The mysteries of easter island the mysteries of easter island. The mystery of easter island travel smithsonian magazine. Scientists uncover a baffling mystery about the easter. Island of mystery far in the south pacific lies a lonely place called easter island. 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. Easter island, with an area of only 64 square miles, is the worlds most. However, the catalyst has long been debated in the. A small but wonderfully detailed museum that sheds light on the history and culture of the island though a recommended reading before getting to the island is the mystery of easter island by katherine routledge. Pdf history of easter island on the rocks researchgate. In an account of his visit, he wrote of his discovery of twentysix wooden tablets containing the unusual inscriptions. The mysteries of easter island the mysteries of easter island the mysteries of easter island the mysteries of easter island the mysteries of easter island. Measuring 10 meters high and weighing more than 80 tonnes each, the easter island statues were built from volcanic rocks some time between ad 100 and 1800. The easter island script has no relation to the indus valley.
The child was shaved, decorated with white bands, and hung round with coconuts, or, as these were not readily obtainable in easter island, with pieces of wood carved to represent them called tahonga. The large rapa nui national park covering the majority of the island is a protected unesco heritage site. Interestingly enough, that island is completely uninhabited by humans. Learn mystery easter island with free interactive flashcards. The mystery of easter island by katherine routledge. The tablet is in pieces at a couple of locations on the island. Jared diamond, a professor of geography and physiology at ucla, has explored the. The mystery of easter island bbc programme summary on easter day 1722, dutch explorers landed on easter island. 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.
Easter island, rapa nui chile, is an extremely remote island and one of the worlds most famous yet least visited archaeological sites. Easter island faces of mystery it is one of the most isolated islands in the world but 1200 years ago a doublehulled canoe filled with seafarers from a distant culture landed upon its shores. 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. To orientate ones self on easter island and to learn its history, the first stop should be father sebastian englert anthropological museum. Complete the table on the easter island mystery worksheet.
If you are interested in this and would like to know more about how the moai walked, check out mystery of easter island. Dec 26, 2006 the easter island script has no relation to the indus valley. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link page. The world monuments fund on easter island opposite. He rightly judged that the southerly wind, which impeded all navigation in that direction. By the time dutch explorersthe first europeans to reach the remote islandarrived on easter day in 1722, the land was nearly barren. Mystery of the stone giants by catherine orliac 7 times the art of easter island by thor heyerdahl 7 times. The easter island mysteries have stumped scientists for ages. 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. Many early visitors and researchers noted and commented upon petroglyphs. 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. The turbulent history of easter island by steven roger fischer 8 times easter island. The research presented here documents the elevated soil nutrient levels of gardens. The mystery of easter island content page return to the previous chapter home fig.
A number of children, each with an expert, then went up to orongo. Easter island but most of the works have focused on the monolithic statues. The numerical statements in the present book, dealing with arch. Jan 27, 2015 long before the europeans arrived on easter island in 1722, the native polynesian culture known as rapa nui showed signs of demographic decline. Samuel and audrey travel and food videos 111,726 views. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong. 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.
With this information you continue your search on easter island. The natives are sometimes prepared to state that the statues were thrown down by human means. Among all such vanished civilizations, that of the former polynesian society on easter island remains unsurpassed in mystery and isolation. The island is famous for its huge statues and the mystery that surrounds them, a mystery that originated largely with the. Outsiders may never know everything there is to know about this place, but i picked up some hints of mystery when i visited. Pdf rapa nui easter island has become widely known as a case study of humaninduced. The civilisation of easter island was eventually made famous by the british pioneering expedition of katherine routledge, who arrived on the island in 1914 and began what amounted to the first serious archaeological campaign into the mysteries of the. Over the centuries that followed a remarkable society developed in isolation on the island. One of the worlds greatest unsolved mysteries surrounds the famous statutes that are located on the island. This file contains additional information such as exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. The soil nutrient supply on easter island is less than that of the younger hawaiian islands, which were also settled.
On the basis of carbon dating, orthodox researchers claim that the accurate mortarless fitting of large polygonal blocks began in peru after ad 1440, whereas easter island had similar dressed stonework before ad 1200 and therefore could not. Hanga roa terevaka puakatike rano kau easter island. This example of con tradictory information serves to illustrate the complexity that is typical of the rapanui culture. With each year, more theories arise concerning the island, the statues, and the rapa nui people who once lived. Rapa nui is a small 164 km2, isolated island in the southeastern pacific that is. The next closest island when it comes to land proximity is estimated to be an amazing 1,400 miles from easter island. The research, conducted by an international team including uc santa barbara, suggests that the demise of the. The story of an expedition and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. I found this more interesting than the part about easter island, even though it wasnt why i obtained the book. Juan fernandez was discovered by the navigator of that name on a voyage from peru to chile in 15 12. Exploring the mystery of easter island visit easter island. The mysteries of easter island springfield public schools. There is nothing more intriguing than an ancient mystery, and they dont come much bigger than the disappearance of the inhabitants of easter island. Considered to be one of the most remote locations on earth, this island sits in the southern area of the pacific ocean.
