What are the coordinates of Easter Island. Where is Easter Island located? Easter Island: photo. Why is Easter Island so named?

Easter Island(Spanish Isla de Pascua) - an island of volcanic origin, belonging, lying in the South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and the island of Tahiti (fr. Tahiti). Together with a small uninhabited about. Sala y Gomez (Spanish Isla Sala y Gómez) forms the commune and province of Isla de Pascua (Spanish Provincia de Isla de Pascua) within the region (Spanish Region de Valparaíso). The local name given to the island by Polynesian whalers is: Rapa Nui(Rapa Nui).

The only city of Hanga Roa (Spanish: Hanga Roa) is the capital of the island.

About 6 thousand people live on the island, about 40% of them are Polynesians or Rapanui, indigenous people, the rest are mostly Chileans. Rapanui people speak the Rapanui language, believers profess Catholicism. On the territory of the island with an area of about 165 km² there are 70 extinct volcanoes. They have not erupted even once in 1300 years from the date of its colonization. The island has the shape of a right-angled triangle with sides of 24.18 and 16 km., At the corners of which rise the cones of extinct volcanoes: Rano Kao (rap. Rano Kao; 324 m), Pua Katiki (rap. Puakatike; 377 m) and Terevaka ( rap Terevaka; 539 m - the highest point of the island). Between them lies a hilly plain formed by volcanic tuffs and basalts. Many underwater caves and a bizarre, steep coastline are formed by lava tubes and influxes.

There are no rivers on Rapa Nui, the main sources of fresh water here are lakes that arose in the craters of volcanoes.

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The climate is subtropical, with an average monthly temperature of +18°С to +23°С. Mostly herbs grow here, as well as a few eucalyptus and banana plants.

Along with the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, Rapa Nui is considered the most remote inhabited island in the world: the distance to the mainland Chilean coast is almost 3514 km, and to the nearest inhabited place, the Pitcairn Islands (Eng. Pitcairn Islands belonging to the UK) - 2075 km .

Basically, Rapa Nui became famous for its stone giants, in which, according to the beliefs of the local population, the mystical power of the ancestors of Hotu Matu'a (Hotu Mato-a), the first king of the island, is contained.

Easter Island is undoubtedly the most mysterious island in the world. With its curiosities and inexplicable mysteries, it attracts the attention of historians, geologists and culturologists like a magnet.

Story

In 1722, a squadron of 3 ships under the command of the Dutch traveler, Admiral Jacob Roggeveen (Dutch. Jacob Roggeveen; 1659-1729), on his way from South America in search of the wealth of the Unknown Southern Land (lat.Terra Australis Incognita), On Sunday, April 7, the day of Christian Easter, she discovered a small island in the South Pacific Ocean. At the council, gathered by the admiral, the captains of the ships signed a resolution proclaiming the opening of a new island. Surprised travelers discovered that on Easter Island (as sailors immediately dubbed it) three different races coexist peacefully: redskins, blacks and whites. Local residents greeted the travelers differently: some waved their hands in a friendly manner, and some threw stones at uninvited guests.

The Polynesians, the inhabitants of Oceania, call the island "Rapa Nui" (rap. Rapa Nui - Big Rapa), however, the islanders themselves call their homeland "Te Pito-o-te-Khenua" (rap. Te-Pito-o -te-henua, which means " the center of the world»).

Formed by a series of large volcanic eruptions, the secluded island has served as a habitat for seabird colonies for millions of years. And its steep, steep banks marked the navigation path for the ships of the Polynesian navigators.

Legends say that about 1200 years ago on the sandy beach of Anakena (rap. Anakena) King Hotu Mato-a descended and set about colonizing the island. Then, for many centuries, a mysterious society existed on this island lost in the ocean. For unknown reasons, the islanders carved giant statues known as "moai". These idols are today considered one of the most inexplicable ancient artifacts on Earth. The islanders built villages from houses of an unusual, elliptical shape. Presumably, the newly arrived settlers adapted their boats for temporary housing by turning them upside down. Then houses began to be built in a similar way, most of the hundreds of such buildings were destroyed by missionaries.

By the time the island was discovered, its population was 3-4 thousand people. The first settlers found lush vegetation on the island. Giant palm trees (up to 25 m high) grew here in abundance, which were cut down for the construction of dwellings and boats. People brought various plants here, which perfectly took root in the soil enriched with volcanic ash. By 1500, the population of the island already amounted to 7 - 9 thousand people.

As the population grew, separate clans formed, concentrated in different parts of Easter Island, connected by the common construction of statues and the cult that arose around them.

In 1862, Peruvian slave traders took out most of the inhabitants of the island and destroyed their original culture. In 1888, Rapa Nui was annexed to Chile. Today, the islanders are engaged in fishing, farming - growing sugar cane, taro, sweet potatoes, bananas, and also work on cattle farms and make souvenirs for tourists.

Sights and mysteries of Rapa Nui

Despite its small size, Easter Island has many attractions, both natural and man-made. In 1995, the Rapa Nui National Park (Spanish: el Parque Nacional de Rapa Nui National) was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Register.

The entire territory of the island is an archaeological reserve, a single amazing open-air museum.

There are 2 sandy beaches on Easter Island: located in the northern part of the island, Anakena Beach (Spanish: Playa Anakena), one of the few beaches where swimming is officially allowed, is a great place for surfers. The second beautiful deserted beach, located along the southern coast of the island, is a real gem called Ovahe (Spanish: Playa Ovahe). Ovahe is surrounded by picturesque cliffs, it is much larger than Anaken.

The main attraction of the island and an unresolved mystery that has haunted the minds of scientists for centuries, of course, are the Moai sculptures. Huge ancient statues rise almost everywhere along the southern part of the island.

It is not known why the islanders began to massively create gigantic sculptures. Their incomprehensible obsession subsequently led to a catastrophic depletion of forest resources. The forest needed to transport the giant moai was mercilessly cut down. The first monolithic human-height sculptures were made from basalt. Then the islanders began to make huge statues (more than 10 meters high, weighing up to 20 tons) from soft volcanic tuff (compressed volcanic ash), an ideal material for sculpture. Located a little inland of the island, the Rano Raraku crater (Spanish: Rano Raraku; a small extinct volcano up to 150 m high) is the place where the famous giants are carved. Hundreds of islanders worked on their creation from morning to evening. Today, here you can see all the stages of painstaking work, unfinished figures are scattered right there. Probably, the production of statues by skillful sculptors took place with the observance of numerous ceremonies and rituals. If a defect occurred during the manufacture of the statue, which was considered a sign of the devil, the carvers abandoned their work and took on another.

