Location: Chile, Easter Island
Manufactured: between 1250 - 1500
Coordinates: 27°07"33.7"S 109°16"37.2"W
Short description
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 2000 km away.
It is no coincidence that Easter Island received its unusual name: it was discovered by a Dutch navigator on Easter Sunday morning, April 5, 1722. The island's landscapes include extinct volcanoes, mountains, hills and meadows. There are no rivers here; the main source of fresh water is rainwater accumulating in the craters of volcanoes. The Easter Islanders 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, and lovers of secrets and riddles.
First of all, Easter Island is famous for its giant stone statues in the form of 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 have been discovered 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 are moved to the ritual platform (ahu) and are complemented by a red stone cap (pukau). According to scientists, moai once had eyes: the whites were made of coral, and the pupils were made of sparkling pieces of volcanic glass.
Obviously, installing the statues required a huge amount of labor. According to legend, the idols walked on their own. However, hypotheses confirmed by scientific experiments prove that the moai were moved by the inhabitants of the island and no one else, but it has not yet been determined exactly how they did it. In 1956, Norwegian traveler Thor Heyerdahl experimented with moving a moai statue, hiring a team of Easter Island natives who successfully reproduced all the stages of making and installing the moai.
Armed with stone axes, the natives carved 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 sleds that prevented it from rubbing on the ground. With the help of wooden levers and stones placed under the base of the statue, it was placed on a platform-pedestal.
In 1986, Czech explorer P. Pavel, together with Thor Heyerdahl, organized an additional test in which a group of 17 natives raised a 20-ton statue into a vertical position quite quickly using ropes.
"A petrified world with its petrified inhabitants"
The settlement of Easter Island began in 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 the wooden raft "Kon-Tiki", the Norwegian scientist proved that even in the conditions of ancient civilization, the American Indians could overcome large expanses 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 so large that the lobes were pulled down to the shoulders. The Paschals believed that the stone sculptures contained the supernatural power of their clan, called “mana.” At first, the long-eared and short-eared lived in peace and harmony with each other, but their later history was marked by a series of brutal wars caused by food shortages.
Due to the drought, harvests were declining, and 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 the moai. Perhaps these were island gods depicted 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 . During the era of cultural flourishing (XVI-XVII centuries), up to 20 thousand people lived on Easter Island.
After the arrival of Europeans, the population declined and many Paschals 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, and tourists bring in a small income. But Easter Island still seems deserted, as during the time of Thor Heyerdahl’s explorations, when the Norwegian saw “some kind of petrified world with its petrified inhabitants.”
Easter Island, occupying 117 square meters. km. - one of the most secluded habitats (along with the Tristan da Cunha archipelago): it is located in the Pacific Ocean at a distance of more than 3,700 km. from the nearest continent (South America) and 2600 km from the nearest inhabited island (Pitcairn).
In general, there are many secrets in the history of Easter Island. Its discoverer, Captain Juan Fernandez, fearing competitors, decided to keep his discovery, made in 1578, a secret, and some time later he accidentally died under mysterious circumstances. Although whether what the Spaniard found was Easter Island is still unclear.
144 years later, in 1722, the Dutch admiral Jacob Roggeveen stumbled upon Easter Island, and this event happened on the day of Christian Easter. So, quite by accident, the island of Te Pito o te Henua, which translated from the local dialect means the Center of the World, turned into Easter Island.
It is interesting that Admiral Roggeveen and his squadron not only sailed in this area, he tried in vain to find the elusive land of Davis, an English pirate, which, according to his descriptions, was discovered 35 years before the Dutch expedition. True, no one except Davis and his team saw the newly discovered archipelago again.
However modern study adjacent waters showed that this was unlikely.
Easter Island is located 500 km from the ridge of seamounts known as the East Pacific Rise, on lithospheric plate Nazca. The island sits on top of a huge mountain formed from volcanic lava. The last volcanic eruption on the island occurred 3 million years ago. Although some scientists suggest that it occurred 4.5-5 million years ago.
According to local legends, in the distant past the island was large. It is quite possible that this was the case in glacial period Pleistocene, when the level of the World Ocean was 100 meters lower. According to geological studies, Easter Island was never part of a sunken continent
Easter Island's mild climate and volcanic origin would make it a piece of paradise, far from the problems plaguing the rest of the world, yet Roggeveen's first impression of the island was that of a devastated area covered with dried grass and scorched vegetation. Neither trees nor bushes were visible.
Modern botanists have discovered only 47 species on the island higher plants, characteristic of this area; mostly grass, sedge and ferns. The list also includes two species of dwarf trees and two species of shrubs. With such vegetation, the inhabitants of the island had no fuel to keep warm during the cold, wet and windy winter. The only domestic animals were chickens; there were no bats, birds, snakes or lizards. Only insects were found. In total, about 2,000 people lived on the island.
Residents of Easter Island. Engraving from 1860
Now about three thousand people live on the island. Of these, only 150 people are purebred Rapanui, the rest are Chileans and mestizos. Although, again, it is not entirely clear who exactly can be considered purebred. After all, even the first Europeans who landed on the island were surprised to discover that the inhabitants of Rapa Nui - the Polynesian name of the island - were ethnically heterogeneous. Admiral Roggeveen, whom we knew, wrote that on the land he discovered there lived white, dark, brown and even reddish people. Their language was Polynesian, belonging to a dialect isolated from about 400 AD. e., and characteristic of the Marquesas and Hawaiian Islands.
