Mieth, Andreas

English

eVols at University of Hawaii at Manoa

Rapa Nui Journal· Vol. 23, NO.1· May 20091REVIEWSPREHISTORIC RAPA NUl:LANDSCAPE AND SETTLEMENTARCHAEOLOGYAT HANGA HO'ONUChristopher M. Stevenson & Sonia Haoa Cardinali(with contributions by Joan Wozniak,Helene Martinsson-Wallin, & Paul Wallin)Easter Island Foundation, 2008ISBN 978-1-880636-26-8softcover; 297 pages; includes a fold-out map$30.00Review by Andreas MiethThere are few places on Earth that hold such a high density ofprehistoric cultural evidence similar to that of Rapa Nui. Onthis island, perhaps the most remote in the world, it is hardlypossible to step forward without stumbling across stony relictsof the ancient civilization. There are hundreds, thousands, oreven millions of single archaeological objects on Rapa Nuiwhich are evidence of a unique, worldwide civilization andwhich, today, still remains to some extent undescribed, un-discovered, and unaccounted for. Presently, many of theseobjects are buried beneath sediments or lie hidden in grass-lands. They are exposed to erosion and weathering or aretrampled by grazing horses and cattle. It seems that there is notenough time to collect even the most important of thesecultural relicts before many of them are destroyed, forgotten,or lost. The chance to gain detailed knowledge about theprehistoric culture and the ancient living conditions on RapaNui with the help of archaeological and geoarchaeologicalanalysis is shrinking with the loss of these cultural objects. Butwhat an unimaginable and hardly fundable assignment it is tolocalize, describe, classify, document, and interpret thecountless archaeological artefacts - completely and exactly- even for a small, confined area! However, together withmany helpers, Christopher Stevenson and Sonia HaoaCardinali have dared to carry out such enonnous, extensive,prolonged fieldwork.A meticulous archaeological survey was conducted for anarea of 8 km2 (3 mi.2) at La Perouse Bay on the northern coastof Rapa Nui. From 1995 to 2001,15 research teams with atotal of 120 Earthwatch volunteers participated in thefieldwork. The results of very detailed inventory in the fieldwere combined with high-resolution aerial photography,archaeological excavations, numerous obsidian andradiocarbon dates, and pollen and bone analysis. The datafrom this enormous work were pieced together like a hugearchaeological jigsaw puzzle. The outcome is stunning: morethan 2,600 single archaeological structures were identified anddocumented in the investigation area known as Hanga Ho'onu.Thus, Stevenson and Haoa Cardinali's work is one ofthe mostdetailed archaeological surveys ever performed on Rapa Nui.- 71The culmination of this work now exists in the form of a 297-page book enriched with numerous black and white illustra-tions, a comprehensive appendix containing descriptions of alltheir findings in charts and tables, and there is even a pocketcontaining a large-sized fold-out map documenting the sitesand discoveries. Aside from the key authors, the book alsocontains articles by Joan Wozniak, Helene Martinsson-Wallin,Paul Wallin, Matthew Bampton, Linda Scott Cummings, andPemilla Flyg.The authors docu-ment the results of theirelaborate project in awell-structured manner:from general aspects todetailed facts, fromfindings to interpretation,from single results tosynthesis. After an initialintroduction to thegeneral context of thebook, consisting of ahistory of Rapa Nui'sculture and landscape aswell as a well-foundedsummary of the currentlevel of knowledge and adiscussion concerning research on Rapa Nui, the authorsprovide an overview of the investigation area and the appliedmethods. In a separate chapter, the authors include atypological synopsis of the archaeological relicts found in theinvestigation area. Here, the authors' comprehensive expertknowledge and familiarity regarding Rapa Nui's stony relicsbecomes visible; a keen eye and much experience are neededin order to correctly interpret the very diverse and oftenpoorly-preserved structures. The myriad shapes of home andgardening structures, terraces and stone pavings, caves, man-made and modified surface depressions, small quarries, earthovens, and tombs and platforms are classified with detaileddescriptions and clear schematic drawings. This well-illustrated typology earns special credit on its own.From the quantitative and qualitative distribution of thearchaeological structures in the area of Hanga Ho'onu, first theauthors divide the area into general classifications of land usebefore they address a detailed analysis of separate zones-beginning at the coast and ranging a distance of 2.4 km (1.5mi.) into the interior of the island. Horticultural areas, quarries,and residential areas as well as zones used for sacred functionsand regions of miscellaneous functioning and utilization, aredistinguished from one another. Wozniak and Stevenson payspecial attention to the unique horticultural techniques of theprehistoric population and, in particular, to the technique ofstone mulching. Numerous soil profiles taken by Wozniak andStevenson document the considerable extent of prehistorichorticulture and gardening. There is virtually no stone coverwithout fertile garden soils and numerous planting pitsbeneath. In a special chapter, the authors provide a detailedreport of a hOllsing area with integrated gardening structures;Rapa Nui Journal • Vol. 23, NO.1· May 2009near the coast. There, in the surrounding area of an ancientdomicile, II test excavations were carried out in which soilprofiles document a great number and diversity of fireplacesand hearths, rubbish pits and storage pits, as well as plantingpits from approximately 600 years of land use. In one sectionof the book, Paul Wallin and Helene Martinsson-Wallinaddress the survey and analysis of sacred structures in theHanga Ho'onu area. They prove that the oldest parts of twoplatforms (Ahu Heki'i and Ahu Ra'ai) were erected between1200 and 1400 CEo Linda Scott CUlmning's analysis of pollenand phytoliths that derived from sediments beneath the base ofan ahu proves that palm forests were predominant in this area(as also found in the major part of Rapa Nui) before the exten-sive clearings, intensive cultivation, and gardening of the land.Stevenson and Haoa Cardinali's synthesis of