes at local, national and global scale is {an impacting on the development of
the concept of Rapanui Medicine, in light of some theoretical perspectives in the field of medical
anthropology.

14


31

Fassbinder, Jrg W.E. / Bondar, Ksenija / Vogt, Burkhard / Moser, Johannes

Archaeological magnetometry and soil magnetism on Easter Island (Chile)

Magnetic prospecting, since its first application in the 1950s, is meanwhile widely used for the
detection and mapping of archaeological sites worldwide. The great success of the method however,
is based on the more subtle magnetically induced anomalies that occur due to the enrichment of
magnetic minerals in the topsoil. Because of the strong magnetic background of geological structures
on volcanic soils and/ or basaltic geology, it was a widely held belief that the search for
archaeological structures on Easter Island is nearly impossible. Therefore the geophysical aim of this
project was primarily to make first tests on different sites and around of ahu monuments. In situ
measurements of the magnetic susceptibility on soil profiles on a recent construction pit, revealed
surprising results: Although the basalts have already high content in magnetic minerals, the
susceptibility of the topsoil exhibits fourfold value. Our findings on a variety of eight test areas
confirmed that prospecting on basaltic geology may also trace archaeological structures beneath the
ground. The magnetic anomalies are dominated by (thermo-) remanent anomalies, but show beside
the stonewall foundation of so-called hare paenga houses even the old excavation trenches from
William Mulloy in front of the Ahu Akivi site.

32

Hagelberg, Erika

The genetic affinities of the Rapanui

The origins of the Rapanui are of significant interest to historians, archaeologists and anthropologists.
The Rapanui have been the subject of numerous genetic studies, from blood groups in the early
decades of the twentieth century, to genome-wide surveys in recent years. Analysis of mitochondrial
DNA markers in skeletal remains of prehistoric Rapanui showed that their maternal lineages were
identical to those of other Polynesians. More recently, high resolution genetic analyses of DNA from
the present-day population supports the view that the Rapanui are mainly of Polynesian origin,
although they carry a large proportion of European genes as a result of admixture since European
contacts. Interestingly, they also carry genes that suggest trans-Pacific contacts with the Americas
before the arrival of the Europeans. In this paper, I will outline the history of genetic research on
Easter Island since the early decades of the twentieth century, and discuss the implications of the
data for our understanding of the origins of the islanders.

33

Hamilton, Sue

The eye petroglyphs of Rano Raraku

Two seasons of survey (201314) have focused on the identification and detailing of circa 30 eye
petroglyphs located within Rano Raraku statue quarry, Rapa Nui. The paper considers the eyes'
morphology, their contexts within the quarry, and the use and meaning of the eye motif on the
Island. There are a range of eye petroglph-types at Rano Raraku. These occur in different places
within the quarry, there is a spatial association between eye petroglyphs and moai removal. The eyes

15

do not appear to reference the wider landscape. This shows that the role of eye petroglyphs relates
to stages in quarrying and the meaning of quarrying.

34

Hamilton, Sue

Three aspects of the landscapes of the Ara Moai, Rapa Nui

The Ara Moai or moai roads are demarcated by alignments of recumbent moai. Two seasons (2013-
14) of surface survey on and in the vicinity of the moai road between, Rano Raraku and Ahu Hoa
Anga Vaka a Tua Poi provide information on the nature and form of the moai alignments, the types
of feature(s) associated with these, their morphology and the patterning within the landscape, and
the wider agricultural, industrial and ritual landscape in which these are located. Out of these, this
paper discusses: i) the weathering of the moai comprising the moai alignments as evidence that
these were formally standing; ii) the nature of the anthropogenic environment in which this
alignment existed; and iii) and the phenomenological experiences of moving along the moai roads.
We will discuss the implications of these findings for the interpretations and management of the
moai roads.

35

Haoa Cardinali, Sonia / Schffler, Doris

Studies of rock art in the north part of Easter Island

The paper will introduce a new research project which is under the patronage of CONAF and which is
directed by Sonia Haoa Cardinali. The team includes specialists from the fields of archaeology,
geology, stone restoration, and 3D-documentation. The main objectives are the plotting,
identification and the study of the petroglyphs in the northern area of Easter Island - from Hanga
Oteo to Vaka Kipo. The project encompasses a period of 8 10 months and is hoped to provide the
basis for a newly designed Petroglyph Information System (PIS).
The presentation will explain the technical and methodological approach of the project with special
emphasis on the 3D photogrammetric method Structure for Motion (SfM). This technique allows
the digital documentation of the rock engravings and the creation of 3D digital models with photo-
realistic texturing. SfM is not only faster and more precise but it also offers a wider interpretation
than a documentation by conventional hand drawing. The contribution will present the first results
including those of specialized geological studies all of these to be entered in the PIS which will have
highest importance for further field research and also with respect to site conservation.

36

Hawarden, Rosanne

A possible pre-Tasman canoe landing site, or tauranga waka, in Golden Bay, South Island, New
Zealand and its role in regional maritime networks
Mori canoes or waka were first recorded on beaches at Wainui Bay, Golden Bay area, South Island,
New Zealand in an illustration of Abel Tasmans 1642 visit to this area from Nicolaas Witsens (1705)

16

book, Noord en Oost Tartarye. Wainui Bay is a site of national importance where the first
documented contact between Mori and Dutch explorers took place. The Witsen etching is the first
printed image of New Zealand. A 2012 maritime archaeological survey of a pre-Tasman canoe landing
site, or tauranga waka at Taupo Point is correlated with this illustration and other
historical/archaeological evidence. Mori inhabitants of the associated village and p created what is
possibly the oldest known maritime structure in New Zealand. As favourable anchorages and
harbours continued to be used into modern times, photographic archives were searched for
evidence of later alterations. Landowners were interviewed for their recollections. Photographs show
a stable beach structure that has changed very little. The channel dimensions point to the volume of
the traffic and the maximum size of vessels hauled onto the beach. Another well preserved site on
the Banks Peninsula, Canterbury was also surveyed to determine the principles underlying the choice
of canoe harbour locations and their role in regional maritime networks.

37

Hermann, Aymeric

Making adzes in prehistoric Polynesia: production processes and specialised know-how in the
Toerauetoru district of Tubuai (Austral Islands, French Polynesia)
The ubiquity of stone adze blades in archaeological sites and museum collections resulted in their use
as cultural fossils to draw cultural evolutionary changes in the Polynesian islands. The typological
approach proves useful for understanding archaeological diversity in Oceania. Nevertheless, it lacks
efficiency when it comes to shedding light on technical and economic choices involved in the
production processes.
Through the technological analysis of lithic assemblages from the mataeinaa (district) of
Toerauetoru, located on the northern coast of Tubuai (Austral Islands, French Polynesia), we aim to
provide a study of techno-economic dynamics related to the production of adzes in ancient Tubuai.
Petrographic and geochemical analysis of exploited geological materials and finished tools from
different sites yield information on raw material supply strategies and transfers of finished blades.
Eventually, the description and comparison of operational sequences related to adze blade
production and maintenance provide a reliable assessment of technical processes within the
traditional Toerauetoru district, from quarries and specialised workshops to the dwelling sites
established on the coastal plain. We will finally discuss how the investigation of the technical system
of stone adze production in ancient Tubuai can shed light on the social organisation of Polynesian
chiefdoms.

38

Horley, Paul

Carving techniques used for rongorongo artefacts

The rongorongo script of Easter Island is remarkable in many ways, including its master-class carving
quality. The detail of tiny glyphs and smoothness of their contours makes one wonder about
techniques and tools used by the ancient scribes. According to the Rapanui lore, the signs were
engraved with obsidian flakes and shark teeth. In this study, a special attention was paid to analysis
of different shark teeth available to the islanders, suggesting that non-serrated teeth of short-fin

17

mako were the most likely carving tool. Among the wood types identified for the surviving
rongorongo artefacts, once-native Pacific rosewood holds a special place. Basing on these data, the
samples of mako teeth, Pacific rosewood and black obsidian were subjected to stress-strain
measurements. The results show that mechanical properties of shark tooth perfectly match the
requirements of the carving process, whereas the brittleness of obsidian casts a serious doubt on its
prominent role in glyph engraving. Analysis of the original tablets also suggested possible techniques
that might have been used for preparation of writing surface, as well as some post-processing
treatments allowing a considerable approach to sign carving quality in rongorongo tablets.

