Rapa Nui Easter Island/Isla de Pascua
Easter Island map showing Terevaka, Poike, Rano Kau, Motu Nui, Orongo, and Mataveri; major Ahus are marked with Moai
Capital		Hanga Roa 27°9′S 109°25.5′W / -27.15, -109.425
Official languages		Spanish, Rapa Nui
Ethnic groups (2002)		Rapanui 60%, Chilean 39%, Amerindian 1%
Demonym		Rapa Nui or Pascuense
Government		Special territory of Chile[1]
-	Provincial governor	Melania Carolina Hotu Hey (2006-)
-	Mayor of Hanga Roa	Pedro Pablo Edmunds Paoa
Annexation		to Chile
-	Treaty signed	September 9, 1888
Area
-	Total	163.6 km²  63. See also Easter Island#Geology Terevaka is the largest tallest ( and youngest of three main Extinct volcanoes that form Rapa Nui ( Easter Island See also Easter Island#Geology Poike is one of three main Extinct volcanoes that form Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) (a Chilean island See also Rapa Nui National Park, Easter Island#Geology Rano Kau is a tall Extinct volcano that forms the southwestern headland of Easter Motu Nui is the largest of three Islets just south of Easter Island and is the most westerly place in Chile. ‘Orongo is a stone village and ceremonial center at the southwestern tip of Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) Mataveri International Airport or Isla de Pascua Airport is located at Hanga Roa on Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) ( Isla de Pascua Moai (or mo‘ai) (ˈmoʊаɪ are Monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Polynesian island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island This is about the main town on Easter Island and not the Hangaroa river located in New Zealand Hanga Roa is the main An official language is a Language that is given a special legal status in a particular Country, State, or other territory The Rapa Nui language (also Rapanui) is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Rapanui, the inhabitants of Easter Island. The Rapanui or Rapa Nui ("Big Rapa" are the native Polynesian inhabitants of Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean (the island itself A demonym or gentilic is a word that denotes the members of a People or the inhabitants of a place For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. Melania Carolina Hotu Hey is the provincial governor of Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) in Chilean Polynesia. A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "greater" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government This is about the main town on Easter Island and not the Hangaroa river located in New Zealand Hanga Roa is the main Pedro Pablo Edmunds Paoa is a Rapanui politician He is a member of the Partido Demócrata Cristiano de Chile, and the Mayor of Hanga Roa, the only Annexation ( Latin ad, to and nexus, joining is the legal incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity (either adjacent or non-contiguous Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the Events 1000 - Battle of Svolder, Viking Age. 1379 - Treaty of Neuberg, splitting the Austrian Year 1888 ( MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. To aid in the comparison of sizes of different geographic regions areas between 1  Km² (100 Hectares and 10 km² (1000 hectares are listed below 1 sq mi
Population
-	2002 census	3,791
-	Density	23. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume 17/km²  60. 08/sq mi
Time zone		Central Time Zone (UTC-6)
Calling code		+56 32

Easter Island (Rapa Nui in the Rapa Nui language, Isla de Pascua in Spanish language), is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. The Central Time Zone observes Standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC during standard time ( UTC−6) and five hours during Daylight saving This is a list of country calling codes defined by ITU-T recommendation E The Rapa Nui language (also Rapanui) is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Rapanui, the inhabitants of Easter Island. Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a Subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions The Polynesian Triangle is a region of the Pacific Ocean anchored by three island groups Hawai‘i, Easter Island (Rapa Nui and New Zealand The island is an overseas territory of Chile. A dependent territory dependent area or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political Independence or Sovereignty as a Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the Easter Island is famous for its monumental statues, called moai (IPA: /ˈmoʊаɪ/), created by the Rapanui people. Moai (or mo‘ai) (ˈmoʊаɪ are Monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Polynesian island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island The Rapanui or Rapa Nui ("Big Rapa" are the native Polynesian inhabitants of Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean (the island itself It is a world heritage site with much of the island protected within the Rapa Nui National Park. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex Rapa Nui National Park is a World heritage site located on Easter Island, Chile.

Name

The name "Easter Island" was given by the island's first recorded European visitor, the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who encountered Easter Island on Easter Sunday 1722, while searching for Davis or David's island. The Dutch people ( Dutch:) are the dominant Ethnic group of the Netherlands. Jacob Roggeveen (baptized 1 February 1659, Middelburg - 31 January, 1729, Middelburg was a Dutch explorer who was sent Easter ( Greek: Πάσχα Pascha or Pasxa) is the most important religious feast in the Christian Liturgical year. Year 1722 ( MDCCXXII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Edward Davis or Davies (fl c 1680-1688 was an English buccaneer active in the Caribbean during the 1680s and would lead successful raids against Leon and Panama ^[2] The island's official Spanish name, Isla de Pascua, is Spanish for "Easter Island".

The current Polynesian name of the island, "Rapa Nui" or "Big Rapa", was coined by labor immigrants from Rapa in the Bass Islands, who likened it to their home island in the aftermath of the Peruvian slave deportations in the 1870s. Rapa or Rapa Iti (Little Rapa as it is sometimes called in more recent years (to distinguish it from "Rapa Nui" (Big Rapa a name for Easter Island) The Bass Islands ( French: Îles (de Bass or Îlots (de Bass) consist primarily of Rapa ( and Marotiri ( ^[3] However, Thor Heyerdahl has claimed that the naming would have been the opposite, Rapa being the original name of Easter Island, and Rapa Iti was named by its refugees. Thor Heyerdahl ( October 6, 1914 Larvik, Norway &ndash April 18, 2002 Colla Micheri, Italy) was a ^[4]

There are several hypotheses about the "original" Polynesian name for Easter Island, including Te pito o te henua, or "The Navel of the World" due to its isolation. Legends claim that the island was first named as Te pito o te kainga a Hau Maka, or the "Little piece of land of Hau Maka". ^[5] Another name, Mata-ki-Te-rangi, means "Eyes that talk to the sky. "^[6]

Location and physical geography

Orthographic projection centered on Easter Island.

