Easter Island has been described as one of the loneliest places on Earth. Measuring a mere 16 miles in length, it lies approximately 1200 miles (2,000 km) from its closest neighbor. It is also home to more than 600 enormous stone statues, some of which are 30 feet (9 m) in height.
Discovered by Dutch sailors on Easter Sunday in the year 1722 (hence the name), the Island was home to approximately 3,000 inhabitants at one point. By the late 1800's, the native population had died out as a result of famine and civil war.
The Islanders didn't have a written language as such; several wooden tablets engraved with pictographs have been discovered. This has made it very difficult to learn much about those who settled on the Island.
The Statues
Easter Island is home to two different types of statues carved from volcanic rock. The earliest versions date from around 380 AD. Around the year 1100 AD, the statues that most people associate with Easter Island were constructed. Known as the moai, they have the form of a male figure's upper body, inlaid eyes, and distinctive, elongated earlobes. They were mounted on stone platforms, called the ahu. Up to a dozen moai were mounted on a single ahu. Over time, even larger statues with a red topknot (a pukao) were constructed.
Why Build the Moai?
It is thought that the ahu were used as funeral platforms. The deceased was placed on the ahu and left to the birds and the elements (similar to a Tibetan sky burial) until only bones remained. Family members buried the bones inside the ahu; after the burial, a feast honoring the person who had passed was held.
The theory continues that the moai were constructed for two purposes: to honor the dead and as a symbol of the family's prosperity and strength.
