Easter Island Pictures
to the max at a typical cloudy Tongariki sunrise on Chile's Rapa Nui
(Easter Island or Isla de Pascua in Spanish), in December. This,
the largest shrine on the island and the work of several centuries,
was restored in 1993.
Weather Chile Guide Pacific Map Rapa Nui Guide
Moai Pacific Map Rapa Nui Culture Collapse
Why travel to Easter Island?
much of an activity centre and a long, expensive trip from the mainland
but Chile's Easter Island (annexed by Chile in 1888) is little developed,
has a small Polynesian population and displays some of the world's
oddest artifacts in a barren, volcanic landscape along with a bizarre,
apparently self-destructive history. This destination is definitely a must-see, if you can
view of Rapa Nui's Rano Raraku quarry - seen on the left - where most
carved, though the occasional red top hats came from Puna Pau crater
in a different location. To the right is one lone moai a hundred metres
from the Tongariki set.
little Rapa Nui history
samples indicate the existence of forests of trees, including huge
palms around 200 AD, and human habitation from somewhere between 300
AD and 800 AD depending on who you listen to. Large fishing canoes,
palm shelters, edible nuts and wood fires would have comfortably supplied
the people with the necessities of life.
a little later, with one of many overturned moai.
What are Moai?
than 200 statues once stood along the island's coast on ahu (ceremonial platforms), transported up to 10kms (6 miles) from the
crater of Rano Raraku - probably by sleds lubricated with sweet potatoes
- where they were quarried from volcanic tuff (porous rock). There
are about 400 statues still in the quarry, inside and outside the
Moai range in size from barely a metre to up to 11m (33ft) and weighing
82 tonnes, though there is one still in the quarry that is 20m long
and would weigh around 250 tons (pictured later).
were constructed from about AD 500, probably as a form of ancestor
recognition or worship by five differing clans that shared control
of the island; the inland-looking aspect of most of the moai indicates
that the clans thought that the moai were watching over and protecting
Peak moai production was in AD 1400 when the island population was
as high as 20,000 and moai size had become highly competitive.
Somebody left his hat lying around.
1722 when a Dutch explorer called Roggeveen arrived on the island on Easter Day,
the first visit recorded by a European, all the moai were upright,
but 52 years later when Captain Cook stepped ashore almost all had
First thoughts the collapse of the Rapa Nui culture
Archeologists found no evidence of natural disaster (volcanic
eruption, tidal wave) and thus concluded that Easter Island is
a fine example of human habitat self-destruction.
Due to the demands for wood for moai construction and transport in
addition to the the increased demands for shelter and boats for the
larger population the island became deforested.
Fishing boats became smaller and less efficient, soil eroded and crops
became stunted. Result: starvation and inter-clan war, a verdict supported
by archeological discoveries of sudden increase in obsidian (a hard
stone) weapons in the 17th century, corpses that had been beaten to
death and caves used as sanctuaries.
Inside the Rano Raraku quarry/volcano.
the whiteman's colossal ship arrived the islanders saw the wealth and sophistication of the 'aliens' and were suitably awed (according to Roggeveen's own
reports), realising the poverty of life and style in which they were
living. This led to the comprehension that their ancestors were not
protecting them, quite the opposite, the moai fixation had ruined
And so clans pulled down other clans' moai, or possibly even their
own, and by the time Captain Cook arrived in 1774, the great statues
were mostly face-down in the dirt...
1955, when the first moai were re-erected by Norwegian adventurer
and Kon Tiki builder, Thor Heyerdahl. Now about are 17% upright,
though but erosion is taking it's toll.
And the outside of Rano Raraku, the source of almost all moai.
About 400 statues in various stages of development are still scattered
around the outside and inside of this crater.
Nui is triangular, 23km long by 11km wide, and was created by the
eruption of three volcanoes. The total area
of is 171 sq kms. There are just two sandy beaches.
This is one of our
favourite places on Rapa Nui, as well as...Anakena beach
Rapa Nui Genocide
When the Dutch landed in 1772 all moai were standing and Rapa Nui people seemed healthy and - apart from a 'little misunderstanding' that led to a bit of shooting - friendly.
Two Spanish ships visited in 1770 and reported all moai standing. BUT, when British explorer Captain James Cook arrived in 1774 he reported that some moai were lying face down and more importantly native people appeared diseased, destitute and starving.
The thinking now is that, much like the Maya and Aztecs in central America, Europeans inadvertently introduced terrible diseases to natives with zero immunity. Smallpox and Tuberculosis epidemics wiped out hundreds of islanders. But this was just the start....
The next crushing blow to Rapa Nui society was the arrival of slavers over the years 1805 -1860 from North America and Peru who at times abducted up to half of the population of the island , taking the strongest and healthiest they could find including the chief and heir who were among the few who knew how to read and write the the only Polynesian script ever found, rongorongo.
By the mid 19th century the native people were few and weak and a Frenchman, Dutrou-Bornier, bought up most of the island with a little money and a lot of force. He imported 70,000 sheep onto the island that ate anything green and were then exported for mutton. Towards the end of the century there were just over 100 native people still living on Rapa Nui.
Sheep farming continued until 1953, latterly under the aegis of Chile who annexed the island in 1888 after 'buying' the sheep ranch that encompassed practically the whole island.
Climate: subtropical with an annual average temperature of 20C. September to April, the drier months and summertime, is
the main tourist season.
Coldest month, August/mid-winter (15C-18C). Hottest month February/summer (24C-27C).
Wettest month, May (16cm of rain). The driest month is September.
Anakena Beach Pictures >>>
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