Easter Island covers approximately 64 square miles in the South Pacific Ocean and is located approximately 2,300 miles off the west coast of Chile and 2,500 miles east of Tahiti. Known as Rapa Nui to its first inhabitants, the island was named Paaseiland, or Easter Island, by Dutch explorers in honor of the day of their arrival in 1722. It was annexed by Chile to the end of the 19th century and today maintains an economy based largely on tourism.
Easter Island’s most spectacular claim to fame is a collection of nearly 900 giant stone figures dating back centuries. The statues reveal that their creators were master craftsmen and engineers and are distinct from other stone sculptures found in Polynesian cultures. There has been much speculation about the exact purpose of the statues, the role they played in the ancient civilization of Easter Island, and how they may have been constructed and transported.
The mystery of Easter Island
Early settlement
The first human inhabitants of Rapa Nui (the Polynesian name for Easter Island; its Spanish name is Isla de Pascua) are believed to have arrived as part of an organized group of emigrants. Archeology dates their arrival between 700 and 800 AD. traveled thousands of kilometers before landing at Anakena, one of the few sandy beaches on the island’s rocky coast.
The greatest evidence of the rich culture developed by Rapa Nui’s early settlers and their descendants is the existence of nearly 900 giant stone statues that have been found in various locations across the island. Measuring on average 4 meters high and weighing 13 tonnes, these enormous stone busts, known as moai, were carved from tuff (the light, porous rock formed by consolidated volcanic ash) and placed atop platforms -ceremonial stone forms called ahus. . It remains unclear exactly why these statues were built in such large numbers and on such a scale, nor how they were moved around the island.
Phases of island culture
Archaeological excavations of Easter Island suggest three distinct cultural phases: the Early Period (AD 700-850), the Middle Period (1050-1680), and the Late Period (after 1680). During the early to mid periods, evidence has shown that many ancient statues were deliberately destroyed and rebuilt to become the larger, heavier moai for which the island is most famous. During the Middle Period, ahus also contained burial chambers, and the images depicted by the moai are thought to represent important people deified after their deaths. The largest statue found dating from the Middle Period is approximately 32 feet tall and consists of a single block weighing approximately 82 tons (74,500 kilograms).
The last period of the island’s civilization was characterized by civil wars and general destruction; other statues were toppled and numerous mataa, or obsidian spear points, were found dating from this period. Island tradition claims that around 1680, after coexisting peacefully for many years, one of the island’s two main groups, known as the Short Ears, rebelled against the Long Ears, burning many between them to death on a pyre built along an old ditch. in Poike, on the northeast coast of the island. By this time, many of the island’s original natural resources, including most of its trees, had been exhausted.
Foreigners on Easter Island
The first known European visitor to Easter Island was the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who arrived in 1722. The Dutch named the island Paaseiland (Easter Island) to commemorate the day of their arrival. In 1770, the Spanish viceroy of Peru sent an expedition to the island; the explorers spent four days on land and estimated the indigenous population at around 3,000 people. Just four years later, British navigator Sir James Cook arrived and found that Easter Island’s population was decimated by what appeared to be a civil war, with only 600 to 700 men and fewer than 30 women left.
A French navigator, Jean-François de Galaup, Comte de La Pérouse, found 2,000 people on the island when he arrived in 1786. A major slave raid from Peru in 1862, followed by smallpox epidemics, reduced the population is only 111 people. 1877. By this time, Catholic missionaries had settled on Easter Island and began converting the population to Christianity, a process which was completed by the end of the 19th century. In 1888, Chile annexed Easter Island and leased much of the land for sheep farming. The Chilean government appointed a civilian governor for Easter Island in 1965, and the island’s residents became full Chilean citizens.
Easter Island today
An isolated triangle measuring 14 miles long by seven miles wide, Easter Island was formed by a series of volcanic eruptions. In addition to its hilly terrain, the island contains numerous underground caves with corridors that extend deep into volcanic rock mountains. The largest volcano on the island is known as Rano Kao and its highest point is Mount Terevaka, which reaches 1,665 feet (507.5 m) above sea level. Its climate is subtropical ( sunny and dry) and temperate.
Easter Island does not have a natural harbor, but ships can anchor off Hanga Roa on the west coast; it is the largest village on the island, with a population of around 3,300. In 1995, UNESCO declared Easter Island a world heritage site. Today it is home to a mixed population, mainly of Polynesian ancestry and composed of descendants of the Long Ears and the Short Ears. Spanish is generally spoken and the island has developed an economy largely based on tourism.