Easter Island Island History. What secrets hides Easter Island? Who were Rapanuitsa

Easter Island - One of the most isolated islands in the world. Approximately 1200 years ago, the sea travelers first went ashore. After a lot of centuries, a mysterious society arose on this isolated and remote island. For reasons, still unknown, they began to carve gigantic statues from the volcanic rock. These monuments, known as "MOAI" are one of the most incredible ancient relics on Earth. Where did they come from and why did they disappear? Science allowed a lot to learn a lot about the riddle of the island and discard some of the most strange theories, but the questions and disagreements still remain.

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History of Easter Island

Easter Island is a tiny land plot in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean. Indigenous people call him Rapa Nui. Formed by a series of large volcanic eruptions, he served as a habitat of seabirds and dragonflies throughout the millions of years. His steep slopes marked the way to navigate for the ships of brave Polynesian navigators. How long they continued their swimming and reasons that served as the basis for migrating from their historical homeland remains a mystery to which we will never have a response, but we can imagine their joy at the sight of this island after, perhaps, many months walkers in the open Ocean.

Located in the southern Pacific between Chile and Tahiti, Easter Island is one of the most isolated populated islands in the world. Triangular shape, with a general territory of 102 km2, it was formed when the flows of molten lava rose deeply from the bowels of the earth, broke the shell of the earth's crust and escaped to the surface of the ocean.

Today, volcanic cones are at every point of the island. The largest of them, early can, is clearly visible even from space. The highest, terreak, rises to a height of 507 meters above sea level. In total, there are over 70 eructural centers on the island. Lava pipes and raid waves created hundreds of underwater caves and a changeable coastline.

Legends narrate what exactly sand Island The king of Hoto Manua gave her king and began colonizing the island. Excavations of this area indicate that it is this area that boasts one of the best collections of MOAI monuments. Travelers began to build villages and houses of an unusual elliptical form. It is believed that this method of construction began when newly arrived settlers turned their boats upside down, adapting them, therefore, for their temporary housing. There were hundreds of residues of these buildings on the island in the 1800s, but most of them were destroyed by missionaries who used them when erecting fences.

The first settlers of the island have found magnificent vegetation, abundant palm trees, of which they have adapted to produce boats and dwellings. The plants they brought with them well adapted to the soil enriched with volcanic ashes, and by 1500 the population of the island was from 7,000 to 9,000 thousand inhabitants.

As the population agrees, individual clans were formed, focused in different parts of Easter Island. All them associated one general - the construction of statues and the cult, which was formed around them.

It is not clear why the inhabitants of Easter Island resorted to the mass construction of monuments in such large scale. Their obsession urgently led to the sad results for them, as they cut out the forest, which was required to transport huge MOAIs. The depletion of forest resources was truly catastrophic consequences.

The first sculptures were made from the basalt, and their height did not exceed the human growth. Then the technology of their manufacture has changed completely. Statues began to carve in a quarry extluous volcano Early, the raracca from the volcanic tuff (Tuf - a pressed volcanic ash, sealing after the volcanic eruption). Their height began to reach 10 or more meters, and the mass is about 20 tons.

Soft volcanic tuff served as an ideal material for carving statues. Using the tools of labor from solid volcanic rocks, the creators of the monuments first indicated the contours of the MOAI, the face and the body was carved in the front part, then the back of the figure, and then gradually cut out the statue of the breed until it was connected only to a thin jumper. Masters manufacturing statues of MOAIThey were skilled sculptors who passed all the steps of mastering their profession in the original "Constelon Guild". The manufacture of statues occurred is very likely to during the execution of numerous ceremonies and rituals. If a defect occurred by randomly during the manufacture, she was thrown and the cutters were taken for its creation elsewhere. Such an error during the work was considered a devil sign and was a bad admission. In short, it was a skillful masters.

The famous Norwegian traveler Tour Heyerdal in 1955-1956 organized an archaeological expedition on the island, which the main attention paid to the experiments on the manufacture and transportation of the Sculptures of the MOAI. Two sculptors brigades worked on the manufacture of a future sculpture. They left a lot of any few years. So their manufacturing was very painstaking.
Finally, when the statue was carved, a jumper was broken, connecting its breed of volcanic crater, and she slowly rolled down the slope. At the base of the crater, the statues were installed in a vertical position, and the final polishing and refinement in the field of the back and torso occurred. After that, preparatory work was carried out on transportation and installation of the MOAI in various places of the island. As evidence, the statue was not easy to move, many of them can be seen along the old roads, where they were in disrepair and were thrown.

Believe that statues of Easter Island Improved memorable images of representatives of noble childbirth. Nevertheless, the MOAI was not portraits of specific individuals, although perhaps some of them had any inscriptions or other signs that tied them with certain lords. Why they chose a stylized design with an angular face, protruding chin and completely without legs remains one of the greatest secrets of Rapa Nui.

There are others stone statuesMade by Polynesians outside the Easter Island. In some parts of South America, sculptures were found, which resemble a statue on the knees in early raracca, but nothing in the world can compare with the typical design of the statues of the MOAI.

When the work on carving the statues approached completion, they needed to be transported through the territory of the island. In some cases, they were transported over a distance over 20 km. How did these massive sculptures transported to their locations? Easter legends say that MOAI themselves went to their places. Some researchers argue that they were moved by the wolf. Later, this theory was denied and came to the conclusion that they were moving in a vertical position. How, in reality, all this looked, until today, no one can say in the affirmative. This is another, to the end non-jealous mystery Civilization of the island of Rapa Nui.