the manythousand single frndings to an interpretative overall picture ofthe development of culture and landscape is probably the mostinteresting section of the book. The authors document thespatial and temporal progression of the land seizure in itsphases, beginning directly at the coastal area, then graduallyspreading to the interior, and finally conquering the higherelevations. On the basis of their archaeological findings, theauthors demonstrate that the coastal area changed from asparsely populated region to a significant sacred zone - thathouses and gardens rapidly increased on the coastal plane withthe growth of population, that horticulture in the interiorbecame more intensive and larger-scaled and that, in the end,the formerly intensively used areas degenerated and wereabandoned around the 17th century. As synthesis of the HangaHo'onu findings, and using results from other areas of RapaNui, the authors derive a 5-phase-model for the cultural his-tory which, ultimately, they would like to see accepted for theentire island. The model reveals Rapa Nui's vibrant culturalhistory in a compact and handy form: First, the tentativebeginning of land use from subsistence gardening to a hie-rarchically-organized horticultural production for the com-munity; second, the emergence of megalithic dominance onthe basis of high horticultural production outputs; third, thedevelopment of sacred and hierarchical structures as mechan-isms to control and manage as well as enable intensive hor-ticultural production and megalithic investments; fourth,urgently-needed horticultural methods to compensate fordeforestation and worsening of soil and water conditionsaround the 13th century; and, last but not least, the deterior-ation of the sacred and hierarchical structures that wasaccompanied by a decline in population, the abandonment ofgarden and settlement sites, and the violation of formerly holysites (the last a situation which culminated under Europeaninfluence).The authors correctly refer to the described scenario as amodel because, in spite of intensive archaeological research,gaps in knowledge still remain. Much datable material ismissing and many geo-archaeological documents have beenlost because of long-term land use as well as the repeatedalteration of houses, ahu, and gardens. The authors adequatelypoint out the gaps and the open questions and highlight thepoint that some of their statements are still speculative. The- 72 -construction and validation of the cultural phase model for allof Rapa Nui out of the thousands of single findings from onearea (Hanga Ho'onu) is a courageous, but important step. Thiscan only be accomplished by scientists that have developedawareness for the essentials of a subject and who have exten-sively discussed their own results in the context of otherresearch work. The authors have succeeded in this and they donot avoid observing questions left unanswered by theirresearch. In many places, their summary and synthesis point tofascinating questions of future research. For example: Whenexactly did the settlement in this area begin? What part did thesweet potato play in the increase of horticulture production?Did the intensive cultivation of the land deplete the fertility ofthe soils?One open question in the line of archaeological documen-tation of the Hanga Ho'onu area that interests me is: Howlarge was the population during the different cultural phases?Would it be possible to estimate the population of this areausing the meticulously recorded information about the quantityand quality of gardening and home structures? Would it bepossible to deduce an exemplary extrapolation of the popula-tion for other areas of similar structure and maybe even for theentire island? For a long time now, we Rapa Nui researchershave been acquainted with the uncertainty of the differentnumbers publicized about the island's population, for whichthere is little reinforced scientific basis thus far. The infor-mation from the Hanga Ho'onu area could provide an excel-lent basis for a demographic estimation of population.With their book, Stevenson and Haoa Cardinali haveproduced an outstanding analysis of Rapa Nui's prehistoricculture. On the basis of their long and extensive field work, theauthors have not written an easily-read book for the layperson, but rather excellent scientific documentation forexperts. It is another significant milestone that helps us tobetter understand how, in the course of time, man and naturehave interacted on Rapa Nui. The modelled representationsand hypothetical theses derived from the extensive andprolonged fieldwork inspire new questions and new research.Stevenson and Haoa Cardinali's opus belongs in the hands ofevery researcher and scientist on Rapa Nui. He or she will findmethods, scientific strategies, conceptual guidance, andimportant results that will enrich and stimulate his or her ownresearch projects, either by way of new results, new questions,or new provocative theses. In spite of the great abundance ofdetails, the authors do not lose sight of the overall picture.They establish spatial interconnections from the detailedanalysis of a specific landscape section to the other regions ofthe island; they establish chronological ties from the earlysettlements to the influence of colonization; and they create alink between different disciplines, such as archaeology andpaleoecology. Having said this, Stevenson and HaoaCardinali's publication is exemplary for networked thinkingand networked analyzing. Congratulations to the authors andthis great work!

Prehistoric Rapa Nui Landscape and Settlement Archaeology at Hanga Ho'onuChristopher M. Stevenson & Sonia Haoa Cardinali(with contributions by Joan Wozniak,Helene Martinsson-Wallin, & Paul Wallin)Easter Island Foundation, 2008ISBN 978-1-880636-26-8softcover; 297 pages; includes a fold-out map$30.00

http://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10524/64836/1/14_RNJ_23_1_Mieth.pdf

Prehistoric Rapa Nui Landscape and Settlement Archaeology at Hanga Ho'onuChristopher M. Stevenson & Sonia Haoa Cardinali(with contributions by Joan Wozniak,Helene Martinsson-Wallin, & Paul Wallin)Easter Island Foundation, 2008ISBN 978-1-880636-26-8softcover; 297 pages; includes a fold-out map$30.00

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