Completely inexplicable were about 200 giant stone sculptures - “Moai”, located on massive pedestals along the coast of the island with pathetic vegetation, far from the quarries. Most of the statues were located on massive pedestals. At least 700 more sculptures, in varying degrees prepared, were left in quarries or on ancient roads connecting the quarries with the coast. It seemed as if the sculptors suddenly abandoned their tools and stopped working...
Distant masters carved “moai” on the slopes of the Rano Roraku volcano, located in the eastern part of the island, from soft volcanic tuff. Then the finished statues were lowered down the slope and placed along the perimeter of the island, over a distance of more than 10 km. The height of most idols ranges from five to seven meters, while later sculptures reached 10 and 12 meters. The tuff, or, as it is also called, pumice, from which they are made, has a sponge-like structure and easily crumbles even with a slight impact on it. So average weight"moai" does not exceed 5 tons. Stone ahu - platform-pedestals: reached 150 m in length and 3 m in height, and consisted of pieces weighing up to 10 tons.
At one time, Admiral Roggeveen, recalling his trip to the island, claimed that the aborigines lit fires in front of the “moai” idols and squatted next to them, bowing their heads. After that, they folded their hands and swung them up and down. Of course, this observation is not able to explain who the idols really were for the islanders.
Roggeveen and his companions could not understand how, without using thick wooden rollers and strong ropes, it was possible to move and install such blocks. The islanders had no wheels, no draft animals, and no other source of energy other than their own muscles. Ancient legends say that the statues walked on their own. There is no point in asking how this actually happened, because there is no documentary evidence left anyway. There are many hypotheses about the movement of the “moai”, some are even confirmed by experiments, but all this proves only one thing - it was possible in principle. And the statues were moved by the inhabitants of the island and no one else. So why did they do this? This is where the differences begin.
It is also surprising that in 1770 the statues were still standing. James Cook, who visited the island in 1774, mentioned the lying statues; no one had noticed anything like this before him. IN last time standing idols were seen in 1830. Then a French squadron entered the island. Since then, no one has seen the original statues, that is, installed by the inhabitants of the island themselves. Everything that exists on the island today was restored in the 20th century. The last restoration of fifteen “moai” located between the Rano Roraku volcano and the Poike Peninsula occurred relatively recently - from 1992 to 1995. Moreover, the Japanese were involved in the restoration work.
In the second half of the 19th century, the cult of the bird man also died. This strange, unique ritual for all of Polynesia was dedicated to Makemaka, the supreme deity of the islanders. The chosen one became his earthly incarnation. Moreover, interestingly, elections were held regularly, once a year. At the same time, servants or warriors took the most active part in them. It depended on them whether their owner, the head of the family clan, would become Tangata-manu, or a bird-man. It is to this rite that the main cult center, the rock village of Orongo, owes its existence. big volcano Rano Kao is at the western tip of the island. Although, perhaps, Orongo existed long before the emergence of the cult of Tangata-manu. Legends say that the heir to the legendary Hotu Matua, the first leader to arrive on the island, was born here. In turn, his descendants, hundreds of years later, themselves gave the signal for the start of the annual competition.
In the spring, messengers of the god Makemake - black sea swallows - flew to the small islands of Motu-Kao-Kao, Motu-Iti and Motu-Nui, located not far from the coast. The warrior who was the first to find the first egg of these birds and swim it to his master received seven beautiful women as a reward. Well, the owner became a leader, or rather, a bird-man, receiving universal respect, honor and privileges. The last Tangata Manu ceremony took place in the 60s of the 19th century. After the disastrous pirate raid of the Peruvians in 1862, when the pirates took the entire male population of the island into slavery, there was no one left to choose the bird-man.
Why did the Easter Island natives carve moai statues in a quarry? Why did they stop this activity? The society that created the statues must have been significantly different from the 2,000 people Roggeveen saw. It had to be well organized. What happened to him?
For more than two and a half centuries, the mystery of Easter Island remained unsolved. Most theories about the history and development of Easter Island are based on oral traditions. This happens because no one still can understand what is written in written sources - the famous tablets “ko hau motu mo rongorongo”, which roughly means a manuscript for recitation. Most of They were destroyed by Christian missionaries, but those that survived could probably shed light on the history of this mysterious island. And although scientific world More than once I was excited by reports that ancient writings had finally been deciphered; upon careful verification, all this turned out to be a not very accurate interpretation of oral facts and legends.
Several years ago, paleontologist David Steadman and several other researchers carried out the first systematic study of Easter Island in order to find out what its flora and fauna were once like. The result is evidence for a new, surprising and instructive interpretation of the history of its settlers.
According to one version, Easter Island was settled around 400 AD. e. (although according to radiocarbon dating data obtained by scientists Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo from University of California(USA) during the study of eight samples charcoal from Anakena, indicate that Rapa Nui island was settled around 1200 AD. e.,) The islanders grew bananas, taro, sweet potatoes, sugar cane, mulberry. In addition to chickens, there were also rats on the island, which arrived with the first settlers.
The period of production of the statues dates back to 1200-1500. The number of inhabitants by that time ranged from 7,000 to 20,000 people. To lift and move the statue, several hundred people were enough, who used ropes and rollers from trees, which were available in sufficient quantities at that time.
