Nearly half of easter islands statues remain near this area. Hanga roa terevaka puakatike rano kau easter island. Gillam, to collect letters and goods and then come out again to the island. It is an estimated 2,300 miles from the chile coast. Island of mystery far in the south pacific lies a lonely place called easter island. The polynesian island is semitropical and is known for its soft hills, extinct volcanoes, rocky coast and beaches, and famous moai sculptures. The mysteries of easter island springfield public schools. Lonely planet chile and easter island country travel guide. Although located 3,515 km 2,185 miles west of continental chile, it is administratively a province with just one comuna of the chilean valparaiso region, together with its closest neighbour, salaygomez, 400 km further east. The western world refers to it as easter island due to the fact that it was discovered by a dutchman on easter sunday in 1722. This is what dutch sea captain jacob roggeveen found when he arrived there in 1722 on easter sunday.
The mystery of easter island imagine arriving on a small island in the pacific ocean about halfway between the island of tahiti and the west coast of south america to find giant rock statues of humanlike figures greeting you along the coastline. Its mixed population is predominantly of polynesian descent. Figure 2 moai are giant human figures carved from rock on the. It is one of the most remote places on earth, an island shrouded in mystery. Easter island, with an area of only 64 square miles, is the worlds most. To find the ancient stone tablet that contains information about the founders and how to awaken the guardians.
Im particularly interested in books that will give me the sort of info id get if i went on a guided tour. Some researchers have argued that the rapa nui, as the islanders were known, died out after using up the natural resources on their tiny, 163squarekilometr. This example of con tradictory information serves to illustrate the complexity that is typical of the rapanui culture. The stone on easter island is the best carving stone in the pacific society was isolated, so the energy expended in other pacific societies trading, raiding, exploration, and colonization was directed inward chiefs got stature not by inter island interaction but by competing for status by a game of statue oneupmanship later ones had a pukao. Little jimmy flores has gone missing and his mother believes hes still on easter island where he went on a school trip, the mysterious place in the pacific ocean where there stand 887 statues believed to have been erected by the rapa nui people who settled on.
The large rapa nui national park covering the majority of the island is a protected unesco heritage site. Jul 15, 2017 there is nothing more intriguing than an ancient mystery, and they dont come much bigger than the disappearance of the inhabitants of easter island. It details routledges journey by yacht from england to south america, around patagonia to chile and on to easter island, giving an account of its life, history and folklore. Easter island is home to almost nine hundred mysterious stone statues.
By the time dutch explorersthe first europeans to reach the remote islandarrived on easter day in 1722, the land was nearly barren. Over thirty years ago, the man who did such important, pioneering work in kontiki wrote another bestselling book, akuaku, about easter island. Easter island is also known as rapa nui, but in the island legends it was originally called te pito te henua which means navel of the world. The official position is that all easter islands platforms are simply variations of the marae platforms of central and eastern polynesia, which were socioreligious centres and shrines to ancestral gods. We set to work to excavate some of the statues which st. Strong cultural coverage gets under the skin of this skinny country including a special feature on wine. With this information you continue your search on easter island. The eastern island mystery can be explained if one reads zecharia sitchins the lost realms the fourth book of the earth chronicles. In the 19th century natives from other polyne sian islands called it rapa nui, the big rapa, by comparison with the smaller rapa island.
Mystery of easter island season 39 episode 14 nova pbs. Many early visitors and researchers noted and commented upon petroglyphs. Samuel and audrey travel and food videos 111,726 views. Download pdf the mystery of easter island free online. Vinapus megalithic stone wall is said to bear only a superficial resemblance to the classic incan. Easter island, known as rapa nui by its inhabitants, has been surrounded in mystery ever since the europeans first landed in 1722. Easter island is located in the middle of the pacific ocean, 3000 km from the chilean coast. If we all knew the mystery of easter island, it wouldnt be a mystery anymore. More recently, heyerdahl was invited to return to easter island and there confronted the conundrum of the famous, haunting. Interestingly enough, that island is completely uninhabited by humans.
