Easter IslandFew areas in the world possess a more mystical pull than this tiny speck of land, one of the most isolated places on Earth. Easter Island is located 2,300 miles from Chile's West coast in the South Pacific Ocean. An isolated triangle shaped island measuring 14 miles long by 7 miles wide. The island was formed by a series of volcanic eruptions. There are very few trees and no running streams but there are crator lakes in which rushes grow in abundance. Rushes are flowering plants distinguished by stalks or hollow, stem-like leaves. The island contains many

subterranean caves with corridors that extend deep into mountains of volcanic rock. The islands largest volcano is known as Rano Kao, and at its highest point reaches 1,960 feet above sea level. The island boasts a subtropical climate, with mostly sunny and mild weather. The average temperature is about 72 degrees Farenheit and the average yearly rainfall is about 50 inches. It is a place of surging breakers,

precipitious cliffs, towering volcanoes and open, windswept slopes. Dominating the landscape are the island's famous statues. The first human inhabitants of Easter Island are believed to have arrived around 800 to 1200 A.D. It is believed that a small group of Polynesians rowed their wooden outrigger canoes across the vast stretch of open sea, navigating by the evening stars and the day's ocean swells. When and why these people left their native land remains a mystery. But what is clear is that they made a small, uninhabited island with rolling hills and a lush carpet of palm trees their new home, naming their paradise Rapu Nui - now popularly known as Easter Island.

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The First SettlersThe most accepted and supported population theory, as well as oral tradition states that King Hotu Matua'a arrived on Easter Island coming from the mythical island of Hiva, possibly in the Marquesas Islands, at some point between the 6th and 8th centuries AD. It is believed that when Hotu Matua'a and his men (around 100) arrived on Anakena beach they carried with them all the necessary goods to start a civilization. They found the island covered in palm trees and edible plants. Seabirds and fish were also abundant. Tradition states that the Ariki (king) Hotu Matua'a established the social and religious organizations of the new community. He dictated rules for the construction of houses and monuments. The first few years would have been dedicated to exploring the entire island and everything it offered. They grew the plants that they brought with them and increased the population of animals and human beings.

The population grew slowly at first, then more quickly, reaching a peak around 1000 to 2000 AD. The population was anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 people. By this time, they had developed a complex society of chiefdoms and elaborate stone architecture epitomized by the Moai statues. What happened to the people of Easter Island is one of history's most enduring mysteries. The careless use of resources is believed to be the primary contributor to Easter Island's collapse. The Rapunui were so intent on their

projects that they underestimated the extent of their resources. Trees were cleared to make pathways for Moai (statues) transport, which required a number of logs for rolling. Further more the Rapanui cultivated wide expanses of land for harvesting crops and felled even more trees to build deep-sea canoes. The trees provided product for almost everything they needed. They ate the fruit of the trees as well as the birds that lived in them. They thatched their houses, which looked like upended boats with palm fronds. They fashioned bark-cloth clothing. They burned firewood for cooking and for keeping warm on winter nights, which on Easter Island can drop as low as 50 degrees fahrenheit. They built ocean-going canoes and crafted harpoons to spear dolphins and fish such as tuna. What was once an untouched, lush paradise became a treeless wasteland. The island was exhausted of all of its resources, called "ecocide."

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How do you think they survived getting to the island?What do you think happened to the original inhabitants?

The expanding population put other food sources under extraordinary pressure. Garbage heaps excavated by archaeologists showed that seabirds and shellfish declined over time, and the six species of land birds, including rails, parrots, herons and barn owls went extinct. Their end came through a combination of hunting, loss of their forest habitat and the stealing of their eggs by the

Polynesian rat, the only animal to survive in abundance in the wild. The rat was responsible for the trees unable to reproduce. They consumed every palm nut and sapling trees that would have produced new trees. Without the protection of sturdy trees and their roots, rain washed away topsoil. The land began to erode and crops couldn't grow in these conditions. The Rapanui turned against each other. The Ariki Mau, head chief, had long governed the island, but now the Rapanui split into factions that fought for proprietary rights to still-fertile land. These factions were led by Matoto'a - warrior leaders. Archaeological evidence shows that spears and daggers, or mata'a, on the island were crafted during this dark hour. Others, defeated, crept into caves, where they spent the rest of their days.