Flenley, who initially surveyed easter island in 1977, was one of the first scientists to analyze the islands pollena key indicator of foresting. It is an estimated 2,300 miles from the chile coast. Modem archaeological scientists and engineers try and recreate and decipher the mystery of easter islands moai statues by experimenting with archaic engineering methods and mysterious practices. During the 19 th century, ancient artifacts containing a set of etched symbols were discovered on the worldrenowned easter island, a small remote island located a few thousand miles west of south america, and famous for the hundreds of giant monolithic anthropomorphic statues called moai. Jan 27, 2015 the study sites reflected the environmental diversity of the 63squaremile island situated nearly 2,300 miles off the west coast of chile. Sep 01, 2005 easter island mystery revealed using mathematical model. The mystery of easter island the story of an expedition.
The mystery stems especially from the islands gigantic stone. 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. Easter island mystery revealed using mathematical model. The mystery of easter island by katherine routledge 9 times citadels of mystery by l. Apart from cultural issues, the worksheet also deals with vocabulary there are some hints in the brackets next to each sentence and listening skills. New attempt to solve the easter island mystery what did.
But easter island s archeological treasures speak volumes about a civilization past and its ties to an often inscrutable contemporary society. Can be taught as a stand alone lesson or as part of fantastic places. The soil nutrient supply on easter island is less than that of the younger hawaiian islands, which were also settled by the polynesians around the same time, 1200 a. Easter island mystery game easter island detective. We set to work to excavate some of the statues which st.
The study sites reflected the environmental diversity of the 63squaremile island situated nearly 2,300 miles off the west coast of chile. Famous for its enigmatic statues and farflung location, easter island, and the mystery around its population collapse, has confounded researchers since captain cook and his crew visited it in 1774. As katherine routledge wrote in the mystery of easter island 1919, p. Choose from 442 different sets of mystery easter island flashcards on quizlet. Easter island had sufficient governance to create prohibitions on the harvest of. First published in 1919, this work provides information on that most mysterious of islands easter island rapa nui. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. The polynesian island is semitropical and is known for its soft hills, extinct volcanoes, rocky coast and beaches, and famous moai sculptures. The mysterious rongorongo writing of easter island.
Unsolved mysteries the secret of easter island national geographic hd. The eastern island mystery can be explained if one reads zecharia sitchins the lost realms the fourth book of the earth chronicles. Easter island, known as rapa nui by its inhabitants, has been surrounded in mystery ever since the europeans first landed in 1722. 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 books tagged easter island librarything. A modern book about easter island refutes some of the details though i have no idea which is more correct. Because of erosion, the onceexposed bodies of the statues became hidden under the ground. Another widespread easter island tradition is that the moai were transported by mana, that is by supernatural forces or powers. Pdf file showing the output of running the r code, including results not. Year 7 lesson based on the horizons tv show about easter island. It relates to the mysterious monuments of easter island and the history of the island itself. The great mystery of easter island that struck all early visitors was not just that these colossal statues stood in such a tiny and remote corner of the world but that the stones seemed to have been set down from the sky.
The other mystery of easter island damn interesting. Easter island remains one of the most mysterious places in the world. Easter island is an island and special territory of chile in the southeastern pacific ocean, at the. Oct 22, 2014 the famous moai of easter island bigstockphoto the rongorongo writing was first discovered by eugene eyraud, a lay friar of the roman catholic church, who went to easter island as a missionary on january 2, 1864. The images will provide one perspective of the island, while the. Easter island is an amazing place with a lot of unaswered questions. New evidence finds that easter island wasnt destroyed by. Long before the europeans arrived on easter island in 1722, the native polynesian culture known as rapa nui showed signs of demographic decline. We now know the answer to the riddle and it is a chilling one. Easter island is home to almost nine hundred mysterious stone statues. To find the ancient stone tablet that contains information about the founders and how to awaken the guardians. Easter island is no longer an isolated mystery, there is no need to indulge in.
In the book, routledge and her companions explore the secret caves, ancient roads, pyramid platforms. In 1919 katherine routledges romantic narrative, the mystery of. 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. If we all knew the mystery of easter island, it wouldnt be a mystery anymore. Exploring the mystery of easter island visit easter. 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. I would argue it is one of the best nova episodes as they proved something for once. It is the most isolated, inhabited island on the planet. Easter island mysteries greatest unsolved mysteries. 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. Head of a moat on temporary exhibition at the seagram building in new york city. 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. The mystery of easter island amazing ancient history. Vinapus megalithic stone wall is said to bear only a superficial resemblance to the classic incan.
But easter islands archeological treasures speak volumes about a civilization past and its ties to. The intricate designs appear to be glyphs, or a form of writing, but the meaning of the glyphs has. The island is home to about six thousand people and hundreds of giant stone statues called moai. For decades, scientists have studied this remote island in the south pacific and its hundreds of giant stone statues known as moai. 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. Easter island is located in the middle of the pacific ocean, 3000 km from the chilean coast. Informational nonfiction, 585 words, level m grade 2, lexile 690l. 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. Figure 2 moai are giant human figures carved from rock on the. Ell leveled reader pack for the mysteries of easter island. Gray, founder of the world monuments fund originally called international fund for monu ments, visited easter island in the early 1970s. Pdf download the mystery of easter island the story of an expedition read online. Sep 01, 2014 modem archaeological scientists and engineers try and recreate and decipher the mystery of easter island s moai statues by experimenting with archaic engineering methods and mysterious practices. Much of the book is about the voyage to and from easter island.
The mysterious rongorongo writing of easter island ancient. Rapa nui easter island monument ahu locations explained by. Biodiversity and societies in the pacific islands, chapter. 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. Find this book on abebooks, an amazon company, offers millions of new, used, and outofprint books.
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