The archaeologists, who have been working on easter island for many years, try to disclose the mystery, a sacred object that the island natives identify with this term and they intend to hide to the rest of the world. To its original inhabitants the island is known as rapa nui great rapa or te pito te henua navel of the world. The mystery of easter island one of the greatest mysteries on earth are the statutes which stand on easter island. Read and learn for free about the following article. Many attempts have been made to solve the easter island population mystery and we still dont know how a population of just 1,5003,000 managed to construct, transport and erect large rock figures that are clearly visible on the island. The mystery stems especially from the islands gigantic stone. The turbulent history of easter island by steven roger fischer 8 times easter island. Download the mystery of easter island ebook pdf or read online books in pdf, epub. In just a few centuries, the people of easter island wiped out their forest, drove their. The mystery of easter island by katherine routledge. The stone on easter island is the best carving stone in the pacific society was isolated, so the energy expended in other pacific societies trading, raiding, exploration, and colonization was directed inward chiefs got stature not by interisland interaction but by competing for status by a game of statue oneupmanship later ones had a pukao.
The southeastern pacific ocean island, which is a territory of chile, centuries ago boasted a thriving population but in the 1860s they all suddenly vanished from existence. Remarkably detailed book about her expeeriences enroute to and on easter island, leading an anthropological and archeological expedition with her husband, william scoresby routledge, to investigate the origins of the islands mysterious giant statues and. Jul 23, 2017 some researchers have argued that the rapa nui, as the islanders were known, died out after using up the natural resources on their tiny, 163squarekilometr. There is nothing more intriguing than an ancient mystery, and they dont come much bigger than the disappearance of the inhabitants of easter island. In 1919 katherine routledges romantic narrative, the mystery of. Sep 01, 2005 easter island mystery revealed using mathematical model. My selfguided tour plan leads me to another question. Pdf history of easter island on the rocks researchgate. The 887 giant moai statues on easter island have turned one of the most isolated islands in the world into one of the most well knownand most mysterious. However, in the year of 1722, a captain of dutch origin discovered the island on easter. Look carefully at the at the three images on the next two pages of the worksheet. The easter island script has no relation to the indus valley. Easter island books tagged easter island librarything. Little jimmy flores has gone missing and his mother believes hes still on easter island where he went on a school trip, the mysterious place in the pacific ocean where there stand 887 statues believed to have been erected by the rapa nui people who settled on the island between 300 and 1200 ce.
Easter island affords no good anchorage, and our plan was that the yacht, after disembarking the scientific members and waiting awhile off the coast, should return to talcahuano under charge of mr. It is in the southern pacific ocean, 2,300 miles west of the coast of chile and 2500 miles southeast of tahiti. He rightly judged that the southerly wind, which impeded all navigation in that direction. Nov 16, 1989 this handsome volume is the story of thor heyerdahls love of a mystery and of an island and its people. Dec 26, 2006 the easter island script has no relation to the indus valley. The mystery of easter island amazing ancient history. Listen to the oral histories and myths passed down through word of mouth through the centuries explaining the marvels of the island. Easter island is no longer an isolated mystery, there is no need to indulge in.
Easter islands location in the midst of the south pacific is. The first european visitors, the dutch, named it paaseiland easter island in memory of their own day of arrival. The chilean government claimed possession of easter island in 1888 and, in 1935, designated it a national park, to preserve thousands of archaeological sites. New research is shedding light on the easter island mystery concerning what caused the downfall of the natives of the island, called rapa nui. The images will provide one perspective of the island, while the. The mystery of easter island content page return to the previous chapter home fig. Informational nonfiction, 585 words, level m grade 2, lexile 690l. Pdf the human transformation of rapa nui easter island. It has perhaps more mystery and speculation in proportion to its size than any other prehistoric place on earth since about half of the 887 massive stone monuments remain unfinished in its main quarry.