The painstaking work of archaeologists and paleontologists has shown that approximately 30,000 years before the arrival of people and in the first years of their stay, the island was not at all as deserted as it is now. A subtropical forest of trees and undergrowth rose above the shrubs, grasses, ferns and turf. The forest contained tree daisies, hauhau trees, which can be used to make ropes, and toromiro, which is useful as fuel. There were also varieties of palm trees that are not now on the island, but formerly there were so many of them that the base of the trees was densely covered with their pollen. They are related to the Chilean palm, which grows up to 32 m and has a diameter of up to 2 m. Tall, branchless trunks were ideal material for skating rinks and canoe construction. They also gave edible nuts and the juice from which Chileans make sugar, syrup, honey and wine.
The relatively cold coastal waters provided fishing in only a few places. The main marine prey were dolphins and seals. To hunt them, they went out into the open sea and used harpoons. Before people came, the island was ideal place for the birds, because they did not have any enemies here. Albatrosses, gannets, frigate birds, fulmars, parrots and other birds nested here - 25 species in total. It was probably the richest nesting site in the entire Pacific Ocean.
Around the 800s, forest destruction began. Layers of charcoal from forest fires began to appear more and more often, tree pollen became less and less, and pollen from grasses that replaced the forest appeared more and more. No later than 1400, the palm trees disappeared completely, not only as a result of cutting down, but also because of the ubiquitous rats, which did not give them the opportunity to recover: a dozen surviving remains of nuts preserved in the caves showed signs of being chewed by rats. Such nuts could not germinate. The hauhau trees did not disappear completely, but there were no longer enough of them to make ropes.
In the 15th century, not only the palm trees disappeared, but the entire forest disappeared. It was destroyed by people who cleared areas for gardens, cut down trees to build canoes, to make skating rinks for sculptures, and for heating. The rats ate the seeds. It is likely that the birds died out due to polluted flowers and a decrease in fruit yield. The same thing happened that happens everywhere in the world where forests are destroyed: most of the forest inhabitants disappear. All species of local birds and animals have disappeared on the island. All coastal fish were also caught. Small snails were used as food. From the diet of people by the 15th century. the dolphins disappeared: there was nothing to go out to sea on, and there was nothing to make harpoons from. It came down to cannibalism.
The paradise that opened to the first settlers became almost lifeless 1600 years later. Fertile soils, abundance of food, multitude building materials, sufficient living space, all opportunities for a comfortable existence were destroyed. At the time of Heyerdahl's visit to the island, there was only a toromiro tree on the island; now he is no longer there.
It all started with the fact that several centuries after arriving on the island, people began, like their Polynesian ancestors, to install stone idols on platforms. Over time, the statues became larger; their heads began to be decorated with red 10-ton crowns; the spiral of competition was unwinding; Rival clans tried to outdo each other with displays of health and strength like the Egyptians building their giant pyramids. On the island, as in modern America, there was a complex politic system distribution of available resources and integration of the economy into various areas.
An 1873 engraving from the English newspaper Harper Weekly. The engraving is signed: “Easter Island Stone Idols Festival Dancing Tatoos.”
The ever-growing population depleted the forests faster than they could regenerate; vegetable gardens took up more and more space; the soil, devoid of forests, springs and streams dried up; the trees that were spent on transporting and lifting the statues, as well as on building canoes and dwellings, were not enough even for cooking. As birds and animals were destroyed, famine set in. The fertility of arable lands decreased due to wind and rain erosion. Droughts have begun. Intensive chicken breeding and cannibalism did not solve the food problem. The statues, prepared for moving, with sunken cheeks and visible ribs, are evidence of the onset of hunger.
With food scarce, the islanders could no longer support the chiefs, bureaucracy, and shamans who administered the society. The surviving islanders told the first Europeans who visited them how to replace centralized system chaos came and the warlike class defeated the hereditary leaders. The stones appeared to depict spears and daggers made by the warring parties in the 1600s and 1700s; They are still scattered throughout Easter Island. By 1700 the population was between a quarter and a tenth of its former size. People moved into caves to hide from their enemies. Around 1770, rival clans began knocking over each other's statues and cutting off their heads. The last statue was toppled and desecrated in 1864.
As the picture of the decline of the civilization of Easter Island appeared before the researchers, they asked themselves: - Why didn’t they look back, didn’t realize what was happening, didn’t stop until it was too late? What were they thinking when they cut down the last palm tree?
Most likely, the disaster did not occur suddenly, but stretched out over several decades. The changes occurring in nature were not noticeable for one generation. Only old people, looking back on their childhood years, could realize what was happening and understand the threat posed by the destruction of forests, but the ruling class and stonemasons, afraid of losing their privileges and jobs, treated the warnings in the same way as today's loggers in the northwestern United States: “Work is more important than forest!”
The trees gradually became smaller, thinner and less significant. Once upon a time, the last fruit-bearing palm was cut off, and the young shoots were destroyed along with the remains of bushes and undergrowth. No one noticed the death of the last young palm tree.
The flora of the island is very poor: experts count no more than 30 species of plants growing on Rapa Nui. Most of them were brought from other islands of Oceania, America, and Europe. Many plants that were previously widespread on Rapa Nui have been exterminated. Between the 9th and 17th centuries there was active cutting down of trees, which led to the disappearance of forests on the island (probably before that, palm trees of the species Paschalococos disperta grew on it). Another reason was rats eating tree seeds. Due to the irrational economic activity human and other factors, the resulting accelerated soil erosion caused enormous damage agriculture, causing Rapa Nui's population to decline significantly.