In 1868, the British made an attempt to take one such a statue to their homeland, but this task turned out to be clearly unbearable. In the end, they threw this idea and limited to a small bust of two height from a half meter, which was installed in the British Museum in London. In the process of its transportation, the entire carriage crew and several hundred natives took part.

At the end of transportation, the statues were installed on Ahu (Ahu) - a little slanting stone platforms. They were made of large stones of different quantities and shapes. The stones polished and customized to each other in such a way that they perfectly lay down on each other. Installed on the coast, Ahu demanded the same engineering and technical knowledge and a large number of labor, as well as the creation of the statues themselves. It is here, on Easter Island, you can truly evaluate the high mastery of the stone masonry of the inhabitants of the island.

After installing a statue on Ahu, the final stage of the formation of the figure took place - setting the eye from corals or volcanic glass. According to legends, only having acquired her eyes, Moa could see the place where it was installed.

Soon the statues of the MOAI began to appear in all parts of the island and over time, their quantity reached 1000. For decades, the desire to create the largest and large MOAIs, each of which belonged to a specific clan, which made it possible to form an almost solid line of sculptures along the coast of Easter Island. In the career, early raraku remained an unfinished statue with a height of over 20 meters and weighing 270 tons! Culture reached its dawn. And then something terrible happened.

Revealed cutting blood The story of the predatory use of resources and the ruin of the island of Easter. For the first time, the Europeans arrived at the island were surprised how people could survive in such a deserted place. In fact, it was a mystery for a long time until recent studies demonstrated that the island was covered with dense forests with a predominance of the now disappeared giant palm tree.

First stepping on the island, the future residents saw here a rich tropical paradise. Resources tropical forest It seemed inexhaustible. The trees went to the construction of housing, canoeing, firewood for fires, and, apparently, for transportation and construction of the statues of the MOAI.
The construction of statues over time turned into an obsessive idea, accompanied by a mass cutting of the forest. They began to achieve such huge sizes, which did, practically, impossible to transport them to remote distances. Trees cut down. With the cutting of the forest began erosion of the soil, which led to its depletion. Low yields led to armed conflicts between different clans for control over indispensable resources. The symbols of power and the success of the inhabitants of the island, the MOAI, turned out to be overthrown.

Armed struggle with time only tightened. It is said that the winners eaten their defeated enemies to gain strength. The bones found in different places of the island serve as evidence of cannibalism. In conditions of insufficient resources, it may have been a consequence of hunger, or ritual actions. In the southwestern part of Easter is the Ana Kai Tangata cave, which is translated as "a cave, in which people devoured." Society and culture of Rapa Nui, which has developed over the past 300 years, collapsed. All that remains after them is Moa ...

Residents of Easter Island turned out to be further cut off from the outside world than before. Any hopes of breaking out of the ruined island were broken due to the lack of forest. The only thing they could build were small rafts and canoes from reeds, so even fisheries turned out to be a difficult exercise in this corner of the globe. The island has become an abandoned land plot, eroded soils barely produced a sufficient amount of food for a meager population to survive. It is in these conditions among those who have survivors after the conflict (perhaps 750 inhabitants were numbered) the cult of a bird.

It is quite possible, the cult of a bird-bird began at the time of the construction of the statues of the MOAI. Over time, he ranked the status of the dominant religion on the island and practiced until 1866-1867. In the absence of trees for the construction of boats and the opportunity to float from the ruined Island, everything that the inhabitants of Easter could do, it is envy to watch the birds that hill high in the sky.
Highly at the edge of the crater, the Ceremonial village of Orongo arose. It is based for the worship of God fertility Mchamak, she became the place of birth of tense competitions between representatives of different clans of the island.

Every year, in the spring, each clan chose the most trained physically warriors who participated in the competition. Participants needed to descend from steep slopes to the sea, sailing to one of the three small islets in water, sishaling sharks, and the first to bring back the whole and universal bird of the poultry bird. That warrior who first managed to deliver an egg to Easter Island, was considered a bird-bird of the year and honored special awards and privileges, and his tribe began to rule the island throughout the year before the following competitions. The ritual was unique for all residents of Polynesia was devoted to the Supreme Divine Mchamak. The winner was becoming the earthly embodiment of this deity.

One of the most interesting attractions in Orongo are hundreds of petroglyphs, carved by birds-birds. Engraved in a solid basalt breed, they survived the time and harsh weather conditions. The opinions are expressed that petroglyphs depict the winners of the competition for the definition of a person-bird. About 480 such petroglyphs were found on the island, mainly around ORONO.

It seemed that the culture of the inhabitants of the island began to revive along with the new cult of the bird. We will never learn that the inhabitants of the Island of Rapa Nui would have reached the heyday of their culture, because in December 1862, the ships of Peruvian slave trades were moored to the island and all the workable population of the island was taken to slavery. The economy of Peru was at that time on the rise and needed an additional workforce. Due to the difficult conditions of labor, diseases and bad nutrition, about a hundred inhabitants of Easter Island remained. Thanks to the emergency intervention of France, an agreement was reached with the Government of Peru, thanks to which the residents who survived were returned back to the island. With you, they brought illness, which even more reduced the number of residents of Easter Island. At the time of annexation of Chile Island in 1888, less than 200 indigenous people lived here.

