The inland archaeology project employs a grassroots approach toward conservation of prehistoric cultural resources on Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile). Through educational outreach and hands-on archaeological research experience, the project will increase local awareness of previously undocumented archaeological resources and spawn local interest and expertise in cultural conservation. Education and experience in archaeological research will prepare and empower the local population to document, protect, and benefit from its threatened cultural resources.
The first four months will provide training for members of the Rapa Nui community
at the local museum (MAPSE). Shepardson (Principal Investigator) and Torres
(Director, MAPSE) will meet with participants three days each week for instruction
with high-tech non-invasive survey gear and for laboratory/computer training
regarding data management and analysis. Participants completing the training
will be offered modest stipends to continue in the year-long project.
The following five months, trainees will participate in the first systematic
documentation of archaeological resources for many inland regions of the island.
This research will help us better understand recently-discovered correlations
between statuary/architecture and (pre)historic sociopolitical boundaries
on the island.
In the final months of the project, research will focus on areas at high risk due to land repatriation and development. Fieldwork will include a public observation/participation component intended to increase both tourists' and the tourist industry's appreciation of the value and fragility of the island's heritage. The tourism component may hold great potential to support sustainable survey, inventory, and documentation in the future. All equipment purchased for the project will be donated to MAPSE.
The inland archaeology project aims to integrate research, education, and outreach in order to promote a sustainable grassroots approach to conservation of cultural resources on Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile).
Over the last two centuries, travelers and scientists have gone to great lengths to experience firsthand the grandeur and mystery of Easter Island archaeology. Today, there are few collections of archaeological artifacts worldwide as recognizable as the giant prehistoric stone statues (moai) of Rapa Nui. Roughly 40,000 tourists each year flock to the island to see the hundreds of megalithic statues -- the vast majority of which are concentrated on the flanks of the Rano Raraku volcanic crater that once served as the primary statue quarry, and at various prehistoric ceremonial sites along the island's coast.
Research and conservation efforts, both responsible for and reflective of tourists' interests, have focused overwhelmingly on these sites at the quarry and along the island's perimeter. Only recently have archaeologists made a concerted effort to formally document and analyze inland/upland areas of Rapa Nui (e.g., Bork et al. 2004; Ladefoged et al. 2005; Stevenson et al. 2002; Stevenson et al. 2007; Wozniak 2001). The bulk of these inland studies attempt to identify and describe prehistoric agricultural complexes. Systematic documentation and analysis of inland ceremonial sites, on the other hand, have yet to be realized.
However, preliminary reconnaissance suggests that numerous inland ceremonial sites, including statues, do exist (Shepardson 2005a). Furthermore, spatial analysis of the most recent intensive survey of inland statue locations on the island has revealed a striking, and previously undocumented, correlation between the spatial distribution of dozens of moai (Shepardson 2005a, 2005b, 2006) and territorial divisions proposed and mapped by British ethnologist Katherine Routledge (1919) nearly a century ago (see Figure 1).
Over the course of the last century, tens of thousands of ungulate livestock and various invasive plant species have caused extensive irreparable damage to archaeological sites (Porteous 1981). In addition, of the nearly 7,000 hectares of the island once set aside as Chilean national parkland in the 1960s, thousands of hectares have already been converted to private and often poorly-monitored properties (Ramírez 2001). Repatriation of parkland to islanders -- in theory a blessing to cultural conservation -- in reality often leads to bulldozing, plowing, and agricultural development. And despite the evident destruction that livestock, invasive plants, agriculture, repatriation, and tourism have caused to archaeological remains, these elements continue to pose serious threats to historic sites at an accelerated rate. Within years, many more archaeological sites (especially the "low-profile" undocumented inland sites) may be at risk. To raise awareness and concern for the at-risk cultural resources throughout the island's interior, the proposed project directly involves local islanders, as well as tourists, in archaeological field research. Furthermore, the educational phase will empower members of the local community to initiate their own conservation efforts in the future.
The project begins with a four-month training phase hosted by the Padre Sebastián Englert Anthropological Museum on Rapa Nui (MAPSE). Britton Shepardson and Francisco Torres (Director, MAPSE) will meet with a group of Rapa Nui participants (up to ten individuals) multiple times each week for instruction with high-tech field equipment and for laboratory/computer training. For those four months, local participants will be trained to operate a total mapping station (a laser-based electronic surveying device), handheld global positioning system (GPS) units, and digital cameras.