One of the extinct plants is Sophora toromiro, whose local name is toromiro (rap. toromiro). This plant on the island in the past played an important role in the culture of the Rapa Nui people: “talking tablets” with local pictograms were made from it.
The trunk of the toromiro, with a diameter of a human thigh and thinner, was often used in the construction of houses; spears were also made from it. IN XIX-XX centuries this tree was exterminated (one of the reasons was that the young shoots were destroyed by sheep brought to the island).
Another plant on the island is the mulberry tree, whose local name is mahute. In the past, this plant also played a significant role in the life of the islanders: it was made from the bast of the mulberry tree. white clothes, called tapa. After the arrival of the first Europeans on the island - whalers and missionaries - the importance of mahute in the life of the Rapanui people decreased.
The roots of the ti plant, or Dracaena terminalis, were used to make sugar. This plant was also used to make dark blue powder and Green colour, which was then applied to the body as tattoos.
Makoi (rap. makoi) (Thespesia populnea) was used for carving.
One of the island's surviving plants, which grows on the slopes of the Rano Kao and Rano Raraku craters, is Scirpus californicus, used in the construction of houses.
In recent decades, small growths of eucalyptus have begun to appear on the island. In the 18th-19th centuries, grapes, bananas, melons, and sugar cane were brought to the island.
Before the arrival of Europeans on the island, the fauna of Easter Island was mainly represented by marine animals: seals, turtles, crabs. Until the 19th century, chickens were bred on the island. Species of the local fauna that previously inhabited Rapa Nui have become extinct. For example, the rat species Rattus exulans, which in the past local residents used for food. Instead, rats of the species Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus were brought to the island by European ships, which became carriers of various diseases previously unknown to the Rapanui people.
Currently, 25 species nest on the island seabirds and is home to 6 species of land birds.
The statistics for moai are as follows. The total number of moai is 887. The number of moai that are mounted on Ahu pedestals is 288 (32 percent of the total). The number of moai that stand on the slopes of the Rano Raraku volcano, where the moai carving quarry was located, is 397 (45 percent of the total). The number of moai that lie scattered throughout the island is 92 (10 percent of the total). Moai have different heights - from 4 to 20 meters. The largest of them stand alone on the slope of the Rano Raraku volcano.
They are neck-deep in sediment that has accumulated on the island over the long history of this piece of land. Some moai stood on stone pedestals called ahu by the natives. The number of ahu exceeds three hundred. The size of ahu also varies - from several tens of meters to two hundred meters. The largest moai, nicknamed "El Gigante", is 21.6 meters high. It is located in the Rano Raraku quarry and weighs approximately 145-165 tons. The largest moai standing on a pedestal is located on ahu Te Pito Kura. He has the nickname Paro, his height is about 10 meters, and his weight is about 80 tons.
Mysteries of Easter Island
Easter Island is full of mysteries. Everywhere on the island you can see entrances to caves, stone platforms, grooved alleys leading directly to the ocean, huge statues, and signs on stones.
One of the main mysteries of the island, which has haunted several generations of travelers and researchers, remains completely unique stone statues- moai. These are stone idols of various sizes - from 3 to 21 meters. On average, the weight of one statue is from 10 to 20 tons, but among them there are real colossi weighing from 40 to 90 tons.
The glory of the island began with these stone statues. It was completely incomprehensible how they could appear on an island lost in the ocean with sparse vegetation and a “wild” population. Who hewed them out, dragged them to the shore, placed them on specially made pedestals and crowned them with weighty headdresses?
The statues are extremely strange looking- they have very large heads with a heavy protruding chin, long ears and no legs at all. Some have red stone “caps” on their heads. To which human tribe did those whose portraits remained on the island in the form of moai belong? A pointed, raised nose, thin lips, slightly protruded as if in a grimace of mockery and contempt. Deep grooves under the brow ridges, a large forehead - who are they?
Some statues have necklaces carved in stone, or tattoos made with a chisel. The face of one of the stone giants is riddled with holes. Perhaps in ancient times, the sages who lived on the island, studying the movement of the heavenly bodies, tattooed their faces with a map of the starry sky?
The eyes of the statues look to the sky. Into the sky - the same as when centuries ago, a new homeland opened up for those who sailed over the horizon?
In former times, the islanders were convinced that the moai protected their land and themselves from evil spirits. All standing moai face the island. Incomprehensible as time, they are immersed in silence. These are mysterious symbols of a bygone civilization.
It is known that the sculptures were carved out of volcanic lava at one of the ends of the island, and then the finished figures were carried along three main roads to the sites of ceremonial pedestals - ahu - scattered along coastline. The largest ahu, now destroyed, was 160 m long, and on its central platform, about 45 m long, there were 15 statues.
The vast majority of statues lie unfinished in quarries or along ancient roads. Some of them are frozen in the depths of the crater of the Rano Raraku volcano, some go beyond the crest of the volcano and seem to be heading towards the ocean. Everything seemed to stop at one moment, engulfed in a whirlwind of an unknown cataclysm. Why did the sculptors suddenly stop working? Everything was left in place - stone axes, unfinished statues, and stone giants, as if frozen on the path in their movement, as if people simply left their work for a minute and were never able to return to it.
Some statues, previously installed on stone platforms, have been toppled and broken. The same applies to stone platforms - ahoo.
The construction of ahu required no less effort and skill than the creation of the statues themselves. It was necessary to make blocks and form them into an even pedestal. The density with which the bricks fit together is amazing. Why the first axy were built (their age is about 700-800 years) is still unclear. Subsequently, they were often used as burial places and perpetuating the memory of leaders.
