Scientists out to solve puzzle of Easter Island's collapse - 26 Sep 2008 - NZ Herald: New Zealand National news
"A New Zealand-led group of scientists plan to try to solve the mystery of the sudden collapse of the population on Easter Island in pre-European times.
The group, led by environmental scientist Troy Baisden of GNS Science and plant ecologist Mark Horrocks of Microfossil Research, want to test a hypothesis the Easter Island population "over-shot" the carrying capacity of their aged and weathered volcanic soils."
Er - what sudden collapse was that? It is denied by some.

 

Marsden: 2007 results
Was collapse inevitable on Easter Island (Rapa Nui): reconstructing a civilisation's failure Dr WT Baisden Dr M Horrocks

The Polynesian iconoclasm In the first half of the 19th century, a series of remarkable events took place in eastern Polynesia. People in islands as distant as Hawaii, Rarotonga, and Tahiti destroyed their marae and temples. The question is, why? The easy answer is simply because they had all become Christian, but Professor Sissons from Victoria University believes that this is not the whole solution. Thanks to a Marsden grant, he intends to investigate further and write a book, provisionally titled ‘The Polynesian Iconoclasm’. The project will describe and interpret, for the first time as a single phenomenon, the widespread destruction of religious images and architecture that accompanied the introduction of Christianity into eastern Polynesia. Individual events on some of the islands have been described before, but never those in the region as a whole. Local politics are likely to have had a significant role in the events of the iconoclasm, which were orchestrated by local chiefs. While the majority of these were directly linked to Christian conversion, this was not always the case. The destruction of temples in Hawaii in 1819 occurred before any missionary had arrived there and the destruction of marae and images in Rarotonga in 1824 was directed by high chiefs seeking to bring about greater political centralisation. Even where European missionaries were present, iconoclastic episodes were always the outcome of convergences between missionary and local chiefly projects. One aim of this research is to gain a better understanding of the diversity of these chiefly projects and their convergences with those of missionaries. To place the Polynesian iconoclasm in context, Associate Professor Sissons also intends to compare it with similar events in other times of social upheaval such as the Reformation in Europe, thus emphasising its world-historical significance.
Researcher: Professor Jeff Sissons
School of Social and Cultural Studies, Victoria University of Wellington

 

DNA indicates humans in N. America 14,300 years ago - The Boston Globe

 

Robert Brassey writes
Summer Employment OpportunityThe Auckland Regional Council Heritage Team is seeking a competent archaeologist to undertake a field survey of priority areas of coastline in the Auckland region during the summer of 2008 ? 2009. The work will involve:?Field survey to record archaeological sites and other heritage places in the coastal environment;?Preparation of site record forms, entering these into the Council?s historic places database and submitting completed archaeological site records to the NZAA site record file;?Iwi consultation as required.The contract is expected to involve 6-7 weeks work in total between November 2008 and February 2009. A student will be available for at least part of this period to provide assistance with fieldwork and data entry. We are looking for a qualified and experienced archaeologist able to work without supervision. A current driver?s license and NZ Residency are necessary.For further inquiries phone: (09) 366 2000 ext 8101or email heritage@arc.govt.nz

Wednesday, September 24, 2008