Easter Island

Mr. Shoemaker4th Grade Gifted

Classes

Where is it Located?Easter Island

is located in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 Miles from the west coast of South America.

What does the Island look like?The Island itself is

150 square miles of island that is very different from the islands in the Pacific. There are no beaches. The land is grassy and has rolling hills. It also has sea carved stone caves, and three extinct volcanoes (one on each corner of the triangular shaped island). The island also doesn’t have a river or stream.

Volcanoes of Easter Island

Rano Kau

Terevaka

Poike

Rano Kau Volcano

Terevaka Volcano

Poike Volcano

When was this Island found?

Easter Island was found by a Dutch Captain named Jacob Roggeveen, in 1722, on Easter Sunday. The Captain named the island, Easter Island. To the people living there they called it Rapa Nui.

They found 2,000 people “savages” living on the Island. These “Savages” had little food or source of food and lumber. They had primitive tools, and poor sailing equipment. They had domesticated animals.

What’s in a name?

Rapa Nui is not the island's original name. It was coined by labor immigrants from Rapa in the Bass Islands, who likened it to their home island. The Rapanui name for Rapa Nui was Te pito o te henua (The Navel of the World) due to its isolation.

Easter Island

Culture of Easter Island

This island is a tropical island that was lived on by people who were in tribes. These people had a language, and culture that was similar to that of other island cultures. They used the natural vegetation for ropes, and food, and help to make their shelter.

Rapa Nui Homes

The homes that were built by the Rapa Nui were in the shape of a long boat-shaped structures.

The remains of one of the foundations of boat-shaped houses found on Easter Island. Moai can be seen near the shore.

Climate of the IslandWhile it rarely gets any hotter than

85°F, it can feel very muggy and uncomfortable in the austral Summer (December-March). Winters are mild, with a low of around 57°F, but it can feel a lot colder than that with the wind-chill factored in. The wind blows constantly, sometimes from several directions at once. This tends to keep the temperature fairly cool.

Summer and Winter

Since Easter Island is on the Southern Hemisphere, their seasons are different.

The Summer months are from December to March.

The Winter months are from June to August

Rain on the Island

Rainfall averages around 44 inches a year, but this is variable. Some droughts have been reported. Heavy rainfall and storms occasionally hit the island, particularly in the Winter months (June-August) but cyclones or hurricanes do not occur in this part of the Pacific.

The Language of the Rapa Nui• Hello! Good morning! Good afternoon! Good evening! - 'Iorana!

• How are you ? (singular) - Pehe koe?

• How are you ? (plural) - Pehe korua?

• Fine! - Riva-riva! (often sounds like diva-riva , or riba-riba)

• Please - Ana hanga koe

• Thank you - Maururu

• You're welcome - O te aha no

• What is your name? - Ko ai tou ingoa?

• To your health! - Manuia (paka-paka)!

• Goodbye - 'Iorana (old: Ko mao a )

Rongorongo

Tablets found on the island and bearing a mysterious script known as Rongorongo have never been deciphered despite the work of generations of linguists.

Some writers have asserted rongorongo means peace-peace and that their texts record peace treaty documents, possibly between the long ears and the conquering short ears. But no one is certain, and it remains a mystery.

Rongorongo

Music of Easter IslandThe music of Easter Island has a most distinctive

Tahitian influence and comprises traditional singing and chanting. In this sense, every family forms a choir. Each of these groups vies in imagination with the others in relating the life of the community and thus perpetuating the memory of the Rongorongo. In the past, these groups had come together each year to take part in the contest. Supposedly judged in an unbiased manner, the contest results in disputations and quarrels which can go on until the following year and the next contest.

In the early days, these groups were accompanied by the conch-shell trumpet with rhythm being provided by a dancer leaping on a thin stone slab set over a pit containing a large calabash resonator. It is also believed that in the early days stone castanets were also used. Unfortunately, none of these instruments remain in use today and singers are now accompanied by guitars. In common with other Polynesians, the traditional music also forms the basis for the dance. ..\rapa.ram

Dancing

Dancing

Contemporary Easter Island Music

Contemporary Easter Island music tells stories about the arrival and departure of loved ones, the story of the new bride which praises marriage, the villages, the sunrise and the wind blowing on the island. There are also songs which are concerned with the past, the Rongorongo tradition which traces the history of the family from the very earliest times along with the song of the moai sculptures in which the rhythm is provided by the striking together of two stones, representing the sound of the sculptors of the giant statues at work in the quarries.

