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All available evidence (archeological, linguistic, and genetic) strongly points to Rapa Nui being settled by Polynesians coming out of South East Asia. There certainly was contact between Polynesians and South Americans: Polynesians got the sweet potato, South Americans probably got a chicken, and there may have even been a Polynesian settlement in Chile. However, the Polynesians were the ones to make contact, not anyone from mainland South America.
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Hi Kahnjar,
That was actually a swipe at Thor Heyerdahl. I've actually read
Kon Tiki and things written by the archeologists that accompanied Heyerdahl to Easter Island, as well as books (such as Kirch's
Road of the Winds) and even some South American archeology (
Incas and their Ancestors).
Here are some of the problems:
1. Rapa Nui language, genes and artwork, wall-building, and rock carving all come unequivocally from Polynesia.
2. The reeds that Heyerdahl says came from South America had been there for >10,000 years, according to pollen evidence from the lake they grow in on Easter Island. They're also a different species than the totora reeds at Lake Titicaca.
3. Heyerdahl confuses the evidence from South America. He talks about connections with the Inca (a civilization that showed up AFTER Easter Island was settled) and previous Andean cultures (Tiwanaku AD 500-950). This is akin to mixing the Romans and Crusaders, and saying they collectively colonized the Canary Islands in the 8th Century AD.
4. To "prove" the
Kon-Tiki raft from South America could make it to Polynesia, he had to have it towed 50 miles out of the Humboldt Current. It's not clear the raft could have actually cleared that current by itself (and they used the rafts to trade along the current).
Nonetheless, the archeologists are charitable. While they've never given Heyerdahl's ideas any credence, they laud his fund-raising and organizing efforts, because he made it possible for archeologists to work on Easter Island, which perhaps helped the Rapanuians to reclaim their own culture (as with the clubs that started this thread).
For Vandoo, I'd also point out that Easter Island wasn't the only place where Oceanic peoples came up with their own script. The Caroline Islanders created
Woleai in the 19th Century.
Best,
F