The history of Easter Island and its inhabitants has been shrouded in mystery since its discovery. How did they come to live on the island? Why did they build hundreds of stone statues? The statues have become an iconic part of the island's history and are a focus of scientists and historians. They are still trying to answer the question of why and, more intriguingly, how they erected the stone statues (called Moai). There are many popular theories about how they got the Moai into position, but I personally subscribe to the theory that they probably used a recently discovered method called "walking." Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Before we get into the theories and mysteries, let's talk about the island and the history of its inhabitants. The island is located about 2,300 miles off the west coast of Chile, or about 2,500 miles east of Tahiti. The island measures 14 miles by 7 miles wide and was formed by a series of volcanic eruptions. It covers approximately sixty-four square miles of land and is said to be able to be covered on foot in a single day. Although the mostly hilly and forested terrain can make this endeavor rather difficult. The climate is temperate, sunny and dry (Staff, History.com N.page). The island was first discovered by a Dutchman named Jacob Roggeveen in 1722 (Krulwich, Robert N.page). He called the island Paaseiland or, in English, Easter Island, for the day of his arrival (Staff, History.com N.page). But enough about the island, what about its inhabitants? According to islander legend, about 1,500 years ago, between 400 and 800 AD, a Polynesian chief named Hotu Matua, or the Great Kin, traveled thousands of miles to Easter Island. He came with his wife and extended family, possibly from the Marquesas Islands. Or even Eastern Polynesia, but no one really knows (although early European explorers noted that their cultures were similar to those of surrounding islands, even though they were thousands of miles apart). They disembarked at Anakena, the name given to one of the few fine sandy beaches on the island's rocky coast. They called the island “Te pito o te henua” or “the end of the country” (Rapa Nui is the more modern Polynesian name for the island, and the local name) (Clark, Liesl A N.page). The settlers were farmers, and there is evidence of deforestation, which was likely to make way for agricultural land to support their population (Krulwich, Robert N.page). Although there is some debate about this, this is the most likely reason, as there were few other sources of food other than agriculture and they could not have had severe food shortages and have still managed to build massive statues. In fact, when Roggeveen arrived on the island, he noticed that they weren't interested in food at all; instead, they were interested in their hats. It is also worth noting that the island's skeletons show less malnutrition than the average person living in Europe at the time (N.page). Excavations of the island reveal that there were three distinct cultural phases. There was the first period; 700 AD to 850 AD, the middle period; 1050 AD to 1680 AD and from the end of 1680 AD to the present. Evidence shows that between the Early and Intermediate Periods, the Moai for which the island is known were destroyed and rebuilt several times. In the middle period, the bases of the statues, called ahus, served asburial chambers. During the Late Period there is evidence of civil wars and significant general destruction. Many Moai have been toppled and many spear points, called Mataa, have been found dating from the same period. Island lore has it that one of the island groups, the Short Ears, rebelled against the Long Ears and burned many of them alive in an ancient ditch on the northeast coast of the island. Some estimates indicate that the population reached over 9,000 in 1550, but in 1770, when the Spanish viceroy of Peru sent an expedition to Easter Island, they found only about 3,000 people living on the island. . Four years later, when British navigator James Cook and his crew arrived on the island, they found the population decimated by yet another civil war. There were only 600 men and less than 30 women left. Later, when the French navigator Jean-François de Galaup, Comte de La Pérouse visited the island in 1786, the population had recovered slightly, bringing it down to around 2,000 inhabitants. Then, with a major slave raid from Peru in 1862, followed by a smallpox epidemic, the population was reduced to just 111 in 1877 (Staff, History.com N.page). Shortly after the smallpox epidemic, Christian missionaries arrived and began converting. the population to Christianity. A task they accomplished at the end of the 19th century. Shortly after the island's population converted to Christianity, it was annexed by Chile and most of the land was leased for sheep grazing. In 1965, the Chilean government appointed a civilian governor. Soon after, the island's residents became full Chilean citizens (Staff, History.com N.page). Today, the island is a popular tourist destination, its main attraction being the hundreds of Moai dotted around the island. As the island has no natural harbor, supply and tourist ships dock at Hanga Roa. It is the largest village on the island and has around 3,300 inhabitants. And Spanish is the main language spoken (Staff, History.com N.page). But enough about the basic story and what we know for sure. What about that “top tourist attraction,” the very thing the island’s early inhabitants are famous for? Let's talk about the statues themselves and the mysteries surrounding them. Moai are giant stone statues created by the inhabitants of Easter Island. These are male human heads, on torsos, sculpted from hardened volcanic ash. There are 887 spread across the island. 288 are in their “final” location, 397 are still in the quarry where they were carved and 92 are “in transit” to their final location. The finished statues were placed on large stone pedestals, measuring approximately 4 feet high. These are called “ahus”, which means “ceremonial site”. Most are positioned on their "ceremonial" sites along the coast, with a concentration of Moai on the southeast coast of the island. They have their backs to the sea. These Moai are more standardized in design and are believed to have been created in the middle period of the island, between 1400 and 1600 AD. On average, Moai are 13 feet tall and weigh 14 tons. The largest Moai ever found, called "El Gigante", is 71.93 feet tall and weighs about 165 tons, while the smallest is only 3.76 feet tall and weighs about 82 tons (Clark, Liesl B N.page). Nobody really knows. why they built these statues. But there are many theories as to why and some speculation as to how they managed to not only build and implement them, but also how theyhad enough food to survive on such a small island, let alone build so many huge islands. statues. Archaeologists have been intrigued by these statues since 1722, when the first Europeans landed on the island. Unfortunately, the islanders' language, called Rongorongo, has not been deciphered and their oral history is rare (Jarus, Owen N.page). The most popular theory among archaeologists as to why they built the Moai is that they represent the spirits of their ancestors; chiefs or other important male figures in the history of the island. Jo Anne Van Tilburg is one of the archaeologists who believe in this theory. She believes that these are not individual “portraits”, but more standardized representations of powerful individuals (Clark, Liesl B N.page). It is also possible that they used the statues to fertilize their soil. It is generally accepted that they were farmers and obviously had enough food to not only survive, but also to build the Moai. But it is also known that the soil on the island is not very fertile and there is already evidence that the inhabitants use "lithic gardens", which are created. The Themes of Diaspora, Belonging, and Religion in “Persepolis”