Missionaries arrived on the island, when the population was in a particularly poor condition. They found here in decline society, and for them did not need a lot of time to appeal to their inhabitants in Christianity. First of all, the manner of the indigenous clothing was changed, more precisely, the complete absence of such. Tattoo and any use of body paint was prohibited. The destruction of works of the art of Rapanuits, buildings and other shrines, including the Rong-Rongo tables, the key to understanding their history - was fast and complete. The inhabitants of the island forced to abandon their original lands, and they were forced to live in a small part of the island, while the rest of the lands were used for agricultural farmers.
In fact, the missionaries caused more damage to the island, rather than the activities of Peruvian workers who took the majority of the island's population. The same, who managed to escape, and hid in the caves of the island, were rescued by those missionaries who continued the destruction of all the wooden sculptures of the island, religious artifacts, and, the main thing, Rongo-Rongo wooden plates with the writing of Rappania (residents of Easter Island). Easter Island is the only island in the Pacific Ocean, whose residents have developed Rong-Rongo - their own writing system. Only a few of these tablets reached our days, so no one is able to decipher them.

Annexia of Chile Island brought new trends, and today there is only a small handful of people who have blood relations with the indigenous population of the island.

What conclusions from all this can be done. Pearl island, located in the Besseni Sea far from the civilization foci. Apparent endless material resources. Technological progress. Population growth. Exhausting resources. Wars. Decline. Sounds familiar? The history of Easter Island is the history of our time. We are also similar to the island floating in the Besre Sea. Of course, there is a significant difference. It can be said that Easter Island is too small, so it was only a matter of time when the resources of such a closed territory are fully utilized. But they suggest parallels, between the attitude of the islanders to their surrounding nature and our own, and this consists of the most terrible part of the story.

On such tiny piece Sushi, like Easter Island, you can easily trace the consequences of cutting down the forest, as it happened. Despite the reduction of forest arrays, residents continued their destructive actions. They probably prayed to their gods to fill the damage caused to their lands so that they could continue their ability to continue over her, but the gods did not respond to their prayers. And all the trees were cut down. Who would not do about changing this ecosystem, the result was quite predictable. The man who cut the last tree, understood that it was the last tree. However, he or she did it. This is the most sad moment. Almost everyone today is available television, thanks to which we learn about the mass deforestation of forests in the world, which is a serious threat today. And all our governments, and most ordinary citizens watch this indifferent. It seems that they are willing to destroy the last tree to build the MOAI of our time - enterprises that personify high technologies and progress. Will the meaning of our lives, in line with the lifestyle of a person with the well-being of the environment or all people are the same as the islander who quit the last tree on Easter Island?

Easter Island: Attractions

Despite its tiny sizes, Easter Island has many attractions, both natural and created by man. So much that the United Nations introduced it to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The historical monuments of the island are easily accessible. There are still missing fences or signs warning about where it is possible and where there is no. Perhaps their absence is explained by the fact that the entire territory of Rapa Nui is a solid archaeological reserve. One big open-air museum.

The main tourist attraction of the island, of course, MOAI. Please note that the Easter Island is quite fragile historical monumentsrather than they look in reality. Therefore, you need to contact them very carefully.
All places available for visiting are located mainly along the coast of the island. Visitors who first arrived on Easter Island are affected by a large number of archaeological sites scattered throughout its territory. Each settlement had its ahu and statues of the MOAI, so during the trip along the southern part of the island, historical monuments can be seen everywhere.

The most popular attractions are the craters of volcanicians early Kau and early raracca. Located a bit in the depths of the island, the quarry early raraku is the place of making famous statues. Hundreds of inhabitants of the island in the morning worked on their production in the morning. The remains of the volcano served as material to create them. Here, tourists with their own eyes can see all the stages of painstaking work, the remnants of the unknown statues of the MOAI are scattered here. Climbing to the top of the left side of the crater and the descent in the pitched volcano is worth it. The opposite side of the crater, where most Moi statues are located, is the most impressive place on the island.

Crater early Kau, like the raraka is filled with rainwater and has a motley, an unearthly appearance, which captures the spirit.
Easter Island has two sandy beach. Anachen in the north side of the island is an excellent place to surf. The second beach is a real pearl named Ovach. Located along the south coast of the island, this beautiful deserted beach is much larger than the Anachen and is surrounded by beautiful cliffs.

Diving and snorkeling are popular near Motu Nui and Motu ITI (Motu Nui and Motu ITI)

It is often overlooked, but a particularly fascinating and supernatural aspect of Easter Island is an extensive cave system. Although there are a few "official" caves of very interesting themselves, there are a large number of other interesting caves for research, most of which are nearby Ana Kakenga. Although the inlets of most of them are small (some of them are barely sufficient to crawl) and hidden, many of them are available for independent research.

Because of the maximum geographical remoteness of Easter, many believe that only the most desperate travelers can get to the island. In fact, airlines are committed by regular flights, and tourism is the main sector of the economy of the island. The Chilean airline "Lan Airlines is the only operator carrying out regular flights to Easter Island, while the local airport is a transit point of stops between Santiago and Tahiti. Being a monopoly carrier for passengers, the cost of the ticket this company is very notable.

