A.D. 1680 and Rapa Nui Prehistory

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dc.contributor.authorLipo, Carl P.
dc.contributor.authorHunt, Terry L.
dc.date.accessioned2013-05-23T18:12:24Z
dc.date.available2013-05-23T18:12:24Z
dc.date.issued2009
dc.description.abstractA.D. 1680 remains a central date in the prehistory of Rapa Nui (Easter Island). The date was first proposed as the year of an epic battle calculated from the number of generations recounted in the oral traditions. Later this estimate was linked to a radiocarbon date from the Poike Ditch. While the emphasis of the date has shifted in the literature from being the timing of a war between prehistoric groups, it is now taken to represent a prehistoric turning point of environmental collapse and social upheaval. Here, we examine the origins of the a.d. 1680 date and evaluate the reasoning behind its initial determination as well as its empirical basis. We conclude that a date of a.d. 1680 cannot be considered a reliable date or event of transformative cultural change. Additional chronological investigations are necessary to distinguish changes in the archaeological record as either prehistoric or occurring in the aftermath and as a consequence of European contact.
dc.format.extent9 pages
dc.identifier.issn0066-8435 (Print)
dc.identifier.issn1535-8283 (E-ISSN)
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10125/29090
dc.language.isoen-US
dc.publisherUniversity of Hawai'i Press (Honolulu)
dc.relation.ispartofseriesVolume 48
dc.relation.ispartofseriesNumber 2
dc.rightsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/
dc.subjectRapa Nui
dc.subjectEaster Island
dc.subjectchronology
dc.subjectradiocarbon
dc.subjectcollapse
dc.subjectEuropean Contact
dc.subject.lcshPrehistoric peoples--Asia--Periodicals.
dc.subject.lcshPrehistoric peoples--Oceania--Periodicals.
dc.subject.lcshAsia--Antiquities--Periodicals.
dc.subject.lcshOceania--Antiquities--Periodicals.
dc.subject.lcshEast Asia--Antiquities--Periodicals.
dc.titleA.D. 1680 and Rapa Nui Prehistory
dc.typeOther
dc.type.dcmiText

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Asian Perspectives, 2009 - Volume 48, Number 2 (Fall)