Presenter: Sadie Trush
Mentors: Terry Hunt, Honors College Anthropology; Nick Dreher, Environmental Studies
Poster: C6
Major: Environmental Science
Commonly overlooked in the numerous narratives of Easter Island’s mystery, is the most critical resource to human beings: freshwater. Recent field research on the Island has focused on puna (archaeological well features) that may have allowed the prehistoric Rapanui people to obtain this essential element. An RC quadcopter, high resolution camera, and trimble unit were used on this research project to create 3-dimensional reconstructions of the puna, while the coastline was manually surveyed to find traces of freshwater at the marine interface. These two data sets were geographically compared with previously mapped locations of moai and ahu (great stone statues and platforms), since puna are always found within 50 meters of an ahu presentation. Additionally, in these areas notable amounts of fresh, potable, groundwater seeps into the sea. This correlation of puna, potable water, and
ahu with moai suggests a connection between resource use and moai placement, and challenges previous beliefs that moai were merely 70-ton manifestations of ancestor worship. In fact, the correlation may reflect the Rapanui’s connection to the natural landscape and understanding of limited resources. Given current freshwater shortages, these findings not only lend themselves to further knowledge of water resources on Easter Island in the context of Rapanui prehistory, but may also assist modern Rapanui people to utilize local water resources instead of shipping it thousands of kilometers from Chile.