Excavations carried out on several sections of ancient roads, along which the islanders supposedly carried multi-ton statues (sometimes over a distance of more than 20 kilometers), showed that all the roads clearly bypassed flat areas. The roads themselves are V- or U-shaped hollows about 3.5 meters wide. In some areas there are long connecting fragments, shaped like curbstones. In some places, pillars dug outside the curbs are clearly visible - perhaps they served as a support for some kind of device like a lever. Exact date Scientists have not yet established the construction of these roads, however, according to researchers, the process of moving the statues was completed on Easter Island around 1500 BC.
Another mystery: simple calculations show that over hundreds of years a small population could not carve, transport and install even half of the existing statues. Ancient wooden tablets with carved writings were found on the island. Most of them were lost during the conquest of the island by Europeans. But some signs have survived. The letters went from left to right, and then to reverse order- from right to left. It took a long time to decipher the signs written on them. And only at the beginning of 1996 in Moscow it was announced that all 4 surviving text tablets had been deciphered. It is curious that in the language of the islanders there is a word denoting slow movement without the help of legs. Levitation? Was this fantastic method used when transporting and installing the moai?
And one more mystery. Old maps around Easter Island show other areas. Oral traditions tell of the land slowly sinking under water. Other legends tell of catastrophes: about the fiery staff of the god Uvok, which split the earth. Couldn't more people have existed here in ancient times? large islands or even a whole continent with high developed culture and technology? They even came up with it for him beautiful name Pacifica.
Some scientists suggest that there is still a certain clan (order) of Easter people that preserves the secrets of their ancestors and hides them from the uninitiated in ancient knowledge.
Easter Island has many names:
- Hititeairagi (rap. Hititeairagi), or Hiti-ai-rangi (rap. Hiti-ai-rangi);
- Tekaouhangoaru (rap. Tekaouhangoaru);
- Mata-Kiterage (rap. Mata-Kiterage - translated from Rapanui “eyes looking into the sky”);
- Te-Pito-te-henua (rap. Te-Pito-te-henua - “navel of the earth”);
- Rapa Nui (Rapa Nui - "Great Rapa"), a name mainly used by whalers;
- San Carlos Island, named by Gonzalez Don Felipe in honor of the King of Spain;
- Teapi (rap. Teapi) - that’s what James Cook called the island;
- Vaihu (rap. Vaihu), or Vaihou (rap. Vaihou), - this name was also used by James Cook, and later by Forster Johann Georg Adam and La Perouse Jean Francois de Galo (a bay in the northeast of the island was named in his honor);
- Easter Island, so named by the Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen because he discovered it on Easter Day 1722.
- Very often, Easter Island is called Rapa Nui (translated as “Big Rapa”), although it is not of Rapanui, but of Polynesian origin. The island received this name thanks to Tahitian sailors, who used it to distinguish between Easter Island and Rapa Island, which lies 650 km south of Tahiti. The very name "Rapa Nui" has caused a lot of controversy among linguists about correct spelling this word. Among English-speaking specialists, the word “Rapa Nui” (2 words) is used to name the island, the word “Rapanui” (1 word) - when talking about the people or local culture.
Easter Island, owned by the Republic of Chile, is located in the southeastern part of the Pacific Ocean. Its area is 165 square meters. km, the distance to the nearest mainland is more than 3500 km.
The island got its name because it was discovered by Europeans on Easter Sunday in 1722. But the natives call their habitat Rapanui, which translated from Polynesian means “Big Rapa.”
The main asset of Rapa Nui, which attracts tourists from all over the world, are the huge giants with large heads and shapeless bodies scattered along the entire coastline - the moai.
Residents of Rapa Nui believe that the moai sculptures contain the spiritual power of the island - mana, which helps to achieve success in love, victory in war and recovery from illness; the concentration of mana helps to establish good weather and harvest a rich harvest.
In addition, this supernatural force in ancient times revived moai statues, so they came to the installation site themselves - the Rapanui people confidently claim this even today.
The first researchers about moai statues
Jacob Roggeveen
Jacob Roggeveen, a Dutch navigator who is considered the discoverer of the island, having spent only one day there, told the following about the Rapa Nui people: they live in small huts made of reeds, in the evenings they pray to huge statues, they use mats instead of mattresses, and they use stones as pillows. Roggeveen could not believe that the natives, with their primitive way of life, built huge sculptures of stone, so he decided that the figures were molded from clay and sprinkled with stones on top.
James Cook visited the island in 1774. The researcher was amazed: like the ancient Rapanui people, devoid of any kind modern technologies, installed giant statues on stone pedestals? He also noted that some sculptures were toppled during his stay on Rapa Nui.
What are the idols made of?
The vast majority of moai (95%) are made in large blocks of easily processed volcanic tuff. The material for the manufacture of the remaining 5% of the giants is trachyte, red basaltic volcanic pumice or basalt. One of the statues, especially revered by the Rapanui people of Hoa-Haka-Nana-Ia, was carved from the mujerite of the Rano Kao volcano.
Many moai were made in a quarry located on the territory of the Rano Raraku volcano. Researchers admit that some statues were cut down from deposits of other volcanoes located closer to the site of their subsequent installation.
