Ocean view

Easter Island has a unique landscape with volcanic craters, lava formations, shimmering blue waters, beaches, low hills, cattle farms and many archaeological sites, most of which are devoted to the study of moai figures. They reach a height of 10 m. One of the figures, on the Anakena beach, was installed almost in its original position, and a memorial plaque was placed next to it in memory of the arrival of Thor Heyerdahl in 1955.

The rest of the figures are scattered around the island. Each of them has its own name. Poike is a statue with an open mouth, which is very much loved by the locals. Ahu Tahai is another notable statue, with a beautiful eye shape and a stone-hairdo on the top of the head. From here you can reach two of the island's many caves - one of which seems to have been the center of religious ceremonies.

Easter Island history

The sailors, when they first saw the island, were struck by these colossal stone statues lined up along the coast of the island. What kind of people were they capable of establishing multi-ton stone giants? Why did they settle in such a secluded place? Where did the stone from which the sculptures were made come from?

The first settlers on the island were the Polynesians in the 5th century. Their culture has survived to this day in the form of giant stone figures. (moai)... The bearers of this culture were also called "long-eared" because it was customary for them to stretch the earlobes to the shoulders. In the XIV century. under the leadership of Hotu-Matu "and on the island landed" short-eared ", adherents of the culture of" man-birds. "By the end of the 17th century. they managed to destroy the" long-eared "aborigines, and their culture was lost. Only fragmentary information about the ancient culture of Easter Island survived.

It is believed that the leader of the tribe, on the eve of death, ordered to carve a moai in the tuff rock of the Ranu-Raraku volcano - his own portrait in the form of a bird-man. After the death of the leader, the moai were placed on ahu, i.e. in the sanctuary, and his gaze was fixed on the dwellings of the tribe. It was believed that in this way he is able to transfer strength and wisdom to the heirs, and at the same time protect them in times of trouble. Many moai these days (12 m high, weighing several tons) restored and can be viewed. Tahai, Tongariki, Akivi, Hekii and Anakena are where Hotu Mato landed.

In Orongo (Orongo), a place at the foot of the Ranu-Kau volcano, the pioneers built a sanctuary for the supreme deity Makemake and annually brought sacrifices to the bird-man. For this, the first tern egg, which was considered the embodiment of the deity, was brought here from the island of Motu Nui, located at a distance of 1 km. All local tribes took part in the swimming speed competition, and the leader of the victorious tribe took the place of the bird-man.

At the foot of the Rano Raraku volcano

His head and eyebrows were shaved, his face was covered with black and red paint and he was settled in a special ritual dwelling. Thus, he became the spiritual leader of all the tribes inhabiting the island for a year. The warrior who won the competition, who brought victory to his leader, was not forgotten - he was awarded all kinds of gifts.

The inhabitants of Easter Island possessed a script that was not fully deciphered. Small wooden tablets are covered with carved letters (gopdo gopdo) preserved to this day. These tablets are in every house on the island, but none of the residents could clearly explain their meaning and purpose. Rongo-rongo is no more than 30-50 cm in size, drawings on them depict animals, birds, plants and astronomical signs. Conventionally, the images can be divided into three themes: the first depict local gods, the second - the actions of the islanders, including the crimes they committed, the third are devoted to the history of internecine wars. The islanders were also excellent portrait carvers, as the small church at Hanga Roa testifies to this. Here ancient pagan beliefs merge with Christianity: a bird is certainly depicted over the heads of the saints.

According to legend, in 1400, a small handful of Polynesians, led by the leader Hotu Matua, reached an uninhabited island in the vast Pacific Ocean in their canoes. They named him Te-Pito-te-Henua, "The center of the earth." And Hotu Matua established several holy places along the coast. On the islands where he was from - possibly the Marquesas, there was a custom to install moai, monuments to the leaders of the tribe in the form of monumental stone statues.

The idols - 900 in number in their completed form - have a height of more than 10 m and a girth of 4.5 m, and there are unfinished statues in the quarry, whose height should have been 22 m! Perhaps they were moved from place to place using thick wooden rollers made from the trunks of trees growing in the jungle.

The grandiose figures were first plunged onto tree trunks, which served as either rollers or sleds. Then they were slowly pushed through kilometers of impenetrable jungle. To cope with such work, it would take the efforts of more than one hundred people.

