Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States of America.
Department of Anthropology and Environmental Studies Program, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2019 Jan 10;14(1):e0210409. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210409. eCollection 2019.
Explaining the processes underlying the emergence of monument construction is a major theme in contemporary anthropological archaeology, and recent studies have employed spatially-explicit modeling to explain these patterns. Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile) is famous for its elaborate ritual architecture, particularly numerous monumental platforms (ahu) and statuary (moai). To date, however, we lack explicit modeling to explain spatial and temporal aspects of monument construction. Here, we use spatially-explicit point-process modeling to explore the potential relations between ahu construction locations and subsistence resources, namely, rock mulch agricultural gardens, marine resources, and freshwater sources-the three most critical resources on Rapa Nui. Through these analyses, we demonstrate the central importance of coastal freshwater seeps for precontact populations. Our results suggest that ahu locations are most parsimoniously explained by distance from freshwater sources, in particular coastal seeps, with important implications for community formation and inter-community competition in precontact times.
解释纪念碑建筑出现背后的过程是当代人类学考古学的一个主要主题，最近的研究采用了空间显式建模来解释这些模式。拉帕努伊岛（复活节岛，智利）以其精心制作的仪式建筑而闻名，特别是众多的大型平台（ahu）和雕像（moai）。然而，迄今为止，我们缺乏明确的模型来解释纪念碑建筑的空间和时间方面。在这里，我们使用空间显式点过程建模来探索ahu 建筑位置与生计资源之间的潜在关系，即岩石覆盖农业花园、海洋资源和淡水资源——拉帕努伊岛上的三个最关键资源。通过这些分析，我们证明了沿海淡水渗出物对接触前人群的至关重要性。我们的研究结果表明，ahu 位置与淡水来源的距离最能合理地解释，特别是与沿海渗出物的距离，这对接触前时期的社区形成和社区间竞争具有重要意义。