39

Horley, Paul / Cuadros Hucke, Ninoska / Haoa Cardinali, Sonia / Gonzlez Nualart, Lilian

Development of 3D virtual tours for archaeological sites of Rapa Nui

The cultural heritage of Rapa Nui is unique and extremely fragile. In recent years, a significant effort
was dedicated to advanced digital documentation with modern non-invasive techniques such as 3D
laser scanning and photogrammetric reconstruction. The resulting point clouds including millions of
points achieve sub-millimetre precision, but require powerful computers for their analysis and
visualization. In this paper, we report on successful creation of 3D models of entire archaeological
sites including habitation cave at Vai Mata, Ana Kai Tangata and topknots scattered on exterior
slopes of Puna Pau quarry. The obtained photogrammetric models were reduced to lower number of
polygons and supplied with high-quality photographic textures for real-time visualization and
navigation on an average modern computer, providing dynamic virtual tour experience for education
purposes. The intermediate 3D models in high resolution are useful for scientific and conservation
studies by providing an integral record of archaeological site. For fragile areas such as Ana Kai
Tangata, which suffered considerable ceiling collapse in the past years, such record may be vital for
future conservation and reconstruction efforts.

40

Huke Ainsa, Hetereki

Pre-European coastal villages of Rapa Nui

The paper is an attempt to describe the Pre-European Coastal Settlements from its spatial relations
in the macro-territory, the physical distribution of the elements, its architectural structures and their
unique characteristics.
The work is the result of different Architectural field works done by the author in Rapa Nui during
2013 and 2014. The main purpose of the research is finding new useful information about this kind of
settlements that will enable us to recognize spatial and architectural patterns as well as variations,
this information can show us that Coastal Villages and its structures respond to both cultural factors
and geographic conditions with traditional and engineering solutions.
Some of the questions that this research tries to explore are related with the territory, the
surrounding landscape and the structural characteristics of some specific structures like the Hare
Paenga or Boat Houses.

18

The research was done through detail topographic registration of three settlements and their
structures (Akahanga, Vaihu and Te Peu) with aerial photography, drawings and existent literature
research.

41

Ingersoll, Daniel Winthrop / Ingersoll, Kathleen B.

The potential for palm extinction on Rapa Nui by disease

This paper examines some of the hypotheses and statements in the literature concerning the extinct
palms of Rapa Nui. The focal species is the Jubaea chilensis-like palm, or Paschalococos disperta.
What caused the disappearance of the palm? Overharvesting, climate change, and predation by the
introduced rats (Rattus exulans) currently represent the major proposed hypotheses. To avoid pre-
mature closure, alternative hypotheses deserve serious consideration: among various palm genera,
documented serious extinction/extirpation threats include fungi, viruses, bacteria, nematodes,
insects, birds, and combinations such as insects transmitting fungi. Pacific island and other examples
of palm loss by disease are discussed. This presentation serves as an introduction to our ongoing
research project involving literature review and field experiments. A full-length research paper
includes an assessment of the draw on palms for moai moving and erection, an exploration of the
appropriateness of palm for canoe building, a review of the data on the presence of large arboreal
species such as Elaeocarpus and Altiphonia on Rapa Nui, and a description of the field experiments
conducted to date on Molokai, involving studies of palm flotation characteristics and burn by-
products in oxidation and reduction atmospheres. The longer paper will also be available and
comments and suggestions are invited.

42

Jakubowska, Zuzanna / Vorbrich, Christopher (a.k.a. Krzysztof ) Konstanty

Recently discovered Mmoire written by the Forsters in the light of other works of their
authorship: a new perspective in Easter Island studies
The original component of the paper is a comparative study of five disparate Forsterian Easter Island
primary sources, namely Journals, A Voyage, its German translation Reise, Observations, as
well as a recently discovered Mmoire originally written in French. The last mentioned is the core of
the comparative work of the present paper. Fragments of the translation of the Mmoires original in
Polish and English are also discussed. In addition the present paper takes part in a controversy
surrounding the true author of this work. The rationale behind the presented article is to close the
gap left by the critical neglect. Last but not least, this paper takes part in the controversy surrounding
the German, Polish and French view on the Easter Islands cultural and scientific heritage shown by
Mmoire. The paper builds its interpretations partly fusing bibliographical studies and research in
situ. The analysis proved that the research objectives namely determining the true author of
Mmoire and the novelty of Mmoire approach to Easter Island research have been accomplished
in their entity. It is recommended to widen the comparative research into the Spanish and Dutch
Easter Island primary sources and to translate Mmoire into the above mentioned languages.

19

43

Judkins Byrne, Julie

Tourism at the End of the World

Rapa Nuis remoteness, geology and famous World Heritage stone statues are a draw card for
visitors. Tourism marketing often uses mystery and enigma as a cultural resource for attracting
visitors. However, ongoing contemporary identity, cultural and political issues, including the
relationship with Chile, comprising the lived reality for Rapanuis today are usually unseen by tourists.
A 2011 exploratory field trip witnessed a street demonstration for Rapanui control over migration;
previous actions demanded ancestral land rights and independence from Chile. Main fieldwork in
2013 coincided with the busy annual Tapati Festival celebrating Rapanui Polynesian culture, yet
underlying tensions remained.
My qualitative study set out to discover how Rapanuis present their island to visitors whilst at the
same time forging their own political and cultural identity. The process of identity construction
involves drawing on and adapting a diverse set of cultural resources to achieve different ends in the
context of Rapa Nuis unique political, economic, environmental and cultural dynamics. Initial
findings suggest a complex dynamic of identity construction. Identities are shown to be partly
political, partly ethnic and, in the case of tourism, partly commercial, with implications for tourism,
tourists, heritage management and sustainability in this remote small island.

44

Kersten, Thomas P. / Hartl-Reiter, Christian

Image-based low-cost systems for automatic 3D recording of archaeological excavation sites and
objects on Easter Island
Since the typical 3D recording technologies for archaeological objects such as terrestrial laser
scanning or structured light systems are yet expensive, cumbersome, inconvenient, and often related
to necessary expert knowledge, image-based systems offer then a cost-effective, simple and flexible
alternative today. Several affordable and/or free close-range photogrammetric software packages
with computer vision algorithms are available as open-source, web services or as commercial low-
cost software since some years, which offer cheap and easy-to-use 3D capture solution for many
users such as archaeologists and specialists in cultural heritage. Thus, the question arises if these
image-based systems can substitute expensive range-based systems such as terrestrial laser scanning
or structured light systems for applications in archaeology, e.g. for the documentation of cultural
heritage and archaeological objects and finds? How does the accuracy, repeatability and reliability of
these new camera-based low-cost systems compare with results from 3D scanning? In this
contribution it will be shown, how geometry and texture of archaeological excavation sites and
cultural heritage (CH) objects from Easter Island (Chile) can be automatically constructed, modelled
and visualized from digital terrestrial and UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) imagery using different
software packages for automatic 3D object generation. To assess the quality of the generated
models, the resulting data sets will be compared to reference data of the same objects as captured
by terrestrial laser scanning.

45

Kersten, Thomas P. / Tschirschwitz, Felix / Schreyer, Kristin

20

Towards a virtual museum for cultural heritage and archaeological objects on Easter Island
In most cases archaeological finds and cultural heritage (CH) objects remain in the country of origin
by law. However, this regulation did not exist in the past and therefore CH objects and exhibits of
Rapa Nui are distributed worldwide in several museums (e.g. the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo, British
Museum in London, Ethnological Museum in Berlin-Dahlem, Sebastian Englert Museum in Hanga
Roa, and many others). Furthermore, there are financial & labour intensive efforts to present a
collection of the most important and selected CH exhibits in one travelling exhibition worldwide due
to narrow time frames, restricted and limited number of visitors, only one hot spot at a specific time
period and others.
Thus, 3D models of archaeological finds and CH objects experience an increasing meaning due to the
capability to analyse and visualise such data in an efficient database everywhere using web-based
tools in the Internet. Through digitizing by optical 3D measurement techniques CH monuments and
inaccessible discoveries, a virtual museum is dedicated to creating a growing repository of 3D models
of significant CH objects and archaeological findings of the Rapa Nui culture, thus making them freely
accessible to everybody. The digital collection of moai, excavation sites, findings as well as
petroglyphs offers a unique tool for researchers, scholars and enthusiasts to explore the story behind
each object by interacting with the collection online. The environment of the virtual museum is on
one hand the landscape of Easter Island as a textured digital elevation model (virtual island) for the
positions of statues, petroglyphs and excavation sites linked with each related 3D model. On the
other hand, the virtual museum is represented by fictively created rooms with typical museum
furniture, where a collection of important and available 3D object models is exhibited. Each digital 3D
model is then linked with additional meta-information about the object, which tells the story about
this object.