In 1722 the first European landed on the island - the Dutch admiral Jacob Roggeven. On this day, Christendom celebrated Easter, which is why the European name Rapa Nui comes from.

Captain James Cook visited Easter Island in 1774 and found that most of the idols had been defeated, and some were even broken or bore signs of abuse. The island was practically uninhabited, and the pitiful remnants of the once large tribe huddled in fear in some eerie caves. What happened? The explanations of the islanders were abrupt and contradictory. Archeology gave scientists more coherent information: shortly after the departure of the Dutch expedition, a demographic catastrophe occurred on the island - overpopulation and famine. The cult of stone idols led to the fact that the forest on the island was reduced, accordingly reducing the sources of food. Several lean years in a row made the situation catastrophic. Bloody feuds and cannibalism began. When Captain Cook arrived on the island, he counted only 4,000 inhabitants instead of the 20,000 reported by Roggeven in 1722. But the worst was yet to come. In 1862, Peruvian soldiers landed on the island and took away 900 people as slaves. Later, part of the population was sent to Peru as slaves, and the rest did not stay long on the island either. By 1877, only 111 people remained on Easter Island. Later, part of the population was sent to Peru as slaves, and the rest did not stay long on the island either. In 1888 Chile annexed it to its territory. There was no self-government here until 1966, when the islanders first elected their president.

The eastern part of Easter Island, called Poike, was formed 2.5 million years ago as a result of a powerful volcanic eruption. After 1 million years, the southern part of the island, Ranu-Kau, appeared, and 240 thousand years ago - Maunga-Terevaka in the northeast, the highest island mountain (509 m).

On Easter Island there is a settlement called Hanga Roa, where most of the population lives. Their existence is mainly provided by tourism. There are a variety of hotels and restaurants here, and the extremely friendly locals will make sure your stay here is both comfortable and unforgettable.

An airport has been operating on Easter Island since 1964, which has strengthened ties with the outside world. No less than 20,000 tourists visit this mysterious piece of land every year. For the 3800 people living on the island now, sheep breeding is modeled on the model of the late 19th century. is an important component of the economy.

When to arrive

The most suitable period to visit Easter Island is from October to April, during this period the air temperature warms up to 22-30 ° С, and the water in the ocean - up to 20-23 ° С. From May to September it often rains, the weather is windy and cloudy, but it is still warm and the temperature fluctuates between 17 and 20 ° С.

Easter Island beaches

The beaches of Easter Island are some of the best in Chile, the water warms up well in summer, so families with children often come here. Anakena beach deserves a special recommendation: a quiet bay, tall palm trees, sand, which, when wet, acquires a pink hue, silent statues of formidable moai - all this captivates at first sight and makes you forget about time.

Tapati Rapa Nui Festival

If you find yourself on Easter Island at the end of January, be sure to visit the Tapati-Rapa-Nui folklore festival, which is a competition of dance and music ensembles. Both island groups and groups from Tahiti participate in the competition.

In addition, a Queen will be elected during the festival. Moreover, not only the applicants themselves, but also their relatives will fight for the title. The winner is the girl who will be the most pretty and whose relatives will be able to catch the most fish and weave the longest cloth.

Sightseeing visits

Since 2011, a new payment system for visiting attractions has been operating on Easter Island. Arriving on the island, each tourist will purchase a wrist bracelet, which will give him the right to multiple visits to all the sights of the island. The exceptions are the Orongo Ceremonial Center and the Rano Raraku Volcano, which can be viewed once. The authorities were forced to take such an unconventional step, since so far a large number of tourists have tried to evade paying for a visit. Now the situation with the "hares" must be resolved in a cardinal way.

The bracelets can be purchased at Mataveri Airport and are valid for five days and cost $ 21 for Chileans and $ 50 for foreign tourists. The bracelet can be transferred to another person.

Mysterious moai

When you use the phrase "Easter Island", the first thing that appears before your eyes is the rows of huge statues of moai, who fixed their stern gazes into the distance. The creation and history of these frozen statues for a long time remained a mystery to scientists, even today many aspects remain unclear or controversial.