Size and weight of giants
The average weight of most idols is about 5 tons, with a height of 3-5 meters and a base width of slightly more than one and a half meters. Taller statues (about 10-12 meters) and weighing more than 10 tons are less common on the island. They are mainly located on the outer slope of the Rano Raraku volcano.
The largest statue, measuring more than 20 meters and weighing about 145 tons, has not been separated from the base and is still in the quarry.
Location on the island
The most ancient moai were installed on ahu - long (from 10 to 160 meters) rectangular stone ceremonial platforms. On such pedestals they placed from one small statue to a whole series of giant giants. Some of the idols at such sites are equipped with red pukao cylinders.
The largest of the platforms, ahu Tongariki, holds 15 moai of various sizes.
For unknown reasons, half of the sculptures remained in Rano Raraku. Some of them have not been completely cut down, but at least, look unfinished, as if the sculptors were suddenly forced to leave their jobs. But perhaps this was the authors' intention.
The Mystery of the Moai
For a long time, Europeans could not understand who was the author of the moai, what tools were used to make it, how the giant giants moved across the island from the quarry to their destination, located 18 kilometers away, with what devices were the huge sculptures installed on stone platforms? Over the past decades, researchers have been arguing with each other, trying to find answers to these questions.
"Long-eared" sculptors
In the 50s of the last century, Thor Heyerdahl, a Norwegian traveler, landed on the island and organized an archaeological expedition to Rapanui with the aim of conducting an experiment on carving, moving and subsequent installation of moai.
During preparation for the experiment, it turned out that the creator huge heads there was a tribe that outwardly differed from the main population of the island by their earlobes being elongated under the weight of decorations - hence they got their name: “long-eared”.
For many centuries, this endangered tribe kept a secret from all the other “short-eared” inhabitants of the island, who surrounded the moai with various superstitions and for a long time misled European researchers.
Thor Heyerdahl asked the leader of the “long-ears” to reproduce the entire process of carving, moving around the island and installing one statue. The leader of the clan, Pedro Atan, replied that the last generations of the dying tribe were no longer involved in making statues, but in theory they knew how to do it, since this knowledge was passed on to them by inheritance.
During the experiment, the tribe carved moai with stone hammers by repeatedly striking the volcanic rock; the hammers were constantly destroyed, so the “long-ears” had to often replace them with new ones.
Carved 12 ton statue large group people were moved to the installation site in a lying position, dragged. The statue was placed on its “legs” by placing stones under its base and using logs as levers.
There was only one question left: why, according to legend, did the Moai come to the installation site on their own? vertical position? Thirty years later, the Czech experimental archaeologist Pavel Pavel, together with Heyerdahl, conducted another test, during which 17 natives, armed with ropes, quickly moved a 10-ton moai statue in a standing position.
Did the Moai lead to the collapse of the island?
The popular American evolutionary biologist and biogeographer Jared Diamond, based on data obtained by British researcher John Flenley, in his book “Collapse” expressed confidence that the stone giants led the island to deforestation, which provoked a food crisis, famine and population decline.
The scientist suggested: the stone giants were made by two tribes at war with each other, who seemed to be competing to see who could build a larger giant. For the leaders of these tribes, moai statues were the only way to demonstrate their power to their neighbors, an opportunity to satisfy their thirst for primacy.
According to Diamond, the movement of the statues around the island to their destination was carried out using wooden sleighs moving on log rails (this method of moving moai was also successfully tested).
This required a lot of wood, which eventually led to the depletion of its reserves. Angry at the moai, the island's inhabitants began to throw them off the platforms, so by the beginning of the 19th century, almost all the statues were toppled.
By the way, the vegetation on the island is indeed quite sparse: grass, sedge, ferns. The area looks desolate: no trees or bushes are visible. But scientists disagree on what led the island to deforestation.
Wrongly accused moai?
Archaeologists Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo strongly disagree with Diamond. They believe that the ancient Rapanui people were peace-loving sculptors and skilled farmers, and not ambitious, warring forest destroyers.
After excavations on Anakena beach, they stated: the first inhabitants on the island appeared no earlier than 1200; they simply could not completely lime the forests in 500 years. According to Kant and Lipo, the cause of the death of the forest was Polynesian rats eating tree seeds - this is confirmed by the fruits of an extinct giant palm tree found by archaeologists, on which small dents from teeth are visible.
The same researchers hypothesized that the moai statues moved vertically around the island with the help of a small group of people who did not need wooden devices. Most scientists agreed with this theory, and it is also supported by oral folk art and a large number of ancient drawings.
The former governor of the island of Rapa Nui once told archaeologists that the very shape of the statues made them “upright”: the convex bellies of the statues tilted the figure forward, and the shape of the base made it possible to swing them from side to side.
Hunt and Lipo decided to test this method movement. The experiment proved: with three strong ropes, 18 people, with some practice, can easily move a 5-ton statue hundreds of meters.
Of course, some of the sculptures moved by the ancient Rapanui people were much larger than those participating in the experiment, and the path ahead of them was more difficult: tens of kilometers along hilly terrain. Apparently, due to all these difficulties, dozens of idols never reached their destination and remained lying along the road leading from the quarry.
Moai statues today
As mentioned above, James Cook, during his visit to the island, noticed that some of the moai were overturned face down - none of the travelers had noticed this before.
Many scholars associate the fall of the statues in the early 70s of the 18th century (i.e., shortly before Cook’s arrival) with the outbreak of a civil war between the “long-eared” and “short-eared” inhabitants of the island. Other researchers say earthquakes and tsunamis are to blame.