The research, conducted by an international team including uc santa barbara, suggests that the demise of the polynesia group began before europeans arrived in 1722. Now, read the article mystery of easter island and complete the table on the. A remote, bleak speck of rock in the middle of the pacific, easter island, or rapa nui, has. This handsome volume is the story of thor heyerdahls love of a mysteryand of an island and its people. For decades, scientists have studied this remote island in the south pacific and its hundreds of giant stone statues known as moai. The mystery of easter island travel smithsonian magazine. Easter island but most of the works have focused on the monolithic statues. Among all such vanished civilizations, that of the former polynesian society on easter island remains unsurpassed in mystery and isolation. The next closest island when it comes to land proximity is estimated to be an amazing 1,400 miles from easter island. Use the three images presenting information about easter island as well as the mystery of easter island youll either find it online see the lesson for the url or your teacher will provide copies, to help complete the table below.
With each year, more theories arise concerning the island, the statues, and the rapa nui people who once lived there. Easter island remains one of the most mysterious places in the world. Mystery of the stone giants by catherine orliac 7 times the art of easter island by thor heyerdahl 7 times. Easter island had sufficient governance to create prohibitions on the harvest of. The tablet is in pieces at a couple of locations on the island. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong. Students are often uninterested in history because they think theyll be learning the same old stuff and memorizing a bunch of facts. Juan fernandez was discovered by the navigator of that name on a voyage from peru to chile in 15 12. Reading strategy ask and answer questions to comprehend text. Easter island and its mysteries chauvet in english. The island is famous for its huge statues and the mystery that surrounds them, a mystery that originated largely with the. With each year, more theories arise concerning the island, the statues, and the rapa nui people who once lived.
The other mystery of easter island damn interesting. Jan 28, 2015 new research is shedding light on the easter island mystery concerning what caused the downfall of the natives of the island, called rapa nui. Easter island is one of the most remote islands on earth. Flenley, who initially surveyed easter island in 1977, was one of the first scientists to analyze the islands pollena key indicator of foresting. New attempt to solve the easter island mystery what did. In the book, routledge and her companions explore the secret caves, ancient roads, pyramid platforms. It was given this name by the dutch com mander jacob roggeveen, who first sighted it on easter sunday, 1722. It is situated in the vast reaches of the south eastern pacific ocean approximately 4,000 km from chile on the mainland of south america. Jared diamond, a professor of geography and physiology at ucla, has explored the. Pdf rapa nui easter island has become widely known as a case study of humaninduced. Outsiders may never know everything there is to know about this place, but i picked up some hints of mystery when i visited. Season 39 episode 14 53m 10s video has closed captioning.
The secrets of easter island history smithsonian magazine. Easter island mystery revealed using mathematical model. Discover where the inhabitants of easter island really came from. Restrained passion and conflicted loyalties drive this sweeping debut novel, in which two women of different eras experience the mysteries of easter island. It is the most isolated, inhabited island on the planet. Biodiversity and societies in the pacific islands, chapter.
The mysteries of easter island the mysteries of easter island. Learn how distance and religious beliefs cut off the islanders from their contemporaries. Two statues sit on the slopes of the rano raraku statue quarry. The island is home to about six thousand people and hundreds of giant stone statues called moai. Easter island, rapa nui chile, is an extremely remote island and one of the worlds most famous yet least visited archaeological sites. The mysteries of easter of island is a detailed text that will keep students engaged and leave them with many of their own questions to consider. The research, conducted by an international team including uc santa barbara, suggests that the demise of the. Early european explorers and priests decimated a unique culture as. Easter island mystery game easter island detective. Among the most riveting mysteries of human history are those posed by. This title features expanded coverage of patagonia, including new adventure options in puerto natales and more information on chiles crown jewel, torres del paine national park.
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