It is believed that the inhabitants of Easter Island made moai statues in honor of deceased relatives. (in another version - deceased leaders) and installed on a special platform, which was called ahu and was nothing more than a burial place. Each clan had its own ahu. The islanders worshiped moai, and they gave them strength and protected their descendants from various disasters. The rite of worship of the moai looked like this: a fire was made in front of the ahu, next to which the worshipers were squatting, with their faces down, they rhythmically raised and lowered their palms folded together.

To date, it is known that the statues were made in the quarry of the extinct volcano Ranu Raraku, and unfinished moai were also found there, including the largest 21-meter El Gigante. On average, the height of the statues ranges from 3 to 5 m, less often statues of 10-12 m are found. On the heads of some statues, you can see "caps" of red rocks of the Puno Pao - Pukao volcano. They were supposed to symbolize the typical hairstyle of the islanders.

Most of the scientific controversy revolves around how the locals managed to transport these huge statues from the quarry to the ahu platforms. There are currently two main versions. According to one, the statues were transported to their destination by dragging with the help of various wooden rails, stops and other devices. As an argument in favor of this version, its defenders cite the fact that there are practically no forests left on the island, all of them were used to roll statues. In the mid 50s. XX century Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl, together with the descendants of the indigenous tribe "long-eared", conducted an experiment to carve, transport and install a moai statue. The last "long-eared" showed scientists how their ancestors carved statues with stone hammers, then dragged the statue in a prone position and, finally, using a simple mechanism consisting of stones and three levers, set it on a platform. When scientists asked why they did not talk about this before, the natives replied that no one had asked them about it before. According to another version (it was put forward by the Czech researcher Pavel Pavel) the statues were moved in an upright position using cables. With this method of transportation, the impression was created that the statues were "walking". In 2012, a group of anthropological scientists in the course of an experiment successfully proved the validity of such a version.

Heads and Tails: Easter Island

Facts

• Name and Sizes: Easter Island is also known as Rapa Nui. Its area is about 162.5 sq. km.
• Location: The island lies at 27 ° S and 109 ° W. Politically, it is considered Chilean territory. The closest inhabited land is Pitcairn Island, more than 2,000 km to the west. To Chile 3700 km, to Tahiti - 4000 km.
• Uniqueness: Easter Island is famous for its stone idols made from local volcanic tuff. More than 10 m in height, they weigh more than 150 tons.
• UNESCO World Heritage Site: The island was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995.

The main attraction of the famous and mysterious (Spanish Isla de Pascua; Rapa-Nui) are moai statues, or Easter Island idols... Almost everywhere, towering along the southern part of the island, for many centuries these mysterious giants have haunted the learned minds of mankind.

For unknown reasons, the Polynesians (inhabitants of Oceania, the first inhabitants of the island), who settled on the island in about 1000 AD, were engaged in carving giant statues of Moai (over about 1200-1500). These idols are today considered one of the most mysterious and inexplicable ancient artifacts on the planet.

Moai (rap. Moai) - stone idols on the coast of Easter Island, which are huge statues in the form of a human head with a part of the body up to the waist. The typical design of the statues is angular grim faces with a prominent chin, tightly compressed lips and a low forehead.

It is still unknown why the ancient islanders began to massively create these giant statues. The first monolithic sculptures as tall as a human being were carved out of basalt. Then the islanders began to make them from soft volcanic tuff (compressed volcanic ash). Only 53 Moai statues were not made from tuff, but from other rocks.

"Abode" of the Moai statues

Located almost in the center of the island, an extinct crater Rano Raraku volcano(Spanish Rano Raraku; 160 m) is the place where famous giants were carved. Dozens and maybe hundreds of craftsmen worked on their creation from dawn to dawn. Today, traces of their painstaking work can be seen on the slopes of the crater. The unfinished statues are scattered here. Probably, their creation took place in compliance with some important rituals and ceremonies. Scientists are sure that the Rano Raraku volcano was actually a sacred place for local residents of that time.

If any defect occurred during the sculpting of the statue, it was considered a devilish sign. Therefore, the sculptors immediately abandoned the carving of the statue and began carving another. Thus, more than 390 sculptures remained unfinished and left here. Over the years, many of them were buried under thick layers of crumbling ash.

When the statue was carved and separated from the cofferdam connecting it to the crater, the figure of the idol rolled down the slope towards the base of the volcano. Here the idols were supposedly placed in an upright position for the final trimming. Then the finished statues were dragged along a whole network of roads and installed in strictly designated places scattered almost along the entire coast of the island. Sometimes they were moved and installed at distances of over 20 km, eventually building an almost continuous line of monuments along the coast of the island.

