Prolonged drought on Rapa Nui during the decline of megalithic monument construction
Stein, Redmond (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory)
Curtin, Lorelei (Bucknell University)
Balascio, Nicholas L. (Bates College)
Bradley, Raymond S. (University of Massachusetts)
Peteet, Dorothy M. (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory)
Rapu, Rafael (Universidad Católica del Norte)
Rull, Valentí (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Seelenfreund, Andrea (Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano)
D'Andrea, William J. (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory)

Date:	2025
Abstract:	Beginning in the 13th century, Polynesian settlers on the island of Rapa Nui engaged in megalithic monument construction, crafting hundreds of ahu platforms and moai statues from volcanic bedrock. The decline of this tradition centuries later, coincident with land-use changes and the emergence of new ritual practices on the island, has intrigued archaeologists for decades. Here, we present evidence for a transition to persistent drought conditions on Rapa Nui beginning in the mid 16th century, based on two independent reconstructions of hydrogen isotopes in rainfall inferred from hydrogen isotopes of leaf waxes preserved in wetland sediments. Consistent with observational data and model simulations, we interpret more negative hydrogen isotopes in precipitation to reflect an increase in the frequency of large storms and total rainfall amount over Rapa Nui. We show that 16th-17th century changes in human geography on Rapa Nui coincided with a sustained, multi-century decrease in annual precipitation of ~600-800 mm, which is of greater magnitude than the drying observed in recent decades.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Published in:	Communications Earth & Environment, Vol 6 (November 2025) , art. 865

DOI: 10.1038/s43247-025-02801-4

8 p, 1.2 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP)
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