When the statue was carved and the bridge connecting it to the rock of the crater was cut off, the figure rolled down the slope. At the base of the crater, the statues were placed in a vertical position, and their final refinement was carried out here. How then were the massive moai transported to various places on the island? Statues weighed up to 82 tons at a height of up to 10 m. Sometimes they were moved and installed at distances of over 20 km!

As the Easter legends say, moai … went to their places on their own. Some researchers believed that they were dragged. Later they came to the conclusion that the figures moved in an upright position. What it really looked like remains another unsolved mystery of the civilization of Easter Island.

In 1868, the British tried to take one of the statues home. However, they abandoned this idea, limiting themselves to a small bust (2.5 m high). It was installed in London's British Museum. Hundreds of natives and the entire crew of the ship took part in the process of transporting and loading the "baby".

At the location of the statue, they were installed on ahu (rap. Ahu) - polished stone platforms of various sizes, slightly inclined towards the sea. Then the final stage of the creation of cult figures took place - the installation of eyes made of volcanic glass or corals. The heads of many stone idols were decorated with “hats” (rap. Pukao) made of reddish rock.

Moai pedestals have a height of more than 3 m, a length of up to 150 m, and the weight of their stone slabs is up to 10 tons. About 200 unfinished figures were found near the crater of the volcano, among which there are giants over 20 meters in length.

Over time, the number of moai reached 1000, which made it possible to build an almost continuous line of monuments along the coast of Rapa Nui. The reason why the inhabitants of the tiny island spent time and energy on the creation of numerous giants remains a mystery today.

It is believed that the statues of Easter Island were images of noble representatives of the clans. The typical design of the statue - without legs, with an angular grim face, a protruding chin, tight lips and a low forehead - remains one of Easter Island's greatest mysteries. All statues (except seven moai, located in the middle of the island) stand on the coast and "look" at the sky towards the island. Some experts consider them to be the guardians of the dead, who protected the deceased from natural elements with their powerful backs. Mysterious giants, silently lined up on the coast, turning their backs to the Pacific Ocean - like a powerful army guarding the peace of their possessions.

Despite some primitive moai, the statues are fascinating. The giants look especially impressive in the evening, in the rays of the setting sun, when only huge, chilling silhouettes loom against the sky ...

So the Rapa Nui civilization reached its peak, then something terrible happened.

An ominous story was revealed about the merciless use of natural resources and the ruin of the island. Europeans who first set foot on Easter Island were amazed at how people could survive in such a deserted place. It ceased to be a mystery when recent research showed that in ancient times the island was covered with dense forest, there was an abundant tropical paradise here.

Apparently, the resources of the island seemed inexhaustible, trees were cut down for the construction of dwellings and canoes, and giant palm trees were used to transport moai.

The destruction of the forest has led to soil erosion and depletion. Meager harvests, lack of food led to armed conflicts between the island clans, moai - symbols of power and success were overthrown. The fight intensified over time, according to legend, the winners ate their enemies to gain strength. In the southwestern part of Rapa Nui there is a cave "Ana Kai Tangata", the name of which is ambiguous: it can mean "a cave where people eat", or it can mean "a cave where people ate". The culture of Rapa Nui, which had been formed over the past 300 years, collapsed.

Due to the lack of a forest, the islanders found themselves cut off from the outside world even more than before. Even fishing was difficult for them. Easter Island turned into a devastated desolate piece of land with depleted soils, with about 750 inhabitants surviving. Under these conditions, the cult of the bird-man was born here. Over time, it acquired the status of the dominant religion on the island, which was practiced until 1866-1867.

Due to the lack of material for the construction of canoes and the possibility of sailing away from the island, the Rapanui people watched with envy the birds soaring in the sky.

On the edge of the Rano-Kao crater, the ritual village of Orongo (rap. Orongo) was founded, where the god of fertility Makemake (rap. MakeMake) was worshiped and peculiar competitions were held between men of different clans.

In the spring, each clan selected the most physically fit warriors who needed to descend from the steep slopes to the shark-infested sea, swim to one of the islets and bring back an unharmed egg of a sea bird, a dark mallard (lat. Onychoprion fuscatus). The warrior who managed to deliver the egg first was proclaimed the Bird-Man (the earthly incarnation of the deity Makemake). He was awarded an award and special privileges, and his tribe received the right to rule the island for a year, until the next competition.

Also unique to Orongo are the hundreds of centuries-old petroglyphs carved into the hard basalt rock by the Birdmen. There is an opinion that the petroglyphs depict the winners of the annual competitions. About 480 such petroglyphs have been found around Orongo.

The culture of the Rapanui began to revive, perhaps the inhabitants of the island would again be able to flourish, but in December 1862 ships of Peruvian slave traders moored to the island and took away all the able-bodied inhabitants of the island. At that time, the economy was booming and needed labor. Due to poor nutrition, unbearable working conditions and disease, no more than a hundred islanders survived. And only thanks to the intervention of France, the surviving residents of Rapa Nui were returned to the island. At the time of the annexation of the island to Chile in 1888, about 200 indigenous people lived here.

Missionaries who arrived on the island discovered a declining society here, and it did not take long for its inhabitants to convert to Christianity. Changes were immediately made to the clothing of the indigenous population, or rather, its complete absence. The inhabitants of the island were deprived of their original lands, they lived in a small part of the island, while the arrived farmers used the rest of the land for agriculture.

Tattoos were banned, houses and ritual shrines were destroyed, works of art of the Rapanui were destroyed. All wooden sculptures of the island, religious artifacts, and, most importantly, "" (rap. Rongo Rongo) were destroyed - wooden planks of the "talking tree", dotted with unique writing. Easter Island is the only island in Polynesia whose inhabitants developed their own writing system. Ancient legends, legends, religious chants were carved with a shark's tooth on planks of dark toromiro wood, only a few of which have survived to this day. Kohau tablets with images of a winged bird-man, frogs, turtles, lizards, stars, crosses and spirals inscribed on them are another mystery of the outlandish island that scientists have not been able to decipher for more than 130 years. Now only 25 left rongo-rongo scattered throughout the museums of the world.

