How many moais are on Easter Island?
Archaeologists have documented 887 of the massive statues, known as moai, but there may up as many as 1,000 of them on the island. Most were carved from volcanic rock between 1100 and 1680.
What caused the Rapa Nui civilization on Easter Island to collapse?
Around 1200 A.D., their growing numbers and an obsession with building moai led to increased pressure on the environment. By the end of the 17th century, the Rapanui had deforested the island, triggering war, famine and cultural collapse.
Why did cannibalism start on Easter Island?
This fierce competition and population growth caused a hubristic over-exploitation of resources, driving the Rapanui people to desperation, and even cannibalism, and Europeans arriving in the 18th century encountered a society well on its way to decline, according to Diamond’s account.
Where is Rapa Nui located?
Easter Island
Easter Island, Spanish Isla de Pascua, also called Rapa Nui, Chilean dependency in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is the easternmost outpost of the Polynesian island world. It is famous for its giant stone statues.
Do the Easter Island heads really have bodies?
As a part of the Easter Island Statue Project, the team excavated two moai and discovered that each one had a body, proving, as the team excitedly explained in a letter, “that the ‘heads’ on the slope here are, in fact, full but incomplete statues.”
What did pollen tell us about Easter Island?
The layer with pollen was found in various cores recovered from swamps, also root imprints in fossil soils and subfossil nuts, found in the lava caves, prove that Easter Island once supported large grown palm trees.
Did Easter Island have cannibals?
With no trees to anchor the soil, fertile land eroded away resulting in poor crop yields, while a lack of wood meant islanders couldn’t build canoes to access fish or move statues. This led to internecine warfare and, ultimately, cannibalism.
Are there myths and legends about the moai on Rapa Nui?
Myths and Legends of the Moai on Rapa Nui-The Easter Island and speculation abound, Jacob Roggeveen wri tes: “ The island is planted with monstrous great statues, the work of I don’t know what race, today degenerate or vanished; its great remains an enigma.”
What are the famous moai on Easter Island?
The Moai of Rapa Nui National Park. The famous Moais (Easter Island Heads) are gigantic rock statues scattered across Easter Island that make up the main focus of the Rapa Nui National Park.
Why is it important to preserve Rapa Nui culture?
In a quickly globalizing landscape, making sure traditions are passed down is critical to ensuring that the planet remains rich with the beauty of diverse cultures as the world gets smaller. For a little more information on Rapa Nui and the Moai, take a moment with this short video from National Geographic.
How many people live on Rapa Nui island?
Rapa Nui (meaning large island) is not only the traditional name of the island, but also designates the people who live there, as well as the language spoken. The distance to other territories causes the population to be extremely low on the island (around 5,000 people).