46

Korovina, Evgeniya

There are three kinds of lies: notes about Rapanui statistics

The Rapanui language has repeatedly been the subject of statistical analysis. However, practice
shows that results depend heavily on the selected material and the way statistics are collected.
Therefore, on the one hand it is important to use as much data as possible, and on the other, to use
only well-defined data.
This work was carried out using the data that were obtained during the analysis of the Rapanui
glossed corpus texts. This corpus includes practically the entire volume of folk prose texts available
for this language. For each text from the corpus, the frequencies of individual words and syllables
were counted. The frequencies of different morphemes, which were counted during the research as
well, are important in case a particle has more than one value, for example, one can see how more
frequently ki and i are used as nominal particles and e as a verbal one. The results include values for
each elements variation across the texts. Each text was analyzed both in the original and in the
normalized spelling with restored length and glottal stops. The results can be compared with the
data of rongorongo texts and applied in the Rapanui and general corpus linguistics.

21

47

Kozub, Peter / Kozub, Beate

3D photo monitoring of tuff surface alterations of the moai of Ahu Hanua Nua Mea
The moai of Easter Island represent important stone monuments as part of our worlds cultural
heritage. Many stone monuments have suffered serious damage as a consequence of natural
weathering processes, pollution, insufficient, maintenance, utilization, use of sensitive materials or
inappropriate conservation. Profound diagnosis is required for characterization, interpretation and
rating of stone deterioration and for planning and executing an effective and economic
documentation and evaluation of lithotypes and deterioration phenomena (Fitzner et al. 1995).
Therefore, it is important to protect our cultural heritage with our best conservation methods. The
monument mapping method is presented as an established non-destructive procedure for in-situ
studies on stone damage.
Since 2012, every year the single moai of the Ahu Hanua Nua Mea (at Ava Ranga Uka A Toroke Hau)
undergoes this non-destructive documentation. This long-term monument mapping method allows
scientists to see even the smallest changes on the moai statue. The paper describes preliminary
results from a novel optical-based system for three-dimensional damage mapping used on the moai
and shows the advantages of 3D photo monitoring as a non-destructive documentation.

48

Khlem, Annette / Mieth, Andreas / Bork, Hans-Rudolf / Vogt, Burkhard

The concept of sacred trees in French Polynesia and on Rapa Nui

The concept of sacred trees is something that appears in many different parts of the world. In
Polynesia trees are known to have been of great importance. Much of the vegetation today was
introduced by the Polynesian settlers, who carried seedlings and seeds of many plants with them and
by planting them upon arrival changed their environment significantly. While many of the introduced
species were agricultural crops, we know of various tree species that had a higher significance. A
number of trees are known to be sacred and connected to certain deities of the Polynesian
pantheon. They were planted inside the marae complexes of French Polynesia and considered
emanations of the respective god and as a bridge to link the world of the gods with life on earth.
On Easter Island the topic of vegetation has always been a great focus of interest. What are the
reasons for the island to be so barren of trees? There is evidence that the ancient Rapanui cut down
almost the entire vegetation of endemic palm trees that originally covered the island; with far-
reaching effects on the local ecology. Recent excavations at the water sanctuary of Ava Ranga Uka A
Toroke Hau on the slope of the Terevaka revealed that palm trees were intentionally planted there.
The fact that planting pits were a component of a meticulously planned and structured ritual site
indicates that the concept of scared trees also existed on Rapa Nui and that it was locally adapted to
the existing vegetation. Palm trees where thus not only cut down but also valued and cherished to
form part of the landscape architecture at Ava Ranga Uka A Toroke Hau.

49

Khlem, Annette

22

Informative rhythms drums and their specific messages in East Are Are, Malaita, Solomon
Islands
In November 2012 our team spent three weeks in the small hamlet of Apunirereha, East Are-Are on
Malaita in the Solomon Islands to conduct archaeological research. During our stay in the village that
is surrounded by dense rainforest we noticed that every once in a while different sounds of drums
could be heard some from the village itself some from farther away. We were told by the villagers
that the drums were played to communicate information among themselves and to other villages in
the area. There are six different types of slit drums, as they are widely spread in Melanesia.
Our informants specified that the making, keeping, and playing of the drums are subject to many
rules and taboos. The sound of each type of drum informs about specific events, as there are political
gatherings, tribal conflicts, death/funerals, feasting etc. One step further there are certain rhythms
that are only played on certain drums giving even more specific information (drum messages).
It turned out that the use of different drums and the playing of certain rhythms nowadays still is an
ingenious way to communicate detailed information over large distances among and between the
isolated villages and hamlets in East Are-Are.

50

Khlem, Annette / Hartl-Reiter, Christian

Looking towards the horizon A ship petroglyph on Rapa Nui and the possibilities and limits of
3D-documentation
Petroglyphs are ubiquitous on Rapa Nui. In many cases the glyphs depict things from the natural
environment and daily life of the Rapanui: Fish, canoes, fish hooks, nets, birds, chickens and the like.
Others show elements of the spiritual world like the birdman or Make Make. Definitely a late
addition to the canon of depictions are European sailing vessels. Historic accounts tell us how in awe
the islanders were at the sight of the first ships and what they carried on board. No doubt the first
landings had a great impact on the Rapanui. A well-known petroglyph of a European vessel can be
seen on the belly of one of the moai in the Rano Raraku quarry. Doing survey along the Quebrada
Vaip at the southern slope of the Terevaka we found another very similar petroglyph. It is much
smaller and the lines are exceedingly faint. Documenting it proved to be a challenge. Here we
evaluate the phenomenon of European ships appearing as part of rock art on Rapa Nui and the
potentials, limits and possible alternatives of using structure-from-motion photography to document
petroglyphs.

51

Lagarde, Louis / Valentin, Frdrique / Herrscher, Estelle

Excavation at rockshelter KTT006 on Isle of Pines (New Caledonia): new data on ancient diet and
funerary practices in southern Melanesia
In 2009, rockshelter KTT006 was excavated on Isle of Pines, an island 80 km south of mainland New
Caledonia, in southern Melanesia, by a team of archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology of
New Caledonia and the Pacific (IANCP). The work has provided a more or less complete occupation
sequence, since the arrival of the first Austronesian canoes 3000 years ago up to European contact.

23

Along with the successive ashy layers accumulated over three millennia, the stratigraphy had been
disrupted by funerary deposits of different kinds, roughly dating to the period of AD 400 to AD 1000.
Spatial analysis of the remains, along with carbon dating was undertaken, showing clear evidence of
a pit burial tradition and of bodies placed in constraining envelopes. Furthermore, isotope analyses
of some bone samples indicate a diet based primarily on sea products, thus allowing discussion
within the context of local evolution in dietary and funerary practices and links to other already
known burials from mainland New Caledonia.

52

Lee, Georgia / Horley, Paul

Ceremonial village of Orongo in the photographic archives of William Mulloy

The photographic archives preserved in the Biblioteca William Mulloy (Hanga Roa) contain a unique
mostly unpublished record of ceremonial village of Orongo dating back to 1970s, when the site
underwent thorough restoration. Here we report the results of a detailed analysis of Mulloys
archives, revealing images of six carved stones embedded into external masonry walls. Three of
these stones, to the best of our knowledge, were misplaced / lost by the 1980s, with Mulloys
pictures providing their only documentation. During the reconstruction of the village, there were a
number of paenga slab fragments embedded into the walls of the houses or re-used as doorway
lintels. The present-day Orongo features greatly reduced number of these embedded paenga slabs.
Such loss of external decoration might have occurred during the partial collapse of house walls, due
to the increasing weight of the ground layer covering them after heavy rains. Several such partial
collapses were witnessed during the Easter Island Petroglyph Documentation Project carried out in
1980s. The results obtained are important for historical studies of Orongo village and can be also
used for improving the preservation strategies for the fragile cultural heritage of Rapa Nui.

53

Longpe, Esmralda

The post-contact trajectories of Gilbert atolls (Kiribati, Micronesia): collapse, novelties and
continuities
Considering past trajectories of atoll social-ecological systems (SES) is a way to learn about adaptive
capacity of communities. Kiribati is an independent State since 1979 counting 100,000 inhabitants
living in isolated and scattered atolls, a majority of people residing in Gilbert archipelago. Over the
past centuries, the communities of Gilbert group developed natural resource management system
that has enabled their life in such a fragile and constraining environment. In the 1820s began the
first exchanges with Europeans and in 1892 the Gilbert group entered in the British colonial empire.
These changes caused several impacts on the structure and functioning of atoll SES. How have these
atoll SES absorbed and adapted to these changes since European contacts?
To tackle this issue, I mobilized the adaptive cycle, a conceptual tool from resilience theory
(Gunderson and Holling, 2002). The adaptive cycle suggests that systems undergo four successive
phases (i.e. growth, conservation, release and reorganization). This study used different data source
(e.g. accounts of first settlers, scientific literature, census data, socio-economic statistics, aerial

24

photographs). Results highlighted the collapse of these SES atolls during Second World War and
underlined some continuities and novelties such as the emergence of an urban atoll.

