Terevaka Archaeological Outreach (TAO) 2022–2023 Field Report: Program Expansion

Since 2003, Terevaka Archaeological Outreach (TAO) has offered unforgettable educational opportunities regarding archaeology, traditional lifeways, technology, and sustainable development at no cost for Rapa Nui high school students. After 20 years of refining our pedagogy and implementation, 2022–2023 marked a year of rapid expansion for TAO. Within a 10-month period, TAO completed two projects on Rapa Nui, and also launched sister programs in the Sacred Valley of Peru and in Patagonia National Park of Chile

Seelenfreund, Andrea (Ed.) Vistiendo Rapa Nui. Textiles Vegetales. Haka‘ara o te Kahu [Dressing Rapa Nui. Plant Textiles] Santiago: Pehuén Editores, 2013. 78 pages. ISBN 978-956-16-0580-0. CLP13,000,available.Edwards,EdmundoandAlexandraEdwards.WhentheUniversewasanIsland.ExploringtheCulturalandSpiritualCosmosofAncientRapaNuiHangaRoa:HangaroaPress,2013.517pp.ISBN:978−956−353−131−2.US13,000, available. Edwards, Edmundo and Alexandra Edwards. When the Universe was an Island. Exploring the Cultural and Spiritual Cosmos of Ancient Rapa Nui Hanga Roa: Hangaroa Press, 2013. 517 pp. ISBN: 978-956-353-131-2. US89.99 (softcover). Available at www.amazon.com and www.universeisland.com. van Gelder, Roelof. Naar het aards paradijs. Het rusteloze leven van Jacob Roggeveen, ontdekker van Paaseiland (1659-1729) [To the earthly paradise. The restless life of Jacob Roggeveen, discoverer of Easter Island (1659-1729)] Amsterdam: Balans, 2012. 335 pages, index, bibliography. ISBN 978-94-600-3573-9. €29.95. Treister, Kenneth, Patricia Vargas Casanova, and Claudio Cristino. Easter Island’s Silent Sentinels: The Sculpture and Architecture of Rapa Nui Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2013. 160 pp. ISBN 978-0826352644. US45 (hardcover). Available from www.amazon.com Jakubowska, Zuzanna, Still More to Discover: Easter Island in the Unknown Manuscript by the Forsters from the 18th Century Warsaw: Museum of the History of the Polish Popular Movement & Institute of Iberian and Ibero-American Studies, University of Warsaw, 2014. 218 pp. ISBN: 978-83-7901-035-6. Low, Sam. Hawaiki Rising: Hōkūle‘a, Nainoa Thompson, and the Hawaiian Renaissance Waipahu: Island Heritage Publishing, 2013. 343 pp. ISBN 978-161-7102-00-4. US25 (hardcover). Available from www.amazon.com.

The hydrogeologic conditions and water supply of Rapa Nui have recently become a matter of concern since the island has become more readily accessible by plane. This has increased resident and tourist populations, which has heightened the demand on the island’s groundwater supply. Another threat to the future of Rapa Nui is pollution of its freshwater resource. Three possible pollution sources are seawater intrusion, the Orito Landfill, and the lack of a septic waste system. Seawater intrusion is a potential threat for Rapa Nui because the aquifer becomes shallower near the coast and groundwater pumping occurs near the coast. The unlined Orito Landfill sits atop a groundwater divide, increasing the potential for chemical compounds to disperse in various directions. The lack of a centralized septic waste system also poses a growing threat from potential seepage into the groundwater supply. Increased understanding of the hydrogeologic conditions and sources of groundwater pollution need to be a priority for the government of Chile and the municipality of Rapa Nui to help sustain the fresh groundwater supply. This research focuses on the groundwater conditions in the southeastern part of the island near the town of Hanga Roa, where most residents live and where groundwater is the sole source of potable water. This report attempts to combine general hydrogeologic knowledge with observed data from various sources in order to create a baseline assessment of the current groundwater situation. Current knowledge of groundwater pumping wells and pollution sources needs to be expanded in order to manage the water supply sustainably for future generations. An investment in a hydrologic monitoring program, compatible with improved waste management, would help lead to a safe, reliable drinking water source for the people of Rapa Nui

Terevaka Archaeological Outreach 2014 field report: Meeting community objectives

Work completed in July of 2014 marks the eleventh year that Terevaka Archaeological Outreach (TAO) has offered educational opportunities for high school students local to the Rapa Nui community. Fifteen Rapanui students enrolled in this year’s program, representing La Aldea Educativa and Colegio Hermano Eugenio Eyraud—two of the high schools on the island. Five of those fifteen students were returning students, having successfully completed their first year of the TAO curriculum in July of 2013. The goals of the TAO program have remained the same since its inception in 2003. First, our work aims to utilize archaeology as a foundation for education and opportunity within Rapa Nui’s island community. Second, our projects promote awareness of and expertise in archaeology and cultural conservation. And third, we document, study, and conserve the remarkable treasures of the past that remain on Rapa Nui today. In order to fulfill these goals, TAO staff and students have undertaken a variety of innovative projects on the island and presented findings through various media (Rutherford et al. 2008; Shepardson 2006, 2010; Shepardson & Torres Hochstetter 2009; Shepardson et al. 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013; Torres Hochstetter & Shepardson 2005). As TAO becomes a more established institution on the island, one of our challenges is to make sure that projects are closely aligned with the everevolving community objectives in sustainable development. Our 2014 program focused on two specific projects: (1) non-invasive archaeological site documentation and surveillance, and (2) raising awareness of Rapanui artifacts that currently reside in museums overseas

A PO: The Rapa Nui Youth Archaeology Program Field Report

The archaeology of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) has received a tremendous amount of attention in the last century. Researchers have traveled from all comers of the Earth to this miniscule island to solve the mysteries of the Center of the World. But this article is not about those people, nor is it about the mysteries. This report, rather, is about a special group of high school students in Rapa Nui eager to play an active role determining the future of their own cultural heritage. And we might argue that the work of these students may be more important than those popular and dramatic explanations of the island's prehistory.</p