EASTER ISLAND SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
GROUP B: THE MOAI (STATUES)
How many statues, both in the quarry and on platforms around the island, are
there? _______________________
What is the description of the quarry and the state of the statues?
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What was the tallest one ever placed on a platform? ________________
How much did it weigh? ______________________
Let’s do some math to get a perspective of how large and heavy these Moai were.
1 ton = 2000 pounds. The average car weighs 1000 pounds, or ½ a ton. How
many cars did the largest statue on a platform weigh?________________
What was the longest statue ever attempted (it was abandoned in the quarry)?
___________________
How much in tons did the longest statue weigh? ____________________
An empty Boeing 737 jetliner weighs 45 tons. How many jetliners did the largest
statue ever carved equal? ___________________
It was tradition for the Rapa Nui to place the Moai onto stone platforms, called
ahu. The Moai represented ancestors and were deeply spiritual to the Rapa Nui
people.
How long was the largest platform? _____________
How tall was the largest platform? ________________
Now it is time to do some math – Big math. As you know, volume is L x W x H.
You know the length and height of the largest platform. Its width was about 30
feet wide. What was the total volume of the largest platform in cubic feet?
(Show work)
1 cubic foot of stone weighs 130 pounds. How many pounds did the largest
platform weigh? ________________________
Given 2000 pounds = 1 ton, how many tons does the largest platform weigh?
____________________________
How many Boeing 737 jetliners is that? _______________________
What was the reaction and observation of Captain Roggeveen, the discoverer of
Easter Island, when he first saw the statues?
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Why was his reaction the way it was?
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What kind of technology did the islanders have to move the statues. More
specifically, what didn’t they have?
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Given the islander’s limitations, what was the energy source used to move the
statues? ___________________________________________________________
How is that energy source replenished? _________________________________
What is the theory of how the statues were transported?
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What was needed to transport them? ___________________________________
Does the description of the landscape given by Captain Roggeveen support that
theory? _________________
Why, then, do you think the theory is considered valid?
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Why did the Easter Islanders start carving the statues?
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What was the trend in statue carving as time went on?
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What do you think the consequences were for this trend on the island’s
resources? _________________________________________________________
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When was the peak construction era for statue building?
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Why do you think the islanders stopped carving the Moai?
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How does that time frame of peak construction compare with the visits by the
Europeans? ______________________________________________________
What happened between the years 1770 and 1864?
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What do you speculate happened in those years?
___________________________________________________________________
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What kind of society would have been required to be able to successfully move all
the Moai and place them on ahu? Simple or complex? _____________________
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
EVIDENCE (circle the best one):
Condition of statues (as of 1864) : Erect on ahu
Most thrown down
All thrown down
Resources for moving statues: Present on island
Absent on island
Trend in building Moai: Smaller over time The same over time Bigger over time
NOW THE TARGET QUESTIONS AND WHAT YOU WILL PRESENT TO THE CLASS:
Given that the island lacked the resources at the time of European discovery to
move the statues; did the island once have the resources (food, trees)? How did
the trend towards building larger and larger Moai put a strain on the island’s
resources? What is your theory as to why the construction of Moai suddenly
stopped?
EASTER ISLAND SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
GROUP A: THE ISLAND’S HISTORY
When is it estimated the islanders first landed on Easter Island? ______________
What was the estimated population range of the islanders at the time of
European discovery? __________________
What was Captain Roggeveen’s impression of the island?
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Compare the description of the island by the discoverers of Easter Island with
your idea of what an island in the South Pacific would look like. What is different?
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Do you think it is normal for a sub-tropical island to not have any trees? _______
What do you think might be the reason why there were no trees on Easter Island?
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What was Captain Cook’s description of the canoes used by the islanders?
________________________________________
What was Captain Cook’s description of the islanders themselves?
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Would it be possible for someone to use the canoes described by Captain Cook to
travel great distances? ____________________________
What was the consequence for the islanders of not having canoes sturdy enough
to travel to other islands?
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The islanders’ oral history claimed to have traveled to a reef, Sala y Gomez, 260
miles away from Easter island. Would that have been possible, given the kind of
boats described by the Europeans? Why do you think they made that claim of
traveling to Sala y Gomez?
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When a French ship anchored off Easter in 1838, what was it the islanders
desperately wanted from the French crewmen? Not food, not water, but what?
__________________________________________________________________
Does the spread of resources across the island and the size and number of the
statues carved imply a society that is simple or complex? ____________________
What happened to the population of Easter Island in later years?
___________________________________________________________________
Are there indications that the society, its structure and the island itself was
different in the past, before Europeans discovered it? What is the evidence?
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What happened to the statues in later years? ___________________________
What happened to the society in later years? How did people live?
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Now compare the photos of the statues carved out of lava with the photo given
to you of the statue carved out of wood. What does this wood carving tell you
about how the people were living at the time it was carved?
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PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
EVIDENCE (circle the best one):
Human condition on island:
Healthy
Unhealthy
Desperate
Island’s condition: Lush Tropical Forest
Semi-Deforested Deforested
Societal condition: Happy and Well Fed
Moderately Well Off
Struggling
Economic condition: Thriving with inter-island commerce
Moderate economic growth
Isolated
NOW THE TARGET QUESTIONS AND WHAT YOU WILL PRESENT TO THE CLASS:
What do all the answers show about the state of the islanders at the time of its
discovery by Europe? How were they living? How were they eating? How were
they getting along?
