The end of moai quarrying and its effect on Lake Rano Raraku, Easter Island |
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| Authors: | Henri J Dumont Christine Cocquyt Michel Fontugne Maurice Arnold Jean-Louis Reyss Jan Bloemendal Frank Oldfield Cees LM Steenbergen Henk J Korthals Barbara A Zeeb |
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| Institution: | (1) Institute of Animal Ecology, University of Gent, 9000 Gent, Belgium;(2) Laboratoire Mixte CNRS-CEA, Centre des Faibles Radioactivités, Gif-sur-Yvette, France;(3) Department of Geography, University of Liverpool, UK;(4) NEI, Centre of Limnology, 3631 AC Nieuwersluis, The Netherlands;(5) Department of Biology, PEARL Laboratory, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 3N6, Canada |
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| Abstract: | We reconstruct aspects of the history of Easter Island over the last 4-5 centuries based on the study of a core from Rano Raraku Lake, situated in the crater that contains the quarry of the island's giant statues or moai. We use microfossils of plants and animals to identify five zones. The last three of these are separated by waves of immigration from South America and from the subantarctic. We argue that the first or South American wave, dated to the second half of the 14th century, may represent a visit by South American Indians. Magnetic information, pollen, diatoms, chrysophyte stomatocysts and fossil plant pigments reveal a synchronism between the South American contact and the cessation of moai quarrying. We therefore suggest that Amerindians contributed to the cultural collapse of the island. The second or subantarctic wave may reflect an early European visit to the island, possibly by Cpt. James Cook in 1774, or by Jacob Roggeveen in 1722. |
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| Keywords: | Lake cores Easter Island culture South America diatoms cladocerans ostracods chrysophytes magnetic properties palaeopigments |
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