Rapa Nui (Easter Island) monument (ahu) locations explained by freshwater sources

DiNapoli, Robert J.; Lipo, Carl P.; Brosnan, Tanya; Hunt, Terry L.; Hixon, Sean; Morrison, Alex; Becker, Matthew W.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0210409

Cited by 37 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 87 publications

(147 reference statements)

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“…But remnants of dug wells can be found only right at the coast, which, together with hydrogeological evidence point to fresh or brackish coastal seeps as a main drinking water source throughout the history of the island (Brosnan et al, 2018). While the cultural relevance of these drinking water sources is clear, it is also documented by the distribution of the famous stone monuments on the island, which occur more often close to the coastal seeps (DiNapoli et al, 2019). This leads to the hypothesis that the monuments marked important places, including coastal groundwater seeps (DiNapoli et al, 2019).…”

Section: Cultural Aspectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the cultural relevance of these drinking water sources is clear, it is also documented by the distribution of the famous stone monuments on the island, which occur more often close to the coastal seeps (DiNapoli et al, 2019). This leads to the hypothesis that the monuments marked important places, including coastal groundwater seeps (DiNapoli et al, 2019).…”

Section: Cultural Aspectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Submarine Groundwater Discharge: Updates on Its Measurement Techniques, Geophysical Drivers, Magnitudes, and Effects

Taniguchi

Dulai

Burnett

et al. 2019

Front. Environ. Sci.

194

143

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The number of studies concerning Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD) grew quickly as we entered the twenty-first century. Many hydrological and oceanographic processes that drive and influence SGD were identified and characterized during this period. These processes included tidal effects on SGD, water and solute fluxes, biogeochemical transformations through the subterranean estuary, and material transport via SGD from land to sea. Here we compile and summarize the significant progress in SGD assessment methodologies, considering both the terrestrial and marine driving forces, and local as well as global evaluations of groundwater discharge with an emphasis on investigations published over the past decade. Our treatment presents the state-of-the-art progress of SGD studies from geophysical, geochemical, bio-ecological, economic, and cultural perspectives. We identify and summarize remaining research questions, make recommendations for future research directions, and discuss potential future challenges, including impacts of climate change on SGD and improved estimates of the global magnitude of SGD.

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Section: Cultural Aspectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cultural Aspectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Submarine Groundwater Discharge: Updates on Its Measurement Techniques, Geophysical Drivers, Magnitudes, and Effects

Taniguchi

Dulai

Burnett

et al. 2019

Front. Environ. Sci.

194

143

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The assumed uniqueness of coastal seeps as a routine freshwater source for the Rapanui is based on the dismissal of other potential sources (Brosnan et al, 2018;DiNapoli et al, 2019). In the case of Rano Kao, the main arguments for its eventual dismissal as a routine freshwater source are the difficulty of access and the lack of archeological evidence of habitation at lake margins.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drought, freshwater availability and cultural resilience on Easter Island (SE Pacific) during the Little Ice Age

Rull

2019

Preprint

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After decades of human-deterministic explanations for the collapse of the ancient Rapanui civilization that inhabited Easter Island (Rapa Nui) before European contact (1722 CE), paleoecological studies developed during the last decade have provided sound evidence for climate changes and their potential socio-ecological impact. Especially significant is the occurrence of a century-scale (1570-1720 CE) drought occurred during the Little Ice Age. Freshwater is a critical resource at Easter Island that heavily depends on rain, which maintains the three only permanent surficial freshwater sources of the island: two lakes (Kao and Raraku) and a marsh (Aroi). In these conditions, the LIA drought could have significantly affected human life; however, the Rapanui civilization remained healthy showing a remarkable resilience. There are two main hypotheses on how the ancient Rapanui civilization could have obtained freshwater to guarantee its continuity. The intra-island migration hypothesis proposes that Lake Raraku, the cultural center of this civilization, dried out and the Rapanui were forced to migrate to Lake Kao, which was likely the only surficial freshwater source during the LIA drought. This shift was accompanied a profound cultural reorganization. The coastal groundwater hypothesis dismisses the use of lakes and other surficial freshwater sources to maintain the water-stressed Rapanui population and contends that the only routine freshwater sources during the LIA drought were the abundant and widespread coastal seeps fed by fresh/brackish groundwater. The pros and cons of these two hypotheses are discussed on the basis of the available archaeological and paleoecological evidence and it is concluded that, in the present state of knowledge, none of them can be rejected. Therefore, these two proposals could be complementary, rather than excluding.

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“…The green dots represent the distribution of present-day moai and ahu, according to Van Tilburg (1994). The red lines indicate the westernmost boundary of the studies regarding coastal groundwater seeps by Brosnan et al (2018) and DiNapoli et al (2019). B) The moai complex of Ahu Tongariki, which has statues that are up to 9 m high and 90 tons (see upper panel for location).…”

Section: Figure Captionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this paper, this phenomenon is called the intra-island migration hypothesis. In contrast, the coastal groundwater hypothesis proposes that freshwater was obtained from coastal groundwater seeps and explicitly dismisses other possibilities (Brosnan et al, 2018;DiNapoli et al, 2019). This paper briefly summarizes these two proposals and aims to show that they may be complementary, rather than mutually exclusive.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Drought, freshwater availability and cultural resilience on Easter Island (SE Pacific) during the Little Ice Age

Rull

2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

After decades of human-deterministic explanations for the collapse of the ancient Rapanui culture that inhabited Easter Island (Rapa Nui) before European contact (1722 CE), paleoecological studies developed over the last decade have provided sound evidence of climate changes and their potential socioecological impacts. Especially significant is the occurrence of a century-scale (1570-1720 CE) drought occurred during the Little Ice Age. Freshwater is a critical resource on Easter Island that heavily depends on rain, which maintains the only three permanent surficial freshwater sources on the island: two lakes (Rano Kao and Rano Raraku) and a marsh (Rano Aroi). Under these conditions, the LIA drought could have significantly affected human life; however, the Rapanui society remained healthy, showing remarkable resilience. There are two main hypotheses on how the ancient Rapanui could have obtained freshwater to guarantee its continuity. The intra-island migration hypothesis proposes that Rano Raraku, the cultural center of this culture, dried out and the Rapanui were forced to migrate to Rano Kao, which was likely the only surficial freshwater source during the LIA drought. This shift was accompanied by a profound cultural reorganization. The coastal groundwater hypothesis dismisses the use of lakes and other surficial freshwater sources to maintain the water-stressed Rapanui population and contends that the only routine freshwater sources during the LIA drought were the abundant and widespread coastal seeps fed by fresh/brackish groundwater. The pros and cons of these two hypotheses are discussed on the basis of the available archeological and paleoecological evidence, and it is concluded that in the present state of knowledge, neither can be rejected. Therefore, these two proposals could be complementary, rather than mutually exclusive.

show abstract

Rapa Nui (Easter Island) monument (ahu) locations explained by freshwater sources

Cited by 37 publications

References 87 publications

Submarine Groundwater Discharge: Updates on Its Measurement Techniques, Geophysical Drivers, Magnitudes, and Effects

Submarine Groundwater Discharge: Updates on Its Measurement Techniques, Geophysical Drivers, Magnitudes, and Effects

Drought, freshwater availability and cultural resilience on Easter Island (SE Pacific) during the Little Ice Age

Drought, freshwater availability and cultural resilience on Easter Island (SE Pacific) during the Little Ice Age

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