Last time standing statues caught by a French squadron that entered Easter Island in 1830. Since then, no European has seen the Moai statues erected directly by the ancient Rapanui people. All the sculptures existing on the island today were restored in the 20th century. Not so long ago - in the 90s of the last century - their last restoration took place.
By the way, to see the moai, you don’t have to go far away (and the distance from Moscow to Easter Island is almost 16 thousand km): the sculpture of Hoa Haka Nana Ia, for example, can be seen in the British Museum, where it was delivered back in 1868
But it’s still better to visit the island, especially since Rapa Nui today has all the conditions for accommodation and entertainment for tourists: excursions are organized, theaters give performances, museums, shops, restaurants, clubs operate.
But most importantly, there is an opportunity to plunge into history, experience a whole range of emotions at the sight of powerful giants, imbue with the spirit of the ancient Rapanui people, and maybe even recharge with the sacred power of the island - mana - for many years to come. Easter Island is always waiting for its travelers!
Today we will take a trip to famous Island Easter, which is famous for its Moai stone sculptures. The island is shrouded in many secrets and mysteries that are unlikely to ever be solved. We will try to consider the most common theories of the origin of stone statues created ancient civilization Rapa Nui
This is one of the most isolated islands in the world, since ancient seafarers sailed here in canoes and settled on these shores 1,200 years ago. Over the centuries, a unique community developed in the island's isolation and, for unknown reasons, began carving giant statues from volcanic rock. These statues, known as Moai, are some of the most amazing ancient relics ever found. The people of the island called themselves Rapa Nui, but where they came from and where they disappeared is unknown. Science puts forward many theories about the mystery of Easter Island, but all these theories contradict each other, the truth is unknown as always 
Modern archaeologists believe that the first and only people of the island were separate group inhabitants of Polynesia, who once arrived here, then had no contact with their homeland. Until the fateful day in 1722, when, on Easter Day, the Dutchman Jacob Roggeveen became the first European to discover the island. What his crew witnessed sparked heated debate regarding the origins of Rapa Nui. Researchers reported a mixed population of the island, with both dark-skinned and light-skinned people. Some even had red hair and tanned faces. This doesn't quite fit with the Polynesian version of origin local population, despite long-standing evidence supporting migration from another island in the Pacific. Therefore, archaeologists are still discussing the theory of the famous archaeologist and explorer Thor Heyerdahl 
In his notes, Heyerdahl talks about the islanders, who were divided into several classes. The fair-skinned islanders wore large discs in their earlobes. Their bodies were heavily tattooed and they worshiped giant statues by performing ceremonies in front of them. How could light-skinned people live among the Polynesians on such a remote island? The researcher believes that Easter Island was inhabited in several stages by two different cultures. One culture was from Polynesia, the other from South America, possibly from Peru, where mummies of people with red hair were also found 
Heyerdahl also points out the similarities between Moai statues and similar monuments in Bolivia. According to his theory, thousands of years ago people had already mastered the ocean, and sailed in large canoes over vast distances. Heyerdahl himself traveled from the shores of Peru to Easter Island on a homemade raft in 1947, proving that such a movement is possible 
Modern archaeologists strongly disagree with Heyerdahl. They indicate a long history of Polynesian habitation in the South Pacific region. In addition, according to linguistic studies, the most likely origin of the local population is the Marquesas or Pitcairn Islands. Researchers turn to the legends of Easter Island, which speak of origin from the west. In addition, botanical and anthropometric studies confirm that the island was colonized only once - from the west
There is a third theory, a very young one. Around 1536, the Spanish ship San Lesmems disappeared off the coast of Tahiti. Legends speak of Basques surviving and marrying Polynesian women. Interestingly, genetic testing has shown the presence of Basque genes in the blood of Rapa Nui 
But there is a third origin story that has as far back as it seems there is scientific evidence behind it. Around 1536 the Spanish ship, San Lesmems was lost near the Island of Tahiti. Legends speak of Basque survivors intermarrying with Polynesians. Either they or their descendants set off from Tahiti to try and return home in the 1600s and were never seen again. Interestingly, genetic testing of pure Rapa Nui blood showed the presence of Basque genes 
Perhaps Easter Island was settled by a lost crew of Spanish and Polynesian sailors? 
Of course, over time, science will give us the answer to who the Rapa Nui were. They built a highly organized society based on small island, and in the short time of their existence they created a riddle that puzzled the whole world and has not yet been solved 
Our planet is only revealing its secrets to humanity. How many corners of it still remain to be visited and explored? How many amazing discoveries will be made in the foreseeable future? It is very difficult to give a definite answer to all these questions. At almost every step we all come across amazing phenomena and occurrences, which thousands of scientists around the world are trying in vain to explain. Unusual finds that are scattered throughout to the globe, are just waiting for their “finest hour” to discover their true nature and purpose.
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Read our article on how to get to Easter Island.
Today I propose to go together to one of the most unusual islands - Easter Island, which belongs to the Latin American state of Chile. It was here that amazing giants made of stone - monolithic Moai statues - first appeared before the discoverers of distant lands. They are officially known as the Easter Island idols. It is believed that the statues were created by the Aborigines who inhabited the island. The stone sculptures date back to the 10th-15th centuries. In addition, the island is simply “teeming” with interesting finds in the form of ancient caves, grooved alleys that go somewhere into the ocean. All this indicates that the island was once the center of a nation unknown to archaeologists with unusual traditions and unique customs. Interested? Still would!