As you approach Rano Raraku, the giant heads become more frequent, and at the base of the volcano they are literally dotted along the slope, forming the culmination of the process route to the volcano. This should indicate an increasing level of importance for this place.

Mysteries of the idols of Easter Island

When the first Europeans landed on the island in 1722, they were surprised to find about 1000 magnificent statues. However, many of them were lying on the ground. Namely, most of the stone statues were simply scattered along the roads. This is why many scholars have long believed that the Moai statues were abandoned by clumsy builders who dropped broken statues along the coastal roads. However, this was not the case. The roads were only trodden by the installation of the idols. Those. the roads themselves were not built on purpose, but were used exclusively to transport the figures. Over time (due to earthquakes, tsunamis and other external factors), many statues fell to the ground, which also confused archaeologists.

However, all the statues were installed strictly on the stone pedestals assigned to them - ahu (rap. Ahu). They were well-polished stone platforms - buried statues slightly inclined towards the sea. Some statues are installed in groups on pedestals up to 2-3 m high and up to 150 m long. The most famous such pedestal with a group of statues is the famous Ahu Tongariki(Rap. Ahu Tongariki).

Ahu Tongariki

But how were the multi-ton images of Moai transported to various remote locations on the island? To this day, there is no clear answer to this question. Only hypotheses ...

According to the stories of modern islanders, "the Moai idols ... went to their places on their own." According to the legend of the ancient Polynesians, the supernatural power of the ancestors of the first king of the island was imprisoned in the stone idols of Easter Island - Hotu-Matu'a... Those. the statues were endowed with divine power - a soul that allows the statues to move independently.

However, the researchers are sure that the huge statues were still moved by people. Despite the fact that it is difficult to imagine how people from the Stone Age, without special equipment and modern technology, moved multi-ton monoliths. Probably by dragging in a horizontal position, using various wooden rails, stops and other devices. There is another version, according to which the statues were carried in an upright position, moving them, swinging them from side to side, tightening with several ropes (see. video). It was in this way that the edging they made the statues "walk". On this issue, the opinions of scientists were divided.

How it all looked in reality remains another unsolved mystery of Easter Island's civilization. As well as the reason why the inhabitants of the tiny island spent time and energy creating numerous stone giants. There is a widespread belief that the idols of Easter Island are, as it were, its guardians, instilling fear in uninvited guests. However, this is not quite true. All statues (except for the group of statues of Ahu Akivi, consisting of 7 figures in the middle of the island) stand on the coast and "look" not towards the sea, but inland.

Ahu Akivi are the only statues on Easter Island that face the ocean.

Some experts consider them to be the guardians of the dead, who protected the deceased from natural elements with powerful backs. Mysterious giants, silently lined up on the coast, with their backs to the Pacific Ocean. Like a powerful army that protects the peace of their possessions and their inhabitants.

Despite some primitiveness of the Moai idols, the idols of Easter Island are still fascinating. The giants look especially impressive in the evening, in the rays of the setting sun, when only huge, blood-curdling silhouettes appear against the sky ...

Hats

The heads of many stone idols were decorated with “hats” (rap. Pukao) of reddish rock. Perhaps they were made from mined red volcanic stone later, around the end of the 16th century.

The reason for these "hat additions" is unknown. But some scholars suggest that they gave the statues some expression of greater power.

The collapse of the Rapa Nui civilization

The Rapa Nui civilization reached its peak, then something terrible happened.

The inexplicable obsession of the islanders in the construction of mysterious idols led to the ruthless use of natural resources and the devastation of the island. A blind desire to fill the island with statues has led to the total depletion of the island's forest resources. The forest, which was necessary to transport the huge figures, was cut down mercilessly. The Europeans who set foot on Easter Island for the first time were amazed how people could survive in such a desolate place. It ceased to be a mystery when the latest research showed that in ancient times the island was covered with dense forest, there was an abundant tropical paradise here.

Apparently, the resources of the island seemed inexhaustible, trees were cut down for the construction of dwellings and canoes, and giant palms - for transporting moai.

