6 interesting facts about Easter Island

6 interesting facts about Easter Island

We examine the history of the island and explain some of the most interesting facts about Easter Island. This remote Pacific island is not only beautiful, but also full of secrets

First things first, Easter Islandis far.Very, very far.

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In fact, it is one of the most remote communities in the world. Its nearest inhabited neighbor is Pitcairn, 2,000 km (1,200 mi) to the west, while the nearest continental country is Chile at a distance of 3,700 km (2,300 mi). In short, it's not a short jump.

So the question to ask is: are Easter Island's statues worth the effort? Are these large boulders worth the cost of a long journey?

After spending five days on the breathtakingly beautiful island, we can answer with a resounding yes.

Not only are the statues of Easter Island great to look at, their fascinating history also makes them one of humanity's enduring travel mysteries. Here are six interesting facts about Easter Island.

1. Nobody knows how the statues were moved

Of all the interesting facts about Easter Island, the transportation of the island's statues ("moai") is considered notable as they were moved 18 km (11 miles) across the island without the use of wheels, cranes or large animals.

Scientists have tested several theories, most commonly concluding that the islanders used a combination of wooden pulleys, ropes, and wooden sleds.

However, in 2011, Terry Hunt of the University of Hawaii and Carl Lipo of California State University Long Beach worked with National Geographic to prove that just 18 people could move a 3 m (10 ft) Moai replica weighing 5 tons with just a few hundred meters using three strong ropes and some practice.

It is unclear whether this method would have worked on Paro, the tallest moai constructed at nearly 10 m (33 feet) tall and weighing 82 tons, or actually the heaviest moai, weighing a whopping 86 tons.

2. The huge heads have (larger) bodies

Archaeologists have known that the statues on Easter Island have bodies since the earliest excavations in 1914. However, the public widely referred to them as “Easter Island heads” because the most photographed moai were those buried up to their shoulders.

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In 2012, photos of an excavation led by the Easter Island Statue Project began circulating, along with a photo from the 1950s showing how large the statues actually are. The sight was so impressive that several national publications ran a story about it.

View all the photographs from the excavation on the Easter Island Statue Project website.

3. A Finnish tourist once stole a Moai ear

In 2008, a Finnish tourist was found chopping off a moai's ear on Anakena Beach. An island resident saw Marko Kulju, 26, fleeing the scene with a piece of the statue in his hand. She reported the incident to the police, who identified Kulju based on the tattoos on his body.

The Finn was placed under house arrest and fined nearly $17,000 - a light penalty since he faced up to seven years in prison. Kulju publicly apologized in a Chilean newspaper shortly after his arrest.

As a result of the incident, tourist access will be more tightly controlled, with a quarry far from the main attraction cordoned off.

Thank you Marko!

4. The statues may have been an antidote for leprosy

Dr. Anneliese Pontius, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, has theorized that islanders created the statues to counteract the effects of leprosy.

According to their hypothesis, the shock of seeing deformities on the features most important for social interaction (face, hand, fingers, arms) may have led islanders to ritually "undo" the damage by creating moai with overcorrected features.

These efforts to reverse leprosy may have been instead of exiling those affected to other islands, as they had elsewhere (e.g., Hawaii, Molokai).

The symptoms of leprosy compared to their overcorrected Moai equivalents are listed below, as written in Dr. Pontius' article Easter Island's Stone Giants: A Neuro-Psychiatric View is described.

• Der Zerstörung des Nasenknorpels durch die Lepra wird durch ausgeprägte Nasen und stilisierte Nasenlöcher entgegengewirkt.
• Abwärtsstellung des Mundes mit hängender Unterlippe und entblößten Zähnen (aufgrund einer Gesichtsnervenlähmung) im Vergleich zu Moai’s Aufwärtsstellung der Lippen. Keine Zähne sichtbar.
• Lippen eingezogen und geschwollen vs. nach oben gespitzt und dünn.
• „Klauenhand“ vs. gestreckte Finger in gerader Form. Die länglichen Finger liegen in einer horizontalen Linie über dem Bauch.
• Störungen von Fingern und Nägeln im Vergleich zu Moais gut abgegrenzten Fingerspitzen und Nägeln.

5. There is an ugly duckling that no one can explain

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This is perhaps the strangest of all interesting facts about Easter Island. All statues on Easter Island have distinctive elongated features and follow a specific aesthetic. However, Tukuturi seems far more human. He is much smaller than the other Moai and appears to be in a kneeling position with his hands on his legs.

Tukuturi's head is round and more humanlike and appears to have a small beard. While the other Moai were carved at the stunning site of Rano Raraku, Tukuturi was made from a different material (the reddish stone of Puna Pua) and then brought to Rano Raraku. Nobody knows why it is so different.

6. The statues were toppled by angry islanders

No one is claiming that Easter Island experienced devastating deforestation at any point in its history. The prevailing theory has long been that the islanders felled (or burned) trees to clear land and carve canoes to support the growing population and possibly transport the moai.

Newer theories suggest that the widespread deforestation was the work of Polynesian rats who came over in the first canoes. Anthropologists agree that a rebellion or uprising by the islanders occurred sometime in the 17th century.

Tired of dwindling resources, clans began clashing and tearing down each other's moais. It is reported that until 1868 there were no upright statues on the island, apart from the partially buried ones on the outer slopes of Rano Raraku. Of course, many have since been rebuilt.

Lonely Planet Chile & Easter Island contains a comprehensive travel guide to Easter Island, ideal for those who want to both explore the main attractions and take the road less traveled.

Mission statement: Atlas & Boots

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