2014-15 Ph.D. fieldwork report

Abstract

From May – September 2014 and from January – February 2015, I conducted archaeological and geological fieldwork on Rapa Nui for my doctorate at the University of Queensland (UQ). These six months were the most challenging and rewarding of my career, as I had to navigate the social politics on the island to be granted authorization to conduct scientific research and to remove geological and archaeological samples off the island for technological and geochemical analyses. In this report, I: 1) review the process to attain research permits on Rapa Nui; 2) highlight six months of living and doing scientific investigation on Rapa Nui; and 3) describe the components of my Ph.D.