The mystery of easter island imagine arriving on a small island in the pacific ocean about halfway between the island of tahiti and the west coast of south america to find giant rock statues of humanlike figures greeting you along the coastline. Lonely planet chile and easter island country travel guide. With each year, more theories arise concerning the island, the statues, and the rapa nui people who once lived there. Instead, the fresh, affordable and readily available seafood is the island s strongest suit. This title features expanded coverage of patagonia, including new adventure options in puerto natales and more information on chiles crown jewel, torres del paine national park. Instead, the fresh, affordable and readily available seafood is the islands strongest suit. The moai are perhaps the most iconic feature of easter island today. For decades, scientists have studied this remote island in the south pacific and its hundreds of giant stone statues known as moai. The other mystery of easter island damn interesting. A civilisation isolated by 4,000km of pacific ocean was about to meet the outside. The mystery of easter island travel smithsonian magazine. Another widespread easter island tradition is that the moai were transported by mana, that is by supernatural forces or powers.
Easter island isnt a destination for michelinstarred fare. The first page contains an article about easter island and the development of the ecological disaster that occurred there, and the second page contains questions that explore the causes and effects of the choices that were made by the inhab. We now know the answer to the riddle and it is a chilling one. Easter island history cultural development the cultural development on the island has been fodder for widespread speculation. In 1995, unesco named easter island a world heritage site. Easter island is most famous for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early rapa nui people.
Easter island history the island itself many people have found easter island history very fascinating. Feb 17, 2016 easter island is a great case of this kind of sociality in which populations seem to have mediated competition over limited resources through the community building of statues. Easter island is a great case of this kind of sociality in which populations seem to have mediated competition over limited resources through the community building of statues. 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. Bbc horizons the mystery of easter island, produced by jonathan renouf, is based on the premise that only science can hope to explain the rise and fall of this unusual civilization bbc. Download pdf the mystery of easter island free online. Lieutenant bligh went to the pacific in 1788, in command of h. Many people think of the moai as the easter island heads, however, they are actually heads and full torsos. The mystery stems especially from the islands gigantic stone. Pdf download the mystery of easter island the story of an expedition read online. But easter islands archeological treasures speak volumes about a civilization past and its ties to. We set to work to excavate some of the statues which st. The stone on easter island is the best carving stone in the pacific society was isolated, so the energy expended in other pacific societies trading, raiding, exploration, and colonization was directed inward chiefs got stature not by interisland interaction but by competing for status by a game of statue oneupmanship later ones had a pukao.
The archaeologists, who have been working on easter island for many years, try to disclose the mystery, a sacred object that the island natives identify with this term and they intend to hide to the rest of the world. A civilisation isolated by 4,000km of pacific ocean was about to. Evidence that the population of easter island did actually originate from polynesia was discovered on the island of pitcairn, 2000 km west of easter island. It details routledges journey by yacht from england to south america, around patagonia to chile and on to easter island, giving an account of its life, history and folklore. By the time dutch explorersthe first europeans to reach the remote islandarrived on easter day in 1722, the land was nearly barren. Dec 26, 2006 the easter island script has no relation to the indus valley. I would argue it is one of the best nova episodes as they proved something for once. If you are interested in this and would like to know more about how the moai walked, check out mystery of easter island. Mystery surrounding ancient easter island people deepens. This is what dutch sea captain jacob roggeveen found when he arrived there in 1722 on easter sunday.
With each year, more theories arise concerning the island, the statues, and the rapa nui people who once lived. The massive brooding stone figures peering from easter islands hillsides are emblematic of the enigmatic people who once thrived on the dot of land in the middle of the pacific. In the 19th century natives from other polyne sian islands called it rapa nui, the big rapa, by comparison with the smaller rapa island. The mystery of easter island questions and answers. Outsiders may never know everything there is to know about this place, but i picked up some hints of mystery when i visited. Polynesians landed there, farmed, thrived, built their famous statues, and then things went very bad, very fast. It was given this name by the dutch com mander jacob roggeveen, who first sighted it on easter sunday, 1722. Easter island faces of mystery it is one of the most isolated islands in the world but 1200 years ago a doublehulled canoe filled with seafarers from a distant culture landed upon its shores. The mystery of easter island an ecology case study. What is known about who the first easter islanders were and when they arrived. Use the three images presenting information about easter island as well as the mystery of easter island youll either find it online see the lesson for the url or your teacher will provide copies, to help complete the table below. Jan, 2010 fishing vessels fed the people, and islanders erected large statues called moai around the coast. Easter island is an amazing place with a lot of unaswered questions. Named easter island by the dutch explorer jacob roggeveen, who first spied it on easter day 1722, this tiny spit of volcanic rock in the vast south seas is, even today, the most remote inhabited.
