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The inhabitants of Easter Island consumed a dieting that was miss in seafood and was , literally , quite shabby .
The island , also calledRapa Nui , first square off around A.D. 1200 , is famous for its more than1,000 " walk " Moai statue , most of which originally face inland . situate in the South Pacific , Rapa Nui is the most isolated dwell land mass on Earth ; the closest inhabitants are locate on the Pitcairn Islands about 1,200 international nautical mile ( 1,900 kilometers ) to the Dame Rebecca West .
Chemical analyses of teeth from 41 human skeletons excavated on Easter Island revealed the inhabitants ate rats rather than seafood; Here, Moai statues at Ahu Tongariki on the south-eastern part of the island, where 26 of the skeletons were found.
To determine the diet of its retiring denizen , research worker analyzed thenitrogenand carbon isotopes , oratoms of an elementwith dissimilar number of neutron , from the dentition ( specifically the dentin ) of 41 individuals whose skeletal system had been previously excavated on the island . To get an idea of what the island-dweller exhaust before dying , the researchers then liken the isotope value with those of fauna bones excavate from the island . [ photograph of Walking Easter Island Statues ]
Additionally , the researchers were capable to radiocarbon engagement 26 of the teeth remains , allowing them to plot how the diet on the island changed over time . Radiocarbon dating works by measure the decay of carbon-14 admit a date kitchen range to be depute to each individual ; it ’s a method commonly used in archaeology on organic material . The inquiry was print recently online in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology .
The researcher find that throughout time , the the great unwashed on the island consumed a dieting that was mainly sublunar . In fact , in the first few centuries of the island ’s history ( up to about A.D. 1650 ) some individuals used Polynesian rats ( also bonk as kiore ) as their main source of protein . The scum bag is somewhat smaller than European stinkpot and , accord to ethnographical accounts , tasty to deplete .
The Polynesian rat (also known as kiore) is somewhat smaller than its Europeans counterparts and, according to ethnographic accounts, was tasty to eat. New research reveals that they formed an important part of the diet for the inhabitants of Easter Island.
" Our results designate that adverse to previous zooarchaeological studies , dieting was predominantly terrestrial throughout the entire successiveness of business , with reliance on rats , chickens and C3 plant , " the researcher write in their daybook clause , noting that the resource from C3 plants ( or those that use distinctive photosynthesis to make sugars ) would have included yams , sweet potatoes and banana .
Rats , not fish
The islanders ' use of rats was not surprising to the researchers . Archaeological excavations show the front ofthe Polynesian ratacross the Pacific . The Polynesian shape normally travels with humans on ocean voyages and , like any other rat , multiplies quickly when it arrive on a new island . In some eccentric , the rats were probably transport deliberately to be used as nutrient , something supported by ethnographic account stating that , in some region of Polynesia , scab were being consumed at the time of European contact . to boot , former research has propose the rats were at least partly responsible for for the deforestation of Rapa Nui .
What was more surprising to the researchers was the lack of seafood in the dieting of the islanders . " Traditionally , fromPolynesian culturesyou have a leaden predomination of using maritime products , especially in the early stage of colonization , " say Amy Commendador , of the Idaho Museum of Natural History at Idaho State University , in an interview with LiveScience .
One reason for the lack of seafood may have to do with the island ’s location and topography , Commendador said . The northern closing contains usurious cliffs and would be difficult to fish from . Additionally , the island ’s southward line of latitude make it somewhat cooler and may involve fishing . " Because of their geographic position and climate weather , there just were n’t as many marine products for them to get , " Commendador say .
rat should not be lowball in their value as a resource , subject area co - generator John Dudgeon , also at Idaho State University , tell LiveScience . They could use up anything and procreate rapidly within a few generation . For the people who populate on Rapa Nui , " it was probably comfortable to go get a rat than it was to go get a fish , " Dudgeon said .
Pisces the Fishes elite ?
Though the study results showed the islanders ' dieting was mainly terrestrial , a few individual , see after A.D. 1600 , appeared to have been eating more fish than the others . [ The 7 Perfect Survival Foods ]
These fish eaters may have lived on a part of the island where the fishing was easier , Commendador advise . Another theory the squad raise in their newspaper is that access to marine resourcefulness varied due to the societal and political restraint people face . For the island-dweller , eat on fish might have been a mark of " gamey status " individuals , an elite person who was allow for more plentiful access to seafood .
statue face inland
One curious coincidence is that most of the Moai , the statue erected by the island-dweller , present inland rather than out to sea . Now , this fresh inquiry suggests the people of the island also turn inland , rather than to the sea , to get their nutrient .
Commendador and Dudgeon do n’t think any lineal relationship between theMoai statuesand the islanders ’ diet exist . Previous research has suggested the statue were positioned facing inland due to ascendent worship , so that the statue could observe over their descendent .
Another , more high-risk , mind is that by stimulate the statue confront inland , the islanders were also " saying we ’re bend inwards and not sprain outwards , " Dudgeon tell . While this plausibly does n’t relate to the islanders ' decision to eat rats rather than Pisces , it usher the mindset the masses of Rapa Nui may have develop before the arrival of Europeans . Their lifestyle as well as their diet may have become focused on the state rather than the ocean .
