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The Prehistory of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) pp 85–108Cite as

Pre-European Contact Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas) at Rapa Nui: Macrobotanical Evidence from Recent Excavations in Rano Raraku Quarry, Rapa Nui

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Part of the book series: Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research ((DPER,volume 22))

Abstract

The geographical remoteness and physical location of Rapa Nui relative to coastal South America have long encouraged research speculation about the island’s possible role, if any, in the transfer into Polynesia and subsequent dispersal of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas; kumara) (Dixon 1932; Stokes 1932; Heyerdahl and Ferdon Jr. 1961; Yen 1974; Green 1988, 2001, 2005; Clarke 2009; Scaglion and Cordero 2011). New evidence is presented in this chapter for the first well-documented, directly dated, pre-European contact find of carbonized sweet potato tuber, which was derived from recent excavations in Rano Raraku, the monolithic statue (moai) quarry (Horrocks 2014; Sherwood et al. 2019).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Phonetic annotation of RAP kumara and New Zealand (Aotearoa) MAO kūmara (kuumala) are distinguished as needed here according to Pollex.

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Acknowledgments

J.VT. thanks the Archaeological Institute of America Site Preservation Committee; the Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales, Secretaria Técnica de Patrimonio Rapa Nui; Alberto Hotus Chavez and the Conosejo de Ancianos Rapa Nui; Ninoska Cuadros Hucke and the Parque Nacional Rapa Nui, the Rano Raraku excavation team members and Cristián Arévalo Pakarati, Alice Hom, Sonia Haoa Cardinali, and Lilian González Nualart, as well as Gail Murakami of International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc. (IARII), who analyzed additional macrobotanical samples from this site. J.H. thanks Ella Ussher (Australian National University, Canberra) for advice regarding parenchyma identification, and the staff at the Biological Electron Microscope Facility, University of Hawaii-Mānoa, for assistance with the SEM. All authors extend appreciation to the editors of this volume for their invitation to participate.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Jo Anne Van Tilburg

  2. Easter Island Statue Project, Santa Monica, CA, USA

    Jo Anne Van Tilburg

  3. Sunrise Archaeology, Mangonui, New Zealand

    Jennifer M. Huebert

  4. The University of the South, Sewanee, TN, USA

    Sarah C. Sherwood

  5. Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA, USA

    Casey R. Barrier

Authors
  1. Jo Anne Van Tilburg
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  2. Jennifer M. Huebert
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  3. Sarah C. Sherwood
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  4. Casey R. Barrier
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Correspondence to Jo Anne Van Tilburg .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Botanic Institute of Barcelona (IBB), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain

    Valentí Rull

  2. Anthropology Faculty, School of World Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

    Christopher Stevenson

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Tilburg, J.A., M. Huebert, J., Sherwood, S.C., Barrier, C.R. (2022). Pre-European Contact Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas) at Rapa Nui: Macrobotanical Evidence from Recent Excavations in Rano Raraku Quarry, Rapa Nui. In: Rull, V., Stevenson, C. (eds) The Prehistory of Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research, vol 22. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91127-0_5

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