A Public Database of Archaeological Resources on Easter Island (Rapa Nui) Using Google Earth

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 385-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Torres Hochstetter ◽  
Sergio Rapu Haoa ◽  
Carl P. Lipo ◽  
Terry L. Hunt
Keyword(s):  
Google Earth ◽  
Easter Island ◽  
Color Images ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Public Database ◽  
Rapa Nui ◽  
The Public ◽  
Architectural Features ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Many

AbstractThe archaeological record of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) has long captivated the public and archaeologists alike. The monumental statues (moai) are the most famous of the archaeological features of the island. Other aspects of the record, however, include platforms (ahu), statue (moai), transport roads, and a wide range of architectural features. Although large portions of the island have been surveyed as part of government-funded projects to document the archaeological record, there is yet no single publicly available and published source providing data on the composition and distribution of moai, ahu, or the many other architectural/artifact classes of the island. Here, we describe a project to build a publicly accessible archaeological database. Using the freely available Google Earthtm mapping service, which provides high-resolution color images of the earth’s surface, photographs, and data generated from recent surveys, we show how researchers can contribute to this database making the archaeological record freely available to everyone with an interest in the archaeology of Easter Island.

The Archaeology of Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry L. Hunt ◽  
Carl Lipo
Keyword(s):  
Settlement Patterns ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Easter Island ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Rapa Nui ◽  
Prehistoric Agriculture ◽  
The Public ◽  
Late Nineteenth ◽  
Marginal Environment

The public and scholarly fascination with Rapa Nui or Easter Island has stimulated research on this isolated island since the late nineteenth century. In the last twenty years such research has contributed greatly to knowledge of the archaeological record, as well as prehistoric agriculture, community structure, settlement patterns, and the carving and transport of roughly 1,000 anthropomorphic statues or moai. Although the popularized story of Rapa Nui is one of self-inflicted population devastation through destruction of the environment—ecocide—this research suggests that decentralized social systems, including those related to moai carving, and innovative subsistence practices within a marginal environment contributed to the ultimate survival of the Rapa Nui people.

scholarly journals Alexander Fleck, Baron Fleck of Saltcoats, 1889-1968

1971 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 242-254
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Scientific Discovery ◽  
Considerable Proportion ◽  
Science Students ◽  
The Public ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Many ◽  
Waste Accumulation

Lord Fleck who died in London on 6 August 1968 was most widely known as a distinguished leader in chemical industry and as Chairman of Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd from 1953 to 1960. It was very apparent, however, to all with a closer acquaintance with him, that he could have been just as successful in other fields. In early life, following his outstanding scientific researches at his university, a promising academic career had been open to him and, later, the keen mind, sound judgement and gifts of leadership, shown in the many and diverse official enquiry committees which he chaired, were clear evidence of the wide range of his capabilities. But, to those who were privileged to work with him or to know him really well, admiration of his abilities and achievements gave second place to affection for the man himself and to profound respect for the concern about people, individually and collectively, which motivated his whole life. Alec Fleck had very definite views on the place and responsibilities of science and scientists in society. Although he fully appreciated the fascination and value of scientific discovery for its own sake, he felt that it should be the primary duty of a considerable proportion of scientists, including the most able, to apply their skill and knowledge to practical objectives aimed at the welfare and happiness of mankind. Among these objectives he ascribed particular importance to elimination of social ills which, ironically, can so easily arise as byproducts of industrial progress; for example, air and water pollution, waste accumulation and unpleasant or dangerous jobs for plant operators. Fleck believed that more senior positions with policy-making responsibilities in industry and the public services could, with advantage, be filled by people with a first-class scientific background and advocated that company organization and staff policy should be such as to give maximum opportunity to able young scientists to widen their experience and interests. He was also of the opinion that educational establishments could do far more to widen the outlook of science students by stimulating their interest in history, politics, economics and general world affairs.