Participants will develop the archaeological expertise required to accurately compile two- and three-dimensional maps and will gain proficiency with computer programs (e.g., Microsoft Excel, ESRI ArcGIS) to create/manage/analyze computer databases of quantitative (dimensional) as well as qualitative (descriptive, photographic) information for all cultural resources encountered during the fieldwork phase of the project. Throughout the educational process, participants will become more adept in recognizing artifacts that may hold either cultural or scientific value. The educational component of this project will be modeled after the success of past projects on the island that were also co-directed by Shepardson and Torres (Shepardson et al. 2004; Torres and Shepardson 2005). Participants who successfully complete the training period will be offered modest stipends to form archaeological survey teams for the fieldwork phase of the project.
The proposed field survey may not offer comprehensive coverage of the island's
interior, but the correlation between recent mapping work on statuary and Routledge's
historic maps suggests that territorial boundaries may be excellent predictors
of archaeological site locations for inland Rapa Nui. Meticulous documentation
of these inland sites, and expedient publication of the findings, promises to
raise awareness within the local island community, the Chilean government, and
the international community for the cultural resources in need of conservation.
Field research concentrates on archaeological survey of more than 60 km of the
historical territorial boundaries (the survey will cover a 200 m swath of land
centered along the boundary lines) on Rapa Nui originally mapped by Routledge
(1919) and revisited by Shepardson (2005a). The survey teams trained during
the education phase of the project will use a total station, GPS units, digital
cameras, and other basic equipment (tape measure, compass, etc.) to document
cultural resources located within the survey area. The information gathered
will be uploaded regularly to a geographic information system (GIS) for public
access in the local museum and the world wide web.
The proposed field research offers tremendous potential, not only to challenge
prevailing interpretations of the spatial distribution of inland statuary, but
more generally our perception of the importance of inland archaeological sites.
And finally, the proposed research may serve as a novel vein of research, recently
called for by a number of scientists (e.g., Hunt and Lipo 2001; Rainbird 2002;
Shepardson 2006; Young 2006), to critically re-evaluate the validity of the
increasingly popular "collapse" hypothesis for Rapa Nui prehistory.
In past research, more than ninety moai located throughout inland regions of
the island were classified as abandoned "in transport" (e.g., González
et al. 1988). This indiscriminate, and in some circumstances completely unjustifiable
(see Routledge 1919; Shepardson 2007), interpretation of nearly 100 statues
being simultaneously abandoned amidst social upheaval and environmental degradation
looms large in sensationalized accounts of the island's chaotic decline.
The proposed fieldwork assesses the distinct possibility, overlooked by archaeologists
in the past, that many inland statues were not abandoned in transport amidst
social/ecological collapse but rather were situated precisely as boundary or
site markers in a functional, and not disintegrating, historical sociopolitical
organization.
The proposed field research will provide an extensive sample of documentation
for inland cultural resources that have received no prior systematic study by
archaeologists. Presenting records of these inland archaeological sites and
their state of preservation publicly at the local museum will raise awareness
within the island community of the need for individual land owners to accept
conservation responsibilities on repatriated private properties. Furthermore,
this sampling of inland archaeological sites will help the island community
to develop criteria for cultural resource conservation and preservation.
The grassroots approach to conservation on Rapa Nui will require strong support from both the local island community and the international tourist community to succeed. Besides presenting regular updates on fieldwork at the local museum (free entrance to island residents and tourists), the project will initiate two forms of community outreach.
First, during the final two months of the research phase, the project will integrate
a tourism component. Tourists may arrange, through the museum or participating
tour agencies, to join the local survey team for a "hands-on" archaeological
experience. Tourist participation will help to subsidize the project, demonstrating
the sustainability of archaeological survey and conservation work. This is a
new form of tourism for Rapa Nui. One of the largest tour companies on the island,
Aku Aku Turismo, has already agreed to participate and promote the program with
clients.
Second, following the fieldwork phase of the project, efforts will shift from
research archaeology to salvage archaeology. Trainees will form teams available
to create digital images, maps, or renderings of artifacts, structures, and
plots of land prior to cultivation, development or destruction. The program
aims to spawn ongoing salvage archaeology teams supported by the local tourist
industry.
The proposed project is designed to have low physical impact on the fragile
cultural resources of Rapa Nui but high impact on conservation practices on
the island. In order to demonstrate the possibilities of archaeological research
without excavation or other disruptive methods, the project employs only non-invasive
methods and technology. By directly involving members of the local island community,
the grassroots approach ensures that some portion of future generations will
maintain the awareness and expertise to promote cultural resource conservation.
The combination of research, education, and outreach is intended to allow the
local Rapa Nui population to better control the conservation of their own cultural
heritage.
Bork, H.-R., A. Mieth, and B. Tschochner
2004 Nothing but Stones? A Review of the Extent and Technical Efforts of Prehistoric
Stone Mulching on Rapa Nui. Rapa Nui Journal 18(1):10-14.
