(Location, Features, Dimensions)
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Easter Island (Rapa Nui) is
a Chilean island in the
southeastern Pacific Ocean,
at the southeasternmost
point of the Polynesian
Triangle in Oceania.
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Easter Island covers
roughly 64 square miles
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27.1127° S, 109.3497° W
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The greatest evidence for
the rich culture developed
by the original settlers of
Easter Island and their
descendants is the
existence of nearly 900
giant stone statues that
have been found in diverse
locations around the island.
They averaging 13 feet
high, with a weight of 13
tons
(History of Site)
The first human inhabitants
of Rapa Nui, the Polynesian name
for Easter Island, are believed to
have arrived 300-400 A.D.
Tradition holds that the first king
of Rapa Nui was Hoto-Matua, a
ruler from a Polynesian subgroup
possibly from the Marquesa
Islands. The first known European
visitor to Easter Island was the
Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen,
who arrived in 1722. The Dutch
named the island Easter Island to
commemorate the day they
arrived. In 1770, the Spanish sent
an expedition to the island; the
explorers spent four days ashore
and estimated a native population
of some 3,000 people. Just four
years later, the British navigator
Sir James Cook arrived to find
Easter Island’s population
decimated by what seemed to have
been a civil war, with only 600 to
700 men and fewer than 30 women
remaining. Easter Island’s most
dramatic claim to fame is an array
of almost 900 giant stone figures
that date back many centuries.
(Significance of Site)
There has been much
speculation about the exact
purpose of the statues, the role
they played in the ancient
civilization of Easter Island and
the way they may have been
constructed and transported.
However the statues reveal their
creators to be master craftsmen
and engineers, and are distinctive
among other stone sculptures
found in Polynesian cultures.
(5+ reasons)
(Work Cited)
1. Come face to face with the Websites:
infamous stone heads
Island, E. (2018). Easter Island 2. Explore the world heritage
Facts & Summary Rapa Nui National Park
HISTORY.com. [online]
3. Go on hikes with beautiful
HISTORY.com. Available at:
scenic views around land
https://www.history.com/topics/eas
only accessible by foot
ter-island [Accessed 9 May 2018].
4. Hop between some of the
world’s most remote
Easterislandtourism.com. (2018).
beaches
Easter Island Tourism. [online]
5. Look at some of the islands
Available at:
early lava tunnels and
http://www.easterislandtourism.co
caves around the island
m/ [Accessed 9 May 2018].
Book:
Kenna, M. (2002). Easter Island.
Tucson, Ariz.: Nazraeli Press in
association with the Center for
Photographic Art.
6. Spend your nights in a
comfortable luxury eco lodge
Devvin Maddox
2nd Period
May 9th 2018