The destruction of the forest has led to soil erosion and depletion. Poor harvests, lack of food led to armed conflicts between the island clans, Moai - symbols of power and success were overthrown. The struggle with time has become more and more fierce. Thus, in the end, by the arrival of the Europeans, the Rapa Nui culture completely disappeared.

A small island in the South Pacific Ocean, Chilean territory, is one of the most mysterious corners of our planet. We are talking about Easter Island. Hearing this name, one immediately remembers the cult of birds, the mysterious writings of the kohau rongo-rongo and the cyclopean stone platforms of ahu. But the main attraction of the island can be called moai, which are giant stone heads.

There are 997 strange statues on Easter Island in total. Most of them are placed rather chaotically, but some are lined up in rows. The appearance of the stone idols is peculiar, and the statues of Easter Island cannot be confused with anything else. Huge heads on frail bodies, faces with characteristic powerful chins and facial features cut out with an ax - all these are moai statues.

Moai reach a height of five to seven meters. There are individual specimens ten meters in height, but there are only a few of them on the island. Despite these dimensions, the weight of the statue is on average no more than 5 tons. This low weight is due to the material from which all moai are made. To create the statue, they used volcanic tuff, which is much lighter than basalt or some other heavy stone. This material is closest in structure to pumice, somewhat resembles a sponge and crumbles quite easily.

Easter Island was discovered by Admiral Roggeven in 1722. In his notes, the admiral indicated that the aborigines held ceremonies in front of stone heads, lit fires and fell into a state similar to a trance, rocking back and forth. What were moai for the islanders, they never found out, but most likely the stone statues served as idols. Researchers also speculate that the stone sculptures may have been statues of deceased ancestors.

In subsequent years, interest in the island declined. In 1774, James Cook arrived on the island, who discovered that over the years some of the statues had been overturned. Most likely this was due to the war between the aboriginal tribes, but official confirmation was never obtained.

The standing idols were last seen in 1830. A French squadron then arrived on Easter Island. After that, no one else saw the statues erected by the islanders themselves. All of them were either overturned or destroyed.

All the moai that are currently on the island were restored in the 20th century. The last restoration work took place relatively recently - in the period from 1992 to 1995.

Until now, it remains a mystery who and why created all these stone faces, whether there is any sense in the chaotic placement of statues on the island, why some of the statues were overturned. There are many theories that answer these questions, but none of them has been officially confirmed.

The local aborigines could clarify the situation if they survived to this day. The fact is that in the middle of the 19th century, an epidemic of smallpox broke out on the island, which was brought from the continent. The disease wiped out the islanders at the root ...

Easter Island was and remains a truly "white" spot on the map of the globe. It is difficult to find a piece of land like it that would keep so many secrets that most likely will never be solved.

A video about how they could have been moved ...

P.S. Here's another photo I found ... full-length, so to speak :)

Location: Chile, Easter Island
Manufactured by: between 1250 - 1500
Coordinates: 27 ° 07 "33.7" S 109 ° 16 "37.2" W

Easter Island is lost in the Pacific Ocean at a distance of 4000 km from Chile. The closest neighbors - the inhabitants of Pitcairn Island - live 2,000 km away.

Easter Island got its unusual name for a reason: it was discovered by a Dutch navigator on Easter Sunday morning on April 5, 1722. The island's landscapes are composed of extinct volcanoes, mountains, hills and meadows. There are no rivers here, the main source of fresh water is rainwater, which accumulates in the craters of volcanoes. Paschal people call their island "The Navel of the Earth" (Te-Pito-te-Henua). This secluded and isolated corner from the rest of the world attracts scientists, mystics, lovers of secrets and riddles.

First of all, Easter Island is famous for giant stone statues in the form of a human head, they are called "moai". Silent idols weighing up to 200 tons and up to 12 meters high stand with their backs to the ocean. A total of 997 statues were found on Easter Island. All moai are monolithic. Craftsmen carved them from soft volcanic tuff (pumice) in a quarry on the slopes of the Rano Roraku volcano. Some of the statues have been moved to the ritual site ("ahu") and supplemented with a red stone hat (pucau). According to scientists, moai once had eyes: squirrels were laid out from coral, and pupils from sparkling pieces of volcanic glass.