54

Lpez, Lilian

Biblioteca rapanui digital, conectandonos con el mundo

The William Mulloy Library of the Father Sebastian Englert Anthropological Museum houses the
largest collection in the world of books, articles, periodicals, maps, photographs, traditional music,
CDs and videos about Rapa Nui. This has made it a place for meetings, research and discussion of
topics related to Easter Island.
The constant increase in requests for information and access to our collection, coming from diverse
parts of the world, gives us a challenge to place these resources at the disposition of those who are
not physically present on Rapa Nui.
To meet this demand, the Library has embarked on the Biblioteca Rapanui Digital (Rapanui Digital
Library), an on-line platform in which, not only can visitors accede to the collections but, we hope to
develop a tool which will gather the collections of material on Rapa Nui from throughout the world,
helping to fill out the documentation in our own collection and sharing with others the knowledge of
Rapa Nui.

55

Mardones, Antonia / Seelenfreund, Andrea

Clothing Rapanui: missionaries and early colonization (1860- 1919)

The structured Rapanui society at the time of arrival of the first European missionaries in the late
nineteenth century was based on a subtle network of reciprocal obligations. Just as in other
Polynesian societies, textiles were the object of ritual exchange par excellence. The conversion of the
islanders to Christianity ensued in the reorganization of certain cultural elements which consequently
is reflected in certain material objects, particularly the use of fabrics or cloth.
This paper addresses cultural transformations experienced within the Rapanui society during the
period of evangelization and early colonization, from the arrival of the first missionaries in 1886, to
the installation of the mission of the Capuchin fathers in 1919. The analysis is based on data taken
from historic records, in which material objects were analyzed as elements that reflect the social and
cultural transformations of the (historical) context in which they were created, with the
understanding that material culture cannot be separated from the cultural practices in which they
are embedded. Rapanui people redefined introduced western textiles, which came to be used in
new ritual contexts (cargo cults) to attract the mana carried by these foreigners (missionaries and
colonial settlers). (Fondecyt Grant 1120175).

56

Maxwell, Justin J.

25

Moriori agroforestry: an example of innovation in response to a challenging climate and

environment
The temperate climate and low annual sunshine hours of Rkohu (Chatham Island) prevented the
introduction of any Polynesian cultivated plants. The orthodox model of Moriori subsistence and
settlement argued that this environmental limitation was responsible for a notable change from a
tradition which included domesticated plants to one entirely reliant on wild animals and to a limited
extent wild plants. The NZ fur seal was argued to be the dominant component of diet throughout the
Moriori sequence. However, new research indicates that its importance in the earlier part of
settlement was overestimated and was eventually a minor component of diet as the seal population
declined. New paleobotanical data (anthracology and palynology) indicates substantial modification
of the Chatham Island vegetation and the intentional management of coastal broad-leaved forests
for food, fuel and shelter. The most important change to the coastal broad-leaved forests was the
introduction of the mainland New Zealand endemic tree (Corynocarpus laevigatus) which produced a
large nutritious drupe. In this paper I briefly outline how agroforestry and arboriculture were
essential components of the East Polynesian colonisation of Rkohu and the implications of this
research for interpretations of Moriori society.

57

Mieth, Andreas / Bork, Hans-Rudolf / Vogt, Burkhard

New research results on palaeo-ecology and palaeo-land use on Rapa Nui

The authors will present the results of their research over the past three years concerning palaeo-
ecology and land use on Rapa Nui. One focus of their studies was the southern slope of Maunga
Terevaka in the area of Quebrada Vaipu. There they found significant new evidence of a former palm
vegetation which, contrary to prior doctrine, once also reached the summit of Maunga Terevaka.
New datings give insight about the period of woodland clearing at the southern slope of this volcano,
and the temporal sequence of different types of land use after the woodland clearance was
investigated here at 375 m a.s.l.
Further investigations were carried out in the Quebrada Vaip and a valley to its east where the
authors recently discovered pits in the fluvial terraces that are filled with red pigments. Microscopic
and chemical analyses show a high iron content. Minerals as the source of the ferrous pigments can
be excluded; the analyses point to a biogenic origin. The pigment-filled pits in the area of the
Quebrada Vaip had up to now been viewed as unique; however, the authors recently discovered
more pigment-filled pits at two other sites on the island, such as on the Poike Peninsula. The filling
and structure of these pits varies partially from the previously discovered pigment-filled pits. The
authors present the newest results of their on-going investigations including hypotheses of the
probable source, production and intended use of these pigments as well as the possible
environmental impact of the pigment production.

58

Moreno Pakarati, Cristian

The cartography of conflict: Ethnic and political maps in Rapanui discourse

26

Land conflicts on Rapa Nui can be traced far back in time. Their details can be ascertained by using
several maps from different perspectives: the Chilean States, exploitation companies, or the
indigenous Rapanui people. The last one is especially interesting, since the earliest examples of
ethnic or tribal maps (c. 1910s) show a completely different interpretation than the latest
examples (c.1980s). In particular, the Council of Elders seminal work of 1988 shows a map perfectly
defined with straight political boundaries and links these with the current families of the island. It is
the most influential cartography among the Rapanui people today. Our research suggests that the
origin of this political interpretation is pretty early, with one little known draft already made in
1917. The reason for this is a difference in character between the different versions. Early ones
follow a cultural approach and are closely associated to ancient legends. Later ones were created as
effective political tools to help the islanders in their claims to their own land. The consequences for
current day Rapa Nui are analyzed too.

59

Moser, Johannes

The lithic inventory of the flint-knapping workshop 'Apunirereha', Malaita. Solomon Islands
In 2012 and 2013 first excavations at the flint-knapping workshop Apunirereha on Malaita (Solomon
Islands) were conducted as a cooperation project between the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the
National Museum, Solomon Islands and the Commission for Archaeology of Non-European Cultures
(KAAK) of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI).
The site Apunirereha covers an area of approximately 3600 m. A test sounding of 2 m x 3 m was
carried out in the southern part of this designated area. Due to the geological conditions in East Are
Are, Malaita many rivers and streams are bearing chert boulders and pebbles. The local people of
Apunirereha refer to this stones as nasi. The chert be found appears in different varieties, colours
and shadings. In the area around Apunirereha these natural lithic sources were used in prehistoric
times for raw material procurement. The chert boulders were prospected and brought as manuports
to the site for further usage and the manufacturing of tools.
The excavation revealed a huge amount of lithic products in all stages of their manufacturing
process. All essential components of the dbitage or Chane opratoire such as flakes, blades, chips
and debris and different types of nuclei and hammerstones are present. As modified tools different
types of side-scrapers, end-scrapers and denticulate pieces can be distinguished. The most
prominent component of the lithic implements consists of knapped stone-adzes. They occur
depending on their designated use- in different shapes and sizes.
The flint-knapping workshop or atelier of Apunirereha with its huge amount of lithic dbitage, semi-
finished products and artefacts can be considered as an outstanding centre for the manufacturing of
scrapers and adzes. A centre from where the lithic products were distributed as trading goods or
items for exchange.

60

Muoz, Diego

Kinship and lands in the Rapanui experience in Pamatai (Tahiti)

27

In 1887, 25 Rapanui purchased 118 hectares of land in Pamatai (Tahiti) to catholic missionaries. This
is a very important event in the history of the Rapanui people in Tahiti.
In this communication I will analyze three aspects of this history of diaspora: 1) the purchase of lands
in Pamatai, 2) the genealogies of the 25 buyers and 3) the mechanisms in which the property of the
lands was transmitted.
I propose that kinship and property of land continued being tied, even after death of the firsts
purchasers.

61

Orliac , Catherine / Orliac, Michel / Horley, Paul

Wooden figurines collected by HMS Topaze on Easter Island

The photographic archives of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (SS.CC.) holds
a unique photograph showing the deck of a ship with an exhibition of Rapa Nui artefacts. The ship is
identified on its back as "HMS Challenger", which is incorrect because there are no reliable reports of
HMS Challenger calling at Easter Island. We were able to identify the ship as HMS Topaze. This
identification perfectly fits two photographs from SS.CC. archives, showing the front and back of the
moai Hoa Hakananai'a that was carried on board of the same ship in 1868. The identification of the
photograph provides reliable provenance for the figurines belonging to museum collections from
London to Honolulu. In some instances, the identification of the figurine in SS.CC. photograph
allowed for the first time to provide the exact provenance to the artefact that was not properly
recorded / sourced before. Also, our study suggests that one of the figurines in the photograph may
depict a peculiar statuette collected by boy Austin, which was previously known only from a
watercolour by John Linton Palmer, the surgeon of the HMS Topaze.

