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Marae with ahu (a central stone platform) on Mo’orea, Windward. Credit: Antiquity
Archaeologists have analyzed ritual spaces and monumental structures across Polynesia, questioning the idea that Rapa Nui (Easter Island) developed in isolation following its initial settlement.
The first people in Polynesia settled the islands from west to east, rapidly expanding from Tonga and Samoa across the sea to central East Polynesia and from there to distant lands such as Hawai'i, Rapa Nui and Aotearoa/New Zealand.
After this initial colonization, it was thought that the islands of East Polynesia, particularly the remote Rapa Nui, remained isolated from the wider Pacific world. However, despite their remoteness, similar ritual practices and monumental structures have been observed in East Polynesia.
One such example is the construction of marae. These rectangular clearings were communal ritual spaces that, in some places, remain sacred to this day. However, they changed over time on different islands: on Rapa Nui, the famous moai sculptures were constructed and placed on the ritual temple platforms within marae.
To re-assess how ritual expression spread and developed throughout the region, Professors Paul Wallin and Helene Martinsson-Wallin from Uppsala University compared archaeological data and radiocarbon dates from settlements, ritual spaces and monuments across East Polynesia. Their results are published in the journal Antiquity.
"The migration process from West Polynesian core areas such as Tonga and Samoa to East Polynesia is not disputed here," say the authors. "Still, the static west-to-east colonization and dispersal suggested for East Polynesia and the idea that Rapa Nui was only colonized once in the past and developed in isolation is challenged."
Early ritual structure with pavement and platform at Ahu Nau Nau, Anakena, on Rapa Nui. Above it is the rebuilt elaborated ahu with moai statues. Credit: A. Skjölsvold, Antiquity
The authors identified three separate phases of ritual activity in East Polynesia. The first reflects the west-to-east expansion, during which ritual activity was focused on actions such as burials and feasting. These sites were indicated by stone uprights. These activities were formed through continuous contact within interaction networks.
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