ABSTRACT
Katherine Routledge visited Easter Island (Rapa Nui, Fig. 18.1) in 1914. For seven months she carried out the first systematic and professional archaeological research on the island. At that time more than 85 per cent of the island comprised a foreign-owned ranch. More than 10 000 head of livestocksheep, cattle, and horses-grazed freely. Amid the numerous archaeological sites, the foreign company built stone fences and reservoirs, often using not only natural lava but the dressed stories that had formed the foundations of prehistoric houses. Along the coast, windmills were erected above underground reservoirs, which had been lined with stone by prehistoric people several hundred years before. Eucalyptus trees were planted to supply the ranchers with posts for fencing and to protect the livestock from the hot summer sun and the strong winds and rain of winter.