The Downfall of the Island

During this time, some of Easter Islands inhabitants turned to a new god for help: The god Makemake. Makemake was the god of humanity and the god of fertility. They formed the Birdman Cult, which elected a Birdman as their leader for 12 months. The Birdman, whom islanders believed was Makemake reincarnated, was chosen through competition to find the first egg of the Sooty Tern bird. Competitors would race to the highest cliffs to procure the treasure. The title of Birdman ensured food for the cult leader's tribesmen. This was a contest no one wanted to lose, defeated competitors were expected to stab themselves repeatedly with spears.

The Birdman Cult

Would you volunteer to represent your tribe to compete in the Birdman competition?

When it seems that things couldn't get any worse on Easter Island, new voyagers landed on its shores. The first to arrive was a Dutch explorer, Jacob Roggenveen, who arrived on Easter Island from the Juan Fernandex Archipelago, while searching for Terra Australis, the legendary southern hemisphere continent, that according to popular belief, balanced out the lands in the northern hemisphere. Roggeveen sighted the island, which didn't appear on his navigation maps, on Sunday, April 5th, 1772, that day was Easter Sunday so he named it Easter Island. The Dutchman only managed to stay on land for one day due to strong winds and the fact he had few provisions. He left to continue his mythical search. Almost 50 years passed before the arrival of new European ships. This time the Spanish expedition led by Felipe Gonzalea de Haedo arrived from Peru on 1770 with the goal of claiming territory for Spain. The islanders didn't put up resistance and some chiefs even "signed a contract" to formalize the Spanish rule. The island was given a new name of San Carlos and after six days, the expedition left. Four years later, British explorer James Cook arrived on Anakena beach in the hope of finding food and water, but was disappointed because they found virtually a deserted

island. In the telling of his journey, James Cook stated some of the Moai statues were still upright, but many of them had fallen over and were broken.The Westerners arriving on their island, brought a host of new diseases and customs. By the turn of the century, the Rapanui population dwindled to 110 people. Stowaway cockroaches and rats also infiltrated the island. Missionaries came and the Rapanui turned their back on their god and embraced the Christian God and relinquished their culture.

The Discovery

What do you think the Easter Island inhabitants were thinking when new and unfamiliar voyagers kept landing on their island?

Do you think there were any consequences or damages caused by the new voyagers arriving on the island?

Slavers and Missionaries on Easter IslandEaster Island's isolation and the fact that it wasn't under any other country's rule made it an easy target for exploiters and slavers. One of the worst times in the history of Rapa Nui, in which its culture almost became extinguished was in 1862 when the Peruvian smugglers raided the island. They took more than a thousand Rapanui as slaves. They took them to go to work in the guano deposits in Chincha, Peru. Among the taken were the king and many of the wise men that still knew how to write and read the old Rongo Tongo tablets. International protests were not far behind but the damage was done. Almost all of the Rapanui died in Peru or on the journey back. Only 15 islanders managed to return, but they did so carrying the smallpox virus, which only helped in decimating the population.The arrival of the missionaries to Easter Island in mid-1860 also caused irreparable damages to the Rapanui culture. In their eagerness to convert the islanders to Christianity, they finished off ancient beliefs and rituals, such as the Birdman competition. Nonetheless, thanks to those first missionaries, there are tales of daily life on Easter Island and many of their most representative objects were saved. In 1870, the Frenchman Jean-Babtiste Dutrou-Bornier tried to claim full sovereignty of the island and turned it into his own sheep farm for wool production. The Frenchman attacked the natives forcing them to evacuate the island, much of them Tahiti bound. By 1877, the year in which Jean-Babtiste Dutrouz-Bornier was murdered, there were only 111 natives left on Easter Island, which is a miniscule amount in comparison to the 10,000-20,000 when it was at its peak. In 1903, the Rapanui were stripped of their land, which was rented out for 25 years to a Scottish-Chilean company for raising sheep.

How do you feel about the Easter Island inhabitants having to give up their beliefs and cultures that they had for centuries? Do you think that was the right thing to do?How would you feel as an Easter Island inhabitant, being constantly driven off your island?