Obviously, the installation of the statues was labor intensive. According to legend, the idols walked by themselves. However, hypotheses, confirmed by scientific experiments, prove that moai were moved by the inhabitants of the island and no one else, but it has not yet been determined in what way they did it. In 1956, the Norwegian traveler Thor Heyerdahl experimented with moving a moai statue by hiring a team of Easter Island natives who successfully replicated all the stages of making and installing the moai.

Armed with stone axes, the natives hewed out a 12-ton statue, and, grabbing the ropes, began to pull it along the ground. And in order not to damage the fragile giant, the islanders made wooden skids to prevent him from rubbing against the ground. With the help of wooden levers and stones placed under the base of the statue, it was hoisted onto a pedestal platform.

In 1986, the Czech explorer P. Pavel, together with Thor Heyerdahl, organized an additional test in which a group of 17 natives quickly set the 20-ton statue upright using ropes.

"A petrified world with its petrified inhabitants"

The settlement of Easter Island began in the years 300 - 400 by immigrants from Eastern Polynesia. According to another version, proposed by Thor Heyerdahl, the first inhabitants of the island were immigrants from Ancient Peru. Having crossed the Pacific Ocean from the shores of South America to Polynesia on a wooden raft "Kon-Tiki", the Norwegian scientist proved that even in the conditions of ancient civilization, American Indians could cross large bodies of water.

The indigenous population of Easter Island belonged to two tribes - the "long-eared", who created the moai, and the "short-eared". "Long-eared" got their name because they wore heavy jewelry in their ears, sometimes of such size that the lobes were pulled up to the shoulders. The Paschal people believed that the stone sculptures contained the supernatural power of their clan, called "mana". The long-eared and the short-eared at first lived in peace and harmony with each other, but their later history is marked by a series of brutal wars caused by food shortages.

Due to the drought, yields were declining, there were not enough trees to make boats from which to fish. Now the moai were identified with the image of the enemy, and the statues were destroyed by rival tribes. There are many theories regarding the purpose of moai. Perhaps these were the island gods, imprinted in stone, or portraits of the leaders who ruled the island. According to Thor Heyerdahl, the statues depict white Indians who arrived on the island from Latin America.... In the era of cultural prosperity (XVI-XVII centuries), up to 20 thousand people lived on Easter Island.

After the arrival of the Europeans, the population declined; many Paschal were taken to Peru for hard labor. Today the island is inhabited by about 4,000 people. The living conditions of the islanders have improved significantly, an airport has been built, tourists bring little income. But Easter Island still seems deserted, as during the exploration of Thor Heyerdahl, when the Norwegian saw "some petrified world with its petrified inhabitants."

Moai
Easter Island Mysteries

(from the cycle "On the outskirts of the planet")

Moai(statue, idol, idol [from Rapanui]) - monolithic stone statues on a Pacific island Easter owned by Chile. They were made by the aboriginal Polynesian population in the period from 1250 to 1500. There are now 887 known statues.

Earlier moai were installed on ceremonial and burial platforms ahu along the perimeter of the island, or just in an open area. It is possible that the transportation of some of the statues was never completed. Of such ahu now there are 255 pieces. Measuring from a few meters to 160 meters in length, they could hold anything from one small statue to an impressive row of giants. On the biggest one, uh huh Tongariki, 15 moai installed. Less than a fifth of all statues were installed on ahu. Unlike statues from Early Raraku, whose gaze is directed down the slope, the moai look at the ahu inland, or rather, at the village that once stood in front of them. Many broken and intact statues were found inside the platforms during their rebuilding. Also, apparently, many are still buried in the ground.

Location of ahu burial sites on the island

Now the process of periodic dismantling of the statues is being restored to transfer them to new pedestals, as well as their final burial under the rubble of stone. Almost half or 45% of all moai (394 or 397) remained in Early Raraku... Some were not completely cut down, or they were originally supposed to remain in this position, while others were installed on stone-lined platforms on the outer and inner slopes of the crater. Moreover, 117 of them are on the inner slope. Previously, it was believed that all these moai were left unfinished or they did not have time to be sent to another place. Now it is assumed that they were intended for this place. Also, they were not going to make eyes. Later, these statues were buried. deluvium (accumulation of loose products of weathering of rocks) from the slope of the volcano.

In the middle of the 19th century, all moai outside Early Raraku and many in the quarry were overturned or fell due to natural causes (earthquakes, tsunami strikes). Now about 50 statues have been restored at ceremonial sites or in museums elsewhere. In addition, now one statue has eyes, since it was established that in the deep eye sockets of the moai there were once inserts of white coral and black obsidian, the latter could be replaced with black, but then reddened pumice.

