Known as one of the most distant points in the planet, Easter Island is located in exactly 3700 kilometers of the American continent and almost keeps the same distance to Tahiti in the Pacific. Due to the isolated location, this small amount of land released in the ocean does not seem to be conducive to the formation of any civilization or culture.
Not only that the problem of distance, Easter is an island endowed of several landforms that prevent the presence of fertile land or other resources conducive to human settlement. However, contrary to almost grotesque image of this place, Easter is taken by a number of giant statues that claim to represent the face of a human.
From this evidence, many people had the curiosity to investigate and try to unravel this mystery revealed by a group of Dutch navigators of the 18th century. After several studies, ethnographers and other specialists concluded that the so-called “Rapa Nui people” came to Easter Island in small vessels with double hulls.
Living alongside the scientific evidence, the oral tradition of some peoples who live closest to the site says the first to step on that land was a guy named Hotu Matua. For archaeologists, the process of occupation of the island would have happened between the 5th and 8th centuries AD. Moreover, students are also convinced that the animal population would have been installed by the Polynesian tribes who visited the region.
Whatever the events which provide a logical explanation to the process of occupation of the island, the presence of statues of a human face, also known as moai, is the great mystery that surrounds the place. In all, 887 monoliths are accounted that have between 1 to 10 meters tall. We should also stress that other similar versions of these statues can be found in Tahiti and Hawaii.
No more clear reports or evidence indicates the real motives which would have justified the construction of these statues. However, performing a comparative study of the traditions of the neighbor Polynesian peoples, some scholars concluded that the statues would serve to demarcate the land or point to the political leadership of a leader who had lived on the island.
Not only that the problem of distance, Easter is an island endowed of several landforms that prevent the presence of fertile land or other resources conducive to human settlement. However, contrary to almost grotesque image of this place, Easter is taken by a number of giant statues that claim to represent the face of a human.
From this evidence, many people had the curiosity to investigate and try to unravel this mystery revealed by a group of Dutch navigators of the 18th century. After several studies, ethnographers and other specialists concluded that the so-called “Rapa Nui people” came to Easter Island in small vessels with double hulls.
Living alongside the scientific evidence, the oral tradition of some peoples who live closest to the site says the first to step on that land was a guy named Hotu Matua. For archaeologists, the process of occupation of the island would have happened between the 5th and 8th centuries AD. Moreover, students are also convinced that the animal population would have been installed by the Polynesian tribes who visited the region.
Whatever the events which provide a logical explanation to the process of occupation of the island, the presence of statues of a human face, also known as moai, is the great mystery that surrounds the place. In all, 887 monoliths are accounted that have between 1 to 10 meters tall. We should also stress that other similar versions of these statues can be found in Tahiti and Hawaii.
No more clear reports or evidence indicates the real motives which would have justified the construction of these statues. However, performing a comparative study of the traditions of the neighbor Polynesian peoples, some scholars concluded that the statues would serve to demarcate the land or point to the political leadership of a leader who had lived on the island.
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