The small and remote Easter Island (Rapa Nui) has a complex and still partially unknown history of human colonization and interactions with the environment. Previous research from sedimentary archives collected in the three freshwater bodies of Rapa Nui document dramatic environmental changes over the last two millennia. Yet, the characteristics of sediments and paleoenvironmental records are challenging to interpret, mainly due to poor temporal resolution, hiatuses and sediment mixing.

In this study, we reconstruct past changes in lithogenic inputs, weathering processes, redox conditions, productivity and water levels in the Rano Aroi wetland over the last 2000 years through the determination of major, trace and rare earth elements in a new peat core collected in 2017. The chronology is based on 8 ¹⁴C AMS dates for the upper 1.5 m and provides decadal to multi-decadal resolution which is unprecedented for the island of Rapa Nui. The multielemental proxies depict seven distinct chronological phases marked by well-defined geochemical transitions. With only a few minor fluctuations, climate conditions were dry and the mire was mildly anoxic during the first millennium (0–1000 CE) to the arrival of the first Polynesians in Rapa Nui (800–1300 CE) and until ∼1400 CE, followed by wetter conditions afterwards. The record documents with unprecedented accuracy and resolution intense droughts occurring during the middle Little Ice Age between 1520 and 1710 CE, which may have been exacerbated by human activities and triggered dramatic cultural shifts. During the interval of first contact between the Rapanuis and Europeans, the climate changed to wetter conditions, followed by intense precipitations between 1790 and 1900 CE.

小而偏远的复活节岛（拉帕努伊岛）有一段复杂但部分未知的人类殖民历史和与环境的相互作用。先前对拉帕努伊岛三个淡水水体中收集的沉积档案的研究记录了过去两千年来的巨大环境变化。然而，沉积物和古环境记录的特征难以解释，主要是由于时间分辨率差、间断和沉积物混合。

在这项研究中，我们通过测定收集到的新泥炭核心中的主要、微量和稀土元素，重建了过去 2000 年来 Rano Aroi 湿地的岩石输入、风化过程、氧化还原条件、生产力和水位的变化。 2017. 年表基于 8 ¹⁴C AMS 日期为上层 1.5 m，并提供了十年到十年的分辨率，这对于 Rapa Nui 岛来说是前所未有的。多元素代表描绘了七个不同的年代阶段，以明确定义的地球化学转变为标志。在第一个千年（公元 0-1000 年）到第一批波利尼西亚人到达拉帕努伊（公元 800-1300 年），直到公元 1400 年，气候条件干燥，沼泽只有轻微的波动。之后在更潮湿的条件下。记录以前所未有的准确性和分辨率记录了公元 1520 年至 1710 年间小冰河时代中期发生的严重干旱，这可能因人类活动而加剧并引发了戏剧性的文化转变。在拉帕努伊人和欧洲人第一次接触的间隙，