article

Te Miro o'one: the archaeology of contact on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

World Archaeology • 42 (4) • Published In 2010 • Pages: 562-580

By: Pollard, Joshua, Paterson, Alistair, Welham, Kate.

Abstract

This paper examines the "cosmogonic crisis" wrought by European contact and represented in post-contact rock art. The carvings of European sailing ships with curved hulls resembling Polynesian canoes are found near caves and on stone structures, including the giant [n]moai[/n] figures. The authors suggest that while the Rapa Nui people had material interests regarding the ships, the art represents their re-contextualization as part of the voyaging legends of their founding ancestor and myths about spiritual voyaging between cosmological realms.

HRAF PubDate

2016

Region

Oceania

Sub Region

Polynesia

Document Type

article

Evaluation

Creator Type

Archaeologist

Document Rating

4: Excellent Secondary Data

Analyst

Ian Skoggard ; 2012

Field Date

no date given

Coverage Date

1722–1868

Coverage Place

Easter Island, Valparaíso, Chile

Notes

Joshua Pollard, Alistair Paterson and Kate Welham

Includes bibliographical references (p. 577-580)

LCCN

75646489

LCSH

Easter Island