The great mystery of easter island that struck all early visitors was not just that these colossal statues stood in such a tiny and remote corner of the world but that the stones seemed to have been set down from the sky. Archaeologists describe a technique that the ancient rapa nui may have used to leverage the hats on the island s giant. Easter is a christian holiday that celebrates the belief in the resurrection of jesus christ from the dead. The mystery of easter island travel smithsonian magazine. Yet, the first european travellers to the island marvelled at large and delicately carved statues covering the whole of the island. The lost gods of easter island top documentary films. A popular account of rapa nuis history casts the inhabitants as the. Attenborough embarks on a personal quest to uncover the history of a strange wooden figurine carving which turned up in an auction room in new york during the 1980s. Fascinating history is present in an almost surreal way. Pdf history of easter island on the rocks researchgate. The first people to settle the sahul continent are likely to have come in small groups. Our work on easter island has involved thinking about many varied topics. Georgia lee, in her publication the rock art of easter island symbols of power, prayer to the gods, states that carving on rocks, which themselves contained mana handy 1927.
It is unprecedented in human history for a sophisticated fully developed writing system to be invented and put into use by a small, isolated island community. This file is licensed under the creative commons attributionshare alike 2. In the economic literature the collapse is usually attributed to irrational or myopic behavior in the context of a fragile ecosystem. Easter island was so named by jacob roggeveen, a dutch explorer who on april 5, 1722, easter sunday, was the first european to visit the island. The secrets of easter island the more we learn about the remote island from archaeologists and researchers, the more intriguing it becomes. Although a holiday of high religious significance in the christian faith, many. Easter island history unit with reading, writing, and mathlearn all about easter island with this 5day miniunit. Most analyses of the origin of the word easter agree that it was named after eostre, an ancient word meaning spring, though many european languages use one form or another of the latin name for easter, pascha, which is derived from the hebrew pesach, meaning passover. Jun 5, 2018 how easter island s mysterious statues got their 12ton hats. Easter island history cultural development the cultural development on the island has been fodder for widespread speculation. Easter island is a small volcanic island, about 14 miles long by seven miles wide, in the south pacific ocean. Radio carbon studies estimate that the first inhabitants of easter island settled between 700 ce and 1200. To view and print this lesson, youll need to purchase a subscription. Steen, is an excellent example of an evenhanded attempt to represent the archeologists and their different opinions.
Easter island statue project conservation initiative preliminary report octobernovember 2010 introduction this report is a preliminary statement of the tasks undertaken and goals achieved during the second field season of phase 2 of the easter island statue project conservation initiative. Dr nugent is quick to point out that drawing parallels between the story of jesus and the epic of inanna doesnt necessarily mean that there wasnt a real person, jesus, who was crucified, but rather that, if there was, the story about it is structured and embellished in accordance with a pattern that was very ancient and widespread. In this section, we would like to share with you some of the presentations that, in many cases, are works in progress. Instantly after disembarking they killed 12 people and injured many more for coming too close. The moai are some of the worlds most fascinating and widelyrecognised monolithic statues. Easter island moai statues and rock art of rapa nui. These people developed a culture and civilization on rapa nui over a period of hundreds. Easter island also has a huge crater called rano kau at the edge of the island. An answer for an enduring question barzin pakandam abstract easter island is the most isolated inhabited spot on earth, devoid of heavy timber and most resources.
We are a online travel agency, dedicated exclusively to rapanui, we offer advice and travel bookings, putting at your disposal the multiple possibilities a tourist would want to access in easter island. From once existing in the numbers of only a bit more than a hundred people, there are today approximately 3000 people who share the rapa nui lineage, in a small society mainly driven by tourism. Get the knowledge you need in order to pass your classes and more. Easter island history the island itself many people have found easter island history very fascinating. In this paper we propose an alternative story involving noncooperative bargaining between clans to share the crop. Jun 5, 2018 how easter islands mysterious statues got their 12ton hats. Marine mammals of easter island rapa nui and salas y gomez island motu motiro hiva, chile.
In polynesia, all serious enterprises were accompanied by religious activities to protect the populace from evil influences and to appeal to the gods through offerings and prayers. The lost gods of easter island is a bbc documentary written and presented by david attenborough. It is the easternmost outpost of the polynesian island world and is famous for its giant stone statues. The easter island mystery is mainly due to its isolation.
Geologically one of the youngest inhabited territories on earth, easter island, located in the midpacific ocean, was, for most of its history, one of the most isolated. Students will use reading, writing, and math skills while. This made the rapa nui culture and history have not been completely unraveled and made the easter island. The islanders who lived on rapa nui easter island were amazing builders, creating huge statues that still exist there today. Attenborough embarks on a personal quest to uncover the history of a strange wooden figurine carving which turned up in an auction room in new york during the 1980. Easter island, also known as rapa nui, is a small triangular multi volcanoed island, roughly 14 miles long by seven miles wide and 69 square miles. We give frequent professional presentations and public lectures based on written papers. Useful information on which is the best time to go, how to get there, what documents are required, how to get around, how to connect to the internet, how much the tours cost, etc. What happened along the way that caused the island ecosystem to collapse. Describe one element of art used in this easter island. This made the rapa nui culture and history have not been completely unraveled and made the easter island myths and legends very relevant.