62

Pakarati, Leonardo

DOCUMENTARY FILM

Te Kuhane o te Tupuna, el espritu de los ancestros

Before dying, the Rapa Nui grandmother, Noe wants to tell Mika the history of the Hoa Haka Nanaia
moai (the wave-breaker). She will also tell her that it is called the stolen friend, because foreigners
took it away from the island over 100 years ago, and it never came back. She will tell her that objects
from the island possess mana, a supernatural power from the ancestors, that nowadays has
weakened. A way to recover the mana and the islands wealth is to bring back the wave-breaker to
their land. The moai is in the British Museum where they are not aware of this, nor of the fact that
this energy is kept in storage at an incorrect temperature. Noe doesnt know the moai and doesnt
want to die before seeing it, as does Mika. They dont want to miss the chance to visit and honor
him.
ca. 60 minutes, with English subtitles
Director: Leo Pakarati

63

Pozdniakov, Konstantin
28

How many different glyphs exist in Easter Island Script?

Rongorongo - the writing system of Easter Island - still remains undeciphered. If we cannot read
rongorongo, the only approach to determine its nature is to create an accurate glyph catalog and
analyze glyph distribution in texts. If there are over 500 different glyphs (as suggested by sign catalog
of Thomas Barthel), it will mean that rongorongo is almost certainly logographic, with each sign
denoting a word. Indeed, the vast majority of decipherments influenced by Barthel's sign catalog
treat rongorongo as a logographic system.
In my earlier publications I tried to argue that rongorongo writing system has no more than 60-70
distinctive signs. It means that the writing system of Easter Island is predominantly syllabic (Rapanui
language has 54 syllables including 15 phonemes). This conclusion is based on three main criteria: 1)
existence of regular correspondences for different Barthel's signs in similar contexts, suggesting that
Barthel's catalog contains many alloglyphs; 2) graphic proportions, 3) cases of a complementary
distribution of alloglyphs in different texts. Additional evidence suggests possible existence of
determinatives and glyphs that denote words.

64

Ramirez, Jos Miguel / Van Tilburg, Jo Anne / Krier, Kon

Mataa: an early origin of a transpacific tool

The function of the mataa (not mataa) as a stemmed obsidian weapon, and therefore associated to
the Late Period of warfare, was already dismissed by Church & Rigney in 1994. The use-wear analysis
points mostly to plant processing. Mataa as a flake with a stem made by simple percussion were
produced in Chatham Island (with the name mataa) and Pitcairn from different raw materials. Our
proposal is that the model for this tool arrived with the first colonizers to Rapa Nui, as supported by
the recent finding of a basalt mataa in Rano Raraku, associated to the carving of a moai.

65

Rivas, Antonia

Returning to traditional ancestral law. Authenticity, resistance and modernity in Rapa Nui
My interdisciplinary research unites two strands of recent, significant anthropology and law inquiry:
How is the notion of traditional law constructed over time and produced and reproduced by both the
Rapa Nui people and Chilean government in a context of ongoing colonialism, modernity, emergence
of human rights discourses and resurgence of indigenous movements? And equally important, how is
this reconstruction/returning to traditional or ancestral law related with strong questions about
indigenous identity in opposition to the nation state? Understand and map how this notion is
produced and reproduce, and how identity is recreated by the whole range of social actors and
institutions (both native and foreign) is imperative and is the main purpose of this dissertation.
After a year of intense fieldwork in Rapa Nui, I understood that in the indigenous people struggles
against the national state, the notion of identity is deeply embedded with the idea of traditional law,
associated with the ancestral ways of government, living and cohabit before the arrival of the
colonizers.

29

66

Sand, Christophe / Ouetcho, Andr-John / Gony, Yves-Balo

Archaeology of a Kanak valley (New Caledonia): the case of Werap on north-eastern Grande Terre
The ethnographic literature about the former ways of occupying the landscapes of New Caledonia by
the indigenous Kanaks, has always highlighted low population density and sparse settlement
traditions. Archaeological studies over the past two decades has started to refute this well accepted
model, by showing that the surveys bring to light a dense array of settlements and the presence of
complex cultivation structures. This paper will present a case-study from an inland valley system, at
the back of the tribe of Werap, on the north-east coast of the main Island of this Southern
Melanesian archipelago. Survey and mapping of two valleys has allowed getting a detailed
understanding of the density and complexity of the former Kanak settlement pattern, with the
presence of diverse clusters of raised house-mounds, the building of long raised dry fields for jam
plantation and the construction of complex sets of terraces for wet taro growth. The fulfilling of a
large number of C14 dates as part of an archaeological impact study, allows to put these remains into
a broad chronological frame, and to confront these field-data to the ethnographic model.

67
Seelenfreund, Andrea / Petchey, Fiona / Seplveda, Marcela / Gutirrez, Sebastin /
Crcamo, Jos / Seelenfreund, Daniela / Moncada, Ximena / Payacn, Claudia / Rojas, Ana Mara
Analysis of a funerary tapa bundle from Mangareva, Gambier Island, French Polynesia
In December 2011 the remains of a funerary tapa bundle were discovered at the Te Ana te Tea cave
on Mangareva. These remains were deposited in 2012 at the Muse de Tahiti et des es. The bundle
was made up of larger and smaller strips of thin tapa, with some water marks left by the beaters. The
tapa had been wrapped over a piece of wood and tied with cordage made of coconut-fiber. A few of
the samples showed some symmetrical black designs/lines along some of the folds. This paper
presents the initial results of a number of analyses performed on the funerary bark-cloth bundle
from this island. Remains were dated by AMS at the Waikato Radiocarbon facility. Samples with
designs were analyzed by portable XRF and under SEM- EDX for elemental characterization. Raman
spectroscopy was also performed in order to precise the mineralogical nature of possible pigments to
define if these lines could be attributed to man-made designs. Additionally, DNA extraction of this
material will be attempted in order to determine the genotype of the paper mulberry plants used in
the manufacture of the tapa. These analyses provide insight into little known aspects on the history
of this island.(Fondecyt Grant 1120175).

68
Seelenfreund, Daniela / Moncada, Ximena / Peailillo, Johany / Gonzlez, Jos / Payacn,
Claudia / Riquelme, Isabella / Lobos, Sergio /Rojas, Gloria / Rivera, Antonio / Seelenfreund, Andrea
Paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera (L.) Vent., Moraceae) in the Pacific: genetic analysis of
contemporary and historical plant and ethnographic (barkcloth) material
Paper mulberry is a plant of great cultural importance that was consciously transported from
Southeast Asia by early Austronesian voyagers to the Pacific islands. We analyzed the genetic
diversity of contemporary plant samples from the Pacific using several genetic markers in order to

30

understand the dispersal of this species across the Pacific. We show that it is possible to obtain,
amplify and characterize DNA from herbarium samples and present an overview of the genetic
diversity in Remote Oceania of contemporary and historical herbarium specimens of B. papyrifera
collected up to 132 years ago. We found limited genetic diversity within Remote Oceania, consistent
with a common Asian origin and asexual propagation, with the exception of Hawaii, where plants
present diversity consistent with a second, probably later introduction from Asia.
As an additional strategy, we have also extracted and amplified DNA from contemporary barkcloth
samples in order to apply this knowledge to the analysis of a small collection of ethnographic
barkcloth samples. Results allow us to compare the genetic diversity of contemporary and historical
material collected on several Polynesian islands and to open a window to the past to understand the
dispersal history of this plant. (Grants FONDECYT 1080063 and 1120175 to AS).

69

Sellier, Pascal

The compound mortuary chaine opratoire of ancient Marquesans: death, afterlife and
funerary practices as material culture
The archaeological record of pre-contact Marquesans funerary practices is quite large, for many
different disposals of the dead can be reconstructed within the same site or within the same
archipelago during the same pre-contact period. The hypothesis proposed here is that those
manifold forms should not be seen as different practices devoted to people of various status but as
stages of the same long-lasting compound process. The successive steps of the whole mortuary
process make a consistent chaine opratoire and the afterlife fate of the corpses can be seen as a
part of material culture, resulting in the production of ancestors. The core of the conference will be
based on the Manihina mortuary data (Ua Huka Island, Marquesas Archipelago) and additional and
comparative interpretation will take into account other Marquesan funerary sites and early
ethnohistorical information.

