Latest news with #PaulWallin
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
Archaeologists make surprising discovery at Easter Island
More than 2,000 miles off the coast of Chile Easter Island is geographically one of the most isolated places on Earth but a new study has challenged what research previously understood about the island. It was first settled by humans around AD 1200, who built its famous enlarged head statues. Historically, the original inhabitants, known as the Rapa Nui, were assumed to have long been completely shut off from the wider world. However, a new study by researchers in Sweden challenges this long-held narrative. Research say the 63.2 sq mile island in the southern Pacific was not quite as isolated over the past 800 years as previously thought. In fact, the island was populated with multiple waves of new inhabitants who bravely traversed the Pacific Ocean from west to east. Study author Professor Paul Wallin at Uppsala University said: 'Easter Island was settled from central East Polynesia around AD 1200-1250. 'The Polynesians were skilled sailors so double canoes were used.' Due to its remote location, Easter Island is traditionally assumed to have remained socially and culturally isolated from the wider Pacific world. This idea is reinforced by the fact that Easter Island's famous Moai statues, estimated to have been built between AD 1250 and 1500, are completely unique to the location. The huge human figures carved from volcanic rock were placed on rectangular stone platforms called 'ahu' – essentially tombs for the people that the statues represented. For their study, the team at Uppsala University compared archaeological data and radiocarbon dates from settlements, ritual spaces and monuments across Polynesia, the collection of more than 1,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. Their results, published in the journal Antiquity, show that similar ritual practices and monumental structures have been observed across Polynesia. The experts point out that ahu stone platforms were historically constructed at Polynesian islands further to the west. These rectangular clearings were communal ritual spaces that, in some places, remain sacred to this day. Wallin added: 'The temple grounds ahu [also known as marae] exist on all East Polynesian islands.' The team agree that an early population of people spread from the west of the Pacific to the east before encountering Easter Island and populating it around AD 1200. However, they argue that Easter Island was populated several times by new seafarers – not just once by one group who remained isolated for centuries as previously assumed. The paper reads: 'The migration process from West Polynesian core areas such as Tonga and Samoa to East Polynesia is not disputed here. '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.' Based on their evidence, they also think ahu originated on Easter Island before the trend spread east to west across other western Polynesian islands during the period of AD 1300-1600. It was only after this that Polynesian islands – including but not limited to Easter Island – might have become isolated from each other. As hierarchical social structures developed independently – at Easter Island, Tahiti and Hawai'i for example – large, monumental structures were built to display power. Overall, the study indicates there were robust 'interaction networks' between Polynesian islands, which allowed the transfer of new ideas from east to west and back again. Ultimately, THE arrival of European explorers at Easter Island in the 18th century led to a rapid decline of the population, brought on by murder, bloody conflict, and the brutal slave trade – although the population there may have already been weakening. Today, Easter Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with only a few thousand inhabitants. But it attracts large numbers of tourists, largely thanks to its monumental and world-famous stone statues that stare sternly out over the island. Tourism, which has grown exponentially on the island over the last 20 years, has come at a price, according to co-author Professor Helene Martinsson-Wallin. She said: 'When I was there in the 1980s, the sandy beach was white and there were almost no people around. 'When I came back in the early 00s, I thought the sand looked blue, and when I looked closer I saw that it was due to tiny, tiny pieces of plastic washed up by the sea from every corner of the Earth.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Make Groundbreaking Easter Island Discovery
Groundbreaking research undertaken by Uppsala University and published in the journal Antiquity (via Ancient Origins) has rewritten previously held beliefs about the remote society of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island. Rapa Nui has long been seen as the epitome of a remote community, with historical records indicating that it developed in isolation without other Polynesian communities after it was established in 1200 A.D. However, the new research has found that Rapa Nui was influential in the development of other East Polynesian cultures and influenced the passing of some ceremonial ideals across the Pacific. Using radiocarbon dating, experts in Pacific archaeology Paul Wallin and Helene Martinsson-Wallin found that marae temple structures—intricate rectangular clearings which were used for community ceremonies—originated on Rapa Nui rather than on one of the connected islands, as was previously believed. 'The most important finding is that, based on C-14 dating, we can observe an initial west-to-east spread of ritual ideas," Wallin explained. "However, the complex, unified ritual spaces (known as marae) show earlier dates in the east."The results show that the Polynesian islands were far more interconnected and sophisticated than previously thought. It is believed that since ceremonial practices made their way from Rapa Nui to other Pacific settlements indicates a high level of maritime activity operating in the Polynesian islands, which pushes against any ideas of isolationism. "The migration process from West Polynesian core areas such as Tonga and Samoa to East Polynesia is not disputed here," the study reads. "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." The study has largely reconceived how history views Rapa Nui and the Polynesian islands, and challenges commonly accepted ideas about the movement and development of ritual temple sites in East Polynesia," according to Wallen. 'The findings suggest a more complex pattern than previously thought. Initially, it has been shown that ritual ideas spread from west to east. Later, more elaborate temple structures developed on Easter Island, which then influenced other parts of East Polynesia in an east-to-west movement."Archaeologists Make Groundbreaking Easter Island Discovery first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 9, 2025