The "Walking" Moai of Easter Island

These stone carvings are found all over the island. There are 887 different Moai on Easter Island. These stones range in size from 1 meter tall (about 3 feet) to 10 meters tall (about 30 feet).

The "Walking" Moai of Easter Island

These statues had three purposes.

1. To get in touch with their ancestors. They believed when the finished and painted the eyes, then the statue was a real person.

2. The Statues meant power, and strength, which is why some of the statues are larger than others.

3. The statues face away from the sea toward the inland, which means they were looking after the good of the people.

"The inland ahu at Huri a Urenga, from the

south-east corner of the platform wall"

Ahu Nau Nau at Anakena

Ahu platform and statue (moai) at Tahai

Tahai: Statue (moai) at Tahai with topknot (pukao) of red scoria

Stone image at Tahai

one of the moai in the quarry compared to

the size of a human being

Toppled statues. Did these fall because of neglect or because of inter-tribal

conflict?

Ahu Tongariki

The "Walking" Moai of Easter Island

About 95% of all the Moai came from the same stone quarry. So the question is: “How did these people move them from the quarry to several miles away?”

Jo Anne Van Tilburg, an archeologist from UCLA who's made her life out of studying the mysteries of Rapa Nui, believes that the people make a sled and hauled the statues on logs.

Consequences of making the MoaiTrees are sparse on

modern Easter Island, rarely forming small groves. The island once possessed a forest of palms and it has generally been thought that native Easter Islanders deforested the island in the process of erecting their statues. Experimental archaeology has clearly demonstrated that some statues certainly could have been placed on wooden frames and then pulled to their final destinations on ceremonial sites.

Other ConsequencesArcheology shows a sudden drop in quantities of fish

and bird bones as the islanders lost the means to construct fishing vessels and the birds lost their nesting sites.

Soil erosion due to lack of trees is apparent in some places. Sediment samples show that up to half of the native plants had become extinct and that the vegetation of the island was drastically altered.

Chickens and rats became leading items of diet and there are hints at cannibalism occurring, based on human remains associated with cooking sites, especially in caves.

Obsidian spear points and the toppling of many statues indicate a breakdown of the social structure, possibly even leading to civil strife, though almost certainly not on as massive a scale as is often assumed.

Example of Grasslands of Easter Island

Historical Rapa Nui

The legend of how this Island was founded begins with a Polynesian Chief named Hotu Matu'a ("The Great Parent"). He sailed there with his family in a double canoe looking for a place for his people to inhabit. He landed on Easter Island at Anakena Beach. Te-Pito-te-Henua, "end of the land," or "land's end," is an early name for the island.

What similarities do the Rapa Nui have with other cultures?

There are two examples that show that the culture of the Rapa Nui are close to that of those of the Inca. The first is the stone work. The second is the sweet potato.

Stone wall in Easter Island

Stone wall in Peru built by the Inca

What was the population like on the Island?

From at least AD 1000 to 1680, Rapa Nui's population increased significantly. Some estimate the population reached a high of 9,000 by 1550. Moai carving and transport were in full swing from 1400 to 1600, just 122 years before first contact with European visitors to the island.

The Island changed…

In those 122 years, Rapa Nui underwent radical change. Core sampling from the island has revealed a slice of Rapa Nui history that speaks of deforestation, soil depletion, and erosion. From this devastating ecological scenario it is not hard to imagine the resulting overpopulation, food shortages, and ultimate collapse of Rapa Nui society. Evidence of cannibalism at that time is present on the island.

The Bird-Man Cult

In the cult of the birdman (Rapanui: tangata manu), a competition was established in which every year a representative of each clan, chosen by the leaders, would dive into the sea and swim across shark-infested waters to Motu Nui, a nearby islet, to search for the season's first egg laid by a manutara (sooty tern). The first swimmer to return with an egg would be named "Birdman of the year" and secure control over distribution of the island's resources for his clan for the year. The tradition was still in existence at the time of first contact by Europeans. It ended in 1867.

