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Originally published in Science Express on 9 March 2006
Science 17 March 2006:
Vol. 311. no. 5767, pp. 1603 - 1606
DOI: 10.1126/science.1121879
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Reports

Late Colonization of Easter Island

Terry L. Hunt1* and Carl P. Lipo2

Easter Island (Rapa Nui) provides a model of human-induced environmental degradation. A reliable chronology is central to understanding the cultural, ecological, and demographic processes involved. Radiocarbon dates for the earliest stratigraphic layers at Anakena, Easter Island, and analysis of previous radiocarbon dates imply that the island was colonized late, about 1200 A.D. Substantial ecological impacts and major cultural investments in monumental architecture and statuary thus began soon after initial settlement.

1 Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai'i Manoa, 2424 Maile Way, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
2 Department of Anthropology and Institute for Integrated Research in Materials, Environments, and Society, California State University Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90840, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: thunt{at}hawaii.edu

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