Jo Anne Van Tilburg of Rapa Nui's role in Polynesian seafaring history; Explore the natural environment of the Pacific Ocean and the ecology of Rapa Nui as part of that environment; Develop cultural exchanges with other Pacific islanders and continental peoples through the celebration of Rapa Nui maritime skills. Jo Anne Van Tilburg Jo Anne Van Tilburg is an American archaeologist best known for her research on the statues of Easter Island (Rapa Nui). Her primary specialty is rock art. Van Tilburg was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1965, receiving her Ph.D. from the University of California
Rapa Nui language are compared with contemporary Rapa Nui words, in parenthesis: It may be that the list is a misunderstanding, and the words not related to numbers at all. The Spanish may have shown Arabic numerals to the islanders who did not understand their meaning, and likened them to some other abstraction. For example, the "moroqui" for number eight (8) would have actually been "moroki", a small fish that is used as a bait, since "8" can look like a simple drawing of a fish. Captain James Cook visited the island four years later, and had a Tahitian interpreter with him, who,