Not every one of us knows why the island received such an unusual name. The first impression that the name is tied to a famous holiday turns out to be correct. The island was first visited by Europeans in 1722. It was in this year that a ship from Holland under the command of Jacob Roggeveen dropped anchor off the coast of a distant Pacific island. Since overseas lands were discovered just at the time of Easter celebrations, the island received the appropriate name.
It was here that one of the most impressive man-made phenomena of all civilization was discovered - the Moai stone statues. Thanks to the stone statues, the island has become famous throughout the world and is rightfully considered one of the main tourist centers in the Southern Hemisphere.
Purpose of statues
Since the statues appeared on the island in ancient times, their size and shape evoked thoughts of extraterrestrial origin. Although it was still possible to establish that the statues were created by local tribes that once inhabited the island. Despite the fact that several centuries have passed since the discovery of the island, scientists have still not been able to unravel the true purpose of the stone giants. They were assigned the role of tombstones and places for worship of pagan gods, they were even considered as real monuments to famous islanders.
The first descriptions of the Dutch navigator help to form a definite impression of the significance of the statues. For example, the discoverer noted in his diary that the aborigines lit fires and prayed near the statues. But the most surprising thing was that the aborigines were not distinguished by a developed culture and could not boast of certain achievements in construction or any advanced technologies even for that time. Accordingly, a completely logical question arose about how these tribes, living according to primitive customs, were able to create such amazing statues.
Numerous researchers have made the most unusual assumptions. Initially, it was believed that the statues were made of clay or were even brought from the mainland. But soon all these guesses were refuted. The statues turned out to be completely monolithic. Skilled authors created their masterpieces directly from rock fragments using primitive tools.
Only after the famous navigator Cook visited the island, who was accompanied by a Polynesian who understood the language of the island’s aborigines, did it become known that the stone sculptures were not dedicated to the gods at all. They were installed in honor of the rulers of ancient tribes.
How the statues were created
As already mentioned, the statues were hewn out of monolithic rock fragments in a volcanic quarry. The work on creating unique giants began with the face, gradually moving to the sides and arms. All statues are made in the form of long busts without legs. When the Moai were ready, they were transported to the installation site and placed on a stone pedestal. But how these multi-ton giants moved from the quarry of the volcano to the stone pedestals over a huge distance is still the main mystery of Easter Island. Just imagine how much force it could take to deliver a 5-meter stone giant, the average weight of which reached 5 tons! And sometimes there were statues more than 10 meters high and weighing more than 10 tons.
Every time humanity encounters something inexplicable, a lot of legends are born. This happened this time too. According to local legends, the huge statues were once able to walk. Having reached the island, they lost this amazing ability and remained here forever. But this is nothing more than a colorful legend. Another legend says that the untold wealth of the Incas was hidden inside each statue. In pursuit of easy money, antiquity hunters and “black archaeologists” destroyed more than one statue. But nothing but disappointment awaited them inside.
Has the mystery been solved?
Not long ago, a group of American scientists who were studying ancient giants announced that they were close to solving the Moai statues. Researchers claim that the transportation of the statues was carried out in groups using primitive lifting mechanisms, huge carts and even large animals. Since the statue was transported in a vertical position, from a distance it seemed as if the stone block was moving on its own.
Tourism
From the very moment when tourism began to develop at a crazy pace, when the popularity of this type of active recreation and spending time gained enormous popularity among exotic lovers and simply curious citizens, Easter Island became a real place of excitement. Thousands come from all over the world to look at the amazing stone statues. Each statue is unique and has its own unique decoration, shape and size. Many of them have bizarrely shaped headdresses. By the way, hats differ in color. And, as we found out, they were manufactured elsewhere.
Mounted on special pedestals, these silent creations of human hands evoke sincere admiration from everyone who is lucky enough to see them with their own eyes. They seem to peer with their “dead eyes” deep into the island or into the blue expanse of the ocean. If they could talk, how many interesting things could they tell about the lives of their creators? How many secrets could be comprehended without suffering from numerous guesses?
The most popular place The Tongariki platform is considered to be the place to visit. 15 statues of different sizes were placed on the stone base. The statues have preserved many traces of civil wars and other destructive events to which the island was subjected. There is information that in 1960, a monstrous tsunami hit the island, which threw stone sculptures 100 meters deep into the island. Residents managed to recreate the platform on their own.
Finding the platform is not difficult. It is located in close proximity to the Rano Raraku volcano, which became their deposit. Taking a photo among the giant Moai is the sacred duty of every tourist visiting the Chilean island. According to “experienced photo hunters,” the best time for photo sessions is sunset and dawn. In the rays of the sun, stone giants appear in a different, unusual beauty.
Just the sight of these stone giants evokes awe and respect for their creators, makes you think about your life and your true place in the Universe. The giants of Easter Island are one of the most mysterious creations, the secret of which we all have yet to learn. They came to us from the quarry of a volcano and carry within them a still unknown mystery for thousands of centuries.
How to get there
Unfortunately, getting to Easter Island is very problematic even today. Although there are two simple ways– air and water – they are still quite expensive. The first method will require you to purchase a ticket on a scheduled plane. You can fly from the capital of Chile, Santiago. The flight will take at least 5 hours. You can get to Easter Island using cruise ship or yachts. Many tourist ships that pass off the coast of the island happily call at the local port, providing their passengers with a unique opportunity to touch the long history of the mysterious island.