In 1988, Rapa Nui gave scientists another surprise. During excavations in a small swamp in the depths of the island, Australian scientists found the remains of a medieval knight in full gear, sitting on a war horse. In peat, which has preservative properties, the knight and horse are well preserved. Judging by his armor, the knight was a member of the German Catholic Livonian Order (1237-1562). In a belt purse, gold Hungarian ducats minted in 1326 were found; these coins were in circulation in Poland and Lithuania. Scientists could not explain how the rider ended up thousands of kilometers away on a remote Pacific island. Before the discovery of America (1492), more than 150 years remained from 1326! Thoughts about the existence of the phenomenon of teleportation involuntarily arise. No more, more or less convincing arguments explaining the appearance of a medieval crusader knight on Easter Island have been found to this day.

A little sad digression

The phenomenal Easter Island, which is a small piece of land (only 165 m²), at the time of the construction of the mysterious giants, was 3-4 times larger than before. Some part of it, like Atlantis, disappeared under water. In calm, sunny weather, areas of flooded land are visible through the water column. There is even such an incredible version: the mysterious Easter Island is a tiny surviving part of the progenitor of mankind, the mythical mainland of Lemuria, which sank about 4 million years ago.

And the pearl island, located in Oceania far from civilization, suggests certain thoughts and conclusions. The history of Easter Island is a miniature copy of the history of our time. She is able to teach an object lesson to us, the inhabitants of planet Earth. All of us, in essence, are the inhabitants of the island, floating in the endless ocean.

On a tiny piece of land, which is Easter Island, the consequences of a barbaric attitude towards nature, ruthless deforestation are clearly visible. The inhabitants, continuing their monstrous actions, probably prayed to their gods to make up for the damage done to their land. To continue to abuse her.

What could the gods do? Only one thing - to reason with the man who cut down the last tree. The man understood that this tree was the last, nevertheless, he cut it down. This is the worst tragedy of our time...

Easter Island- one of the most isolated islands in the world. Approximately 1200 years ago, sea travelers first came ashore here. Centuries later, a mysterious society arose on this isolated and remote island. For reasons still unknown, they began carving giant statues from the volcanic rock. These monuments, known as "moai" are some of the most incredible ancient relics on Earth. Where did they come from and why did they disappear? Science has allowed much to be learned about the island's mystery and to discard some of the more bizarre theories, but questions and disagreements still remain.

History of Easter Island

Easter Island is a tiny piece of land in the South Pacific. The natives call it Rapa Nui. Formed by a series of large volcanic eruptions, it has been home to seabirds and dragonflies for millions of years. Its steep slopes marked the navigation path for the ships of the brave Polynesian sailors. How long their voyage lasted and the reasons that led to the migration from their historical homeland remains a mystery to which we will never have an answer, but we can imagine their joy at the sight of this island after perhaps many months of wandering in the open ocean.

Located in the South Pacific between Chile and Tahiti, Easter Island is one of the most isolated inhabited islands in the world. Triangular in shape, with a total area of 102 km2, it was formed when molten lava flows rose deep from the bowels of the Earth, broke through the shell of the earth's crust and broke out onto the surface of the ocean.

Today, volcanic cones are found at every point on the island. The largest of them, Rano Kanu, is clearly visible even from space. The highest, Terevaka, rises to a height of 507 meters above sea level. In total, there are over 70 eruptive centers on the island. Lava tubes and rolling waves have created hundreds of underwater caverns and a changeable coastline.

Legends say that it was on the sandy island of Anakena that King Hoto Manua descended and began to colonize the island. Excavations in this area show that this area boasts one of the best collections of moai monuments. Travelers began to build villages and houses of an unusual elliptical shape. It is believed that this method of construction began when the newly arrived settlers turned their boats upside down, thus adapting them for their temporary housing. There were hundreds of remnants of these structures on the island in the 1800s, but most were destroyed by missionaries who used them to build fences.

The first settlers of the island found lush vegetation here, replete with large palm trees, from which they adapted to make boats and dwellings. The plants they brought with them adapted well to the soil enriched with volcanic ash, and by 1500 the population of the island was between 7,000 and 9,000 inhabitants.

As the population increased, separate clans began to form, concentrated in different areas of Easter Island. All of them were connected by one thing in common - the construction of statues and the cult that formed around them.

It is not clear why the inhabitants of Easter Island resorted to the mass construction of monuments on such a large scale. Their obsession eventually led to disastrous results for them as they cut down the timber that was required to transport the huge moai. The depletion of forest resources had truly catastrophic consequences.

The first sculptures were made from basalt, and their height did not exceed the height of a person. Then the technology of their manufacture completely changed. Statues began to be carved in the quarry of the extinct volcano Rano Raraku from volcanic tuff (tuff - pressed volcanic ash, compacted after a volcanic eruption). Their height began to reach 10 meters or more, and their weight was about 20 tons.

Soft volcanic tuff served as an ideal material for carving statues. Using tools from hard volcanic rocks, the creators of the monuments first marked the contours of the moai, carved the face and torso in the front, then the back of the figure, and then gradually carved the statue from the rock until it was connected only by a thin bridge. Craftsmen making moai statues, were skilled sculptors who went through all the stages of mastering the skill of their profession in a kind of "guild of carvers". The manufacture of the statue, most likely, took place during the performance of numerous ceremonies and rituals. If by chance a defect occurred during manufacture, it was abandoned and the carvers took up its creation in another place. Such a mistake during work was considered a sign of the devil and was a bad omen. In a word, they were skilled craftsmen.

The famous Norwegian traveler Thor Heyerdahl organized an archaeological expedition on the island in 1955-1956, which focused on experiments in the manufacture and transportation of moai sculptures. Two teams of sculptors worked in shifts on the manufacture of the future sculpture. It took them no less than a whole year. So their production was a very painstaking business.
Finally, when the statue was carved, the bridge connecting it with the rock of the volcanic crater was torn off, and it slowly rolled down the slope. At the base of the crater, the statues were placed in a vertical position, and here the final polishing and refinement of the back and torso took place. After that, preparatory work was carried out for the transportation and installation of moai in various places on the island. As proof, the statues were not easy to move, many of them can be seen along the ancient roads, where they fell into disrepair and were abandoned.

They believe that easter island statues embodied commemorative images of representatives of noble families. However, moai were not portraits of specific individuals, although it is possible that some of them had some kind of inscriptions or other signs that associated them with certain overlords. Why they chose a stylized design with an angular face, a prominent chin and no legs at all remains one of Rapa Nui's greatest mysteries.

There are other stone statues made by Polynesians outside of Easter Island. Sculptures have been found in parts of South America that resemble the kneeling statue at Rano Raraku, but nothing in the world can compare to the typical design of moai statues.

