Book
Easter Island
U. S. Govt. Print. Off. [etc.] • Washington • Published In 1945 • Pages: 435-451
By: Métraux, Alfred.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article on the history of Easter Island offers a critique of various theories about the stonework, statues and the design-covered tablets interpreted as hieroglyphic script. Incorporating original observations, the author asserts that such traits represent an indigenous Polynesian culture, and need not be attributed to pre-Polynesian inhabitants. He considers the "hieroglyphics" to be analogous to the designs found on orator staffs found elsewhere in Polynesia. There is additional commentary on the contemporary production of fake antiquities by Easter Islanders.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- History and culture change
- Writing
- External trade
- Representative art
- External relations
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Rapa Nui
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2016
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Oceania
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Polynesia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Betty Potash ; 1961
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1934-1935
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1200-1935
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Easter Island, Valparaíso, Chile
- NotesAdditional notes
- by Alfred Métraux
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 04018264
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Easter Island