70
Simpson Jr., Dale F. / Weisler, Marshall / St. Pierre, Emma / Feng, Yuexing / Torres, Francisco
/ Yancovic Pakarati, Sebastin
Geochemical and technological analyses of Rapa Nuis basalt quarries and artifacts
Throughout Polynesia, geochemical characterization of quarry and source materials linked to distant
artifacts has been an effective analytical method for reconstructing prehistoric interaction including
defining colonization routes and so-called trade and exchange. My doctoral research continues this
tradition of Polynesian stone provenance investigation by analyzing: 1) basalt quarries, workshops
and sources; and 2) basalt archaeological materials such as toki, (adze), hoe (knife), and ohio (axe)
found on Rapa Nui. Ultimately, my project intends to build a comprehensive, high-precision
geochemical database of sources, with the goal of reconstructing patterns of prehistoric interaction
inferred from the spatial distribution of Rapa Nui artifacts and construction stone. My research is the
first on Rapa Nui to combine a political economy theoretical framework, GIS, and geochemical
analysis to intensively model the movement of prehistoric basalt stone material, attempting to
highlight local and regional exchange networks, socially bounded territories, and elite and/or

31

household redistributive efforts during the prehistoric period. In addition, my research design
includes a component of archaeological outreach that works with the Museo Antropolgico P.
Sebastin Englert, Secretara Tcnica de Patrimonio, and Manu Iri to offer educational opportunities
to the Rapanui community.

71

Sobczyk, Maciej / Alarcn Rapu, Tarita / Ciszewski, Andrzej

Signs of human activity in the caves of Easter Island. Polish archaeological and speleological
research
From the arrival of the first inhabitants the cave of Easter Island became an essential element of the
social, religious and functional space. The caves are one of the permanent elements of the
achitectural scenery.
Probably for a long time the caves served different functions. Some were established as ceremonial
objects, while others which were comfortable, dry, easily accessible and warm thanks to the sun
heating up the rocks were perfect places to stay overnight. Others on the caves with inaccessible,
usually camouflaged entrances served as refuges. Some of the caves contained natural reservoirs of
water, in some there were manavai subterranean gardens protected against the winds, there even
today fruit trees grow. Finally caves were used as charnel houses and repositories of the community's
cultural legacy in the collections of appurtenances for rituals and religious worship, clan mementoes
and everyday articles. We have inventoried more 320 caves, many of which have shown signs of
human activity. These signs can be divided into three groups: stone artworks, moveable artefacts,
and architectural intervention.

72

Tautuu, Tomasi

Taking roots in the indigenous Kanak archipelago and the strategies of integration in modern
Caledonian society: the case of the Uveans and Futunians
Oral traditions and the accounts of missionaries and sailors give evidence of Polynesian myths that
relate the travels of KAUKELO from Wallis to Uvea, one of the Loyalty Islands. This prince was the heir
and oldest brother of Lavelua Manuka, the ancestor of the TAKUMASIVA lineage, which still
nowadays reigns Wallis. He emigrated to Uvea around 1750 and was received by chief BAZIT in the
northern part of the island.
Because of marriage ties and adoption the men composing the marine contingent were considered
close allies. By the beginning of the 20th century the initial migrant group can be seen as an
autonomous chefferie. Therefore the NEKELO family as part of the TAKEDJI chefferie, who in those
days settled close to the Saint Joseph Mission, can be seen as the direct descendants of KAUKELO.
Every Kanak clan or chefferie conserves the history of internal or external migrations, emphasizing
their identity and legitimation. If it turns out that in ancient times these historical ties were not only
short-term and episodically, which strategies can be applied nowadays to integrate new immigrants
from Wallis and Futuna into Caledonian society?

32

73
Torres Jeria, Paulina / Edmunds Hernndez, Lya / Ramrez Gonzlez, Jimena / Atam Lpez,
Merahi / Simpson Jr., Dale
The Rapa Nui Heritage Master Plan and the process of community participation
In actuality, one of the biggest needs Rapa Nui people has is to have a planning tool, to guarantee the
correct conservation and managing of the Rapa Nui cultural heritage. As important as to execute
works of conservation, archaeological investigation or to develop projects of infrastructure, it is to
work on a document that it should establish a common vision about the priority actions that must be
undertaken and that will be supported in a set of procedure that, from the comprehension of the
patrimonial resource, should allow to deliver with clarity criteria for the investigation, conservation
and putting in value of the Rapa Nuis material heritage.
The generation of this Master Plan proposes the consolidation and grants the territorial coherence
and normative commanding instruments, being constituted as a tool that -founded on the cultural
relevancy- allows the planning of the territory and the security of the Rapa Nui material heritage. The
production of the Master Plan implies the realization of the diagnostic (bases line) that is needed and
that includes at least information of cultural order (archaeological and anthropologic / ethnographic),
territorial, environmental, educational and of juridical character. In the frame of the production of
the Master Plan, the principal aim is the incorporation and integration of the different social actors
and base organizations in the construction of his first guidelines. For this, there has been carried out
processes of community participation, which has been the first foundation of an integrated and
stable work with the Rapa Nui community.
The objective of this presentation is to share the advances in the elaboration of this instrument and
to invite the investigators to be a part of this process.

74
Torres Jeria, Paulina / Edmunds Hernndez, Lya / Ramrez Gonzlez, Jimena / Atam Lpez,
Merahi
Rapa Nui Heritage Program: initiatives and projects
The Rapa Nui Heritage Program, whose executive office is the Technical Secretariat of Heritage Rapa
Nui (STP), has as one of its objectives the project formulation, preparation of proposal, supervision of
executions and institutional coordination of priority and emblematic projects for Rapa Nui. The STP
technical planning and project area is responsible for the development of initiatives that are aimed at
generating diagnoses, conserving, managing and valuing archaeological sites. At the same time, one
of the STP objectives is to consider the advice given by the CAMN Rapa Nui (Monuments Advisory
Council), to represent his vision when making decisions and directing initiatives and concerns of its
territory.
The CAMN, together with the STP, has been working on a protocol for guidelines in archaeological
research, which at the present is only a draft. The aim of the protocol is to create a system of
regulations for the activity of archaeological and anthropological research on Rapa Nui territory,
incorporating a component of community participation and validation as well as local organizations

33

dedicated to safeguarding the cultural heritage. This kind of initiative should become a tool
combining technical standards for safeguarding the heritage asset, will be representative of the
interests of the community and therefore sustainable over time. The objective of this presentation is
to share the advances in the elaboration of this new protocol of scientific investigations so the
investigators can get to know it and share their guidelines.

75
Torres Jeria, Paulina / Edmunds Hernndez, Lya / Ramrez Gonzlez, Jimena / Atam Lpez,
Merahi / Simpson, Dale
The Heritage Education Program Manu Iri: Guardianes por el Patrimonio
Manu Iri: Heritage Guardians is part of the Educational Heritage Program of the Technical Office of
Rapa Nui Heritage, that was born as an educational initiative that tries to complement with the
formal / official education given by the schools, strengthening contents and methodologies that turn
out to be friendly for the children, who motivate them to learn and investigate. To use the whole
island as a class room, and to have the local specialists as their teachers, it is our great challenge. To
call and to assemble the Rapanui experts in the different areas, not only it promotes the preparation
of contents, but it revitalizes a key and own element of the rapanui culture: the respect to the older
ones and to the traditional knowledge.
Manu Iri is a workshop of Patrimonial Education that seeks to deliver knowledge to the children
related to the heritage area, from the scientific point of view and investigative, and the one that
refers to the oral tradition, memory and Rapanui language, always interacting with the landscape
that surrounds them and does them guardians of his history and heritage. The idea is to learn, to
listen to the knowledgeable wise persons of this land, but also to the wind, to the birds and to the
stones. To read the nature, even with closed eyes, is a part of the growth and learning.

76

Tromp, Monica / Buckley, Hallie / Dudgeon, John

Microfossils and Macro-processes: Using dental calculus to examine the relationship between
people and plants in Oceania
Plant foods that were part of the prehistoric Oceanic subsistence economy have been inferred
through the analysis of language, ethnographies, archaeobotany, and stable isotopes from human
and animal skeletal material. A direct way to examine a portion of the plant diet is to identify
microfossils trapped within dental calculus. Microfossil and bacteria residues become trapped in
dental calculus during life, representing dietary and other aspects of overall health, creating a direct
relationship between life history and environment. The primary barrier to using this technique for
early populations in Oceania has been the scarcity of recovered human dental remains. Here we
present results from Near (Watom Island) and Remote (Vanuatu and Rapa Nui) Oceania, spanning
3000 years to show the potential these data have for better understanding the plant portion of
peoples diets. By analyzing this unique data set we are able to examine when certain plants may
have been introduced, the consumption of wild plant foods, as well as insight into drinking water
sources in landscapes such as Rapa Nui where fresh water is scarce. In addition, we present an

34

example that stresses the importance of using multiple lines of evidence when interpreting the
microfossil content of dental calculus.

77

Tschirschwitz, Felix / Kersten, Thomas P.