When the work on the carving of the statues came to an end, they had to be transported around the island. In some cases, they were transported over distances of more than 20 km. How were these massive sculptures transported to their locations? Easter legends say that moai walked to their places on their own. Some researchers claim that they were dragged. Later, this theory was refuted and it was concluded that they were moved in an upright position. How in reality it all looked, to this day, no one can say in the affirmative. This is another, until the end, unsolved mystery of the civilization of the island of Rapa Nui.

In 1868, the British made an attempt to take one such statue back to their homeland, but this task turned out to be clearly beyond their strength. In the end, they abandoned this idea and limited themselves to a small bust two and a half meters high, which was installed in the British Museum in London. The entire crew of the ship and several hundred natives took part in the process of its transportation.

At the end of the transportation, the statues were installed on ahu (ahu) - stone platforms slightly tilted towards the sea. They were made from large stones of various sizes and shapes. The stones were ground and adjusted to each other in such a way that they fit perfectly on top of each other. Installed on the coast, the ahu required the same engineering expertise and large labor force as the statues themselves. It is here, on Easter Island, that one can truly appreciate the high mastery of the masonry of the inhabitants of the island.

After the installation of the statue on the ahu, the final stage of the manufacture of the figure took place - the installation of eyes made of coral or volcanic glass. According to legend, only having gained eyes, the moai could see the place where it was installed.

Soon, moai statues began to appear in all parts of the island, and over time their number reached 1000. Over the decades, the desire to create the largest and largest moai, each of which belonged to a specific clan, has increased, which has made it possible to form an almost continuous line of sculptures along the coast of Easter Island. In the quarry of Rano Raraku, an unfinished statue was left over 20 meters high and weighing 270 tons! Culture has reached its dawn. And then something terrible happened.

A chilling story about the predatory use of resources and the devastation of Easter Island was revealed. Europeans who first arrived on the island wondered how people could survive in such a deserted place. In fact, it was a mystery for a long time until recent research showed that the island was covered in thick forests dominated by the now-extinct giant palm.

Having set foot on the island for the first time, future residents saw here a rich tropical paradise. The resources of the rainforest seemed inexhaustible. The trees were used to build dwellings, canoes, firewood, and, apparently, to transport and erect moai statues.
The erection of statues eventually turned into an obsession, accompanied by massive deforestation. They began to reach such huge sizes that it was practically impossible to transport them over remote distances. Trees were cut down. With deforestation, soil erosion began, which led to its depletion. Low harvests led to armed conflicts between different clans for control over scarce resources. The symbols of power and success of the inhabitants of the island, the moai, were overthrown.

Armed struggle only intensified with time. It is said that the victors ate their defeated enemies to gain strength. Bones found in various places on the island serve as evidence of cannibalism. In conditions of insufficient resources, this may have been the result of famine, or ritual actions. In the southwestern part of Easter Island is the Ana Kai Tangata cave, which translates as “a cave in which people were devoured.” The society and culture of Rapa Nui, which has developed over the past 300 years, has collapsed. All that remains after them is moai ...

The inhabitants of Easter Island found themselves even more cut off from the outside world than before. Any hope of escaping from the devastated island was shattered by the lack of forest. The only things they could build were small reed rafts and canoes, so even fishing proved difficult in this corner of the globe. The island became a deserted piece of land, the eroded soils barely producing enough food for the meager population to survive. It was under these conditions that the cult of the bird-man arose among the survivors of the conflict (perhaps there were 750 inhabitants).

It is quite possible that the cult of the bird-man began at the time of the erection of the moai statues. Over time, it took the status of the dominant religion on the island and was practiced until 1866-1867. With no trees to build boats and no way to sail away from the ravaged island, all Easter Islanders could do was watch with envy the birds that soared high in the sky.
High on the rim of the Rano Kau crater, the ceremonial village of Orongo arose. Founded to worship the god of fertility, Makemake, it was the birthplace of intense competition between the various clans of the island.

Every year, in the spring, each clan chose the most physically prepared warriors who took part in the competition. The participants had to descend from the steep slopes to the sea, swim to one of three small islands in the shark-infested water, and be the first to bring back a whole and intact egg of the dark tern bird. The warrior who first managed to deliver the egg to Easter Island was considered the bird-man of the year and was awarded a special award and privileges, and his tribe began to rule the island for a year until the next competition. The ritual, unique for all the inhabitants of Polynesia, was dedicated to the supreme deity Makemake. The winner became the earthly incarnation of this deity.

One of the most interesting sights in Orongo are hundreds of petroglyphs carved by birdmen. Engraved in solid basalt rock, they have survived time and harsh weather. Opinions are expressed that the petroglyphs depict the winners of the competition to determine the bird-man. About 480 such petroglyphs have been found on the island, mostly around Orongo.

It seemed that the culture of the inhabitants of the island began to revive along with a new cult of the bird-man. We will never know if the inhabitants of Rapa Nui would have been able to once again reach the peak of their culture, because in December 1862, ships of Peruvian slave traders moored to the island and took away the entire able-bodied population of the island into slavery. The Peruvian economy was booming at the time and needed additional labor. Due to difficult working conditions, illness and poor nutrition, about a hundred inhabitants of Easter Island survived. Thanks to the emergency intervention of France, an agreement was reached with the government of Peru, thanks to which the surviving residents were returned back to the island. With them, they brought diseases that further reduced the population of Easter Island. At the time of the annexation of the island by Chile in 1888, less than 200 indigenous people lived here.

The missionaries arrived on the island when the population was in a particularly deplorable state. They found a declining society here, and it did not take long for them to convert its inhabitants to Christianity. First of all, the manner of dressing of the indigenous population was changed, or rather, the complete absence of it. Tattooing and any use of body paint was forbidden. The destruction of Rapanui art, buildings and other shrines, including the rongo-rongo tablets - the key to understanding their history - was swift and complete. The inhabitants of the island were forced to give up their ancestral lands, and they were forced to live in a small part of the island, while the rest of the land was used for agriculture by the arriving farmers.
In fact, the missionaries did more harm to the island than the activities of the Peruvian slave traders, who took away most of the island's population. Those who managed to escape and hid in the caves of the island were rescued by those missionaries who continued to destroy all the wooden sculptures of the island, religious artifacts, and, most importantly, Rongo-Rongo wooden tablets with the writing of Rapani (inhabitants of Easter Island). Easter Island is the only island in the Pacific Ocean whose inhabitants developed rongo-rongo, their own writing system. Only a few of these tablets have survived to this day, so no one is able to decipher them.

