Who were the seven explorers?
Famous European explorers included Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, Vasco de Gama, Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, Hernando Cortes, John Cabot and Samuel de Champlain!
Why is Ahu akivi unique?
Ahu Akivi is an unusual site because it is inland. Although many visitors assume the statues were placed here to face the ocean, in fact they were meant to look out over a very large village which today is in ruins. The site was restored in 1960 by the American archaeologist William Mulloy.
What did the statues at Ahu akivi overlook?
At Ahu Rongariki, 15 moai stand on a massive stone platform – an ahu – near the island’s coast, their backs to the sea. Ahu Akivi’s moai face the sea and overlook a ruined village.
Where are the Easter Island heads facing?
So the Moai face inwards to protect the community. In the quarry where they carve the Moai, there are many left there – either fallen over, waiting for transport or partially carved.
Who discovered South America?
Christopher Columbus
Explorer Christopher Columbus sets foot on the American mainland for the first time, at the Paria Peninsula in present-day Venezuela. Thinking it an island, he christened it Isla Santa and claimed it for Spain. Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1451.
Who is the most famous explorer ever?
10 Famous Explorers Whose Discoveries Changed the World
- Marco Polo. Photo: Leemage/UIG via Getty Images.
- Christopher Columbus. Photo: DeAgostini/Getty Images.
- Amerigo Vespucci. Photo: Austrian National Library.
- John Cabot. Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images.
- Ferdinand Magellan.
- Hernan Cortes.
- Francis Drake.
- Walter Raleigh.
How did the Easter Island statues get there?
Easter Island – The Statues and Rock Art of Rapa Nui. Using basalt stone picks, the Easter Island Moai were carved from the solidified volcanic ash of Rano Raraku volcano. Once completed, the statues were then moved from the quarry to their intended site and erected on an ‘ahu’.
What volcanoes can be found on Easter Island?
The island is composed of three principal volcanoes, Poike, Rano Kau, and Terevaka.
Why are the Easter Island statues a mystery?
Archaeologists suggest that the statues were a representation of the Polynesian people’s ancestors. The Moai statues face away from the sea and towards the villages, by way of watching over the people. So here at Ahu Tongariki these Moai look over a flat village site.
Why are the Easter Island heads buried?
The heads had been covered by successive mass transport deposits on the island that buried the statues lower half. These events enveloped the statues and gradually buried them to their heads as the islands naturally weathered and eroded through the centuries.
How tall are Easter Island statues?
13 feet high
On average, they stand 13 feet high and weigh 14 tons, human heads-on-torsos carved in the male form from rough hardened volcanic ash. The islanders call them “moai,” and they have puzzled ethnographers, archaeologists, and visitors to the island since the first European explorers arrived here in 1722.