Quarry and statues on the slope of Rano Raraku

Most of the moai (834 or 95%) were cut in the large-block tachyllite basalt tuff of the volcano quarry Early Raraku... It is possible that some of the statues also come from deposits of other volcanoes, in which there is a similar stone and they are closer to the places of installation. Several small statues are made of a different stone: 22 - from trachyte; 17 - from the red basalt pumice of the volcano Ohio(in the bay Anakena) and from other deposits; 13 - from basalt; 1 - from mujierite volcano Early Kao... The latter is a highly revered 2.42 m high statue from a cult site Orongo known as Hoa-Haka-Nana-Eeyore ... It has been in the British Museum since 1868. Round cylinders "Pukao"(bun of hair) on the heads of the statues are made of basalt pumice from the volcano Pune Pao... Not all moai mounted on ahu were supplied with red (originally black) pukao cylinders. They were made only where there were pumice deposits on nearby volcanoes.

Hoa-Haka-Nana-Eeya statue 2.42 m high.Front and back view

If we talk about the weight of moai, then in many publications it is greatly overestimated. This is due to the fact that the basalt itself is taken for calculations (volumetric mass is about 3-3.2 g / cubic cm), and not those light basalt rocks that are indicated above and from which the statues are made (less than 1.4 g / cubic cm). cm, rarely 1.7 g / cc). The small trachyte, basalt and mujierite statues are indeed made of a hard and heavy material.

The usual size of a moai is 3-5 m. The average width of the base is 1.6 m. The average weight of such statues is less than 5 tons (although the mass is indicated at 12.5-13.8 tons). Less often, the height of the statues is 10-12 m. No more than 30-40 statues weigh more than 10 tons.

The tallest newly installed is a moai Paro on ahu Te Pito Te Kura, 9.8 m high.And the heaviest of the same category - moai na ahu Tongariki... Their weight, as is customary, is greatly overestimated (82 and 86 tons, respectively). Although all such statues are now quietly installed by a 15-ton crane. The tallest statues of the island are located on the outer slope of the volcano. Early Raraku... The largest of them is Pyropiro, 11.4 m.

Ahu Tongariki

In general, the largest statue is El gigante, about 21 m in size (according to various sources - 20.9 m, 21.6 m, 21.8 m, 69 ft). They say the approximate weight - and 145-165 tons, and 270 tons. It is located in the quarry and is not separated from the base.

The weight of stone cylinders is not more than 500-800 kg, less often 1.5-2 tons. Although, for example, a cylinder with a height of 2.4 m moai Paro, overestimating, is determined by a weight of 11.5 tons.

The largest statue is El Gigante, about 21 m in size in Rano Raraku

The well-known style of statues from the middle period of Easter Island's history did not appear immediately. It was preceded by the styles of Early Period monuments, which are classified into four types.
Type 1 - tetrahedral, sometimes metatarsal stone heads of rectangular cross-section. There is no torso. Material - yellowish gray tuff Early Raraku.
Type 2 - long pillars of rectangular cross-section with the image of an unrealistic figure in full growth and disproportionately short legs. Found only one completed sample per ahu Vinapa, originally two-headed. The other two unfinished are in quarries Tuu-Tapu... Material - red pumice.
Type 3 - the only instance of a realistic kneeling figure made of tuff Early Raraku... Found in the same place, in the heaps of ancient quarries.
Type 4 - represented by a large number of torsos, prototypes of statues from the Middle Period. Made of hard, dense black or gray basalt, reddish pumice, tuff Early Raraku and mujierita. They are distinguished by a convex and even pointed base. That is, they were not intended to be installed on pedestals. They were dug into the ground. They did not have a separate pukao or elongated earlobes. Three fine samples of hard basalt and mujierite were taken out and are in British Museum London , v Otago Museum in Dunedin and in Brussels 50th Anniversary Museum .

