La Isla de la Pascua

Easter Island (Rapa Nui)

 La Isla de la Pascua

● Belongs to Chile (2,150 miles west)

● 63 square miles
● 2,000 Rapa Nui (polynesian descent) live on island today
● Dutch explorers landed on Easter Sunday 1722
● Only 111 Rapa Nui in 1877 due to slave traders and disease
● Alternate theories on population decline:
○ unintentional ecocide (cut down all the trees)
○ polynesian rats
○ disease
Moai
● 900 statues carved from volcanic rock at a distant quarry
● 4-33 feet tall
● Some weigh more than 80 tons
● Average height and weight = 13 ft and 14 tons
● Possible motivation = Honor or communicate with their ancestors
● By 19th century, all had toppled
○ Some restored (facing away from ocean)
Movement of Moai
● How did the Rapa Nui move the statues from the quarry to its desired
location?
○ 5 Theories:
■ Drag on a tree trunk (statue lying down)
■ Inverted wooden “V” pull system (statue lying down)
■ Use ropes to move using a twisting motion (statue stands upright)
■ Use wooden sleds and rollers (statue stands upright)
■ Statues “walked” using 3 ropes controlled by 3 groups of men
○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5YR0uqPAI8
Tourism
● 50,000 tourists in 2011 (10 x the island’s population)
● Shops, cafes, and hotels are present
● Island depends on Chile for fuel and food