Public Spectating and Political Undertones in Durbar The Emirate Court Art of Northern Nigeria as Instrument of Governance

Matatu ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 373-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Inuwa Umar–Buratai
Keyword(s):  
Western World ◽  
The Political ◽  
Ordinary People ◽  
Ruling Elite ◽  
The Public ◽  
Performance Artists ◽  
The People ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Many ◽  
Public Exhibition

The discourses of nationhood and nation-building in the developed Western world have been facilitated by the prevalent cultures of writing and documentation. The situation in the developing world has remained largely fragmented because of the absence of such coherent, broadcast, and comprehensive forums for a discourse on 'nationhood'. Different societies articulate their perception of the priorities of nationhood in a range of forms – manifest in ritual visual displays, entertainment and formal rhetoric such as poetry, religious sayings and quotations – which were not dependent on literacy, including the ceremony of durbar. The ordinary people construe the durbar as a spectacle, perhaps because it encompasses a wide range of performance artists drawn from the many groupings within society. However, durbar functions, through its display of martial strength, to reinforce the political and religious power of the ruling elite: durbar within society. The focus in this essay is to examine political undertones of durbar, specifically the ways in which localized participation in the reinforcing ritual of relationships of power provides the people with an opportunity for the public exhibition of individual skills and for the elites an avenue for containing any nascent – or potential – articulation of resistance in society.

The Many Publics for Archaeology

1991 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis P. McManamon
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
Native Americans ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Public Administrators ◽  
Public Agencies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Professional Societies ◽  
The World ◽  
Archaeological Preservation ◽  
The Many

Throughout the world, public agencies, professional societies, and individual archaeologists have recognized the need for more and better public education about archaeology. We are challenged to act on this recognition by providing opportunities for the public to learn about, and even participate in, archaeological interpretations and investigations. The audiences for these efforts include the general public, students and teachers, legislators, public administrators, and Native Americans. Archaeology has been a subject of interest to the public for centuries, and the archaeological record has fascinated people for even longer. Contemporary archaeologists must reach out to the public by providing them with understandable interpretations and explanations. We must do this if appreciation for archaeology and for the importance of archaeological preservation is to grow in America.

scholarly journals From Linguistic Research Findings to Useful Products for Australian Aboriginal Communities

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Laughren
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Community Schools ◽  
North West ◽  
The Public ◽  
Linguistic Research ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Technical Innovations ◽  
The Many ◽  
Contemporary Technology

As a linguist investigating the Warlpiri language of central Australia since 1975 and the Waanyi language of the Gulf of Carpentaria region since 2000, my research has always had dual goals. One is to gain a better understanding of the nature of human language generally through detailed documentation and deep analysis of particular human languages, such as Warlpiri and Waanyi, and comparison with other languages; the other goal has been to produce materials of direct relevance and utility to the communities of these language speakers. This paper addresses the second goal. Firstly I briefly describe ways in which linguistic research findings have been 'converted' into pedagogic materials to support the<br />bilingual education programs in the Warlpiri community schools (Lajamanu, Nyirrpi, Willowra and Yuendumu) from the mid 1970s to the present, a period which has seen dramatic technical innovations that we have been able to exploit to create a wide range of products accessible to the public which have their genesis in serious linguistic research. Secondly I discuss some aspects of the interdisciplinary (linguistics and anthropology)<br />“Warlpiri Songlines” project (2005-9) for which over 100 hours of traditional Warlpiri songs were recorded and documented; older analogue recordings were digitised and ceremonial performances were video recorded. Thirdly, I touch upon the ongoing development of a Waanyi dictionary and language learning materials in collaboration with Waanyi people living at  Doomadgee in north west Queensland who want to extend knowledge of their ancestral language within their community, since this language is no longer used as a primary language of communication. Finally, I cite some of the many recent innovative examples of ways in which linguists and anthropologists are drawing on contemporary technology to transmit their research findings to both the general public and to the communities in which their research is carried out.

scholarly journals Accessing Scottish Archives Online

Genealogy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
John Pelan
Keyword(s):  
Local History ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Network Resource ◽  
The Public ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Item Level ◽  
The Many

John Pelan, Director of the Scottish Council on Archives (SCA), explores some of the challenges around searching Scotland’s archives online. Difficulties in accessing information, knowing what exists and where to find it, and the multiplicity of online catalogues can be confusing and frustrating for users, particularly inexperienced and amateur family historians. The article provides information about the Scottish Council on Archives (SCA) plans, working in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders, to create a new portal for accessing Scotland’s archive collections including those of universities, local authorities, businesses and communities. The portal, which will be a development of the existing Scottish Archive Network resource, will allow users to search across many catalogues for both collection and item level records. The new portal will be an invaluable resource for genealogists, researchers, academics, students, historians and members of the public by providing guidance on understanding, using and accessing archives. SCA expects that the site will become a powerful advocacy tool for archives, showing not just the breadth and depth of collections across Scotland but highlighting the many ways that archives can be used inform and improve society. For genealogists, but also for everyday users of archives as well as potential new users, this portal will open new channels of research and local history.