If you are a brave traveler, sailboat Soren Larsen once a year carries out a trip to the island from the shores of New Zealand. Time travel takes 35 days. The island is located on the way between South America and Polynesia. Cruising route cruising ocean liners Also make a stop on Easter Island.

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Easter Island is the most remote dull sushi bug in the world. Its area is only 165.6 square kilometers. Belongs Chile Island. But to the nearest mainland city of this country, Valparaiso, 3703 kilometers. And there are no other islands nearby in the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean. The nearest dwelling land is located in 1819 kilometers. This is Pitchern Island. He is famous for the fact that the team of the Bounty ship was wanted on it. Lost on Easter's expanses stores many secrets. First, it is not clear where the first people came from. They could not explain to Europeans about this. But the most mysterious mysteries of the island of Easter are his stone idols. They are installed throughout coastline. The natives called them Moa, but explain who they could not clearly. In this article, we tried to summarize the results of all recent scientific discoveries to solve the secrets that land the sushi removed from civilization.

History of Easter Island

Freedy April 1722 Sailors Squadras of three ships under the command of the Dutch navigator Jacob Rogheven saw the land on the horizon, which has not yet been marked on the map. When they approached the eastern coast of the island, they saw that he was inhabit. Natives floated to them, and their ethnic composition struck the Dutch. Among them were the European phones, Negorids and representatives of the Polynesian race. The Dutch immediately rushed into the primitivity of the technical equipment of the islanders. Their boats were scarples from pieces of wood and so passed water that half of people in the Chelny hurt her, and the rest of the rows. The landscape of the island was more than dying. Not a single tree rose on it - only rare bushes. Rogheven recorded in his diary: "The launched look of the island and the depletion of the natives to the idea of \u200b\u200bthe infertility of the Earth and the extreme need." But the most captain shocked stone idols. How, with such a primitive civilization and scant resources, the natives had enough strength to cut out of stone and deliver so many heavy statues ashore? The captain did not have an answer to this question. Since the island was open on the day of the Resurrection of Christ, he received the name of Easter. But the natives themselves called him Rapa Nui.

From where the first inhabitants of Easter islands arrived

This is the first mystery. Now there are over five thousand people on the islet of a length of 24 kilometers. But when the first Europeans landed ashore, the natives were significantly less. And in 1774, the navigator of Cook counted on the island of only seven hundred islanders who were all of hunger. But at the same time, among the natives there were representatives of all three human races. There were a lot of theories about the origin of the population of Rapa Nui: Egyptian, meso-American and even completely mythical, that the islanders - surviving people after the collapse of Atlantis. But modern DNA analysis shows that the first Rapanuses landed on the 400th year and the profits were most likely from East Polynesia. This is evidenced by their language, which is close to the adverbs of the inhabitants of the Marquis and Hawaiian Islands.

Development and decline of civilization

The first thing that rushed into the eyes of the discoverers was the stone idols of Easter Island. But the earliest sculpture refers to 1250, and the most late (unfinished, remaining in the quarry) - to the 1500th. It is not clear how the civilization of the natives from the fifth to the thirteenth century developed. Perhaps at a certain stage, the islanders switched from the birth and tribal society to the clan military unions. Legends (very contradictory and fragmented) talk about Hyu Mata's leader, who first stepped on Rap-Nui and led all the inhabitants with him. He had six sons who divided the island after his death. Thus, the clans began to have their own ancestor, the statue of which they tried to make a larger, massive and more representative than that of the neighboring tribe. But what caused the fact that in the beginning of the sixteenth century Rapa Nujitsa stopped cut and set their monuments? This was discovered only modern research. And this story can be instructive for all mankind.

Ecological catastrophe in small scales

Let's leave until the Easter Island Odols. They were blown away from the distant ancestors of those wild natives whom the expeditions of Roghevien and Cook were found. But what influenced the decline of the once rich civilization? After all, the ancient Rap-Nuians had even writing. By the way, the texts of the found tables have not yet been deciphered. Scientists only recently gave an answer, which happened to this civilization. Her death was not rapid due to the eruption of the volcano, as he assumed the Cook. She agonated with centuries. Modern studies of the soil layers have shown that once the island was covered with lush vegetation. The forests were abounded by a game. The ancient Rapa-Nuians were engaged in agriculture, growing yams, tarot, sugar cane, butat and bananas. They went out into the sea at good boats made from the retired palm tree trunk, and hunted dolphins. The fact that the ancient islanders fed well, indicates the analysis of the DNA of food found on the treasures of clay dishes. And this idyll destroyed the people themselves. The forests gradually burned down. The islanders remained without their fleet, and therefore, without meat ocean fish and dolphins. All animals and birds they have already eaten. The only food of Rap-Nuians remained crabs and mollusks, which they collected in shallow water.

Easter Island: Moi Statues

The natives could not really say anything about how they were made and, most importantly, they were brought to the coast of stone idols weighing a few tons. They called them "Moa" and believed that "Mana" was concluded in them - the spirit of the ancestors of a certain clan. The more idols, the stronger the concentration of supernatural power. And this leads to the prolm of the clan. Therefore, when, in 1875, the French were taken out one of the statues of the Moia Island of Easter to deliver it to the Paris Museum, Rapa Nuians had to hold back with the help of weapons. But, as studies have shown, about 55% of all idols were not transported to special platforms - "Ahu", but remained standing (many in the primary processing stage) in the quarry on the slope of the volcano early raraku.