The annexation of the island of Chile brought new vibes, and today there are only a small handful of people who are related by blood to the island's native population.

What conclusions can be drawn from all this. An island-pearl, located in the endless sea far from the centers of civilization. Seemingly endless material resources. Technological progress. Population growth. Resource depletion. Wars. decline. Sounds familiar? The history of Easter Island is the history of our time. We are also like an island floating in an endless sea. Of course, there are differences. We can say that Easter Island is too small, so it was only a matter of time before the resources of such a closed area would be fully used. But parallels arise between the attitude of the islanders to their surrounding nature and our own, and this is the most terrible part of the story.

On such a tiny piece of land as Easter Island, one can easily trace the consequences of deforestation, exactly how it happened. Despite the reduction of forest areas, the inhabitants continued their destructive actions. They probably prayed to their gods to repair the damage done to their lands so they could continue their abuse of her, but the gods did not answer their prayers. And all the trees were cut down. Whoever did what to change this ecosystem, the result was quite predictable. The man who cut down the last tree knew that it was the last tree. However, he or she did it. This is the saddest moment. Almost everyone today has access to television, thanks to which we learn about the massive deforestation in the world, which poses a serious threat today. And all our governments and most ordinary citizens are watching this with indifference. It seems that they are ready to destroy the last tree in order to build the moai of our time - enterprises that represent high technology and progress. Will the meaning of our life be to bring the way of life of man into line with the well-being of the environment, or are all people the same as that islander who cut down the last tree on Easter Island?

Easter Island Attractions

Despite its tiny size, Easter Island has many attractions, both natural and man-made. So much so that the United Nations has listed it as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The historical monuments of the island are easily accessible. There are still no fences or signs warning about where you can and where not. Perhaps their absence is explained by the fact that the entire territory of Rapa Nui is a continuous archaeological reserve. One big open air museum.

The main tourist attraction of the island is, of course, the moai. Please note that the moai of Easter Island are rather fragile historical monuments than they look in reality. Therefore, they must be handled very carefully.
All places available for visiting are located mainly along the coast of the island. First-time visitors to Easter Island are amazed at the large number of archaeological sites scattered throughout its territory. Each settlement had its own ahu and moai statues, so when traveling along the southern part of the island, you can see historical monuments almost everywhere.

The most popular sights are the craters of Rano Kau and Rano Raraku volcanoes. Located a little inland, the Rano Raraku quarry is where the famous statues are made. Hundreds of inhabitants of the island worked on their production from morning to evening. The remains of the volcano served as material for their creation. Here, tourists can see with their own eyes all the stages of painstaking work, and the remains of unfinished moai statues are scattered here. Climbing to the top of the left side of the crater and descending into the pit of an extinct volcano is worth it. The opposite side of the crater, where most of the moai statues are located, is the most impressive place on the island.

Rano Kau Crater, like Rano Raraku, is filled with rainwater and has a colorful, ethereal appearance that will take your breath away.
Easter Island has two sandy beaches. Anakena on the north side of the island is a great spot for surfing. The second beach is a real gem named Ovahe. Situated along the south coast of the island, this beautiful deserted beach is much larger than Anakena and is surrounded by beautiful cliffs.

Diving and snorkelling are popular around Motu Nui and Motu Iti

Often overlooked, but a particularly fascinating and supernatural aspect of Easter Island is its extensive cave system. While there are a few "official" caves of great interest in their own right, there are a large number of other interesting caves to explore, most of which are in the vicinity of Ana Kakenga. Although the entry holes of most of them are small (some barely large enough to crawl through) and hidden, many of them are accessible for self-exploration.

Due to the extreme geographic remoteness of Easter, many believe that only the most desperate travelers can reach the island. In fact, regular flights are operated by airlines, and tourism is the main industry of the island's economy. Chile's LAN Airlines is the only operator with scheduled flights to Easter Island, with the local airport serving as a stopover between Santiago and Tahiti. Being a monopoly carrier of passengers, the cost of an air ticket of this company is very expensive.

If you are a brave traveler, the Soren Larsen sailboat once a year makes a trip to the island from the coast of New Zealand. Time travel takes 35 days. The island is located on the route between South America and Polynesia. Cruise ocean liners plying on this route also make a stop on Easter Island.

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It is the most remote inhabited island in the world. The distance to the continental coast of Chile is 3703 km, to Pitcairn Island, the nearest inhabited place, is 1819 km. The island was discovered by the Dutch traveler Jacob Roggeveen on Easter Sunday 1722.

The capital of the island and its only city is Hanga Roa. In total, 5034 people live on the island ().

Rapa Nui is largely known for its moai, or stone statues made of compressed volcanic ash, which, according to local residents, contain the supernatural power of the ancestors of the first king of Easter Island - Hotu-Matu'a. In 1888, annexed by Chile. In 1995, Rapa Nui National Park became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Island names

Easter Island has many names:

Hititeairaghi(rap. Hititeairagi), or Hit-ai-ranks(rap. Hiti-ai-rangi);
Tekaouhangoaru(rap. Tekaouhangoaru);
Mata-ki-te-ragi(rap. Mata-ki-te-Ragi - translated from Rapanui "eyes looking at the sky");
Te-Pito-o-te-henua(rap. Te-Pito-o-te-henua - "navel of the earth");
Rapa Nui(rap. Rapa Nui - "Great Rapa"), a name mainly used by whalers;
san carlos island(English) San Carlos Island), so named by González Don Felipe in honor of the King of Spain;
Teapi(rap. Teapi) - so called the island James cook;
Waihu(rap. Vaihu), or waihou (rap. Vaihou), there is a variant Vaygu , - this name was also used by James Cook, and later by Forster and La Perouse (a bay in the northeast of the island is named after him);
Easter Island(English) Easter Island), so named by the Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen because he discovered it on Easter Day 1722.

Very often, Easter Island is called Rapa Nui (translated as "Big Rapa"), although it is not of Rapanui, but of Polynesian origin. The island got its name thanks to the Tahitian navigators who used it to distinguish between Easter Island and the island of Rapa Iti (translated as "Little Rapa"), lying 650 km south of Tahiti, and having a topological similarity with it. The very name "Rapa Nui" has caused a lot of controversy among linguists about the correct spelling of this word. Among English-speaking specialists, the word "Rapa Nui" (2 words) is used to name the island, the word "Rapanui" (1 word) - when talking about the people or local culture.