Interactive 3D visualization of cultural heritage and archaeological objects from Easter Island using
a game engine and low-cost system
For interactive 3D visualisation of textured landscape, cultural heritage objects and archaeological
objects such as excavations sites and findings, which were modelled at the HafenCity University
Hamburg as triangle meshes, the modern game engine Unity is utilised. Textured objects and
coloured point clouds are presented in a viewer application so that the user can navigate as in the
virtual world of a computer game. The point of view is interactively chosen by the user to access the
object in a virtual walkthrough. Low-cost-system components such as 3D monitors and head-
mounted displays are applied for stereoscopic display of objects. By using a smartphone app, the
viewing device becomes a head-mounted display to enable an even more immersive exploration of
the data. The inertial sensors of the phone track the movement of the head and control the virtual
cameras viewing direction. In order to control movements of the virtual viewing point different
controllers are used from classical game consoles or from off the shelf PC accessories. In the
current version of the developed software the Sony Dualshock3 (Playstation3) and the Microsoft
Kinect (Xbox 360) are implemented as navigation controllers. At the moment the software processes
meshed models in FBX format, while the point cloud data is imported using the ASCII coded PLY
format (XYZRGB) and processed on the basis of DirectX 11. For demonstration of the implemented
software tools, some excavations sites as archaeological and Moai as cultural heritage objects from
Easter Island are illustrated and interactively visualised using Unity on low-cost systems.

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Van Tilburg, Jo Anne / Arvalo Pakarati, Cristin / Hom, Alice / Bates, Matthew

Visualizing Rapa Nui: comparative cartography, archaeological object descriptions and research
advancement
This paper details the production history of the three formative versions of the island-wide
archaeological survey map and reconsiders the cartographic legacy and research impact of the survey
to date. The basic role of the archaeological grid map was to act as the primary instrument for
describing geography and localizing data. Research dependence on the established grid system, along
with the nearly complete failure to identify, describe, and properly link objects to plotted survey
points, has frustrated inquiry, institutionalized spatial biases, delayed conservation actions, and
prevented new data type collection. This paper argues for a fresh survey methodology, and offers a
replacement strategy based on four survey sections. Further, it reviews the history of two
incomplete surveys of Rano Raraku Archaeological Zone, Rapa Nui National Park, and describes
methods employed to integrate previous findings into a new, highly detailed and illustrated map of
the Interior Region. The transfer of previously existing and new data into digital GIS format frees
archaeological objects from site and feature labels and legacy map sheet boundaries, allowing
objects to be reviewed holistically in more flexible groupings and resulting in more creative
interpretive strategies.

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79

Van Tilburg, Jo Anne

Current excavations in Rano Raraku quarry: contextualizing three-dimensional sculptural style and
two-dimensional symbolic patterns
This paper summarizes the results of current and on-going excavations of monolithic stone statues
(moai) in Rano Raraku Archaeological Zone, Interior Region, Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Unexpected,
new evidence suggesting the developmental trajectory of three-dimensional sculpture style was
recently uncovered. The evidence is summarized and localized in time and space. An organized set of
similarities and differences in the concurrent iconographic styles of two-dimensional symbols
superimposed on the statues is also isolated within the context of a well-documented temporal
setting. The sources from which a repertoire of motifs and conventional representations could have
been developed are explored. The discussion is anchored by the notion that the most appropriate
method for the logical deduction and interpretation of aesthetic meaning, value, motivation, and
intent is to seek a good data fit within a reasonably secure stratigraphic range.

80

Velasco, Gerardo

Moving the moai: scientific evidence and a new theory

The technique and methods used by the ancient inhabitants of Rapa Nui to move the moai on Easter
Island has been the subject of numerous studies and experiments. Scientific studies of existing flora
during the work period, which lasted over 200 years, confirms the feasibility of using palm tree
trunks and perhaps other tree species and establishes beyond reasonable doubt that the island did
not have plant fibers in sufficient quantity and quality for the manufacture of strong ropes. All
models and experiments tested so far to explain how the moai were transported have included the
use of ropes.
The first part of this article analyzes the flora and the fiber and timber resources that could have
been used at the time, and the second part explains the techniques and methods that could be used
without incorporating ropes, compares the results with archaeological evidence and presents
mathematical formulas that support the theory.

81

Vogt, Burkhard / Cauwe, Nicolas

Standing stones and ceremonial stelae a new type of Easter Island monument?
In 2011 a test sounding in the plaza of the Ahu Hanua Nua Mea at Ava Ranga Uka A Toroke Hau
brought to light a circular rock-cut pit with a worked upright standing slab. This unexpected discovery
triggered the search for further parallels on Easter Island. In 2015 a short inspection around the
island yielded almost fifty standing stones (naturally rounded boulders or crudely shaped quarry
stones) and neatly worked slabs which bear a centrally engraved line on one side. The latter group
which is different from the classical paenga stones is mostly from the immediate vicinity of sealed
ahu platforms, less frequently associated with other cult contexts always lying on the surface. The

36

majority is carved from basalt, some specimens from tuff and scoria, but very few examples (4) are
from re-used moai fragments. Only in a few secondary contexts the slabs were used as building
material. The second sub-group, the standing stones, is known from the same contexts, i.e. ahu, sites
with petroglyphs, or complex ceremonial ensembles. Erected on the ahu central platforms, on the
plazas in front of those or in their vicinity all of these are still in situ and usually smaller than the
slabs.
Although known since long these peculiar stones have never been studied. After a first analysis, we
propose for both types a ritual function. The standing stones recall the so-called backrests known
from the marae sites of Eastern Polynesia. The slabs with an incised central line possibly represent
the spinal column of highly stylized anthropomorphic images as it is shown by a few moai standing
on the slopes of Rano Raraku and headless moai fragments re-used as stelae. If our interpretation is
correct, this new evidence attests to more complex cult practices and further rituals concepts shared
with Eastern Polynesia.

82

Vogt, Burkhard / Khlem, Annette / Bork, Hans-Rudolf / Mieth, Andreas

The Quebrada Vaip sacred landscape and the practice of taboo on pre-contact Easter Island
The Vaip streambed, the longest of its kind on Easter Island, once held a small perennial
watercourse which, off rainy season, was barely more than a trickle of water. Starting from the Rano
Aroi and emptying after 8 km into the sea at Opipiri/Akahanga it accommodated several
archaeological sites which also encompass hydraulic monuments such as cascades, embankments,
canals, basins etc. The most important of these is Ava Ranga Uka A Toroke Hau in the very centre of
the island, excavated by the German Expedition since 2008. The hydraulic structures executed with
great care were by no means used for irrigation as one may assume based on comparative findings
from Polynesia. Together with a palm grove and the ritual platform of the Ahu Hanua Nua Mea in its
immediate vicinity the entire assemblage suggests a ceremonial use with water perhaps in the
epicentre of worship. From Rapanui oral traditions respectively from the recorded ethnographic
evidence it is known that rituals were omnipresent and pervading all aspects of life and the concept
of afterlife. The practice of taboo is one of the most prominent expressions of ritual and social
behaviour. Belgian N. Cauwe (Easter Island - The Great Taboo, 2011) was the first to discuss in more
detail the possible material evidence of taboo practices on Rapa Nui. This paper is aimed to present
from the Quebrada Vaip further facets of taboo-related interventions into landscape, sites and
monuments.

83

Wahl, Frieder

Raps Nui and the Berlin Museuminsel: Islands in the stream

It is difficult to imagine two places in the world that could be more different than Easter Island
National Park and the historical centre of Berlin! Or is it? At least there is one thing they have in
common: both were dedared World Cultural Heritage Site by the UNESCO.
This paper will try to give some ideas about what influence the status as a listed heritage site might
have on the development, e.g. tourism. And vice versa.

37



84

Waite, Deborah

Koka, ritual boards from Bougainville Island

Ornamented (carved & painted) boards termed koka were once manipulated in ritual movement
during Unu initiations among Telei people of southern Bougainville Island. Their intricate radial
designs comprise two-dimensional coded allusions to features of landscape, buildings, and
movements of sun, moon, and Morning Star in ways that metaphorically reference the transitional
journeys of boys undergoing Unu puberty initiation. They could perhaps be described as ritual
shields.
The topic is of particular relevance for a conference held in Berlin because German colonial interests
were paramount in this part of Bougainville until 1914. Major collectors and museums containing
koka are German (e.g. Ethnologisches Museum, Berlin, Linden Museum, Stuttgart; exception, the
British Museum). The most important source for this subject is Richard Thurnwald whose 1908
residence among the Telei produced the only detailed contextual data regarding these implements.
His thorough many-faceted analyses provide the basis for this study, where they are utilized to a
degree rarely undertaken.*
e.g. R.Thurnwald, 1912 Forschungen auf den Salamo-Inseln, vols. I, III. Berlin: Dietrich Reiner.