On the right is one of the early moai. Left - Basalt statue of the early period, the Hawa moai, from the British Museum on display in Liverpool

The statues of the Middle Period are an improvement over the smaller statues of the preceding period. Contrary to popular belief, the faces reproduced on them are not European, but purely Polynesian. Excessively elongated heads appeared due to the disproportionate stretching of later monuments in pursuit of ever greater height. At the same time, the ratio of the length to the width of the nose (bottom) remained "Asian". Beginning with Hoa-Haka-Nana-Eeyore, also some statues of the Middle period were covered with carvings. It includes maro - an image on the back, reminiscent of a loincloth, complemented by a circle and an m-shaped figure. Paschalians interpret this drawing as “sun, rainbow and rain”. These are standard elements for statues. Other drawings are more varied. There may be something like a collar on the front, although of course the figures are nude. Hoa-Haka-Nana-Eeyore behind it also has images of oars "ao", vulvas, a bird and two bird-men. It is believed that images related to the cult of the bird-man appeared already in the Middle Period. One statue from the slope Early Raraku has on the back and chest images of a three-masted reed vessel or, according to another version, a European ship. However, many of the statues may not have retained their images due to severe erosion of the soft stone. Images were also present on some cylinders pukao . Hoa-Haka-Nana-Eeyore In addition, it was painted in maroon and white paint, which was washed off when the statue was moved to the museum.

Middle period statue with reconstructed eyes

Later statues of the Middle period in Rano Raraku

It was obvious that the manufacture and installation of moai demanded a huge investment of money and labor, and for a long time the Europeans could not understand who made the statues, with what tool and how they moved.

Legends of the island speak of the chief of the clan Hotu Matu'a , who left home in search of a new one and found Easter Island. When he died, the island was divided between his six sons, and then between his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The inhabitants of the island believe that the statues contain the supernatural power of the ancestors of this clan ( mana ). Concentrating mana will lead to good harvests, rain and prosperity. These legends are constantly changing and transmitted in fragments, which makes it difficult to reconstruct the exact history.

Among researchers, the most widespread theory was that moai were erected by settlers from the Polynesian islands in the 11th century. Moai could represent deceased ancestors or give strength to living leaders, and also be symbols of clans.

In 1955-1956. famous Norwegian traveler Thor Heyerdahl organized a Norwegian archaeological expedition to Easter Island. One of the highlights of the project was experimentation in carving, dragging, and setting up moai statues. As a result, the secret of creating, moving and installing the statues was revealed. The creators of the moai turned out to be an endangered indigenous tribe " long-eared ", Which got its name because they had a custom of lengthening the earlobes with heavy ornaments, which for centuries kept the secret of creating statues a secret from the main population of the island - the tribe" short-eared ". As a result of this secrecy, the short-eared ones surrounded the statues with mystical superstitions, which for a long time misled Europeans. Heyerdahl saw similarities with South American motifs in the style of the statues and some other works of the islanders. He attributed this to the influence of the culture of the Peruvian Indians or even the origin of the "long-eared" from the Peruvians.

Photo illustration from the book by Thor Heyerdahl "The Mystery of Easter Island" 1959

At the request of Thor Heyerdahl, a group of the last living on the island "long-eared" under the leadership of Pedro Atana , the leader of the clan, reproduced all the stages of making the statues in the quarry (hewed them out with stone hammers), moved the finished 12-ton statue to the installation site (in a prone position, dragged, using a large crowd of assistants) and set it on its feet with the help of an ingenious device made of stones, placed under the base, and three logs used as levers. When asked why they had not told European researchers about this earlier, their leader replied that “no one had asked me about this before.” The natives - the participants in the experiment - reported that for several generations no one had made or installed statues, but from early childhood they were taught by their elders, orally telling how to do it, and forcing them to repeat what was told until they were convinced that the children remembered everything for sure.

One of the key questions was the tool. It turned out that during the making of the statues, a stock of stone hammers was being made at the same time. The statue is literally knocked out of the rock by them with frequent blows, while the stone hammers are destroyed simultaneously with the rock and are continuously replaced with new ones.

It remained a mystery why the "short-eared" people tell in their legends that the statues "came" to the places of installation in an upright position. Czech explorer Pavel Pavel put forward a hypothesis that the moai "walked" overturning, and in 1986, together with Thor Heyerdahl, set up an additional experiment in which a group of 17 people with ropes quickly enough moved a 10-ton statue in an upright position. Anthropologists repeated the experiment in 2012, filming it.

In 2012, American researchers successfully repeated the experiment with a 5-ton "walking" statue.