Geography

Easter Island is a unique territory in the southeast Pacific Ocean, which is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world from land. It is located 3703 km from the coast of the nearest mainland in the east (South America) and 1819 km from the nearest inhabited islands in the west (Pitcairn Island). Island coordinates: -27.116667 , -109.35 27°07′ S sh. 109°21′ W d. / 27.116667°S sh. 109.35°W d.(G)(O). The area of the island is 163.6 km². The nearest uninhabited land is the Sala y Gomez archipelago, apart from a few rocks near the island.

The trunk of a toromiro, with a diameter of a human thigh and thinner, was often used in the construction of houses; spears were also made from it. In the XIX-XX centuries, this tree was exterminated (one of the reasons was that the young shoots were destroyed by the sheep brought to the island).

Fauna

Before the Europeans arrived on the island, the fauna of Easter Island was mainly represented by marine animals: seals, turtles, crabs. Until the 19th century, chickens were bred on the island. The species of local fauna that previously inhabited Rapa Nui have become extinct. For example, a species of rat Rattus exulans, which in the past the locals used for food. Instead, rats of the species Rattus norvegicus And Rattus rattus, which became carriers of various diseases previously unknown to the Rapanui.

Now 25 species of sea birds nest on the island and 6 species of land birds live.

Population

It is estimated that during the cultural heyday of Easter Island in the 16th and 17th centuries, the population of Rapa Nui was between 10,000 and 15,000 people. Due to the ecological catastrophe that broke out as a result of the anthropogenic factor, as well as clashes between residents, the population by the time the first Europeans arrived was reduced to 2-3 thousand people. The number of 3,000 inhabitants was also indicated by James Cook when visiting the island. By 1877, as a result of the export of local residents to Peru for hard labor, epidemics, and extensive sheep breeding, the population decreased even more and amounted to 111 people. By 1888, the year of Chile's annexation of the island, 178 people lived on the island.

Administrative management

About two dozen police officers operate on the territory of the island, mainly responsible for security at the local airport.

The armed forces of Chile (mainly the Navy) are also present. The current currency on the island is the Chilean peso (US dollars are also in circulation on the island). Easter Island is a duty-free zone, so tax revenues to the island's budget are relatively small. To a large extent, it consists of subsidies from the government.

Infrastructure

Other infrastructure facilities (church, post office, bank, pharmacy, small shops, one supermarket, cafes and restaurants) mainly appeared in the 1960s. The island has a satellite phone, Internet and even a small disco for the locals. To call Easter Island, you need to dial the Chile code +56, the Easter Island code +32 and, since August 5, 2006, the number 2. After that, a local number consisting of 6 digits is dialed (and the first three will be 100 or 551 - these are the only valid prefixes on the island).

Tourism

Anakena - the most famous beach of the island

Attractions

Profile of the fallen idol against the background of the crater of the Rano Roratka volcano

How they were delivered to the coast is unknown. According to legend, they "walked" on their own. Recently, enthusiastic volunteers have found several ways to transport stone blocks. But what exactly the ancient inhabitants used (or some of their own) has not yet been determined. The Norwegian traveler Thor Heyerdahl in his book "Aku-Aku" gives a description of one of these methods, which was tested in action by local residents. According to the book, information about this method was obtained from one of the few remaining direct descendants of the Moai builders. So, one of the Moai, overturned from the pedestal, was hoisted back by using logs slipped under the statue as levers, by swinging which it was possible to achieve small movements of the statue along the vertical axis. Movements were recorded by lining the upper part of the statue with stones of various sizes and alternating them. Actually, the transportation of the statues could be carried out by means of a wooden sledge. The local resident presents this method as the most probable, but he himself believes that the statues still reached their places on their own.

Many unfinished idols are in the quarries. A detailed study of the island gives the impression of a sudden cessation of work on the statues.

Rano Raraku- one of the most interesting places for tourists. At the foot of this volcano there are about 300 moai, of various heights and at various stages of readiness. Not far from the bay is ahu Tongariki, the largest ritual site with 15 statues of various sizes installed on it.
On the shore of the bay Anakena one of the most beautiful beaches of the island with crystal white coral sand is located. Swimming is allowed in the bay. Picnics are organized for tourists in palm groves. Also not far from the Anakena bay are ahu Ature-Hooks and ahu Naunau. According to ancient Rapanui legend, it was in this bay that Hotu-Matu'a, the first king of Rapa Nui, landed with the first settlers of the island.
Te-Pito-te-henua(rap. Navel of the Earth) - a ceremonial platform on an island made of round stones. Quite a controversial place on Rapa Nui. Anthropologist Christian Walter claims that Te Pito-te-henua was established in the 1960s to attract gullible tourists to the island.
On the volcano early kao there is an observation deck. Nearby is the ceremonial site Orongo.
puna pau- a small volcano near Rano Khao. In the distant past, a red stone was mined here, from which “headdresses” were made for local moai.

Story

Settlement and early history of the island

Before the advent of Europeans, two different peoples lived on the island - “long-eared”, who dominated and had a peculiar culture, script, built moai, and “short-eared”, who occupied a subordinate position. During the uprising of the short-ears, which took place presumably in the 16th century, all the long-ears were exterminated, and their culture was lost. In the future, it turned out to be extremely difficult to restore information about the former culture of Easter Island, only fragmentary information remained.

Occupations of the ancient Rapanui

Easter Island is currently a treeless island with infertile volcanic soil. However, by the time of settlement by Polynesians in the 9th-10th centuries, according to palynological studies of cores from the soil, the island was covered with dense forest cover.

In the past, as now, the slopes of the volcanoes were used for orchards and the cultivation of bananas.

According to Rapa Nui legends, how plants ( Triumfeta semitriloba), marikuru ( Sapindus saponaria), makoi ( Thespesia populnea) and sandalwood were brought by the king of Hotu-Matu'a, who sailed to the island from the mysterious homeland of Mara'e Renga (Eng. Mara "e Renga). This really could happen, since the Polynesians, populating new lands, brought with them the seeds of plants that were of great practical importance. The ancient Rapanui people were very well versed in agriculture, plants, and the peculiarities of their cultivation. Therefore, the island could well feed several thousand people.

The settlers cut down the forest both for economic needs (shipbuilding, construction of dwellings, transportation of moai, etc.), and to free up space for crops. As a result of intensive felling over the centuries, the forest was completely exhausted by about 1600. The result was wind erosion of the soil that destroyed the fertile layer, a sharp reduction in fish catch due to the lack of forest for building boats, a drop in food production, mass starvation, cannibalism and population decline several times in a few decades.

