Dental plaque reveals key plant in prehistoric Easter Island diet

University of Otago ^ | Tuesday, 16 December 2014 | Ms Monica Tromp

[SunkenCiv]

Known to its Polynesian inhabitants as Rapa Nui, Easter Island is thought to have been colonised around the 13th Century and is famed for its mysterious large stone statues or moai.

Otago Anatomy PhD student Monica Tromp and Idaho State University’s Dr John Dudgeon have just published new research clearing up their previous puzzling finding that suggested palm may have been a staple plant food for Rapa Nui’s population over several centuries.

However, no other line of archaeological or ethnohistoric evidence supports palm having a dietary role on Easter Island; in fact evidence points to the palm becoming extinct soon after colonization.

Nevertheless, the researchers had found that the vast majority of phytoliths (plant microfossils) embedded within the calculus were from palm trees.

The teeth were from burials excavated in the early 1980s from multiple coastal archaeological sites around the island.

To clear up the mystery, the pair undertook further analysis, newly published in the Journal of Archaeological Science. This included identifying starch grains in the dental calculus removed from 30 teeth.

After removing and decalcifying the plaque from each tooth, Ms Tromp and Dr Dudgeon identified starch grains that were consistent with modern sweet potato. None of the recovered grains showed any similarities to banana, taro or yam, other starchy plants that are hypothesised to be part of the diet.

The researchers went on to test modern sweet potato skins grown in sediment similar to that of Rapa Nui’s and found that as tubers grow, their skins seem to incorporate palm phytoliths from the soil.

[Rodamala]

Some people just gotta have their sweet potato pie.

[blam]

Easter Island's Ancient Inhabitants Weren't So Lonely After All

[Fred Nerks]

Native Balsa Raft Sketch by F.E. Paris (1841) showing construction of a native balsa raft from the north-west coast of South America. The maximum length of raft is 80-90 feet, maximum width of a raft is 25-30 feet with a freight capacity of 20-25 tons.

BRADSHAW FOUNDATION

Aboriginal navigation in Peru and adjoining sections of north-western South America is a subject that is little known and still less understood by modern boat builders and anthropologist. The apparent reason is that the Peruvian Indian boat building was based on principles entirely different from those of our ancestry. To the European mind the only seaworthy vessel is one made buoyant by a watertight, air-filled hull, so big and high that it cannot be filled by the waves.

To the ancient Peruvians the only seaworthy craft was one which could never be filled by water because it's open construction formed no receptacle to retain the invading seas, which washed through. They achieved this by building exceedingly buoyant rafts of Balsa wood...

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" ... in fact evidence points to the palm becoming extinct soon after colonization."

Does that mean we can eliminate the theory that log rollers were used to move the moai into position?

[piasa]

There’s a “rocking” theory for that that was very convincing.

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"There’s a “rocking” theory for that that was very convincing."

I saw a program where a research team managed to make a scaled-down version of a moai "walk." You're right, it is a pretty convincing theory.

[SunkenCiv]

The E Islanders moved those sculptures during the night, singing, In the midnight hour, moai, moai, moai.

Seriously, Thor Heyerdahl’s “Aku Aku” is worth reading. The nimmies who badmouth him clearly haven’t read it, or don’t remember it very well, because they never have any coherent criticism of it.

[Flag_This]

"Thor Heyerdahl’s “Aku Aku” is worth reading."

Thanks for the suggestion. I read "Kon Tiki" a few years ago and thought it was a very good book.