Easter Island Research Report

Intro:

Earth is filled with mind-blowing mysteries, from the story of the lost city of Atlantis to how the Stonehenge was created. But one mystery that many consider close to solving are the puzzling mysteries of Easter Island. There are many baffling secrets about Easter Island, those of which make it one of the most interesting mysteries in the world. There are many mysteries that lie within the 63 square miles of paradise, “Easter Island”, most of which are about the native inhabitants’ culture.

The name “Easter Island” (also known as Rapa Nui island) was given by the island’s first recorded European visitor, Jacob Roggeveen, who discovered “Easter Island” on Easter Sunday (April 5) of 1722. Hence the reasoning for the name “Easter Island”. It is believed that Jacob Roggeveen came across the island while looking for a land called “David’s Island”, he then called it “Paasch-Eyland” (which was 18th-century Dutch for “Easter Island”) (WIKIPEDIA).

1. Population:

Scientists are unaware of how the original Rapa Nui natives made it to the island, but many have concluded to the same theory. This theory claims that the ancestors of the natives arrived by some sort of wooden canoe, during the early 13th century (SEEKER).

1.1 Natives:

It’s believed that there was a population of approximately 2000 to 3000 inhabitants by the time of the European arrival in 1722. The inhabitants called the island “Rapa Nui” (which means Great Rapa). Due to the diseases brought by the Europeans, Peruvian slave raiding expeditions in the 1860s, and emigration to other islands, reduced the population to a low of approximately 110 native inhabitants in 1877 (WIKIPEDIA).

1.2 Moai:

Easter Island is most famous for its archaeological sites, including its nearly 900 monumental called “Moai”, created by its early Rapa Nui people. These statues are the key reason for the islands puzzling mysteries. Many scientists are trying to explain the baffling mysteries these Moai bring, but none have found the exact reason for their placement, their creation, nor their size difference. There are many theories for these mysteries, but one that many scientists debate on whether or not it’s truthful or false is a combined reason for both their size difference and placement:

Theory of Drinkable Water (we are not told who created it): A group of scientists have found that the Moai’s faces are faced towards the closest source of drinkable water. According to the study published in the journal Plos One, they have also discovered that many of them were built on ancient platforms located near freshwater resources. Many scientists believe this discovery could play a major role in giving us insight into how the Rapa Nui people survived in an under-resourced environment (TIME).

2. Creation/Transportation:

The Moai’s a very important part of Rapa Nui culture. The statues were built to honor chieftain or other important people who had passed away. In fact, some of them were placed on top of a rectangular stone platform (called “Ahu”), which are told to be tombs for the people that the statues represented (EASTERISLAND.TRAVEL).

2.1 Creation process:

It took approximately 50 to 100 people to build a single Moai statue, with an average of 2 years worth of work. The statues are carved out of solidified volcanic ash Rano Raraku volcano, they were also created in one piece (which made it incredibly time-consuming). The Rapa Nui people had to use basalt stone picks. The carvers used to carefully carve out the side of a rock, then create a type of channel (in the rock) that made it possible for them to carve the top and opposite side of the rock, keeping only the bottom left. They would then carefully undercut the statue, leaving just a narrow spine attached to the mother rock. They would finally carefully chip away the spine leaving it free and resting on stone supports (SMITHSONIAN CHANNEL).

If you have ever seen a picture of a Moai, you have certainly realized some have hats. According to three accounts (Santiago Pakarati, Mariana Atán, and Carlos Teao Torion) on the site Easterisland.Travel:

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