Gotland University Press 11: Selected Papers from the VII International Conference on Easter Island and the Pacific:Migration,

  English    The conference at Gotland University assembled over 200 Pacific Islands scholars, scientists, students and enthusiasts in the island city of Visby in the middle of the Baltic Sea. Like its predecessors, this conference stimulated to new discussions on the Pacific past, present and future. The conference was co-chaired by Paul Wallin and Helene Martinsson-Wallin, Gotland University and Christopher Stevenson, The Easter Island Foundation. The VII International Conference on Easter Island and the Pacific was the first of its kind to be held in Europe and therefore the ideas of the world of the Pacific expands to a global scale.This volume contains 6 chapters with 40 papers on updated Pacific research in the fields of archaeology and anthropology. Chapter 1-3 focus on Easter Island (Rapa Nui) research, Chapter 4 on Eastern Polynesia and the question on Pacific-American contacts, Chapter 5 on the Western Pacific and Chapter 6 include Miscellaneous Papers. The main themes at the conference were migration, identity, and cultural heritage. The keynote speech by Professor John Flenley at the Geography Department of Massey University, New Zealand focused on these issues from a paleobotanical perspective that clearly showed how man changes the environment when arriving into untouched Island landscapes. With this as a starting point and background, the discussion continued into cultural complexity and questions on identity...We hope this collection of papers prove to be a unique and useful contribution to future research in the Pacific area.