Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation Volume 18 Article 12 Issue 1 May 2004 Rapa Nui's Sea Creatures Georgia Lee Easter Island Foundation Follow this and additional works at: https://kahualike.manoa.hawaii.edu/rnj Part of the History of the Pacific slI ands Commons, and the Pacific slI ands Languages and Societies Commons Recommended Citation Lee, Georgia (2004) "Rapa Nui's Sea Creatures," Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation: Vol. 18 : Iss. 1 , Article 12. Available at: https://kahualike.manoa.hawaii.edu/rnj/vol18/iss1/12 This Research Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Hawai`i Press at Kahualike. It has been accepted for inclusion in Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation by an authorized editor of Kahualike. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Lee: Rapa Nui's Sea Creatures RAPA NUl's SEA CREATURES Georgia Lee Easter Island Foundation he petroglyphs of Rapa Nui are intriguing for their vari petroglyphs (not counting cupules), only 264 repre ent deni T ety of design motifs and their complexity. In The Rock zens of the ocean. The number, however, may not reflect im Art of Easter Island (1992), I described and illustrated many portance. Some petroglyphs depicting sea creatures are very varietie of "sea creature" image to be found in the island's large and complex and many were carved with great care and rock art. Due to space constraints, not all recorded examples effort, including double outlining. In many instance , the natu were included in that publication, and subsequent archaeologi ral model is clear: whale look like whales, sharks look like cal work has uncovered a few others.