Art style

In total, there are more than 900 sculptures on the island. They are classified by scientists chronologically and styles. The early period is characterized stone heads Without a torso, with a facing face, as well as pillars, where the torso is made very stylized. But there are exceptions. So, a very realistic figure of the knee-free MOAI was found. But she remained standing in an ancient quarry. In the middle of the idol of Easter Island became giants. Most likely, the clans competed with each other, trying to show that their mana is more powerful. Artistic decoration in the middle period is greater sophistication. Bodies of Eastukanov are covered with carvings depicting clothes and wings, and on the head of the MOAI, huge cylindrical caps of red tufa are often hoisted.

Transportation

Without a smaller mystery than Easter Islands, there was a secret of their movement on the "Ahu" platform. The natives argued that MOAI themselves came there. The truth turned out to be more prosaic. In the lowest (more ancient) layers of the soil, scientists have discovered the remains of the endemic tree, which is known to the wine palm. It grown up to 26 meters, and its smooth trunks without branches were reached in a diameter of 1.8 m. The tree served as an excellent material for rolling sculptures from a cathedral to the shore, where they were installed on the platform. To hoisting idols, we used the ropes that were selected from the Hauhau Tree Luba. The environmental disaster explains the fact why more than half of sculptures and "stuck" in the quarries.

Shortochi and long fools

Modern residents of Rap-Nui are no longer a religious revelation to the MOAI, but consider them their cultural Heritage. In the mid-50s of the last century, the researcher revealed the secret about who created Easter Island idols. He noticed that Rap-Nui inhabit two types of tribes. One mushfa of the ears from childhood was led by wearing heavy jewelry. The leader of this clan, Pedro Athanas, told Turu Heydal that in their family the ancestors were transferred to descendants to create the status of the MOAI and transport their wolf to the place of installation. This craft was kept secret from the "shorthow" and was transmitted orally. At the request of Heyerdal Atan with numerous assistants from his clan, a 12-ton statue, a 12-ton statue, and in a vertical position delivered it to the platform.

The natives who welcomed the Dutch navigaters in Easter Sunday 1722, did not seem to have anything in common with gigantic statues of their island. Detailed geological analysis and new archaeological finds allowed reveal the mystery These sculptures and learn about the tragic destiny of Kamenotesov.

The island came to the launchHis stone watchdogs fell, and many of them drowned in the ocean. It was possible to rise with an extraneous assistance, only a pitiful residue of the mysterious army.

Brief about Easter Island

Easter Island, or Rappanui at the local adverium, is a tiny (165.5 square meters) Sushi Block, lost in the Pacific Ocean halfway between Tahiti and Chile. It is the most isolated inhabited (about 2000 people) the place in the world - the nearest town (about 50 people) in 1900 km, on the island of Pitcairn, where in 1790 I found a refuge rebelled "Bounty" team.

Rappanui coastline decorated hundreds of extracted Istukhans-Natives Call them "MOAI". Each extrusion from a solid piece of volcanic rock; The height of some almost 10 m. All statues are made by one sample: a long nose, drawn by the ears of the ears, a gloomy compressed mouth and a protruding chin over a chicken-made torso with hands pressed to the sides and lying on the belly palms.

Many "MOAI" are installed with astronomical accuracy. For example, in one group, all seven statues look at the point (photo on the left), where the sun sits in the evening of the equinox. More than hundreds of Eastukanov lie in a quarry not fully disheveled or practically ready and, apparently, waiting for shipments to the destination.

More than 250 years of historians and archaeologists could not understand, as well as, with a shortage of local resources, primitive islanders, completely cut off from the rest of the world, managed to handle gigantic monoliths, drag their kilometers over rough terrain and put it vertically. Associated many more or less scientific theoriesMoreover, many experts believed that Rapanui was at one time being populated by a highly developed people, perhaps the carrier of the American who died as a result of some catastrophe.

Remove the secret Islands allowed a detailed analysis of its soil samples. The truth about what happened here can serve as a sobering lesson for residents of any corner of the planet.

Inborn sailors. The once Rapanuitsa hunted on dolphins with a canoe, swept out of palm trunks. However, the island of the Dutch saw the boats from a variety of bonded plates - large trees were no longer left.

The history of the opening of the island

On April 5, on the first day of Easter, 1722, three Dutch ships under the start of Captain Jacob Roghevenu stumbled upon in the Pacific Ocean on an island that was not applied to any card. When they left the anchor from his eastern shore, a few natives were swam in their boats. Rogheven was disappointed, boats islanders, he recorded: "Bad and fragile ... with a slightly spline, covered by many small doctors". The boats flowed so much, tea rowers had to learn the water. The landscape of the island either did not warmer the soul of the captain: "His launched appearance suggests the idea of \u200b\u200bextreme need and infertility.".

Civilization conflict. Istukans from Easter Island are now decorated with Parisian and London museums, but it was not easy to get these exhibits. The islanders knew every "MOAI" by name and did not want to part with any of them. When the French exported one of these statues in 1875, the crowd of the natives had to restrain the rifle shots.

Despite the friendly behavior of brightly painted natives, dutch saved, ready for the worst, and built in a combat kare under the amazed outlines of the owners, have never seen other people, not to mention firearms.

