Aku-Aku: the Secret of Easter Island is a 1957 book byThor Heyerdahl[1] published in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and Finnish, and in French and English the following year. The book describes the 1955–1956Norwegian Archaeological Expedition's investigations ofPolynesian history and culture atEaster Island, theAustral Islands ofRapa Iti andRaivavae, and theMarquesas Islands ofNuku Hiva andHiva Oa. Visits toPitcairn Island,Mangareva andTahiti are described as well.
By far the greatest part of the book tells of the work on Easter Island, where the expedition investigated the giant stone statues (moai), the quarries atRano Raraku andPuna Pau, the ceremonial village ofOrongo onRano Kau, as well as many other sites throughout the island. Much of the book's interest derives from the interaction of the expedition staff, from their base atAnakena beach, with the Easter Islanders themselves, who lived mainly in the village ofHanga Roa.
The book and a follow-up film of the same name[2] made a major contribution to general public awareness of both the island and the statues.[3]
The book was widely distributed, with both hardcover and mass market editions published,[1] as well as several reprint editions.
Some of Heyerdahl's conclusions have been questioned by archaeologists, plus his methods of selecting evidence to confirm his point of view. Notable is his professionalism in the fieldwork, as he used educated archaeologists.
Heyerdahl is mostly associated with an attempt to revive the theory that some of the islanders' stone-carving technology is almost identical to the one in some parts of South America, notably Peru. He argued that in addition to having been settled byPolynesians,Easter Island wassettled by people fromPeru inSouth America (an area he described as being "more culturally developed").[4]
The Easter Islanders, according to Heyerdahl, insisted that themoai (statues) of Easter Islandmoved into their positions by "walking." Heyerdahl theorised that this referred to a statue having been moved in an upright orientation, by the technique of swiveling it alternatively on its corners in a "walking" fashion, a technique that can be used in moving a tall, flat-bottomed object (like a free-standing closet). He tested this theory on a smallmoai; however, he quickly abandoned the test after the moai's base was damaged.[5] He worked with a group of inhabitants to demonstrate pulling a rather large statue lying down (which was easy to do), thus showing that this method was useful. He also worked with the natives to erect a statue using levers and stones, demonstrating that this method also worked. At this time all statues were either partially buried or lying down, and this one was the first to be restored.
Heyerdahl compared the highest-quality stonework on the island (present in very few cases) topre-ColumbianAmerindian stonework, such as atTihuanaco. He said ofAhu Vinapu's retaining wall, "No Polynesian fisherman would have been capable of conceiving, much less building such a wall".[4]
Heyerdahl claimed a South American origin for a number of Easter Island plants, including theTotora reeds in the island's three crater lakes. These are now (by DNA analysis not available at the time) recognised as a separate species from similar ones inLake Titicaca. He made the sameclaim forsweet potato andthis fact remains unexplained, since this is indeed South American.
A cultural feature on Easter Island was the enlongation of the earlobe. This is not present in Polynesia but common in South America. On the other hand, weaving and pottery (used in the Americas) were not known to the inhabitants of Easter Island.
Many decades after the hypotheses put forth in the book were proposed, modernDNA analysis has been used to examine Heyerdahl's hypothesis of a South American origin for some of the Easter Island inhabitants. DNA sequence analysis of Easter Island's current inhabitants indicates that the 36 people living on Rapa Nui who survived the devastating internecine wars, slave raids and epidemics of the 19th century and had any offspring,[6] were Polynesian. Furthermore, examination of skeletons offers evidence of only Polynesian origins for Rapa Nui living on the island after 1680.[7]
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