Easter Island Subsistence.

Abstract

Research conducted on Easter Island habitation sites provides evidence concerning the local prehistoric and protohistoric subsistence base. Quantified data on faunal remains in midden are evaluated for reliability as indicators of the relative importance of domesticates and marine food resources in island subsistence and for population size estimate. A review of subsistence oriented research in the Pacific includes discussions of initial attempts to identify subsistence bases qualitatively, later quantifications of faunal and other subsistence information, a consideration of the development of economic prehistory, and finally, a summary of insights derived through ethno-archaeological approaches. A review of previous research on Easter Island provides very little quantified subsistence information. Quantifiable faunal data on three major food remains, fish, chicken, and shellfish, are available from my research. Obsidian hydration measurements allow short-term dating; several sites overlap timewise from about A.D. 1200 to the present. Identification of fish classes (genera) from skeletal remains is hindered by an incomplete comparative collection, but it is possible to recognize the fishing methods and technology used. The data provides evidence for the limited importance of offshore (pelagic) fishing and a great reliance on chicken as a protein source. Shellfish were never of great significance in diets primarily because of their small size. A preliminary definition of the subsistence strategies developed by the Easter Islanders is possible. This paper is suggested as a contribution toward attaining reliable population estimates, for understanding the relationships between levels of technology and subsistence patterns and for recognizing the relative importance of domesticates versus collected food resources on Easter Island and on Pacific islands in general.