Although Rapa Nui has been proposed as a classic example of cultural collapse, this hypothesis has been repeatedly questioned. This paper investigates cultural continuity on Rapa Nui following the onset of deforestation through a study of red ochre pits. Red ochre pigments are well-known from various contexts on Rapa Nui, but until recently its origin and the extraction process involved in their production were not precisely understood. New excavations have revealed the presence of multiple pits used for pigment production and storage by the island’s prehistoric culture. Previous geoarchaeological studies, including geomorphological, pedological, geochemical and micromorphological analyses, have shown that the pits contain fine layers of reddish iron oxides (ochre), which result from repeated intentional burning. The oxide layers alternate with thin layers of phytoliths, interpreted as the remains of plant material used as fuel, and diatoms. This paper presents new phytolith and diatom data from the previously described site of Vaipú East, complemented with data from similar pits at the new sites of Vaipú West and Poike. New ¹⁴C dates are also presented from these sites. The phytolith and diatom data provide crucial information about the chaîne opératoire of the ochre production and the formation processes associated with the pits. The evidence of pigment production and storage at Vaipú East shows that labour-intensive ochre production took place on Rapa Nui during at least two separate phases after deforestation, while the pits discovered at other sites indicate that Vaipú East did not stand alone. This provides a further line of evidence in favour of cultural continuity rather than collapse following deforestation in the island’s late prehistory.

尽管有人提出拉帕努伊（Rapa Nui）作为文化崩溃的经典例子，但这一假设遭到了反复质疑。本文通过对红o石坑的研究，调查了毁林开始后拉帕努伊（Rapa Nui）的文化连续性。红茶色颜料在拉帕努伊（Rapa Nui）的各种环境中广为人知，但直到最近，它的起源和涉及其生产的提取过程仍未得到精确的了解。新的发掘表明该岛的史前文化中存在多个用于颜料生产和储存的凹坑。以前的地质考古研究，包括地貌，土壤学，地球化学和微观形态分析，都表明该矿坑包含细微的红色氧化铁层（och石），这是由于反复故意燃烧造成的。氧化层与植硅石薄层交替，这被解释为用作燃料的植物材料和硅藻的残留。本文介绍了先前描述的VaipúEast站点的新植物硅藻土和硅藻数据，以及来自VaipúWest和Poike的新站点类似矿坑的数据的补充。新这些站点还提供了¹⁴ C日期。硅藻土和硅藻的数据提供了有关cher石生产和与坑相关的形成过程的重要信息。VaipúEast的色素生产和储存的证据表明，在森林砍伐后至少两个不同的阶段，Rapa Nui进行了劳动密集型o石的生产，而在其他地点发现的矿坑则表明VaipúEast并非独立存在。这提供了进一步的证据来支持文化的连续性，而不是在岛上晚期史前森林砍伐后崩溃。