Bird Man Carved Rocks

Islets of Easter Island

Here is where the tribes would swim to see who would bring back the first egg, and rule to country.

Slavery

By the mid-19th century, the population had recovered to about 4,000. Then, in only 20 years, deportation via slave traders to Peru and diseases brought by Westerners nearly exterminated the entire population — only 110 inhabitants remained on the island in 1877.

Annexation to Chile

Easter Island was annexed by Chile in 1888 by Policarpo Toro, by means of the "Treaty of Annexation of the island" (Tratado de Anexión de la isla), that the government of Chile signed with the native people of the island.

The people of Easter Island

The people of Easter Island, are part of Chile. The people of Easter Island pay no taxes to Chile, and are not required to serve in the military.

Demography

Population at the 2002 census was 3,791 inhabitants, up from 1,936 inhabitants in 1982. This increase in population is due mainly to the arrival of people of European descent from the mainland of Chile. Consequently, the island is losing its native Polynesian identity.

In 1982 around 70% of the population were Rapa Nui (the native Polynesian inhabitants). At the 2002 census however, Rapa Nui were only 60% of the population of Easter Island. Chileans of European descent were 39% of the population, and the remaining 1% were Native American from mainland Chile. 3,304 of the 3,791 inhabitants of the island live in the town of Hanga Roa.

GovernmentAs a province of Chile,

Easter Island is administered by a governor appointed by the central government in Santiago and representing the President. The province of Easter Island is part of the Valparaiso region. Elections are held every four years in the main settlement of Hanga Roa for six councilors who, in turn, elect their mayor. A Council of Elders was formed in 1983 to represent the interests of the native Rapa Nuis.

Flag of Easter Island

Resources

The main economic resource is tourism. Each year, direct flights from Papeete (French Polynesia) and Santiago bring more than 15,000 tourists to the Island. Traditional subsistence farming is carried out by locals.

Tourists

Main Issues

Land rights: the native Rapa Nui want to regain control of the land still under government control (in particular a cattle ranch and a national park)

Social and cultural problems (alcoholism, loss of cultural identity) due to the expansion of tourism

Summary

The history of Easter Island is not one of lost civilizations and esoteric knowledge. Rather it is a striking example of the dependence of human societies on their environment and of the consequences of irreversibly damaging that environment. It is the story of a people who, starting from an extremely limited resource base, constructed one of the most advanced societies in the world for the technology they had available. However, the demands placed on the environment of the island by this development were immense. When it could no longer withstand the pressure, the society that had been painfully built up over the previous thousand years fell with it.

Theorize• How people came to live on Rapa

Nui.

• How the moai were built.

• How the moai were moved.

• Why the civilization collapsed.

AssignmentIn the following slides, you will be working in a group to create a project. Here are the categories, and assignments.

Geographer

• Where in the world is Easter Island?

• Describe natural land formations.

• Is there anything interesting about the weather?

• In addition to your written information to answer these questions, make a map showing its location and important land formations. Include a scale of miles as well as land and water areas bordering the island. Research and explain possible migration routes to the island.

Historian

• What is Easter Island?

• What major events have occurred here?

• What is known about the people involved?

• Which explorers came to Easter Island? Why?

• What is occurring now on Easter Island?

• In addition to your written information, make a timeline to show sequence of major events.

Archeologists • Describe unusual or interesting artifacts found

on Easter Island.

• What do archeologists know about these artifacts?

• In addition to your written information, make a colored pencil drawing of at least two discoveries.

• Vocabulary to share: Polynesian, hieroglyphics, Moai, archaeologist, basalt

Creative Group Project

• Build a diorama of the island.

• Build a model of a raft the natives may have used to travel to Easter Island and make a soap carving of a Moai with an ahu or another statue.

• Write a diary or a play depicting Captain Cook's exploration to Easter Island.

• Your Own Group idea.

Remember…..

We are watching you!!!!