1 6 CARL SKOTTSBERG 



the earliest discoverers had seen »rude earthen-ware » on the island, a statement 

 due to some misinterpretation. Of stone implements, besides the toki, and the 

 stone adze and chisels, we got one fish-hook, very neatly wrought but unfor- 

 tunately not complete, as the point is missing (Plate 14, fig. 4). There is a 

 drawing of one of these hooks in Thomson's report (Plate 58). Another curious 

 article is the spherical stone ball, Fig. 5 on Plate 14. It shows two holes 

 which communicate so that a string can be passed through, and may have 

 been worn as an ornament. No explanation was offered. Perhaps it is a 

 »fetish-stone». THOMSON has described and figured many such stones, but 

 none of them present any likeness to this one. 



The object on Plate 14, Fig. 6 is not, as might be suspected, a broken 

 spear-head or mataa, but has been given its present shape on purpose. It fits 

 well into the hand and may have been used as a knife or scrape. But if it was 

 used with a handle, my explanation may not be satisfactory. Spear-heads are 

 conmionly found in the soil and also manufactured to satisf}- the demand of 

 visitors. Two, of an ordinar}- type and apparently old, are seen on Plate 14, 

 Figs. 7. 8. According to THOMSON there were at least nine kinds, all with 

 difterent names, a statement well needing the corroboration of Mrs. R. 



ORIGIN OF THE TEOPLE 



The history of Easter Island is full of mystery, but I think that Mrs. R. 

 has come pretty near the solution of some of the problems. She has drawn 

 some important conclusions from the legendary traditions still alive. A tale 

 of two different races and two successive colonizations runs through the old 

 legends. The anthropological evidence seems to be in favour of a double origin, 

 Melanesian and Polynesian. The comparative studies of the Bird Cult in the 

 Solomon Islands and Easter Island (by H. Balfour, vide Mrs. R.) seem nothing 

 less than convincing. The bird represented in the numerous carvings, paintings 

 etc. of Easter Island is not the holy bird of this place, but the frigate bird, 

 worshipped in the Solomon Islands. The bird figures were called penguins by 

 Lehmann (Essai d une bibliographic, Anthropos, 1907), which undoubtedly 

 must be a mistake, especially as penguins hardly ever visit these waters. 



If we sum up the results obtained, there is evidence that the Easter Is- 

 landers are of a twofold origin and that, after the Melanesian immigration, a 

 Polynesian immigration followed. The population now tends to assume a 

 multicoloured aspect; there has been a late influence from Tahiti (so we were 

 told) and various white men have contributed towards the »amelioration» of the 

 race. The young girl figured on Plates 12 — 13 "^^'^s said to be of » pure Easter 

 Island race», but whether representing a Melanesian or Polynesian t3'pe, I am 

 unable to tell. 



A critical examination of the language would be of interest. Many words 

 are the same as in the Maori or other Polynesian tongues, such as iimiinga 

 (mountain), DiaJintc (paper mulberry), // (Cordyline), aiviara (sweet potato) a. o. 

 A large vocabulary, collected by Padre ROUSSEL, was published in Santiago, 



