Easter Island
By: Katie Brittain
• The Polynesian name for Easter Island
is “Rapa Nui”.
• Easter Island is also called “Te Pivo O
Te Hanua”, which means “The naval of
the world”.
• Evidence from archaeological finds indicate that
around 400AD Polynesians settled Easter Island.
• The Dutch explorer, Jacob Roggeveen discovered
Easter Island on Easter Sunday in 1722 and thus
the name stuck.
• The giant figures made of stone on Easter
Island are called moai.
• Moai are made from compressed volcanic
ash.
• They are found all over the island in different
sizes, shapes, and varying degrees of
completion.
• Almost all of the moai face inland. It is said
that they face inland to protect the villages.
• Moai sit on stone shrines called ahu.
• The moai were crafted from a volcano
named Rano Raraku.
• Moai heads are scattered all around
Rano Raraku in varying stages of
completion. Some are completed and
some are hardly carved at all.
• Moai are usually between 12 and 20 feet
high. The tallest moai on the island are over
30 feet high and the shortest are at least 6
feet high.
• Ahu also vary in length. Some are as small
as a few feet wide and some are as large as
300 feet wide.
• Moai weigh several tons. Some even weigh
between 80 and 90 tons.
• It is believed that the moai statues were built to
honor Polynesian gods.
• Most of the heads date back to the 14th and 15th
century, though some go as far back as the 10th
century.
• A myth surrounding the moai is that they were
moved to their spots by mana. Mana was a word for
magic and it is thought that this mana was
possessed by the king of the Easter Island natives
and also by the moai. The moai used to have real
white coral eyes and folklore says that the mana was
instilled in the moai at the time the white coral eyes
were put in.
• Ahu Akivi is a space observatory and sacred
sanctuary.
• 7 moai heads face seaward at the place where the
sun sets during the equinox.
• This is thought to be a highly unnatural placement
because the heads are not placed facing inland to
protect villages.
• This is the only site with moai heads so far inland
• The national Chilean airline makes it
possible to travel to Easter island. It
has flights that travel there twice a
week from Santiago.
• Tahitian airlines also fly there twice a
week.
• The natives of Easter Island were called “kaitangata” or man-eaters. Cannibalism didn’t end
until the introduction of Christianity.
• The landing strip at Easter Island is First Class.
NASA upgraded it to use as a landing site for the
emergency landing of space shuttles.
• Slave traders came often to Easter Island because
it was such an easy target. Lots of Islanders
became slaves and that is perhaps why the
production of the moai heads stopped. The
islanders simply did not have enough people to
continue making the heads. The culture was
destoyed as more and more people were taken
and many things were forgotten.
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Works Cited
http://www.lost-civilizations.net/easter-island-stones-history.html
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/islands/samer/easter.htm
http://www2.canada.com/topics/travel/guides/maps/wg-chile-and-easter-island-701400x300.gif
http://www.easterislandquest.com/easter-island-map.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/203/495093415_d8eb5b2dfc.jpg
http://parkerlab.bio.uci.edu/pictures/photography%20pictures/rano%20raraku_moon%20
shadowed.jpg
http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/86/20486-004-4D34BA9C.jpg
http://www.thegreenduck.com/ka/images/moai.jpg
http://www.travel-picture-gallery.nl/images/easter-island/easter-island-0014.jpg
http://0.tqn.com/d/archaeology/1/0/j/3/1/easter_island5.jpg
http://www.janeresture.com/easter/map.jpg
http://flyawaysimulation.com/spaw/images/aircraftpics/737natparking.jpg
http://www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk/uploaded_images/country_LargeImages/Chile/East
er-Island-2-large.jpg
http://www.bugbog.com/images/galleries/chile_pictures/easter_island_pictures5.jpg
http://www.unique-southamerica-travel-experience.com/images/moais-at-rano-raracucopia.jpg
http://www.jehrlichmarineart.com/jackson/paintings/easterisland.jpg
http://www.travel-images.com/pht/easter1.jpg
http://www.world-mysteries.com/moai_statues.jpg