Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Archaeological Anthropology

Series

Rapa Nui

Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Population Structure Drives Cultural Diversity In Finite Populations: A Hypothesis For Localized Community Patterns On Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile), Carl P. Lipo, Robert J. Dinapoli, Mark E. Madsen, Terry L. Hunt May 2021

Population Structure Drives Cultural Diversity In Finite Populations: A Hypothesis For Localized Community Patterns On Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile), Carl P. Lipo, Robert J. Dinapoli, Mark E. Madsen, Terry L. Hunt

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

Understanding how and why cultural diversity changes in human populations remains a central topic of debate in cultural evolutionary studies. Due to the effects of drift, small and isolated populations face evolutionary challenges in the retention of richness and diversity of cultural information. Such variation, however, can have significant fitness consequences, particularly when environmental conditions change unpredictably, such that knowledge about past environments may be key to long-term persistence. Factors that can shape the outcomes of drift within a population include the semantics of the traits as well as spatially structured social networks. Here, we use cultural transmission simulations to …


Lessons From Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile) For Governance In Conditions Of Environmental Uncertainty, Carl P. Lipo, Pamela A. Mischen, Terry L. Hunt Jan 2021

Lessons From Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile) For Governance In Conditions Of Environmental Uncertainty, Carl P. Lipo, Pamela A. Mischen, Terry L. Hunt

Anthropology Datasets

No abstract provided.


Temporal Systematics The Colonization Of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) And The Conceptualization Of Time, Carl P. Lipo, Terry L. Hunt, Robert J. Dinapoli Jan 2020

Temporal Systematics The Colonization Of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) And The Conceptualization Of Time, Carl P. Lipo, Terry L. Hunt, Robert J. Dinapoli

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.


Good Governance Of The Commons Of Rapa Nui: Present And Past, Pamela A. Mischen, Carl P. Lipo, Terry L. Hunt Jan 2020

Good Governance Of The Commons Of Rapa Nui: Present And Past, Pamela A. Mischen, Carl P. Lipo, Terry L. Hunt

Anthropology Datasets

Sustainable communities on Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile) — whether in the past or present— require good governance of shared and common pool resources. Whether managing communal land needed for cultivation, ground water, stones for tools, fishing grounds, cultural heritage, or tourism, governance structures must balance individual interests with the common needs of the community. Much of the recent history of the island has been dominated by government structures that were imposed by Chilean authorities. Recently, however, much of the island’s cultural heritage has been turned over to local native governance. This shift has challenges due to the complex contemporary …


Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Monument (Ahu) Locations Explained By Freshwater Sources, Robert J. Dinapoli, Carl P. Lipo, Tanya Brosnan, Terry L. Hunt, Sean W. Hixon, Alex E. Morrison, Matthew Becker Jan 2019

Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Monument (Ahu) Locations Explained By Freshwater Sources, Robert J. Dinapoli, Carl P. Lipo, Tanya Brosnan, Terry L. Hunt, Sean W. Hixon, Alex E. Morrison, Matthew Becker

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

Explaining the processes underlying the emergence of monument construction is a major theme in contemporary anthropological archaeology, and recent studies have employed spatially-explicit modeling to explain these patterns. Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile) is famous for its elaborate ritual architecture, particularly numerous monumental platforms (ahu) and statuary (moai). To date, however, we lack explicit modeling to explain spatial and temporal aspects of monument construction. Here, we use spatially-explicit point-process modeling to explore the potential relations between ahu construction locations and subsis- tence resources, namely, rock mulch agricultural gardens, marine resources, and freshwa- ter sources—the three most critical resources on Rapa …


The Moai Of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Carl P. Lipo, Terry L. Hunt Jun 2018

The Moai Of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Carl P. Lipo, Terry L. Hunt

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

The current database for the moai of Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile).


Using Structure From Motion Mapping To Record And Analyze Details Of The Colossal Hats (Pukao) Of Monumental Statues On Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Sean W. Hixon, Carl P. Lipo, Terry L. Hunt, Christopher Lee Jan 2017

Using Structure From Motion Mapping To Record And Analyze Details Of The Colossal Hats (Pukao) Of Monumental Statues On Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Sean W. Hixon, Carl P. Lipo, Terry L. Hunt, Christopher Lee

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

Structure from motion (SfM) mapping is a photogrammetric technique that offers a cost-effective means of creating three-dimensional (3-D) visual representations from overlapping digital photographs. The technique is now used more frequently to document the archaeological record. We demonstrate the utility of SfM by studying red scoria bodies known as pukao from Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile). We created 3-D images of 50 pukao that once adorned the massive statues (moai) of Rapa Nui and compare them to 13 additional pukao located in Puna Pau, the island’s red scoria pukao quarry. Through SfM, we demonstrate that the majority of these bodies …


The Human Transformation Of Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Pacific Ocean), Terry L. Hunt, Carl P. Lipo Jan 2013

The Human Transformation Of Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Pacific Ocean), Terry L. Hunt, Carl P. Lipo

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

Rapa Nui (Easter Island) has become widely known as a case study of human-induced environmental catastrophe resulting in cultural collapse. The island's alleged "ecocide" is offered as a cautionary tale of our own environmental recklessness. The actual archaeological and historical record for the island reveals that while biodiversity loss unfolded, the ancient Polynesians persisted and succeeded. Demographic "collapse" came with epidemics of Old World diseases introduced by European visitors. In this paper, we outline the process of prehistoric landscape transformation that took place on Rapa Nui. This process includes the role of humans using fire to remove forest and convert …