One of the problems of the island has always been the lack of fresh water. There are no full-flowing rivers on Rapa Nui, and water after rains easily seeps through the soil and flows towards the ocean. The Rapanui built small wells, mixed fresh water with salt water, and sometimes drank just salt water.

In addition to the tribes and tribal communities, which formed the basis of the social organization of the Rapanui society, there were larger associations that were political in nature. Ten tribes, or mata (rap. mata), were divided into two warring unions. The tribes of the west and northwest of the island were usually called people Tu'u is the name of a volcanic peak near Hanga Roa. They were also called mata nui. The tribes of the eastern part of the island in historical legends are called "people of Hotu-iti".

Ahu Te Pito Cura - the center of the world in the folklore of the inhabitants of Easter Island

The ancient Rapanui were extremely warlike. As soon as the hostility between the tribes began, their warriors painted their bodies black and prepared their weapons for battle at night. After the victory, a feast was held at which the victorious warriors ate the meat of the vanquished. The cannibals themselves on the island were called kai tangata (rap. kai tangata). Cannibalism existed on the island until the Christianization of all its inhabitants.

Europeans on the island

"Rurik" at the anchorage near Easter Island

An active conversion of the Rapanui to Christianity began, although the leaders of the local tribes resisted for a long time. On August 14, 1868, Eugène Ayrault died of tuberculosis. The missionary mission lasted about 5 years and had a positive impact on the inhabitants of the island: the missionaries taught writing (although they already had their own hieroglyphic writing), literacy, fought against theft, murder, polygamy, contributed to the development of agriculture, breeding previously unknown cultures on the island.

In 1868, Dutroux-Bornier, an agent of Brander's trading house, settled on the island with the permission of the missionaries ( Dutroux Bornier), who took up sheep breeding in Rapa Nui. The heyday of its economic activity dates back to the period after the death of the last legitimate ruler, the son of the supreme leader Maurat, twelve-year-old Grigorio, who died in 1866.

Meanwhile, the population of Rapa Nui declined significantly and in 1877 amounted to 111 people.

The cult of "birdmen" (XVI/XVII-XIX centuries)

Motu Nui Island as seen from Orongo

One of the sights of the Orongo village are numerous petroglyphs depicting "bird-men" and the god Make-make (there are about 480 of them).

rongo-rongo

Fragment of a tablet with the text rongo-rongo

Easter Island is the only island in the Pacific Ocean that has developed its own writing system, rongo-rongo. The writing of texts was carried out with pictograms, the writing method was boustrophedon. Pictograms are one centimeter in size and are represented by various graphic symbols, images of people, body parts, animals, astronomical symbols, houses, boats, and so on.

Rongorongo writing has not yet been deciphered, despite the fact that many linguists have dealt with this problem. In 1995, the linguist Stephen Fisher announced the decipherment of rongo-rongo texts, but his interpretation is disputed by other scholars.

The French missionary Eugene Ayrault was the first to report the existence of tablets with ancient writings on Easter Island in 1864.

Currently, there are many scientific hypotheses regarding the origin and meaning of the Rapa Nui script. M. Hornbostel, V. Hevesy, R. Heine-Geldern the Easter Island letter was believed to have come from India via China, and then from Easter Island the letter made its way to Mexico and Panama. R. Campbell claimed that this script came from the Far East via New Zealand. Imbelloni and later T. Heyerdahl tried to prove the South American Indian origin of both the writing of Rapa Nui and the entire culture. Many experts on Easter Island, including Fischer himself, believe that all 25 tablets with rongo-rongo scripts were born after the natives became acquainted with European writing during the Spanish landing on the island in 1770.

Easter Island and the Lost Continent

Easter Island on the world map

This "Davis Land", which much later became identified with Easter Island, reinforced the conviction of cosmographers of that time that a continent existed in this region, which was, as it were, a counterweight to Asia and Europe. This led to the fact that brave sailors began to search for the lost continent. However, it was never found, with hundreds of Pacific islands discovered instead.

With the discovery of Easter Island, it became widely believed that this is the continent eluding man, on which a highly developed civilization existed for thousands of years, which later disappeared into the depths of the ocean, and only high mountain peaks survived from the continent (in fact, these are extinct volcanoes). ). The existence of huge statues on the island, moai, unusual Rapanui tablets only reinforced this opinion.

However, modern study of adjacent waters has shown this to be unlikely.

Easter Island is located 500 km from a range of seamounts known as the East Pacific Rise, on the Nazca lithospheric plate. The island is located on top of a huge mountain formed from volcanic lava. The last volcanic eruption on the island occurred 3 million years ago. Although some scientists suggest that it happened 4.5-5 million years ago.

According to local legends, in the distant past, the island was large. It is quite possible that this was the case during the Pleistocene Ice Age, when the level of the World Ocean was 100 meters lower. According to geological studies, Easter Island was never part of the sunken continent.

Notes

UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Rapa Nui National Park. . Archived from the original on August 18, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2007.
Easter Island Foundation. Frequently Asked Questions. What's the difference between "Rapa Nui" and "Rapanui"? . (unavailable link - story) Retrieved April 13, 2007.
About Easter Island. location. . (unavailable link - story) Retrieved April 13, 2007.
Easter Island Statue Project. About Easter Island. (unavailable link - story) Retrieved April 13, 2007.
Great Soviet Encyclopedia. 3rd edition. Article "Easter Island".
This table was compiled using data from http://islandheritage.org/vg/vg06.html
Easter Island Statue Project. About Easter Island. Flora. . (unavailable link - story) Retrieved April 13, 2007.
Easter Island Statue Project. About Easter Island. fauna. . (unavailable link - story) Retrieved April 13, 2007.
ethnologue.com.

Easter Island is the most remote inhabited island in the world. The nearest mainland is Chile, 3,700 kilometers away. Administratively, the island is part of the Chilean region of Valparaiso - in 1888, Chile annexed this territory.

About 5,000 people live on the famous island, a little more than half of them are indigenous people. Area - 164 sq. km. The island has the shape of a regular triangle.

There are no harmful industries here. The water around the island is clean and clear. But at the same time, the flora and fauna are not very diverse, which is inherent in many island formations in the Pacific Ocean. And lovers of only a beach "bounty vacation" are better off not flying here. This is a place for romantics and the curious.

Who discovered Easter Island?

The island was once covered in lush forests. The first settlers appeared here around 300 AD. They presumably came from the French Polynesian islands.