Soon the visit is abundant tragedy. One of the sailors shot. Then he argued that he allegedly saw the islanders raise the stones and make threatening gestures. "Guests" by order Rogheven opened fire, killing in place 10-12 hosts and wounds as much as much. The islanders were horrified in horror, then they returned to the shore with fruits, vegetables and poultry - to lose the fierce aliens. Roggeven noted in his diary almost naked landscape with rare bushes not higher than 3 m. On the island called them in honor of Easter, the interest was called only unusual statues (heads)Standing along the coast on massive stone platforms ("Ahu").

At first, these idols shook us. We could not understand how islanders who do not have durable ropes and a crowd of building wood for the manufacture of mechanisms, nevertheless, they were able to revive the statues (idols) with a height of at least 9 m, and quite voluminous.

Scientific approach. French traveler Jean Francois Laperuz landed on Easter Island in 1786, accompanied by a chronicle, three naturalists, astronomers and physics. As a result of 10-hour studies, he suggested that in the past the terrain was a wooded.

Who were Rapanians?

People settled Easter Island only about 400 years. It is believed that they sailed on huge boats From East Polynesia. Their language is close to the adverbs of the residents of the Hawaiian and Marquis Islands. The ancient fishing hooks found in the excavations and the stone Tesla Rapanuits are similar to the guns used by the marchizers.

At first, European navigators met naked islanders, but by the XIX century they themselves tipped clothes. However, family relics were more valued, and not ancient crafts. Men sometimes put on hats from feathers for a long time extinct on the island of birds. Women cleaned straw hats. And those and others pierced her ears and wore bone and wooden decorations in them. As a result, the uce, the ears were delayed and hung almost to the shoulders.

Lost generations - Answers found

In March 1774 English Captain James Cook Detected on Easter Island about 700 oversized From the malnutrition of the natives. He suggested that the local economy suffered from a recent volcanic eruption: This was told a lot of stoneworms collapsed from their platforms. Cook was convinced: the distant ancestors of the current Rapanians were supplied and put them along the coast.

"This work that demanded great time convincingly demonstrates ingenuity and perseverance to those who lived here in the era of creating statues. The current islanders almost certainly not before that, for they do not even buy the foundations from those that are about to be collapsed. "

Scientists only recently found answers on some riddles "MOAI". An analysis of pollen from sedimentary deposits, accumulated in the swamps of the island, shows that there was no time to be covered with dense forests, thickets of ferns and shrubs. All this was a diverse game.

Exploring the stratigraphic (and chronological) distribution of finds, scientists found in the lower, the most ancient layers of the pollen of the endemic tree close to the wine palm, height up to 26 and a diameter to 1.8 m. Its long, straight, unreasured trunks could serve excellent rollers for Transportation of blocks weighing tens of tons. Also found the pollen of the Khahuhau plants (triumphatti semi-robust), from the Luba of which in Polynesia (and not only) make ropes.

The fact that the ancient rapanuits of food grabbed, follows from the analysis of DNA of food residues on an excavated dishes. The islanders grown bananas, butat, sugar cane, tarot, yams.

The same botanical data demonstrates slow but faithful destruction of this idyll. Judging by the contents of marshest precipitation, the forest area has already been reduced by 800. Wood pollen and fern disputes are displaced from later coal layers - evidence of forest fires. At the same time, the woodcutters worked increasingly.

Wood deficit began to affect the lifestyle of the islanders, especially on their menu. The study of fossil garbage coup shows that one time Rapanuitsa regularly ate meat dolphins. Obviously, these floating in the open sea of \u200b\u200banimals they mined with large boats, swept out of thick palm trunks.

When the ship's forest left, Rapanuitsy lost their "ocean fleet", and with him a dolphin meat and ocean fish. In 1786, the Chronicle of the French expedition of Laperose recorded that in the sea islanders mined only inhabitants of mollusks and crabs.

End of "MOAI"

Stone statues began to appear in about the X century. Probably, they are personify Polynesian gods or deified local leaders. According to Rapanuan legends, the supernatural power of "mana" raised the extruded incense, led them to the designated place and allowed to wander at night, guarding the rest of manufacturers. Perhaps the clans competed with each other, trying to push the "MOAI" more larger and paint, and also put it on a more massive than that of competitors, platform.

After 1500, the statues practically did not do, apparently, there were no trees needed on a broken island necessary for their transportation and lifting. Approximately from the same time in swamp precipitations, palm pollen does not occur, and the dice dolphins are no longer thrown on the garbage. Local fauna changes. Disappear All local terrestrial birds and half sea.

Food is becoming worse, and the population, which has no time about 7,000 people, decreases. From 1805, the island suffers from the raids of South American slave trades: they take some natives to the natives, many of the remaining sick, picked up by PRS. Survive only a few hundred Rapanuits.

Residents of Easter Island erected "MOAI", hoping to protect the perfumes embodied in the stone. Ironically, it is this monumental program that led their land to ecological catastrophe. And the Istukans are towering by agricultural monuments to mindless economic and human recklessness.

Ocean view

Easter Island has a unique landscape with volcanic craters, lava formations, shining blue water, beaches, low hills, pastoral farms and many archaeological excavations, and most of them are devoted to the study of Figures-MOAI. They reach a height of 10 m. One of the figures, on the beach of Anachen, was installed almost in the original position, and a memorial plaque was placed next to the arrival of the Tour Heyerdal in 1955.