The mystery of easter island content page kellscraft. 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. Oct 27, 2011 the civilisation of easter island was eventually made famous by the british pioneering expedition of katherine routledge, who arrived on the island in 1914 and began what amounted to the first serious archaeological campaign into the mysteries of the island and specifically its enigmatic stone heads. By the time dutch explorersthe first europeans to reach the remote island arrived on easter day in 1722, the land was nearly barren. Bounty, with orders to obtain plants of the breadfruit, and introduce it into the english possessions in the west indies. Easter island remains one of the most mysterious places in the world. The mythologizing of easter island the majority of the easter island documentaries contain the word mystery in their title. This two page editable case study comes with an answer key. 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.
The mysteries of easter island the mysteries of easter island. Up until 2006, the common belief amongst archaeological and geographical societies was that easter was inhabited around ad400700, for example considerable work has been undertaken by bahn and flenley 1992, who use pollen and fossil records. 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. As mentioned in my previous post, there is a whole host of controversy, debate and uncertainty as to when easter island was first settled. Oct 12, 2017 the massive brooding stone figures peering from easter island s hillsides are emblematic of the enigmatic people who once thrived on the dot of land in the middle of the pacific. Easter island is home to almost nine hundred mysterious stone statues. The mysteries of easter island springfield public schools. Easter island, with an area of only 64 square miles, is the worlds most isolated scrap of habitable land. Download the mystery of easter island ebook pdf or read online books in pdf, epub.
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. But easter island s archeological treasures speak volumes about a civilization past and its ties to an often inscrutable contemporary society. 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. He spent six months at tahiti, collecting the fruit, and there the crew fell victims to the charms of its lotuseating life, its sunshine, its flowers, and its women. Remarkably detailed book about her expeeriences enroute to and on easter island, leading an anthropological and archeological expedition with her husband, william scoresby routledge, to investigate the origins of the islands mysterious giant statues and. Island of mystery far in the south pacific lies a lonely place called easter island. In the book, routledge and her companions explore the secret caves, ancient roads, pyramid platforms.
Over the centuries that followed a remarkable society developed in isolation on the island. The easter island script has no relation to the indus valley. As katherine routledge wrote in the mystery of easter island 1919, p. The island is home to about six thousand people and hundreds of giant stone statues called moai.
Unsolved mysteries the secret of easter island national geographic hd. Indus valley and easter island similarities in script. The stone on easter island is the best carving stone in the pacific society was isolated, so the energy expended in other pacific societies trading, raiding, exploration, and colonization was directed inward chiefs got stature not by inter island interaction but by competing for status by a game of statue oneupmanship later ones had a pukao. Fishing vessels fed the people, and islanders erected large statues called moai around the coast. Captain roggeveen renamed the island easter island. The images will provide one perspective of the island, while the. Samuel and audrey travel and food videos 111,726 views. The mystery of easter island amazing ancient history. Strong cultural coverage gets under the skin of this skinny country including a special feature on wine.
It has perhaps more mystery and speculation in proportion to its size than any other prehistoric place on earth since about half of the 887 massive stone monuments remain unfinished in its main quarry. Informational nonfiction, 585 words, level m grade 2, lexile 690l. The secrets of easter island history smithsonian magazine. Among all such vanished civilizations, that of the former polynesian society on easter island remains unsurpassed in mystery and isolation. If we all knew the mystery of easter island, it wouldnt be a mystery anymore. Easter island, rapa nui chile, is an extremely remote island and one of the worlds most famous yet least visited archaeological sites. Hanga roa terevaka puakatike rano kau easter island.
The mystery of easter island by katherine routledge. The 887 giant moai statues on easter island have turned one of the most isolated islands in the world into one of the most well knownand most mysterious. Sep 01, 2014 modem archaeological scientists and engineers try and recreate and decipher the mystery of easter island s moai statues by experimenting with archaic engineering methods and mysterious practices. In 1995, unesco named easter island a world heritage. Easter island, with an area of only 64 square miles, is the worlds most. It lies in the pacific ocean more than 2,000 miles west of the nearest continent south america, 1,400. The eastern island mystery can be explained if one reads zecharia sitchins the lost realms the fourth book of the earth chronicles. On easter day 1722, dutch explorers landed on easter island. Modem archaeological scientists and engineers try and recreate and decipher the mystery of easter islands moai statues by experimenting with. First published in 1919, this work provides information on that most mysterious of islands easter island rapa nui.
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