The first welldocumented european contact happened in 1722 with the dutch admiral jacob roggeveen even if he possibly was not the one to discover easter island. The mystery of easter island new findings rekindle old debates about when the first people arrived and why their civilization collapsed. Geologically one of the youngest inhabited territories on earth, easter island, located in the midpacific ocean, was, for most of its history, one of the most isolated its inhabitants, the rapa nui, have endured famines, epidemics of disease and cannibalism, civil war, environmental collapse, slave raids, various colonial contacts, and have seen their population crash on more than one occasi. Yet easter island does have its own script, examples of which, mostly incised on wooden boards, copies of copies of copies of much older lost originals, were collected in the nineteenth. Captain roggeveen renamed the island easter island. The easter island tragedy has become an allegory for ecological catastrophe and a warning for the future. It was given this name by the dutch com mander jacob roggeveen, who first. Much research has been carried out on these famous statues and many of the damaged and fallen statues have since been restored around the island. Easter island is an island and special territory of chile in the southeastern pacific ocean, at the. The ancient pagan origins of easter ancient origins. Katherine routeledge visits for a yearlong expedition to the island. Since the island consists of volcanic rock, the early inhabitants quarried the material into giant statues, some as tall as 14 feet, 6 inches and weighing about 14 tons. This svg file contains embedded text that can be translated into your language, using the svg translate tool or any capable svg editor.
Art of easter island will feature more than 50 works dating from the th century to the late 19th century. Describe one element of art used in this easter island statue. Rapa nui easter island monument ahu locations explained by. Although easter island is famous for the large monumental moai statues which adorn easter island, often called the easter island heads, rapa nui is also home to highly sophisticated rock art carvings and paintings with unique motifs. What was the purpose of hoa hakananaia likely to have been. Pdf on the geology of easter island sergei rjabchikov. Easter island is most famous for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early rapa nui people. Located on the remote chilean territory of easter island, they tell a mysterious story of the islands early people and their obsession with rock carvings. Easter island, or rapa nui, its original name, is the polynesian island found in the south east pacific ocean. History of agriculture in papua new guinea anu press. Also known as rapa nui, it is the worlds most isolated inhabited island. To its original inhabitants the island is known as rapa nui, and its population is predominantly of polynesian descent. Recent field work on easter island, east polynesia, has collected new data on monolithic statue sites, rock art design motifs and the ideological significance of their temporal and spatial. He arrived on easter day, and chose to name the island thereafter.
Migrations and settlements, the evolution of a culture, wars between tribes, and ultimate decimation of a whole population define the course of easter island history. Pdf file showing the output of running the r code, including results not. On this page you will find practical information about easter island that you may need to prepare your trip to the remote and fascinating rapa nui. Easter in the big apple from december 12, 2001, through august 4, 2002, the art of easter island will be on display in new yorks metropolitan museum of art. Yet, the first european travellers to the island marvelled at large.
Jan, 2010 a 0 year exploration of easter island history. It explores the history of the civilization of the remote easter islands. Easter island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early rapa nui people. Come browse our large digital warehouse of free sample essays. May 03, 2018 during march, a team of scientists led by william dandrea, associate research professor at columbia universitys lamontdoherty earth observatory, travelled to rapa nui easter island to work on. Easter island, chilean dependency in the eastern pacific ocean. Where would the statue have been placed on easter island. Publishes the book the mystery of easter island in 1919. Jan 24, 2008 the easter island tragedy has become an allegory for ecological catastrophe and a warning for the future. Easter islands location in the midst of the south pacific is. On easter sunday, april 5, 1722, a dutch sea captain named jacob roggeveen landed his ship on an island known as te pito o te henua, meaning the center of the world.
Pdf chronology and easter island prehistory researchgate. The secrets of easter island history smithsonian magazine. Archaeologists describe a technique that the ancient rapa nui may have used to leverage the hats on the islands giant. Leased to private companies some british influence. A brief history of easter islands incredible moai statues. Rapa nui is one of the most isolated island communities in the world. It is famous for its 887 huge statues called moai, made by the early rapa nui people. Easter island is a polynesian island in the southeastern pacific ocean. Introduction in the middle of the south pacific, several thousand kilometers west of the coast of chile, is the most isolated inhabited piece of land on earth.
Worldwide, the island is known as easter island, a name given to the island by the dutch sailor jacob roggeween, who discovered it during the easter of. Useful information on which is the best time to go, how to get there, what documents are required, how to get around, how to. During march, a team of scientists led by william dandrea, associate research professor at columbia universitys lamontdoherty earth observatory, travelled to. Rapa nui easter island, chile is famous for its elaborate ritual architecture. The stone monuments and sculptures that characterize easter island were built during this time. This statue was incorporated into the birdman contest. History of agriculture in papua new guinea 11 when torres strait became flooded and the northern part of the great sahul continent became the island of new guinea, with a coastline similar to the present.
We now know the answer to the riddle and it is a chilling one. This colonization period was followed by another one, which led to the blooming of megalithic art. Its inhabitants, the rapa nui, have endured famines, epidemics of disease and cannibalism, civil war, environmental collapse, slave raids, various colonial contacts, and have seen their population crash on more than one occasion. The capital city is hanga roa it is famous for its 887 huge statues called moai, made by the early rapa nui people.
Pdf easter island the forgotten book by the easter island. Well shot footage of easter island especially interesting because it shows some of the landforms which suggest to some geologists that a massive tidal wave or several 150 200 feet high swept this island at one time, estimated to have occurred about 15002000 years ago and it looks to some like part of the island sunk in the process. Easter island simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in. According to diamond and heyerdahls version of the islands history, the huri. Pdf on mar 20, 2016, carl philipp lipo and others published chronology and. Easter island travel your ultimate tourism resource. Using a very academic approach, the documentary includes the majority of the leading experts on the history of easter island. Skeletal biology of the ancient rapanui easter islanders. Easter island is the place where history meets legend. Summary we develop a new methodology for the register of the medical indications in the clinical record using a tabular format with rows and. J easter island history 6 02 book ofers 16 03 guest article.
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