Sunday, June 21st, 2015 17: 00 21: 00

9th International Conference on Easter Island and the Pacific 
CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DYNAMICS 
June 21st – 26th 2015 
Ethnological Museum Dahlem, Berlin 

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15 
31 
Fassbinder, Jörg W.E. / Bondar, Ksenija / Vogt, Burkhard / Moser, Johannes 
Archaeological magnetometry and soil magnetism on Easter Island (Chile) 
Magnetic prospecting, since its first application in the 1950s, is meanwhile widely used for the 
detection and mapping of archaeological sites worldwide. The great success of the method however, 
is based on the more subtle magnetically induced anomalies that occur due to the enrichment of 
magnetic minerals in the topsoil. Because of the strong magnetic background of geological structures 
on volcanic soils and/ or basaltic geology, it was a widely held belief that the search for 
archaeological structures on Easter Island is nearly impossible. Therefore the geophysical aim of this 
project was primarily to make first tests on different sites and around of ahu monuments. In situ 
measurements of the magnetic susceptibility on soil profiles on a recent construction pit, revealed 
surprising results: Although the basalts have already high content in magnetic minerals, the 
susceptibility of the topsoil exhibits fourfold value. Our findings on a variety of eight test areas 
confirmed that prospecting on basaltic geology may also trace archaeological structures beneath the 
ground. The magnetic anomalies are dominated by (thermo‐) remanent anomalies, but show beside 
the stonewall foundation of so‐called hare paenga houses even the old excavation trenches from 
William Mulloy in front of the Ahu Akivi site. 
 
32 
Hagelberg, Erika 
The genetic affinities of the Rapanui 
The origins of the Rapanui are of significant interest to historians, archaeologists and anthropologists. 
The Rapanui have been the subject of numerous genetic studies, from blood groups in the early 
decades of the twentieth century, to genome‐wide surveys in recent years. Analysis of mitochondrial 
DNA markers in skeletal remains of prehistoric Rapanui showed that their maternal lineages were 
identical to those of other Polynesians. More recently, high resolution genetic analyses of DNA from 
the present‐day population supports the view that the Rapanui are mainly of Polynesian origin, 
although they carry a large proportion of European genes as a result of admixture since European 
contacts. Interestingly, they also carry genes that suggest trans‐Pacific contacts with the Americas 
before the arrival of the Europeans. In this paper, I will outline the history of genetic research on 
Easter Island since the early decades of the twentieth century, and discuss the implications of the 
data for our understanding of the origins of the islanders.