Rapa Nui Journal Volume 27 Issue 1
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10524/64098
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Item Featured EIF Publication(2013-05-01)Item Soung in the Spotlight(2013-05-01)Item Easter Island Foundation News(2013-05-01) Padgett, AntoinetteItem What's New Elsewhere(2013-05-01) Padgett, AntoinetteItem What's New in Oceania(2013-05-01) Padgett, AntionetteItem What's New on Rapa Nui(2013-05-01) Padgett, AntoinetteItem Getting to Know You: Irene Arévalo Nazrala(2013-05-01)Item The voyage of Waka Tapu to Rapa Nui(2013-05-01) Mulrooney, MaraItem A note on the taxonomy, ecology, distribution and conservation status of the ferns (Pteridophytes) of Rapa Nui (Easter Island)(2013-05-01) Meyer, Jean-YvesFerns are an important component of the flora of the remote islands of the Pacific, especially on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), with 16 native species (i.e., 35% of its existing vascular flora) including four island endemics. In this paper, their former and new valid scientific names, their distribution, and abundance are reassessed based on previously published data and recently conducted field surveys (2008-2012). All of the fern species can be considered threatened because of the past and current destruction or modification of their natural habitats, over-grazing by introduced ungulates (horses, cattle, sheep, and goats), fires, and invasive alien plants. Moreover, four species collected in the early 20th century have not been observed since, and might be considered extinct. Habitat restoration projects and conservation plans for the most endangered fern species (including propagation in plant nurseries) should be urgently implemented to conserve the remaining native fern diversity of the island before it is completely lost.Item Variable horticulture within a small garden on Ahuahu (Great Mercury Island)(2013-05-01) Davis, Krystle; Ladefoged, Thegn N.Archaeological excavations in a small gardening complex on Ahuahu (Great Mercury Island, New Zealand) documented variable horticultural practices within a limited area. The gardening features were located on the lower slope of a ridge and extended into a present-day swamp. A series of rock-faced terraces were constructed on the steeper upper slope, with a set of stone alignments orientated parallel to the gradient on the lower slope. The excavations documented gardening behind the terraces, around and between the alignments, within a linear depression or channel, and in the swampy low lying area. A transect of test pits also documented the probable addition of sand to a small area, possibly as a means of creating a more friable horticultural soil. The presence of these horticultural features in the small garden suggest that it was more intensively used then the surrounding area, however there are much larger more intensified gardening complexes in the north of the island.Item The large rongorongo tablet from the collections of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.(2013-05-01) Horley, PaulThis paper is dedicated to the improvement of the documentation of the Large Washington rongorongo tablet (inventory number A129774) in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution, presenting for the first time detailed high-resolution photographs of the artifact at almost original size. Digital image processing was employed to enhance the contrast of the signs damaged by reshaping of the tablet for its later use in marine carpentry. The possible reuse of other rongorongo artifacts is discussed. A new improved tracing of the Large Washington inscription based on digitally enhanced images and direct study of the original artifact allowed the recoding of more glyph traces in damaged areas of the tablet. The analysis of the inscription prompted a tentative explanation of structured sequences that appear frequently in rongorongo script.Item New Zealand place names shared with the Hawaiian Archipelago(2013-05-01) Crowe, AndrewA survey of place names shared between New Zealand and East Polynesia found by far the majority in the Hawaiian Archipelago. Given that the immediate origin of Māori is generally thought to lie in the ‘central East Polynesian interaction sphere’, this is surprising, inviting an exploration of other links between these two widely separated corners of the ‘Polynesian Triangle’ in the context of evidence for and against prehistoric contact. A full list of the names found to be shared between these two island groups is given, along with a statistical comparison of New Zealand place names found to occur on other East Polynesian archipelagos. A proposition is made here that, despite the isolation of both the Hawaiian Archipelago and New Zealand at European contact and the immense distance between them, they may have been in direct contact with one another.Item Towards a characterization of colonial power on Rapa Nui (1917-1936)(2013-05-01) Fuentes, Miguel; Pakarari, Cristián MorenoThis paper seeks to characterize the structure of colonial power on Rapa Nui from 1917 to 1936, the years of the so-called “Temperamento Provisorio” (“Provisional Code”). Based on the analysis of documents acquired from the archives of the Naval Ministry and the Administrative Division of Valparaíso, this study provides a reflection on the actions of the Chilean State and the “Compañia Explotadora de Isla de Pascua” during those years.Item Letters to the Editor(2013-05-01)