And the first European who saw the mysterious and now world-famous idols-idols was the Dutchman Jacob Roggeven. It was he, on Easter Sunday, 1772, who discovered a distant land in the ocean. It is to him that the island owes its modern name. The local name is Rapa Nui. Soon James Cook also visited the islands.

Easter Island was rediscovered for the world and our contemporaries in the middle of the last century by the famous Norwegian traveler Thor Heyerdahl.

How to get to Easter Island

From Santiago, the flight takes 5 hours. The flights are carried out by the Chilean airline LAN Airlines, the Santiago-Tahiti flight with a stopover at Mataveri Airport on Easter Island. You can also get here from the capital of Peru, Lima. Flights are regular, in contrast to shipping traffic. There is only one pier for small ships on the island.

On the island itself, tourists move around in rented cars, bikes, taxis and on foot. The distances are small - by car from one side of the island to the other you can get in 30 minutes, and go around it all in a circle in one and a half to two hours.

Hanga Roa "capital" of Easter Island

In addition to the airport, the administrative center of the island has several 3 and 4 star hotels, shops, restaurants, a post office, schools and a church. Almost the entire population of the island lives here and is employed in the tourism industry. There are only two streets in the town, without numbering of houses - all the inhabitants know each other. Prices on the island "bite", which is not surprising - after all, almost everything has to be imported.

Easter Island Attractions - Moai

The main attraction of this amazing corner of the earth is stone statues scattered all over the island - Moai, as they are called here. There are about a thousand idols on the island. Some are up to 20 meters high. All but seven, whose gaze is turned to the ocean, are arranged so that they look inside the island.

The idols were made from compressed volcanic ash in quarries inside the island. There are many guesses and versions about how the statues were transported around the island. Everyone who visited the "factory" of idols does not leave the feeling that the work stopped just yesterday, and not many centuries ago.

Ahu Rano Raraku (300 moai), ahu Tongariki (15 moai) and a ritual site, ahu Ature and ahu Naunau are the most interesting places for tourists to visit.

Anakena bay and beach is the most beautiful and largest of the few island beaches.

Every year at the end of January, the Tapati Rapa Nui festival is held on the island. It is accompanied by chants, dances and traditional competitions of local residents - the Rapanui people.

The capital of the island and its only city is Hanga Roa. In total, 5034 people live on the island ().

Island names

Easter Island has many names:

Hititeairaghi(rap. Hititeairagi), or Hit-ai-ranks(rap. Hiti-ai-rangi);
Tekaouhangoaru(rap. Tekaouhangoaru);
Mata-ki-te-ragi(rap. Mata-ki-te-Ragi - translated from Rapanui "eyes looking at the sky");
Te-Pito-o-te-henua(rap. Te-Pito-o-te-henua - "navel of the earth");
Rapa Nui(rap. Rapa Nui - "Great Rapa"), a name mainly used by whalers;
san carlos island(English) San Carlos Island), so named by González Don Felipe in honor of the King of Spain;
Teapi(rap. Teapi) - so called the island James cook;
Waihu(rap. Vaihu), or waihou (rap. Vaihou), there is a variant Vaygu , - this name was also used by James Cook, and later by Forster and La Perouse (a bay in the northeast of the island is named after him);
Easter Island(English) Easter Island), so named by the Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen because he discovered it on Easter Day 1722.

Geography

Fauna

Now 25 species of sea birds nest on the island and 6 species of land birds live.

Population

Administrative management

About two dozen police officers operate on the territory of the island, mainly responsible for security at the local airport.

Infrastructure

Tourism

Anakena - the most famous beach of the island

Attractions

Profile of the fallen idol against the background of the crater of the Rano Roratka volcano

Many unfinished idols are in the quarries. A detailed study of the island gives the impression of a sudden cessation of work on the statues.

Rano Raraku- one of the most interesting places for tourists. At the foot of this volcano there are about 300 moai, of various heights and at various stages of readiness. Not far from the bay is ahu Tongariki, the largest ritual site with 15 statues of various sizes installed on it.
On the shore of the bay Anakena one of the most beautiful beaches of the island with crystal white coral sand is located. Swimming is allowed in the bay. Picnics are organized for tourists in palm groves. Also not far from the Anakena bay are ahu Ature-Hooks and ahu Naunau. According to ancient Rapanui legend, it was in this bay that Hotu-Matu'a, the first king of Rapa Nui, landed with the first settlers of the island.
Te-Pito-te-henua(rap. Navel of the Earth) - a ceremonial platform on an island made of round stones. Quite a controversial place on Rapa Nui. Anthropologist Christian Walter claims that Te Pito-te-henua was established in the 1960s to attract gullible tourists to the island.
On the volcano early kao there is an observation deck. Nearby is the ceremonial site Orongo.
puna pau- a small volcano near Rano Khao. In the distant past, a red stone was mined here, from which “headdresses” were made for local moai.

Story

Settlement and early history of the island

Occupations of the ancient Rapanui

In the past, as now, the slopes of the volcanoes were used for orchards and the cultivation of bananas.

Ahu Te Pito Cura - the center of the world in the folklore of the inhabitants of Easter Island

Europeans on the island

"Rurik" at the anchorage near Easter Island

Meanwhile, the population of Rapa Nui declined significantly and in 1877 amounted to 111 people.

The cult of "birdmen" (XVI/XVII-XIX centuries)

Motu Nui Island as seen from Orongo

One of the sights of the Orongo village are numerous petroglyphs depicting "bird-men" and the god Make-make (there are about 480 of them).

rongo-rongo

Fragment of a tablet with the text rongo-rongo

The French missionary Eugene Ayrault was the first to report the existence of tablets with ancient writings on Easter Island in 1864.

Easter Island and the Lost Continent

Easter Island on the world map

However, modern study of adjacent waters has shown this to be unlikely.

Notes

UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Rapa Nui National Park. . Archived from the original on August 18, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2007.
Easter Island Foundation. Frequently Asked Questions. What's the difference between "Rapa Nui" and "Rapanui"? . (unavailable link - story) Retrieved April 13, 2007.
About Easter Island. location. . (unavailable link - story) Retrieved April 13, 2007.
Easter Island Statue Project. About Easter Island. (unavailable link - story) Retrieved April 13, 2007.
Great Soviet Encyclopedia. 3rd edition. Article "Easter Island".
This table was compiled using data from http://islandheritage.org/vg/vg06.html
Easter Island Statue Project. About Easter Island. Flora. . (unavailable link - story) Retrieved April 13, 2007.
Easter Island Statue Project. About Easter Island. fauna. . (unavailable link - story) Retrieved April 13, 2007.
ethnologue.com.