The remaining figures are scattered over the island. Each of them has its name. Pointing is a statue with a disclosed mouth, which local residents love. Ahu Tahai is another remarkable statue, with a beautiful shape of the eyes and stone-hairstyle. From here you can get to two of the set of island caves - one of them seems to be the center of religious ceremonies.

History of Easter Island

Sailors, when they first saw the island, were amazed by these colossal stone sculptures, lined up along the shore of the island. What were these people who can establish multi-stone stone giants? Why were they settled in such a secluded place? Where did the stone delivered from which sculptures are made?

The first settlers on the island became Polynesians in V c. Their culture has been preserved to the present day in the form of giant stone figures. (MOAI). The carriers of this culture were also called "long-legged", because they were taken to stretch the earlocks to the shoulders. In the XIV century Under the guilty of hot-matu "And on the island," Shortochi ", adherents of culture" Humanoptiz ". By the end of the XVII century. They managed to destroy the" long-life "aborigines, and their culture was lost. Only fragmentary information was preserved about the ancient culture of Easter.

It is believed that the leader of the tribe on the eve of the death ordered to cut into a volcano-rayan-ray of the MOAI in the volcano of the Volcano Rana - his own portrait in the form of a bird of birds. After the death of the Moi's leader was set on Ahu, i.e. In the sanctuary, and his gaze was directed to the housing of the tribe. It was believed that in this way he was able to transfer strength and wisdom to heirs, but at the same time to protect them for a minute of trouble. Nowadays, many MOAI (12 m high, weighing a few tons) Restored and can be inspected. It is Tahai, Tongariki, Akivi, Hekii and Anakena - the place where Hot-Mata "and landed ashore.

In ORONO (Orongo)The place at the foot of the Volcano Wound-kau, the first-settlement arranged the sanctuary of the Supreme Divine Mchacak and annually brought victims to a bird to a bird. To do this, from the island of Mother-Nui, located at a distance of 1 km, they delivered the first egg crag, which was considered the embodiment of the Divine. In competitions at the speed of swimming, all local tribes participated, and the leader of the winning tribe occupied a person's bird.

At the foot of the volcano early raracca

He was chosen her head and eyebrows, and the face was covered with black and red paint and stood in a special ritual dwelling. Thus, he became a spiritual leader of all the inhabiting tribal island. The warrior who won the leader who brought the victory to his leader was not forgotten and won his leader - he was awarded all sorts of gifts.

The inhabitants of the Island of Easter owned writing, which is not fully deciphered. Carved letters covered small wooden plates (Gopdo Gopdo)I have survived to this day. These signs are in every house on the island, however, none of the inhabitants could really explain their meaning and appointment. Rongo-Rongo size is not more than 30-50 cm, the drawings on them are depicting animals, birds, plants and astronomical signs. Conditionally, images can be divided into three themes: the first depicts of local gods, the second - the actions of the islanders, including those who have committed by the crime, are the third of the history of internecine wars. The islanders were also magnificent portrait strife, as evidenced by a small church in Hanga-Roa. Here, the ancient pagan beliefs merge with Christianity: the birds are certainly depicted above the holy heads.

According to the legend, in 1400, a small handful of Polynesians, led by the leader of Hiu Matui on his canoe, was rejected to a desert island in the immense Pacific Ocean. They ordered his Te-Pito-Te-Henua, "PUP of the Earth." And the night Matua established several holiest places along the coast. On the islands where he was coming - perhaps Marquis, there was a custom of installing the MOAI, monuments of the leaders of the tribe in the form of monumental stone statues.

Istukans - a number of 900 in the completed form - have a height of more than 10 m and the girth is 4.5 m, and in the career there are unfinished statues, whose height should be equal to 22 m! Perhaps they were moved from place to place with the help of thick wooden rollers made from tree trunks growing in the jungle.

Grand figures were first immersed on trees trunks that served either rollers or sleds. Then they were slowly pushed through kilometers of impassable jungle. To cope with such work, it would be necessary for the efforts of not one hundred people.

In 1722, the first European was located on the island - the Netherlands Admiral Jacob Rogheven. On this day, the Christian world celebrated Easter, because there is a European name Rap-Nui.

Captain James Cook visited Easter Island in 1774 and found that most of the Eastukanov were defeated, and some are generally broken or traces of abuse. The island was practically uninhabited, and the pathetic remnants of the once numerous tribe in fear of jutter in some terrible caves. What happened? Explanations of the islanders were detachments and contradictory. The archeology gave scientists more connected information: shortly after the departure of the Dutch expedition on the island there was a demographic catastrophe - overcrowding and hunger. The cult of stone Istukanov led to the fact that the forest on the island of reduced, respectively, reducing the sources of food. A few faulty years in a row made a catastrophic situation. Began bloody crossbursts and cannibalism. When Captain Cook was on the island, he counted only 4,000 inhabitants instead of 20,000, which Rogheven reported in 1722. But the worst was still ahead. In 1862, Peruvian soldiers landed on the island and 900 people were taken as slaves. Later, part of the population was sent to Peru as slaves, and the remaining either did not detain for a long time on the island. By 1877, only 111 people remained on Easter Island. Later, part of the population was sent to Peru as slaves, and the remaining either did not detain for a long time on the island. In 1888, Chile joined him to their territory. There was no self-government until 1966, when the islanders first chose their president.

