The evolution of "hyper-locality" on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

Author(s): Terry Hunt; Carl Lipo

Year: 2015

Summary

The archaeology and prehistory of Rapa Nui (Easter Is.) reveals a paradox. Despite the island’s diminutive size and the lack of natural barriers preventing social interaction, prehistoric populations on the island show patterns of "hyper-locality." Evidence from ancient human genetics and multiple artifact classes show significant co-variation with space on an enigmatically small scale. Such spatial autocorrelation is likely explained by the structure of interactions in the context of Rapa Nui’s environment; however, it is unclear why such localized interaction would be so prevalent on such a small island. We explore conditions leading to the evolution of "hyper-locality" and consider the implications for Rapa Nui and beyond.

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Cite this Record

The evolution of "hyper-locality" on Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Terry Hunt, Carl Lipo. Presented at The 80th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco, California. 2015 ( tDAR id: 396319)

Keywords

Geographic Keywords
Oceania

Spatial Coverage

min long: 111.973; min lat: -52.052 ; max long: -87.715; max lat: 53.331 ;