EASTER ISLAND SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
GROUP D: THE CORE SAMPLE
What is a core sample?
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How does one analyze a core sample? What time frame are the deposits on top?
The deposits on the bottom?
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List some things the scientists found in the core sample and place them on the
diagram in the appropriate place relative to age.
What kind of pollen was found at the bottom of the core sample (sediment
column)? _____________
What does the location and density of the pollen found in the sediment column
say about this particular species of tree?
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What were some uses for the Easter Island palm?
__________________________________________________
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Given the study of the core sample of the garbage heap, what percentage of the
islander’s diet was fish? ___________________________
Why was the percentage of fish so low on Easter as compared to other Polynesian
islands? _______________________________________________
What was the primary seafood in the Easter Islander’s diet? _________________
Where in the garbage heap were the bones of this seafood found?
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Where is this seafood located? Coastline or deep water?
________________________________________
What would the islanders have needed to make in order to fish this species?
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What other kind of animal bones, were found in the core sample of the garbage
heap? _____________________________________________________________
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What do the pollen records show replaced the original pollen of palms and other
trees? _____________________________________________________________
When did the Easter Island palm become extinct? (mark this date on your core
sample drawing.)
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What did rats do to accelerate the extinction of the Easter Island palm? ________
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When did porpoise bones stop showing up in the garbage heaps? _____________
Why were the Easter Islanders not able to hunt porpoises anymore? ___________
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What was the unexpected (to us) species of bones found in the top layers of the
Easter Island garbage heaps? _________________________________________
What kind of food source is this species? (protein, carbohydrate, fat)__________
Why do you think the Islanders resorted to eating this species? ______________
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What was the result for the islanders from the loss of trees? How did life become
for the future generations? ____________________________________________
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
EVIDENCE (circle the best one):
Given the evidence found in the core sample:
What was the human diet on island in early days of settlement (bottom of the
core sample): Varied, protein rich Moderate, balanced Unvaried, carb rich
What was the human diet in the later days (top of the core sample?)
Varied, protein rich
Moderate, balanced
Unvaried, carb rich
What became the primary protein source on the island in the later days?
Porpoises
Birds
Humans
What does the change in pollen density in the core sample say about the state of
the forest?
The forest became denser over time
The forest stayed the same over time
The forest became thinner over time
What was the ultimate result shown from the pollen records regarding the forest?
Good management of resources
Sustainable management of resources
Mismanagement of resources and species extinction
NOW THE TARGET QUESTIONS AND WHAT YOU WILL PRESENT TO THE CLASS:
What does the cumulative evidence of the core sample analysis say about the
history of the island, in regards to its environment and food supplies? What does
the discovery of human bones in the garbage heaps say about the probable
endgame of the environmental mismanagement if the island’s resources?
EASTER ISLAND SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
GROUP D: THE ISLAND’S ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT
What was the description of the island Captain Roggeveen saw?
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What kinds of plants were present on the island at the time of Roggeveen’s
discovery? __________________________________________________________
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Are there any species of native birds on Easter Island? ________________
What other types of animals are not present? _____________________________
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How does Easter Island compare to the Hawaiian Islands in relation to size and
topography (the layout of the land)? _____________________________________
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How is Easter Island’s climate? ___________________
Is the island ancient volcanic or recently volcanic? ______________________
What is the prediction of how Easter Island should be like, given these two
parameters? _______________________________________________
Is this prediction accurate with the description given by Captain Roggeveen? ____
How do Easter Island’s isolation and lack of a coral reef affect the fish population
around the island? _________________________________________
What was the primary diet of the islanders? ______________________________
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What type of diet is this? (High-protein, high-carbohydrate, high-fat, balanced?)
__________________________________________
What was the primary protein source for the islanders? ____________________
Why is protein important to the diet? What type of body tissue needs protein to
be created? ________________________________________________________
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What did pollen analysis say Easter Island was like before the arrival of humans?
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What happened after the arrival of humans to the forest?
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What was the most abundant tree on Easter Island at the time of the arrival of
humans? ___________________________________________________________
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What is the closest living relative to this tree? _____________________________
How big does it get? __________________________________________________
What would be some of the uses for people on an island for a tree so large?
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What were some of the reasons the Easter Island palm became extinct?
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PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Evidence (Circle the best one)
Easter Island before man arrived: Forested
Semi-Deforested Deforested
State of the Island at the time of European discovery:
Forested
Semi-Deforested
Deforested
The state of the native animal life after the arrival of humans:
Thriving
Endangered
Extinct
NOW THE TARGET QUESTIONS AND WHAT YOU WILL PRESENT TO THE CLASS:
What did the arrival of humans cause on Easter Island in regards to the forest and
the native species? What was the result of the change in diet as a result of
overhunting the native species? How does the images of Easter Island today
compare with what the evidence says the island was once like? How is what we
learned about Easter Island relevant to our own lives.