The Moai Statues and Religious Beliefs

As in all of Polynesia and Easter Island, worshiping ancestors was a big part of the inhabitants' spiritual lives. The Rapanui believed that important people's "mana" (spiritual energy) continued existing after their death, and that it had the ability to influence events much after their death, a belief that became tangible in the construction of the Moai statues. When Rapa Nui culture reached its maximum splendor, they had enormous ceremonial altars or Ahu in which great sculptures were made carved from volcanic rock, and has become the symbol of Easter Island. The Moai period extended between approximately 800 AD and 1860, when the conflict between different bloodlines changed the island's history. When a tribe's leader or one of its important members died, a sculpture was ordered to be created in the quarry which would be later transported to the respective village so that it could protect is "mana" or supernatural powers over its descendants. The Moai statues were always placed looking towards their

village and their descendants, not towards the sea, since their objective was not to protect them from outside threats but to extend over them a protective blanket. As the Rapanui became skilled in sculpting and transporting the Moai statues, these became bigger and more stylized, in contrast with the first ones which were short and crude. It's estimated that the biggest sculptures demanded the work and attention of men between 10-20 years old all year long. The tallest Moai statue is 33-feet tall and weighs 82 tons. Archaeologists have documented 887 of the massive statues, but there are up to as many as 1,000 of them on the island. It was first believed that the sculptures were only of heads, but recent discoveries in 2012, find that they all have bodies that have been buried over time.

How do you think they moved the statues?

Ever since the statues discovery, it has been a mystery as to exactly how the Moai would have been moved across Easter Island. There have been many theories how this could have been achieved. One theory suggested that the statues would most likely have required human labor, ropes and possibly other equipment. Other theories suggest that people may have used logs to roll the Moai to their aimed destinations. This would have meant that it would've taken between 50-100 people to move the structures. When the island was discovered, most of the

statues were discovered on the ground. It is believed that at some point in the 18th century, the islanders started a riot, rebelling against their leaders. They turned against the Moai. Whether they blamed their ancestral deities for cursing their civilization or realized that over-development had been their demise, the Rapanui forsook the statues. They gouged out their eyes and toppled them over. Some Moai were decapitated.

Moving the Statues

Some of the Moai wore hats! The headgear known as pukao actually represented hair. The islanders would tie the "hair' around the head like a ball. The same reason that chieftains would not cut their hair was attributed to this practice. It was believed that supernatural powers known as "mana" were connected to one's hair. Men would take rocks, pile them up against the statue and then put the hat over the head.

Statues with Hats!

Why the Long Face?No one really knows why the statues are so heavily stylized with their long faces and exaggerated features. Scholars' consensus is that the statues' faces are meant to resemble the phallus. Concern for populating the island as well as the islanders' worship of the fertility god Makemake would support this theory.

Easter Island wants their statues returned.In 1968, a giant Easter Island statue was dug up by the crew of a Royal Navy frigate and transported to England, where it was presented to Queen Victoria as a gift. The monarch gave the statue, or Moai to the British Museum in London, where it remains to this day. Now the Easter Islanders want it back. The 8-foot tall volcanic rock statue is known as Hoa Hakananai'a, which means 'lost or stolen friend' in the language of Easter Island's indigenous Rapa Nui people. The Hoa Hakananai'a was taken along with a smaller statue known as Hava, which also was given to Queen Victoria as a gift and also is in the British museum. An islander quotes "The British taking the Moai from our island is like me going into your house and taking your grandfather to display in my living room." Rapa Nui sculpture from the island has offered to make an exact replica of the statue to take the Moai's place in the museum. The British museum believes there is a great value in presenting objects from across the world, alongside the stores of other cultures at the British museum.

1. Do you think it was right to take the Moai sculpture from the island?2. Do you think the museum should return the sculpture to Easter Island?3. Do you think is right to go tour the island to see the Moai?4. What other theories could be possible for the decrease in the original inhabitants of Easter Island?5. Do you think there are other societies that have fallen into the same trap as the Easter Islanders?6. Scientists believe that Easter Island can be a lesson for the modern world. Like Easter Island, the Earth has only limited resources to support human life and all its demands. Will we find a way of life that does not fatally deplete the resources that are available to us? Or are we too busy irreversibly damaging our life support system?

Engaging Questions!

Trina Terrellwww.curiousdragonfly.com303.903.5319