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
A New Study Has Upended One of Easter Island's Greatest Myths
Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: A new study suggests that the island of Rapa Nui, otherwise known as Easter Island, didn't develop in the extreme manner of isolation that we thought. By comparing archeological data and radiocarbon dating, professors from Uppsala University were able to break down the development of ritual practices throughout Rapa Nui and the rest of East Polynesia into three distinct phases. These phases suggested a greater interconnected network between the islands than had been previously identified, and challenges the idea that the transfer of cultural developments occurred only in a west-to-east pattern, and only at a singular time. For centuries, the hundreds of mysterious monuments on the small island of Rapa Nui—including the iconic monolithic statues known as the moai—have offered a glimpse into a past we still don't fully understand. While researchers generally agree that Polynesians first settled the island by migrating from west to east, a new study suggests that what happened next may not have been as isolated as once thought. As notes, it's hard to believe these islands all developed independently after the initial wave of eastward expansion—especially given the striking similarities in their monuments and the evidence of shared ritual practices. To determine how, exactly, these similar practices came to be, Paul Wallin and Helene Martinsson-Wallin of Uppsala University analyzed and compared radiocarbon dating and archaeological data from ritual spaces and other monument sites throughout East Polynesia. Get the Issue Get the Issue Get the Issue Get the Issue Get the Issue Get the Issue Get the IssueGet the Issue Get the Issue Their findings, published by Cambridge University Press, categorize the development of ritual practices in East Polynesia into three distinct periods of activity that challenge the traditional view of a one-time, west-to-east colonization and the idea that Rapa Nui developed in complete isolation. The first phase, which the scientists say occurred between 1000–1300 A.D., stems from that initial west-to-east expansion. In this period, they summarize, 'we see that ritual space is expressed through actions, such as burials and feasting, and these spaces are marked by a stone upright.' As each new area was settled, they demonstrated similarities in 'structure and organisation of settlement, ritual space and language-use.' But, crucially, Wallin and Martinsson-Wallin found that 'during the initial settlement expansion, interaction networks were established in East Polynesia that in many cases maintained continuous contact with their homeland population.' In the second phase, dated approximately 1300–1600 A.D., 'ritual actions materialised into clearly visible and more complex ahu/marae structures.' Wallin and Martinsson-Wallin suggest this evolution in ritual practices was done with an eye toward memorializing not just various deities, but lost loved ones as well. 'Ideas surrounding the materialisation of ideology expanded through established networks in the south-eastern Pacific, from the Pitcairn Islands in the east to the Society Islands,' they note. 'Genetic studies also indicate contact between the Central Pacific area and Rapa Nui in the fourteenth century.' That means that, during these initial two phases, Rapa Nui had contact with others 'at least twice,' and that 'connections to islands west of Rapa Nui are apparent.' The third phase is where the interconnectedness of these islands apparently diminished in favor of 'internal vertical hierarchies' and the power struggles therein. The scientists note that while these internal hierarchies had already begun to manifest in some islands in the second phase (placing Rapa Nui's hierarchical expressions emerging around 1350–1450 A.D.), in this phase, hierarchies 'developed independently and rapidly in large fertile island groups such as the Society Islands, c. 1600–1767, and Hawai'i, c. AD 1580–1640.' In this phase, island ritual sites expanded into megalithic structures, as local power expanded throughout the individual islands. 'While a shared ideology spread between islands with initial settlers,' the study authors conclude, 'the development of ritual places was affected by external input in the second phase, and in the third they materialised into highly visible, monumental ritual places of stone due to social hierarchisation in local settings.' Get the Guide Get the Guide Get the Guide Get the Guide Get the Guide Get the Guide Get the Guide You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Archaeologists make surprising discovery at Easter Island - turning everything we know on its head
