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Easter Island |
Location
Pacific Ocean.
(27° 8' 24" S, 109° 20' W).
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Description -
The island was 'discovered' on Easter sunday (April 5th), and was therefore named Easter island. Before this, it had been called 'Rapa Nui' - (Big Island), 'Matakiterani' (Eye turned to the sky), and 'Te Pito No Te Henua' (The Navel of the Earth). (1)The Maoi - (Stone heads)
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- Easter Island is perhaps best known for its immense stone statues 'Moai', of which there are approximately 900 scattered across the island. Some of the Maoi were placed, facing towards the centre of the island, on platforms called 'Ahu', built along the coasts. Captain Cook was told in 1774 that they were monuments to earlier 'ariki's', or royalty. The 'Maoi' are also described in local tradition as having once possessed 'mana' or a beneficial power.
Hundreds of Maoi are still to be found scattered lying around the island, raising the question of their original purpose.
Some of the heads have bodies beneath the ground. (Note the person in the photo on the left for scale). Also of interest is the positioning of the fingers on the figure in the right, which can be seen at other prehistoric sites.
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Moai Statistics. The following statistics on Easter Island's moai are the results of Van Tilburg's survey in 1989. She reported, "A total of 887 monolithic statues has been located by the survey to date on Easter Island...397 are still in situ in quarries at the Rano Raraku central production centre.....Fully 288 statues (32% of 887) were successfully transported to a variety of image ahu locations....Another 92 are recorded as "in transport," 47 of these lying in various positions on prepared roads or tracks outside the Rano Raraku zone."
Less than one third of all carved moai actually made it to a final ceremonial ahu site. Was this due to the inherent difficulties in transporting them? Were the ones that remain in the quarry (45%) deemed culturally unworthy of transport? Were they originally intended to remain in place on the quarry slopes? Or had the islanders run out of the resources necessary to complete the Herculean task of carving and moving the moai?
Measuring the size, weight, and shape of the 887 moai on Easter Island has been a 15-year process for Van Tilburg. The most notable statues are listed below:
Location: Ahu Hanga Te Tenga Height: 33.10 feet (9.94 meters) (Ref: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/easter) |
There were clearly some very large stones carved on this island, and a
lthough Charles Berlitz estimates the largest carved stone (still unfinished), at approximately 400 tonnes (3), this figure is greatly reduced by D. Zink (1), who estimates the largest 'Moai' on the island at 90 tons (length 90ft, still in quarry). Whether the two are talking about the same object or not is difficult to say, assuming they are however, this disparity illustrates how much estimates can vary from one source to another.
This particular 'Maoi' was found to have a 'sailing' vessel carved onto it.
Stone top-knots or 'Pukao', and eyes made from obsidian and cowry shells bring the statues placed on the 'Ahu' alive.
A photo of the cyclopean platforms 'Ahu' upon which finished figures were placed. Although this is not a very good photo, it does highlight the skill of the masons, and the style is reminiscent of extreme masonry found in other parts of the ancient world
This kneeling figure from Easter Island (left) bears a strong resemblance to others found at La Paz, (centre), San Lorenzo (right), and at Tiahuanaco in Bolivia.
And finally... these 'bird-men', show strong similarities to S. American Olmec rock-art.
Chronology -
380 AD - Thor Hyerdahl's earliest uncorrected C-14 date from Easter Island. (1)
690 AD (+/- 130) - William Mulloy's earliest uncorrected C-14 date from Easter Island. (1)
907-957 AD (+/1 200) - Earliest Ahu with Solar orientation according to William Mulloy. (1)
1772 - Island discovered on Easter Sunday by Dutch.
1862 - Peruvian slavers took 1,000 men (Most of the male population), to work the Guano Islands of Lima. 100 survivors were later returned, of which 15 reached their homes (carrying smallpox), which almost finished the population of the island. (1)
1864 - Total remaining island population - 111. (originally estimated at 5,000).
Tradition and Myth -
The French ethnologist, Francis Maziere, went to Easter Island in 1963, a few years after Thor Hyerdahl. The emphasis of his research focused on the almost-lost traditions of the islanders concerning their origins. According to Maziere, the legends of settlement of the islands by Polynesians contained allusions to catastrophism. For example, one legend says "King Hotu-Matua's country was called Maori, and it was on the continent of Hiva...The king saw that the land was slowly sinking in the sea", as a result he put all his people into two giant canoes and sailed East to Easter Island. Another legend says that Easter Island was once 'part of a larger country broken up by Uoke because of the sins of its people'. (1)
Archaeo-Astronomy
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Alignments -
Easter island is diametrically opposite the Indus-Valley city of Mohenjo-Dharo (Pakistan). It has been noted in the past that the Indus valley script shares many similar symbols to 'Rongo-Rongo'.References:
1). D. Zink. The Ancient Stones Speak. 1979. Musson Publ.
3). C. Berlitz. Atlantis. 1984. Guild Publishing.