Mistery of the Easter Island essays

Mistery of the Easter Island essays Easter Island is over 2,000 miles from the nearest population center, making it one of the most isolated places on Earth. A triangle of volcanic rock in the South Pacific- it is best known for the giant stone monoliths, known as Moai, that dot the coastline. The early settlers called the island "Te Pito O Te Henua" (Navel of The World). Admiral Roggeveen, who came upon the island on Easter Day in 1722, named it Easter Island. Today, the land, people and language are all referred to locally as Rapa Nui. Unfortunately, there is no written record to help the story of this remote island, its people, and the significance of the nearly nine hundred giant moai that punctuate Easter Islands barren landscape. The moai and the ceremonial sites are along the coast, with a concentration on Easter Islands southeast coast. The moai are more standardized in design, and they have been carved, transported, and erected between fourteen and sixteen hundred. They stand with their basks to the sea and are believed by most archaeologists to represent the spirits of ancestors, chiefs, or other high ranking males who held important positions in the history of Easter Island, or Rapa Nui. The word ahu has two meanings in Easter Island culture. First, an ahu is the flat mound or stone pedestal upon which the moai stand. The ahu is, on average, about four feet high. The word ahu also signifies a sacred ceremonial site where several moai stand. The total number of moai on Easter Island is eight hundred and eighty seven. The largest moai weights approximately a hundred and fifty tons. Several experiments were carried out and although it was proven that the statues could have been moved by rocking and rolling their bases similar to the way we would move a refrigerator or large piece of furniture, the method would have caused so mu ...