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Prehistoric and early historic agriculture at Maunga Orito, Easter Island (Rapa Nui), Chile

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Christopher M. Stevenson ,
Thomas L. Jackson ,
Andreas Mieth ,
Hans-Rudolf Bork  and
Thegn N. Ladefoged
Christopher M. Stevenson
Affiliation:
1Virginia Department of Historic Resources, 2801 Kensington Avenue, Richmond, VA 23221, USA (Email: christopher.stevenson@dhr.virginia.gov)
Thomas L. Jackson
Affiliation:
2Pacific Legacy, 1525 Seabright Ave., Santa Cruz, CA 95062, USA (Email: legacytj@yahoo.com)
Andreas Mieth
Affiliation:
3University of Kiel, Ecology Centre, Olshausenstrasse 40, D 24098 Kiel, Germany (Email: amieth@ecology.uni-kiel.de)
Hans-Rudolf Bork
Affiliation:
4University of Kiel, Ecology Centre, Olshausenstrasse 40, D 24098 Kiel, Germany (Email: hrbork@ecology.uni-kiel.de)
Thegn N. Ladefoged
Affiliation:
5Department of Anthropology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand (Email: t.ladefoged@auckland.ac.nz)
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Extract

A long section adjacent to a former obsidian quarry on Easter Island (Rapa Nui) reveals a sequence of agricultural strategies, beginning with the clearing of palm trees in the twelfth century AD, and the making of an open garden growing yams and taro, that continued through the fifteenth century. The later phases between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries include veneer and boulder gardens that reflect the broader strategy employed by the islanders to fight the increasingly arid soil.

Keywords

PolynesiaEaster Islandagriculturelithic mulcherosiondeforestation
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 80 , Issue 310 , 1 December 2006 , pp. 919 - 936
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2006

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References

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