There's no doubt Easter Island is geographically one of the most isolated places on Earth. More than 2,000 miles off the coast of Chile, it was first settled by humans around AD 1200, who built its famous enlarged head statues. Historically, the original inhabitants, known as the Rapa Nui, were assumed to have long been completely shut off from the wider world. However, a new study by researchers in Sweden challenges this long-held narrative. They say the 63.2 sq mile island in the southern Pacific was not quite as isolated over the past 800 years as previously thought. In fact, the island was populated with multiple waves of new inhabitants who bravely traversed the Pacific Ocean from west to east. 'Easter Island was settled from central East Polynesia around AD 1200-1250,' study author Professor Paul Wallin at Uppsala University told MailOnline. 'The Polynesians were skilled sailors so double canoes were used.' Due to its remote location, Easter Island is traditionally assumed to have remained socially and culturally isolated from the wider Pacific world. This idea is reinforced by the fact that Easter Island's famous Moai statues, estimated to have been built between AD 1250 and 1500, are unique to the location. The huge human figures carved from volcanic rock were placed on rectangular stone platforms called 'ahu' – essentially tombs for the people that the statues represented. For their study, the team at Uppsala University compared archaeological data and radiocarbon dates from settlements, ritual spaces and monuments across Polynesia, the collection of more than 1,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. Their results, published in the journal Antiquity, show that similar ritual practices and monumental structures have been observed across Polynesia. The experts point out that ahu stone platforms were historically constructed at Polynesian islands further to the west. These rectangular clearings were communal ritual spaces that, in some places, remain sacred to this day. 'The temple grounds ahu [also known as marae] exist on all East Polynesian islands,' Professor Wallin added. EASTER ISLAND TIMELINE 13th century: Easter Island (Rapa Nui) is settled by Polynesian seafarers. Construction on some parts of the island's monuments begins. Early 14th to mid-15th centuries: Rapid increase in construction 1600: The date that was long-thought to mark the decline of Easter Island culture. Construction was ongoing. 1770: Spanish seafarers landed on the island. The island is in good working order. 1722: Dutch seafarers land on the island for the first time. Monuments were in use for rituals and showed no evidence of societal decay. 1774: British explorer James Cook arrives on Rapa Nui His crew described an island in crisis, with overturned monuments. The team agree that an early population of people spread from the west of the Pacific to the east before encountering Easter Island and populating it around AD 1200. But they argue that Easter Island was populated several times by new seafarers – not just once by one group who remains isolated for centuries as previously assumed. 'The migration process from West Polynesian core areas such as Tonga and Samoa to East Polynesia is not disputed here,' they say in their paper. '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.' Based on their evidence, they also think ahu originated on Easter Island before the trend spread east to west across other western Polynesian islands during the period of AD 1300-1600. It was only after this that Polynesian islands – including but not limited to Easter Island – might have become isolated from each other. As hierarchical social structures developed independently – at Easter Island, Tahiti and Hawai'i for example – large, monumental structures were built to display power. Overall, the study indicates there were robust 'interaction networks' between Polynesian islands, which allowed the transfer of new ideas from east to west and back again. Ultimately, arrival of European explorers at Easter Island in the 18th century led to a rapid decline of the population, brought on by murder, bloody conflict and the brutal slave trade – although the population there may have already been weakening. Today, Easter Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with only a few thousand inhabitants. But it attracts large numbers of tourists, largely thanks to its monumental and world-famous stone statues that stare sternly out over the island. Tourism, which has grown exponentially on the island over the last 20 years, has come at a price, according to co-author Professor Helene Martinsson-Wallin. 'When I was there in the 1980s, the sandy beach was white and there were almost no people around,' she said. 'When I came back in the early 00s, I thought the sand looked blue, and when I looked closer I saw that it was due to tiny, tiny pieces of plastic washed up by the sea from every corner of the Earth.' WHAT ARE THE STATUES ON EASTER ISLAND AND WHAT DO THEY MEAN? What are the statues? The Moai are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island, between 1,250 and 1,500 AD. All the figures have overly-large heads and are thought to be living faces of deified ancestors. The 887 statues gaze inland across the island with an average height of 13ft (four metres). Nobody really knows how the colossal stone statues that guard Easter Island were moved into position. Nor why during the decades following the island's discovery by Dutch explorers in 1722, each statue was systematically toppled, or how the population of Rapa Nui islanders was decimated. Shrouded in mystery, this tiny triangular landmass, stranded in the middle of the South Pacific and 1,289 miles from its nearest neighbour, has been the subject of endless books, articles and scientific theories. All but 53 of the Moai were carved from tuff , compressed volcanic ash, and around 100 wear red pukao of scoria. What do they mean? In 1979 archaeologists said the statues were designed to hold coral eyes. The figures are believed to be symbol of authority and power. They may have embodied former chiefs and were repositories of spirits or 'mana'. They are positioned so that ancient ancestors watch over the villages, while seven look out to sea to help travellers find land. But it is a mystery as to how the vast carved stones were transported into position. In their remote location off the coast of Chile, the ancient inhabitants of Easter Island were believed to have been wiped out by bloody warfare, as they fought over the island's dwindling resources. All they left behind were the iconic giant stone heads and an island littered with sharp triangles of volcanic glass, which some archaeologists have long believed were used as weapons.