scholarly journals Using Structure from Motion Mapping to Record and Analyze Details of the Colossal Hats (Pukao) of Monumental Statues on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean W. Hixon ◽  
Carl P. Lipo ◽  
Terry L. Hunt ◽  
Christopher Lee
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Structure From Motion ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Visual Representations ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Easter Island ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Rapa Nui ◽  
Digital Photographs

ABSTRACTStructure from motion (SfM) mapping is a photogrammetric technique that offers a cost-effective means of creating three-dimensional (3-D) visual representations from overlapping digital photographs. The technique is now used more frequently to document the archaeological record. We demonstrate the utility of SfM by studying red scoria bodies known aspukaofrom Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile). We created 3-D images of 50pukaothat once adorned the massive statues (moai) of Rapa Nui and compare them to 13 additionalpukaolocated in Puna Pau, the island's red scoriapukaoquarry. Through SfM, we demonstrate that the majority of these bodies have petroglyphs and other surface features that are relevant to archaeological explanation and are currently at risk of continued degradation.

Preservation of Archaeological Materials in Arid Environments: Analogues Relevant to Yucca Mountain

2006 ◽  
Vol 932 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Chapman ◽  
Amy Dansie ◽  
Charles McCombie
Keyword(s):  
Yucca Mountain ◽  
Arid Environments ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
The Public ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Arid Conditions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Structural Analogues ◽  
Archaeological Materials ◽  
Glass Metal

ABSTRACTThe potential repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada is in an arid area, in unsaturated volcanic tuff with oxidising conditions, and may be kept open and ventilated for hundreds of years. Existing US work on archaeological material and structural analogues in such conditions has been extended to seek further well-preserved objects in such conditions. The objectives of the study are partly scientific and partly aimed at the public. A wide range of exceptionally wellpreserved glass, metal and organic materials is found in the archaeological record from sites that have been characterised by arid conditions for many thousands of years. Underground preservation environments include those either continuously open (caves) or sealed but not ‘backfilled’ (tombs). Preservation of materials in such openings provides a useful analogue reference point for considering the operation and evolution of the Yucca Mountain repository.

“All in a Garden Green”: Shakespeare's Staging of Garden Imagery

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-252
Author(s):  
Deborah Solomon
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Literary Tradition ◽  
The Public ◽  
The World ◽  
Audience Interaction ◽  
The Many ◽  
Green World

This essay draws attention to the surprising lack of scholarship on the staging of garden scenes in Shakespeare's oeuvre. In particular, it explores how garden scenes promote collaborative acts of audience agency and present new renditions of the familiar early modern contrast between the public and the private. Too often the mention of Shakespeare's gardens calls to mind literal rather than literary interpretations: the work of garden enthusiasts like Henry Ellacombe, Eleanour Sinclair Rohde, and Caroline Spurgeon, who present their copious gatherings of plant and flower references as proof that Shakespeare was a garden lover, or the many “Shakespeare Gardens” around the world, bringing to life such lists of plant references. This essay instead seeks to locate Shakespeare's garden imagery within a literary tradition more complex than these literalizations of Shakespeare's “flowers” would suggest. To stage a garden during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries signified much more than a personal affinity for the green world; it served as a way of engaging time-honored literary comparisons between poetic forms, methods of audience interaction, and types of media. Through its metaphoric evocation of the commonplace tradition, in which flowers double as textual cuttings to be picked, revised, judged, and displayed, the staged garden offered a way to dramatize the tensions produced by creative practices involving collaborative composition and audience agency.

The Many Pasts of Detective Fiction

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-172
Author(s):  
Thomas Leitch
Keyword(s):  
Detective Fiction ◽  
Golden Age ◽  
Public History ◽  
Detective Novel ◽  
Sherlock Holmes ◽  
Detective Story ◽  
The Past ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Detective Novels ◽  
The Many

Building on Tzvetan Todorov's observation that the detective novel ‘contains not one but two stories: the story of the crime and the story of the investigation’, this essay argues that detective novels display a remarkably wide range of attitudes toward the several pasts they represent: the pasts of the crime, the community, the criminal, the detective, and public history. It traces a series of defining shifts in these attitudes through the evolution of five distinct subgenres of detective fiction: exploits of a Great Detective like Sherlock Holmes, Golden Age whodunits that pose as intellectual puzzles to be solved, hardboiled stories that invoke a distant past that the present both breaks with and echoes, police procedurals that unfold in an indefinitely extended present, and historical mysteries that nostalgically fetishize the past. It concludes with a brief consideration of genre readers’ own ambivalent phenomenological investment in the past, present, and future each detective story projects.

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