Anthropology Theses and Dissertations

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Browsing Anthropology Theses and Dissertations by Author "DiNapoli, Robert"

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    Factors Influencing the Construction of Monumental Architecture: A Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Case Study
    (University of Oregon, 2020-09-24) DiNapoli, Robert; Fitzpatrick, Scott
    Monumental architecture was an important and widespread component in the emergence and dynamics of many past human societies. These features figure prominently in global dialogues about the evolution of social complexity, as monuments are often seen as manifestations of social inequality, religiosity, labor control, intra-community cooperation, and inter-group competition. Consequently, understanding the various socio-ecological factors underlying the emergence of monument construction is critical for a more complete understanding of the human past and its various trajectories. In this dissertation, I investigate these processes on Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile), famous for its monumental religious architecture. The role of monument construction in Rapa Nui society had been persistently debated, with some arguing for a cessation of monument construction, internecine warfare, and cultural collapse in a late pre-contact ‘Huri Moai’ phase. Given recent critiques of this narrative, a new emerging model, drawn from costly signaling theory (CST), proposes that monument construction was instead an adaptive response to the island’s marginal and risky environment that had long-term benefits to Rapa Nui communities. In addition to their well-known religious roles, it is hypothesized that monument construction served as conspicuous displays (i.e., costly signals) of communities’ competitive ability to control and defend their limited resources, which resulted in greater intra-group cooperation and limited violent conflict between groups. This dissertation is focused on testing the archaeological predictions of the CST model and critically evaluating some central, yet unresolved aspects of the Huri Moai narrative. This dissertation addresses these issues through a series of quantitative spatial and chronological analyses of monument construction on Rapa Nui as well as the archaeological and ethnohistoric evidence for warfare and monument destruction that define the Huri Moai phase. The results provide support for the CST hypothesis, question the validity of the Huri Moai phase, and offer a revised account of Rapa Nui culture history. This dissertation includes previously published, co-authored material.