![]() We focus on moai RR-0001-156, one of only three moai in the island-wide corpus known to be embellished with a dense suite of cohesive petroglyph motifs. In Rano Raraku a transformed landscape is reconstructed based upon soil chemistry, micromorphology, and macro and micro-botanical data framed within a stratigraphic and radiocarbon informed Bayesian model that is the first for Rapa Nui. This study centers on excavations in the inner region of Rano Raraku, the megalithic statue (moai) quarry of Rapa Nui (Easter Island). In this article, we report: 1) a synthesis of a five-meter deep field excavation of moai rr-001-156 in Rano Raraku 2) a 14C assessment which dates human presence around moai rr-001-156 3) 31 basalt quarry and source site descriptions and 4) archaeometric data using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and principal component analyses of 21 archaeological and 117 geological samples. Our conclusions better highlight socio-political and economic interaction during Rapa Nui prehistory, while delineating the relationship between adze and pick production and moai manufacture. Drawing upon this information, and the research collaboration between two active archaeological projects on Rapa Nui-the Easter Island Statue Project and the Rapa Nui Geochemical Project-we trace the prehistoric transfer of basalt resources from the Ava o'Kiri and Pu Tokitoki quarry complexes to the moai (statue) quarry at Rano Raraku between AD 1455-1645. ![]() ![]() ![]() Pacific and Rapa Nui (Easter Island) volcanologists, geologists, and geochemists have set the stage for archaeological lithic sourcing studies by providing practical data regarding the island's geodynamic activity, geomorphological formation and dating, and the macroscopic, microscopic, and elemental proprieties of Easter Island stone. ![]()
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