85
Welham, Kate / Tucki Castro, Alejandro / Saunders, Mary / Shaw, Lawrence / Stanford, Adam
,
/ Steele Charlene
Making the invisible visible: recent applications of archaeological prospection and 3D recording
methods on Rapa Nui

This paper focuses on recent applications of geophysical prospection and 3D recording on Rapa Nui.
The work presented here forms part of a larger Arts and Humanities Research Council funded
project, Rapa Nui: Landscapes of Construction, and these methods have been used to seek to address
broader research questions focused around the construction activities associated with the statues
and other aspects of island architecture as a whole.

We discuss a number of case studies that include work conducted at the major quarrys of Puna Pau
and Rano Raraku, and on the Ara moai (statue roadways). The geophysical work includes the use of a
variety of magnetic and earth resistance techniques, and has provided valuable insight into the
presence of route ways, especially at Puna Pau. The 3D modeling has enabled new rock art
discoveries at both quarry sites, and improved understanding of the condition of statues located on
the ara moai. We conclude by examining the possibilities for all of these techniques to inform future
research strategies, and to positively enhance heritage management plans within the World Heritage
Site.

86

Wieczorek, Rafal
38

Opening and closing sequences in the rongorongo texts

Every rongorongo text is seemingly an open string of inscriptions. The tablets are completely covered
in glyphs, with only the direction of writing being certain. Often even the beginning and end of some
texts are not known. However, of those tablets with starting point well known we can discern some
textual fragments that are preferentially appearing in the beginning of inscriptions.
We are also able to perform segmentation of rongorongo texts basing on the occurrence of shorter
and longer parallel passages. Thus we can pinpoint to specific textual fragments as having common
characteristics. Of those the principal example are the so called d-lists; delimiters present on seven
different tablets. Analogously to the case with the beginning of the inscriptions, we can discern some
textual fragments that appear preferentially at the beginning of d-list.
With this method we are able to identify three different opening sequences and one closing
sequence. This achievement is very important and goes much beyond simple segmentation known
till now in rongorongo studies. Being able to classify some rongorongo passages to specific semantic
category is a necessary step for further decipherment.

87

Wieczorek, Rafal

Identification of Easter Island wooden figurines from John Linton Palmer's illustrations
John Linton Palmer had been a ships surgeon on two Royal Navy ships visiting Easter Island in XIX
Century. The first brief visit happened in 1852 on HMS Portland and the second, much more
important in 1868 on HMS Topaze. From the second voyage we have rich written and pictographic
material coming from Palmer. Among many sketches and watercolours produced by Palmer there
are some illustrating wooden figurines: moai kavakava, moai tanagata, moai pa'apa'a and moai
moko. Altogether we have illustrations pertaining to some 18 distinct wooden figurines. Majority of
those illustrations has never been published. Also majority of the illustrations do not present the
whole figurine, but only the cranial carving. Based on sometimes very detailed drawings by Palmer,
we can relate some of Palmer's illustrations to extant figurines from various museum or private
collections. In most cases Palmer's drawings are the oldest reference to particular object, often
pushing the provenance by many years to the past. The paper will present and discuss those
identifications.

88
Yankovic Pakarati, Nicolas / Lillo Haoa, Tuti / Pakarati, Simon / Simpson Jr., Dale F. / Yankovic
Pakarati, Sebastin
Mahana o te henua ka haka haere e maitaki: Short report on the northern coast material clean-up
On the 12th of June 2014, 80 people from multiple Chilean state and Rapa Nui local agencies helped
cleaned up the northern coast of the island. While this clean-up of multiple material types has been
in the works for years, this was the first attempt to quantify the amount of garbage that is coming to
the island. In three hours of clean-up, five groups recovered 808 KG of material (3.8 KG of collection
per person per hour), with 57% of that weight coming in the form of nets and ropes. While some of
these ropes are locally produced, the majority are coming for deep-sea fish factories that tend to cut

39

empty and tangled nets. This material is also possibly associated with the great Pacific garbage that
slowly makes its way to Rapa Nui. While some recovered material came from the island (mainly
glass), less than 14% of coast material comes from Rapa Nui. This event was a great way to build
community relations by working together, and to show that a small committed group, dedicated to
cleaning-up and identifying the islands coast waste, can get the job done!

89

Yankovic Pakarati, Sebastin

Prospects and challenges of tourism in Rapa Nui (Easter Island); conservation and local
development
The tourism industry has enabled economic growth, unprecedented in Rapa Nui. He is currently the
engine of the economy on the island. Fishing, agriculture, crafts and even certain cultural activities
are designed to meet the needs of this market.
In the late twentieth century, tourism was in its infancy with about 15,000 tourists. Today, only 15
years later, we have figures that line the 100,000 tourists a year. This explosive growth has certain
impacts on the ecosystem, the quality of life of its inhabitants and the preservation of Rapa Nui
culture. So far, economic development has followed the laws of the free market has not been
regulated in any way. The limitations on the influx of visitors are just an airstrip, an airline that
operates and the lack of a port for large vessels. Other important variables are left behind, trying to
adapt to rapid changes, such as sewage, waste management, water, electricity, communications,
public safety and roads, National Park management, among others.
This paper examines the main problems of tourism development on the island and proposes some
alternatives to address these issues from a local perspective and sustainable development of Rapa
Nui.

90

Yankovic Pakarati, Sebastin

Birds of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and Motu Motiro Hiva (Salas y Gomez): a review and new
sightings
The birds of Rapa Nui are not only important components of the island ecosystem, but are key
symbolic elements of the Rapa Nui ancestral culture and world view. Many questions remain
regarding the abundance and migratory patterns of many bird species in what is one the remotest
parts of the planet.
Here, were present a review, and list the local common names, of the existing terrestrial and marine
bird species of the Easter Island Province (Rapa Nui & Motu Motiro Hiva). This includes a review of
the available literature, as well as visual observations during 2013 and 2014. Visual survey effort was
carried out by an experienced local observer on Rapa Nui and on Motu Motiro Hiva during two
cruises led by the Chilean Navy and the Rapa Nui National Park. Among other species, we confirm the
presence of Sula sula and report sightings of two new species for Easter Island and Chile: Pluvialis
fulva and Calidris mauri.

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We put forward the need to carry out an integrated research and conservation project for the
seabirds of Rapa Nui. This should include a bird ringing program, a permanent and systematic
monitoring program, and education and outreach schemes (for the local community and tourists),
throughout Easter Island Province.

91

Yankovic Pakarati, Sebastian

Marine mammals of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) and Salas y Gmez Island (Motu Motiro Hiva), Chile: a
review and new records
The Chilean oceanic islands Easter Island (Rapa Nui) and Salas y Gmez Island (Motu Motiro Hiva)
have received little attention with regards to basic marine mammal investigations. Here we review
and update available information on the status of marine mammals in this area from different
sources, including published accounts, local interviews and two recent expeditions. We also provide
detailed accounts for each confirmed family or species, including historical data from published
archaeological studies and whalers logbooks from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Results indicate
that a total of five marine mammal families (Balaenopteridae, Physeteridae, Ziphiidae, Delphinidae
and Phocidae) have been confirmed within the study area, representing two mammalian orders
(Cetartiodactyla and Carnivora). Within these, twelve species are known to occur: blue whale
(Balaenoptera musculus), unidentified minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis or B. acutorostrata),
humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), Cuviers
beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris), Blainvilles beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris), false killer
whale (Pseudorca crassidens), unidentified pilot whale (Globicephala sp.), bottlenose dolphin
(Tursiops truncatus), common dolphin (Delphinus sp.), southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina)
and leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx). We discuss the implications of some of most noteworthy
records and make a plea for further studies to improve our knowledge of these top predators in one
of the most isolated places in the world.

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Posters

Gossen, Candace
Deforestation, drought, and humans: The Collapse Theory is dead new evidence of adaptability
and survival

In the lake sediments of Rano Kao, a 15,000 year climate and pollen record was uncovered. Periodic
droughts, intense rainfall patterns and punctuated global events show a constantly changing
ecosystem. With the interaction of humans over the last 2,000 years, the last few events have both
altered the landscape and inspired innovation in return.

In the aquatic cellulose isotope record from Rano Kao, intervals of punctuated events occurred every
719 years as extremely hot and dry with varying intervals of length. On the opposite spectrum every
637 years a cold/dry event occurs. The last cold event began in 1390AD, peaked in 1456 and ended in
1505AD. This event lasted 115 years and is one of the coldest in the entire climate record for the
island. During this cold event 5 species of palm and 17 other trees began to diminish, but do not
disappear. Confirmed by pollen analysis from the floating mat of Rano Kao and new samples from
the waterfalls and water sites of Ava Rang Uka a new story unfolds: an event putting the trees into
dormancy weakened and depleted the forests rapidly. The giant palms, which take 100 years to
flower for the first time, eventually went extinct with the ongoing pressures of a changing ecosystem.

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