The eastern part of the Easter Island, which is called Poike, formed 2.5 million years ago as a result of a powerful volcanic eruption. After 1 million years, the southern part of the island appeared, Wound-Kau, and 240 thousand years ago - Maung Terevak in the northeast, the highest island mountain (509 m).

On Easter Island there is a settlement of Hang Roa, where most of the population lives. Their existence provides mainly tourism. There are various hotels and restaurants here, and extremely friendly locals will definitely take care that your stay here has become comfortable and unforgettable.

Since 1964, an airport has been operating on Easter Island, strengthened communication with the outside world. Every year, this mysterious piece of land visits at least 20,000 tourists. For living now on the island of 3,800 people, sheep-flow samples of the end of the XIX century. It is an important component of the economy.

When come

The most suitable period for visiting Easter Island - from October to April, during this period the air temperature is heated to 22-30 ° C, and the water in the ocean is up to 20-23 ° C. From May to September, it is often rained, weather windy and cloudy, but still heat and temperature ranges between 17 and 20 ° C.

Beaches of Easter Islands

The beaches of Easter Islands are one of the best in Chile, in the summer, water is well warmed, so families often come here. A special recommendation deserves the beach of Anachen: a quiet bay, high palm trees, sand, which, when wet, acquires a pink shade, silent statues of Grozny Moi - all this conquers at first glance and makes you forget about time.

Tapathi-Rapa's holiday

If you find yourself on Easter Island at the end of January, be sure to visit the folklore holiday Tapati Rapa-Nui, which is a contest of dance and musical ensembles. The competition involves both island teams and groups with Tahiti.

In addition, the queen will be elected during the festival. And for the title, not only the applicant themselves will fight, but also their relatives. The girl will win, which will be the most pretty and relatives of which will be able to catch the most fish and weaving the longest canvas.

Visiting sights

Since 2011, a new payment system for visiting attractions has been operating on Easter Island. Arriving on the island, each tourist will acquire a bracelet on hand, which will give him the right to a multiple visit to all the sights of the island. The exception is the Ceremonial Center ORONO and the volcano early raraku, which can be viewed one time. The authorities were forced to go for such a non-standard step, since so far a large number of tourists tried to avoid paying for a visit. Now the situation with the "hares" should be solved radically.

Bracelets can be purchased at Mataveri airport, they are valid for five days and cost $ 21 for chili residents and $ 50 for foreign tourists. The bracelet can be transmitted to another person.

Mysterious MOAI

With the phrase "Easter Island", the first thing that arises before his eyes is the ranks of the huge statues of the Moi, asked their harsh views of the distance. The creation and history of these frozen sculptures for a long time remained for scientists by the secret, even today, many aspects continue to be fully unclear or controversial.

It is believed that the inhabitants of Easter Island made the MOAI statues in honor of the deceased relatives (In another embodiment - the dead leaders) And installed on a special platform, which was called Ahu and was nothing more than the burial site. Each clan had its own ah. The Islanders worshiped Moa, and they gave them strength and defended their descendants from different disasters. The rite of worship of the MOAI looked as follows: Opposite Ahu was divorced by fire, next to whom they were placed on squatting, with papers deployed down, they rhythmically raised and lowered their palms folded together.

To date, it is known that the statues were made in the quarry of the wound wound in the quarry, the unfinished MOAIs were found there, including the largest 21-meter El Gigante. On average, the height of statues ranges from 3 to 5 m, less often meet 10-12 m. On the heads of some sculptures, you can see "caps" from the red breeds of the PUN-PUO-PUO - Pukao. They had to symbolize a typical hairstyle of the islanders.

Most scientific disputes unfold around how local residents managed to transport these huge statues from a quarry to Ahu platforms. Currently, there are two main versions. According to one statue, it was delivered to the destination with a wolf with various wooden rails, stops and other devices. As argument in favor of this version, its defenders lead the fact that on the island actually there is no forestseed arrays, they were all used to rolling statues. In the mid-50s. XX century The Norwegian scientist-anthropologist Tour Heyerdal together with the descendants of the native tribe "Longs" was carried out experiment on carving, transportation and installation of the statue of the MOAI. The last "long legs" showed scientists, as their ancestors carved statues with the help of stone hammers, then dragged the statue of the wolf in the position of lying and, finally, with the help of a simple mechanism consisting of stones and three logs, installed it on the platform. To the question of scientists, why they did not tell about it before, the natives answered that no one asked them before. According to another version (She put forward the Czech explorer Pavel Pavel) Statues moved in a vertical position using cables. With this method of transportation, the impression was created that the statues "go." In 2012, a group of anthropologist scientists during the experiment successfully proved the legitimacy of such a version.

Eagle and river: Easter Island

Facts

• Name and sizes: Easter Island is also known as Rapa Nui. Its area is about 162.5 square meters. km.
• Location: Island lies 27 ° Yu.Sh and 109 ° C Politically, he is considered the territory of Chile. The nearest dwelling land is Pitchern Island, 2000 km with excess to the West. Chile 3700 km, to Tahiti - 4000 km.
• Uniqueness: Fame of Easter island brought its stonestorms made from local volcanic tuff. More than 10 m height, they weigh more than 150 tons.
• UNESCO World Heritage List: Island Included in UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995