Spectator
07-07-2025
- Science
- Spectator
Was Easter Island less isolated than we previously thought?
It's hard to exaggerate how isolated Easter Island was before its discovery by Polynesian sailors eight or nine centuries ago. This tiny island, which you can walk round in a day, is thousands of miles in any direction from inhabitable land. Yet a new study claims that long before the first European ship arrived in 1722, it was reached more than once, and that people sailed back out to other Pacific islands. It seems history's greatest explorers were even more extraordinary than we first realised. The first inhabitants of Easter Island, or Rapa Nui as it's known in the Pacific, have had a bad press. For decades the narrative has been that they cut down all the trees, causing soil erosion and an environmental catastrophe, which led to starvation and wars. Though academics have challenged the thesis (with good reason, in my view), it lives on in books and podcasts as a lesson to the rest of us. Look after our world: it's the only one we have. The new research avoids this issue. Paul Wallin and Helene Martinsson-Wallin, archaeologists at Uppsala University in Sweden, writing in the journal Antiquity, have looked instead at the island's other claim to fame: its thousand huge statues and the elaborate drystone platforms on which many of them were raised. Assembling a list of radiocarbon dates obtained from excavations – some, their own – across the south-eastern Pacific, they set out to chart centuries of exploration and settlement. In the process, they found Easter Island to be less isolated than had been assumed. Ocean exploration began a thousand years ago in West Polynesia, among islands such as Tonga and Samoa, when people sailed eastwards to Tahiti and its neighbouring islands. From there they navigated the vast triangle of East Polynesia, reaching Hawai'i, Easter Island and, finally, New Zealand, within two centuries. To put that into perspective, around the same time in Europe, the Viking Age was coming to an end. Scandinavian sailors mostly explored coasts and rivers, occupying places already lived in. All they had to do was take over villages and farms nurtured by generations of native peoples. Polynesians, by contrast, entered uncharted seas no human had ever seen, where a thousand islands were scattered across 14 million square miles of some of the most dangerous waters on Earth. Every time they discovered a new island, they had to build their lives from scratch, having brought with them people, cultivated plants like yams and taro, and breeding pigs, dogs and chickens. In the eighteenth century Captain Cook recorded ocean-going canoes as long as a classical Greek trireme or his own Endeavour – with two hulls and crews to match. There have never been more accomplished or daring seafarers. Where the archaeologists part from traditional ideas about this great diaspora, is with what happened next. And that, they say, means seeing Easter Island in a new light. It had long been thought that after it was discovered, it was on its own. Too distant from the colonising islands for frequent return journeys, it had no close neighbours. Other islands tend to belong to large groups, like Hawai'i, which officially has 137 islands, and whose population grew to half a million or more with hereditary kings and priests and full-time armies. Rapa Nui was seen as a backwater. Or perhaps not. Not long after the initial ocean colonisation, Islanders throughout the south-eastern Pacific started to build impressive temple-like constructions known as marae. These were old ritual spaces newly monumentalised in stone, with paved platforms and small standing megaliths. According to the new study, the idea for these marae originated in Easter Island, where power struggles in a growing population stimulated by contacts with other communities were creating a divided society. These contacts were with both other Polynesians to the west, and South Americans to the east. As well as the wide spread of complex marae, another consequence of this was the adoption of the sweet potato, a continental American crop, as a staple food across the Pacific. On Easter Island the changes ultimately led to the carving of enormous statues in human form. This probably began as a common Polynesian practice of shaping figures from tree trunks, which was later transferred to stone: at one place on the island is a great outcrop of volcanic tuff, unusually soft and easy to shape, and now a hollowed-out mass of statue quarries. Like the marae, the idea for these statues was then carried to the west, but only to the nearest islands, such as the Marquesas, and on a much-reduced scale. I'm familiar with Polynesian archaeology, and much of this argument feels realistic. There is recent evidence from human DNA to support the idea that Easter Islanders had contact with peoples both to west and east. However, that does not mean, it seems to me, that South Americans ever managed to reach Easter Island, as some researchers claim. The DNA links could easily have come from Polynesians travelling to South America and back. And there is otherwise no evidence of early Americans reaching the wider Pacific. Nonetheless, the reminder that Easter Island and its people were part of a wider whole is timely. In late June this year, the Hōkūle'a, a modern replica of an ancient ocean-going canoe, reached Tahiti from Hawai'i. After circling the entire Pacific, it hopes to arrive in Rapa Nui in 2028. The modern journey is remarkable. Centuries ago, such voyaging was even more so.
