Tag: Rapa Nui

Easter Island Was Devastated by Western Invaders and Not Internal Conflict

An archaeologist from the University of Manchester has produced new research suggesting Western invaders should be blamed for the demise of the ancient people and culture of Rapa Nui or Easter Island, further contradicting the once popular idea that its primitive, warlike Polynesian inhabitants had already themselves provoked societal collapse long before the remote southeastern Pacific island was first visited by European explorers in 1722.

Backing an already substantial body of opinion, Dr Karina Croucher a post-doctoral researcher in the School of Arts Histories and Cultures argues that the Easter Islanders must have had a sophisticated and successful culture until the Westerners arrived and it is time we recognise that. She blames disease, slave raids, violence and the ravages of colonialism wreaked upon the island by Europeans as the true causes of the indigenous Polynesian populations decline.

Dr Crouchers research, which is funded by the British Academy, has comprised a study of the relationships between rock art and the body, and a re-evaluation of the mysterious and iconic anthropomorphic moai statues (such as Hoa Hakananai, on display at the British Museum) on Rapa Nui, which was named Easter Island by its first recorded European visitor, Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen.

It must have been quite a place to live. I imagine the sounds of the carvers dominating the soundscape as they worked on the rock.

Easter Islands ancient inhabitants who may have first arrived on the island as early as 300-400 AD have been accused of toppling moai during conflicts, and over-exploiting their natural resources. But Dr Croucher claims that, when examined together, the art which adorns Easter Islands landscape volcanoes and statues, body tattoos and carved wooden figurines shows a different picture of what the islanders were like.

The carved designs including birds, sea creatures, canoes and human figures mimic natural features already visible in the landscape and show their complex relationship to the natural environment, she said. They were a people who saw themselves as connected to the landscape, which they carved and marked as they did their own bodies and the moai statues.

She highlights early accounts from expeditions which describe the inhabitants of Easter Island who may have numbered more than 3,000 in the 18th century as having a trading surplus, which proves that they were successful and self sufficient.
Dr Croucher claims that ancient artonEaster Island proves how connected its people were with the landscape,and that they were a "successful and sophisticated" culturewho were unlikely to have brought about their own demise. Picture credit- University of Manchester.Dr Croucher claims that ancient artonEaster Island proves how connected its people were with the landscape,and that they were a "successful and sophisticated" culturewho were unlikely to have brought about their own demise. Picture credit- University of Manchester.
It must have been quite a place to live, she continued, I imagine the sounds of the carvers dominating the soundscape as they worked on the rock.

Archaeological evidence supporting a theory of pre-European internal-collapse is thin on the ground. Rather than a story of self-inflicted deprivation, I agree with the view that substantial blame has to rest with Western contact, said Dr Croucher. Visitors brought disease, pests and slavery, resulting in the tragic demise of the local population and culture.

A series of tragic and devastating events killed or removed almost the entire population of Easter Island in the 1860s.

Peruvian slave raiders struck in December 1862 and returned repeatedly over the course of several months, removing around 1500 men and women around half of the islands population most of whom quickly died from tuberculosis, smallpox or dysentery.

When the survivors were released in 1863 after international protests, they brought these diseases back to Easter Island with them, killing most of the remaining population. Several hundred inhabitants more were driven off the island to work on sugar plantations in Tahiti. By 1877, a population of just 110 people was recorded.

Easter Island is one of the worlds most isolated inhabited islands. It has a population of around 3,500 people, of mixed Polynesian and Chilean descent. Research published last year suggested that the mysteriously rapid deforestation of the island after 1100 may have been caused by an invasion of Polynesian rats.

The Volcano Hats of Easter Island

It’s a question that’s bamboozled archaeologists for centuries – just where did the Moai of Easter Island get those big red hats? The answer, two British experts have claimed this week, is one of sacred quarries, iconic top-knots and volcanic highways. Sounds a bit too far-fetched for reality? Bear in mind these are the thousand-plus statues which line the world’s remotest inhabited island, in a corner of Polynesia not even touched by Europeans until the eighteenth century, and the truth may seem a little easier to stomach.

The University of Manchester’s Colin Richards and Sue Hamilton from University College London are the first British archaeologists to explore Rapa Nui – to give the island its indigenous name – since 1914. Yet the pair believe they’ve finally solved the mystery of the Moai‘s mottled headgear, with the discovery of a road emanating from an ancient volcano. The road, which Richards claims was made from cemented red scoria dust, leads to a ‘sacred’ quarry where the hats were made. The team have also found an ‘adze’, an ancient axe used to sculpt the monolithic mitres, buried at the quarry. They believe it was deliberately left as an offering to the gods.

“We know the hats were rolled along the road made from a cement of compressed red scoria dust,” says Dr Richards. “We can see they were carefully placed. The closer you get to the volcano, the greater the number. It’s like a church; you can’t just walk straight to the altar. The Polynesians saw the landscape as a living thing, and after they carved the rock the spirits entered the statues.”

“Potentially this could rewrite Polynesian history.”

The group’s findings may revolutionise the way we understand some of Earth’s most amazing treasures – yet one aspect of the giant hats remains a condundrum: why? There is little in the way of physical evidence, but experts feel the answer may be lie in their rarity. Only 70-75 of the thousand Moai wear the hats, which has led many to believe them to be ancient status symbols. Some even claim they resemble the ancient top-knots or plaits worn by the island’s earliest rulers. “Chieftain society was highly compEaster Island Moaietitive and it has been suggested that they were competing so much that they over-ran their resources,” says Dr Hamilton.

The Easter Islanders were known for their fierce in-fighting, and continuous battles took their toll on the island’s tiny population. The first European to visit the island (on Easter Sunday, hence the name) was Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen. Since then the islanders have been hit by warring, slave-trading, annexation and disease – which at one point during the late nineteenth century saw its dwindling numbers facing extinction. Not content with his latest coup, Dr Richards hopes to date the Moai successfully over the next five years, as part of the Rapa Nui Landscapes of Construction Project. “We will look to date the earliest statues,” he says. “Potentially this could rewrite Polynesian history.”

Daily Flickr Finds: JC Richardson’s Moai on Easter Island

In this magical shot, today’s Flickr Find photographer – JC Richardson – snapped the Moai on Easter Island with a backdrop of stars, creating an alluring image mixing the exotic ancient world with a romantic scenery. The end result is an image of immense beauty – the capture is simply astounding.

The Moai are located at Rapa Nui, and are monolithic carvings of human figures, dating back as early as 400AD or as late as 1700AD – many several generations have been making their own Moai!And it’s a popular misconception that they’re just giant heads – these hardy guys have bodies too!

Oh – and they’re not just black stone. The Moai are made from dark scoria (hardened volcanic ash) with red scoria for the capstones. They even have eyes made from white coral with red scoria or black obsidian used for the pupils!

As is often the case with the Ancient world, there is much mystery surrounding the Moai. For example, just how do you move around a 20-ton hunk of rock when a crane wouldn’t be invented for another millennium or so? Various theories have been devised and tested, which mainly involved getting a lot of people to pull on ropes wrapped around Moai and seeing how far they can get them.

Oh, and if you’re planning on visiting these fantastic relics, then a word to the wise. Don’t chip away your own souvenir like a Finnish chap did last year.. unless you want to get hit with a $17,000 fine and a ban from the islands, of course! Your chance to take off with one is long over.. 😉