Information about EISP: People, Places, Projects
What is the Easter Island Statue Project?
Empty eyesockets of a bearded moai standing near Ahu Tongariki are filled with sunbeams. Photo by David C. Ochnser, 1989.
The monolithic statues of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) are called moai in the Rapanui language. Carved on the island by the ancestors of the current population, approximately 50% of the total of 887 statues documented to date still remain in the immediate vicinity of Rano Raraku, the quarry in which they were produced. The majority of the remaining statues were transported to and erected upon a variety of ceremonial structures called ahu. This feat is one of the greatest megalithic achievements of Pacific prehistory.
EISP is the longest collaborative and evolving artifact inventory ever conducted within the context of the Easter Island archaeological survey. Our primary goals are scientific. Our basic purpose is to shed light on the complexities of prehistory, and to integrate the moai into the unfolding time line of Rapa Nui prehistory. We aim to locate, describe, and understand the original context and use of all statues, including those in museums. Context and use, it is hoped, will reveal meaning. Our methods include archaeological survey, artifact description, research into the meaning of symbols, and cultural history interpretation. Our tools have always included camera, compass, measuring tape, and field notebook. Over time we have added large-scale calipers, the latest in GPS mapping technology, and advanced computer data management. [Read More...]
EISP Offices & Contact Information
Project Office
Easter Island Statue Project
225 Arizona Avenue, Studio 500
Santa Monica, CA. 90401
United States of America
Phone: (310) 395-6502
Field Office
Mana Gallery/Galería Mana
Petero Atamu s/n
Hanga Roa, Rapa Nui
Chile
mail@eisp.org
EISP Project Staff
Jo Anne Van Tilburg, Ph.D.
Director, EISP
Archaeologist; Director, UCLA Rock Art Archive; Fellow, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology; Project Director, Easter Island Statue Project Conservation Initiative
Cristián Arévalo Pakarati
Co-director, EISP
Native Rapa Nui professional artist and illustrator; surveyor; EISP project participant 1989-2000; project co-Director, 2000-present; co-owner, with Jo Anne Van Tilburg, of Galería Mana, Hanga Roa, Rapa Nui, Chile
Matthew Bates; P.E.
Field Surveyor, EISP
B.A., Cal Poly Pomona
Kim Anh Hoang
Database Editor, EISP
Graphic artist, UCLA Rock Art Archive, 2007-2008; EISP database editor, 2009
Deidre Whitmore
Database Editor, EISP
Graphic artist, UCLA Rock Art Archive, 2009-2010
EISP Data Conversion Project Consultants
Alice L. Hom
Design Consultant, Data Manager, EISP
B.A., UCLA. Graphic artist, UCLA Rock Art Archive; EISP database manager, 2002-2008; EISP website creator; Database Conversion Project Manager, 2009-2010. www.alicehom.com
Ewan Branda
Ph.D. candidate, Architectural History and Theory, UCLA. www.modernarchitecture.net
Yoh Kawano
UCLA, Campus GIS Coordinator, Academic Technology Services.
EISP Conservation Project Initiative Collaborators
Monica Bahamondez Prieto
Conservador Jefa, Centro Nacional de Conservación y Restauración, Santiago de Chile
mbahamondez@cncr.cl
Christian Fischer, Ph.D.
Research Associate, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology
chrisfischer@ucla.edu
Nathan Myhrvold, Ph.D.
Visiting Scientist, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology