Rapa Nui Archaeology
In 1955, following his famous Kon-Tiki Expedition (1947), the Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl assembled a team of specialists to conduct archaeological research at various sites throughout Eastern Polynesia. Acting on the recommendation of Dr. H. Marie Wormington, Heyerdahl invited Mulloy to participate in the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition (1955–56). In Panama, Mulloy joined Arne Skjølsvold, of the University of Oslo, Carlyle S. Smith, of the University of Kansas, Edwin N. Ferdon, Jr., of the Arizona State Museum at the University of Arizona, and Gonzalo Figueroa García-Huidobro of the University of Chile aboard the Christian Bjelland, a chartered Norwegian ship. Apart from Rapa Nui, the team of archaeologists visited Rapa Iti, Tubuai, and Ra'ivavae in the Austral Islands, as well as Hiva 'Oa and Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas Islands during their ten-month tour. Together with his colleagues, Mulloy began preliminary investigations of the fascinating and little-known archaeological sites of Rapa Nui. The international research staff that Heyerdahl brought together subsequently published the results of their investigations in Volume I of The Archaeology of Easter Island (1961).
Shortly after his initial survey of Rapa Nui, Mulloy recognized the tremendously rich archaeological character of the island, its significance for understanding Oceanic prehistory and its potential to become an outstanding open-air museum of Polynesian culture. From 1955 to his untimely death in 1978, Mulloy would make more than twenty trips to Rapa Nui.
Upon his arrival on Rapa Nui in 1955, Mulloy met Father Sebastian Englert, OFM Cap., a Roman Catholic priest from Bavaria, for whose understanding of Rapa Nui culture and prehistory he developed the deepest respect. During the period of his missionary service on Rapa Nui, Father Sebastian compiled systematic field notes in the island's archaeology, ethnology and language, which he shared with Mulloy, who found them an important source of original research regarding all aspects of Rapa Nui culture. Mulloy later edited and translated a series of radio-broadcast lectures on Rapa Nui ethnology and prehistory that Padre Sebastián had originally prepared for Chilean naval personnel stationed in Antarctica. With Mulloy's support, the Englert lectures were published in the United States under the title Island at the Center of the World.
Mulloy's Rapa Nui projects include the investigation of the Akivi-Vaiteka Complex and the physical restoration of Ahu Akivi (1960); the investigation and restoration of Ahu Ko Te Riku and Ahu Vai Uri and the Tahai Ceremonial Complex (1970); the investigation and restoration of two ahu at Hanga Kio'e (1972); the investigation and restoration of the ceremonial village at Orongo (1974) and numerous other archaeological surveys throughout the island. In particular, Mulloy's restoration projects on the island earned him the great respect of Rapa Nui islanders, many of whom collaborated with him at multiple venues. Among his chief collaborators were Juan Edmunds Rapahango, Martín Rapu Pua and Germán Hotu Teave, whose daughter, Melania Carolina Hotu Hey, is a former Provincial Governor of Rapa Nui.
In 1978, in recognition of his distinguished and unselfish work on behalf of the Rapa Nui community, Mulloy was named Illustrious Citizen of Easter Island, by then mayor Juan Edmunds Rapahango. Earlier that year, the Chilean government had bestowed upon him their highest civilian honor, the Orden de Don Bernardo O'Higgins.
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