González, N., L., J. Van Tilburg, and P. Vargas
C.
1988 Easter Island statue type, part two: the moai as socio-political feature.
In First International Congress, Easter Island and East Polynesia, edited
by C. Cristino F., P. Vargas C., R. Izaurieta S. and R. Budd P., pp. 150-163.
Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo, Instituto de Estudios, Universidad de
Chile, Santiago.
Hunt, T.L. and C.P. Lipo
2001 Cultural elaboration and environmental uncertainty in Polynesia. In Pacific
2000: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Easter Island and
the Pacific, edited by C. Stevenson, G. Lee, and F. Morin, pp. 103-115. Easter
Island Foundation, Los Osos.
Ladefoged, T., C. Stevenson, P. Vitousek, and O. Chadwick
2005 Soil nutrient depletion and the collapse of Rapa Nui society. Rapa Nui
Journal 19(2):100-105.
Porteous, J.D.
1981 The Modernization of Easter Island. Western Geographical Series, Vol.
19. Department of Geography, University of Victoria, Canada.
Rainbird, P.
2002 A message for our future? The Rapa Nui (Easter Island) ecodisaster and
Pacific island environments. World Archaeology 33(3):436-451.
Ramirez, J.M.
2001 Cultural resource management on Rapa Nui: utopia and reality. In Pacific
2000: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Easter Island and
the Pacific, eds. C. Stevenson, G. Lee and F. Morin, pp. 383-390. Easter Island
Foundation, Los Osos.
Routledge, K.
1919 The Mystery of Easter Island. London: Hazell, Watson, and Viney.
Shepardson, B.
2005a The Role of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Statuary as Territorial Boundary
Markers. Antiquity 79(303):169-178.
2005b A Statistical Correlation Between Rapa Nui Statuary and Historical Territorial
Boundaries. In The Reñaca Papers: VI International Conference on Rapa
Nui and the Pacific, eds. C. Stevenson, J. Ramírez, F. Morin, and N.
Barbacci, pp. 107-112. Easter Island Foundation, Los Osos.
2006 On the Shoulders of Giants. British Archaeology January/February: 14-17.
2007 "Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Statuary as Boundary Markers? A Viewshed
Analysis." Presented at the 72nd Annual Meeting of the Society for American
Archaeology, Austin, Texas.
Shepardson, B., I. Arévalo N., T. Atan R., M.
Barría O., N. Cortés P., S. Jacobo R., V. Jara B., C. Johnson
A., V. Merino R., Y. Monares Z., F. Pont I., F. Torres H., and V. Vergara
S.
2004 'A Pó: The Rapa Nui Youth Archaeology Program Puna Pau Field Report.
Rapa Nui Journal 18(1):43-46.
Stevenson, C.M., T.N. Ladefoged, and S. Haoa
2002 Productive strategies in an uncertain environment: prehistoric agriculture
on Easter Island. Rapa Nui Journal 16(1):17-22.
2007 An upland agricultural residence on Rapa Nui: Occupation of a hare oka
(18-473G) in the Vaitea Region. Archaeology in Oceania 42:72-78.
Torres H., F., and B. Shepardson,
2005 Cuidando el Patrimonio de la Comunidad. In The Reñaca Papers:
VI International Conference on Rapa Nui and the Pacific, eds. C.M. Stevenson,
J.M. Ramírez, F.J. Morin, and N. Barbacci, pp. 479-482. Easter Island
Foundation, Los Osos.
Wozniak, J.
2001 Landscapes of food production on Easter Island: successful subsistence
strategies. In Pacific 2000: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference
on Easter Island and the Pacific, edited by C.M. Stevenson, G. Lee, and F.J.
Morin, pp. 91-101. Easter Island Foundation, Los Osos.
Young, E.
2006 Easter Island: a monumental collapse? New Scientist 2562:30-34.
Special thanks to the following contributors for making this project possible:
Vicky Abigania, Tammy Adams, Ann Altman, Eric Caldwell, Kurtis Derell, Luara and Jonathan DeVilbiss, Easter Island Foundation, Frances Wong, Toni Agustin, Jeanne Herbert, Leslie and Jamie Jeffryes, Tim Jeffryes, Carol Kuboyama, Yuri Lang, Jim and Lisa Maino, Rick and Ruby Marine, Darlene Markovich, Sydney and Sharon Martin, Alan and Monica McClelland, Elizabeth McFarlane, Randy Munro, Lita Olegario, Fred and Julia Shepardson, Leonard and Kiyomi Smothermon, Eileen Wacker, Kim Wischman.
| Project Overview | Impact |
| Introduction | Support |
| Education | Bibliography |
| Fieldwork | Data - 2008 |
| Outreach | Interactive |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