Easter Island, Sala y Gómez, South America and the islands in between

Easter Island is one of the world's most isolated inhabited islands. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a It is 3,600 km (2,237 mi) west of continental Chile and 2,075 km (1,290 mi) east of Pitcairn (Sala y Gómez, 415 kilometres to the east, is closer but uninhabited).

It has a latitude close to that of Caldera, Chile, an area of 163. Caldera is a seaport in Copiapó Province in the region of Atacama. 6 km² (63 sq mi), and a maximum altitude of 507 metres. There are three Rano (freshwater crater lakes), at Rano Kau, Rano Raraku and Rano Aroi, near the summit of Terevaka, but no permanent streams or rivers. Crater Lake is a Caldera Lake located in the US state of Oregon. See also Rapa Nui National Park, Easter Island#Geology Rano Kau is a tall Extinct volcano that forms the southwestern headland of Easter Rano Raraku is a volcanic crater formed of consolidated Volcanic ash, or Tuff, and located on the lower slopes of Terevaka in the Rapa Nui National

Geology

Easter Island is a volcanic high island, consisting of three extinct volcanoes: Terevaka (altitude 507 metres) forms the bulk of the island. A high island is in Geology (and sometimes in Archaeology) an Island of volcanic origin See also Easter Island#Geology Terevaka is the largest tallest ( and youngest of three main Extinct volcanoes that form Rapa Nui ( Easter Island Two other volcanoes, Poike and Rano Kau, form the eastern and southern headlands and give the island its approximately triangular shape. See also Easter Island#Geology Poike is one of three main Extinct volcanoes that form Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) (a Chilean island See also Rapa Nui National Park, Easter Island#Geology Rano Kau is a tall Extinct volcano that forms the southwestern headland of Easter There are numerous lesser cones and other volcanic features, including the crater Rano Raraku, the cinder cone Puna Pau and many volcanic caves including lava tubes. Rano Raraku is a volcanic crater formed of consolidated Volcanic ash, or Tuff, and located on the lower slopes of Terevaka in the Rapa Nui National A cinder cone or scoria cone is a steep conical Hill of volcanic fragments that accumulate around and downwind from a Volcanic vent. See also Rapa Nui National Park See also Pukao Punau Pau is a quarry in a small crater or Cinder cone on the outskirts of Hanga Roa Lava tubes are natural conduits through which Lava travels beneath the surface of a lava flow expelled by a Volcano during an eruption

Easter Island and surrounding islets such as Motu Nui, Motu Iti are the summit of a large volcanic mountain which rises over two thousand metres from the sea bed. Motu Nui is the largest of three Islets just south of Easter Island and is the most westerly place in Chile. This is about an islet off Easter Island not Motu Iti (Marquesas Islands Motu Iti, or Little island is a small uninhabited Islet It is part of the Sala y Gómez Ridge, a (mostly submarine) mountain range with dozens of seamounts starting with Pukao and then Moai, two seamounts to the west of Easter Island, and extending 2,700 km (1,700 mi) east to the Nazca Seamount. A seamount is a Mountain rising from the Ocean Seafloor that does not reach to the water's surface ( Sea level) and thus is not an Island The Pukao Seamount is a Submarine volcano, the most westerly in the Easter Seamount Chain or Sala y Gómez ridge. The Moai Seamount is a Submarine volcano, the second most westerly in the Easter Seamount Chain or Sala y Gómez ridge it is east of Pukao ^[7]

Pukao, Moai and Easter Island were formed in the last 750,000 years, with the most recent eruption a little over a hundred thousand years ago. They are the youngest mountains of the Sala y Gómez Ridge, which has been formed by the Nazca Plate floating over the Easter hotspot. The Nazca Plate, named after the Nazca region of southern Peru, is an oceanic Tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin off the west The Easter hotspot is a volcanic hotspot located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. ^[8] Only at Easter Island, its surrounding islets and Sala y Gómez does the Sala y Gómez Ridge form dry land.

In the first half of the 20th century, steam came out of the Rano Kau crater wall. This was photographed by the island's manager, Mr Edmunds. [1]

History

Rapa Nui National Park*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Chile
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, iii, v
Reference	715
Region†	Oceanic Continent
Inscription history
Inscription	1995  (19th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

Main article: History of Easter Island

The history of Easter Island is incredibly rich and highly controversial. Rapa Nui National Park is a World heritage site located on Easter Island, Chile. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex As of 2008 there are a total of 878 World Heritage Sites located in 145 "State Parties" Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex See also Easter Island Easter Island is one of the youngest inhabited territories on Earth and for most of its history it was the most isolated inhabited territory Its inhabitants have endured famines, epidemics, civil war, slave raids and colonialism, and the crash of their ecosystem; their population has declined precipitously more than once. A famine is a widespread shortage of food that may apply to any Faunal species which phenomenon is usually accompanied by regional Malnutrition, Starvation In Epidemiology, an epidemic (from Greek epi- upon + demos people is a classification of a disease that appears as new cases in a A civil war is a War between a State and domestic political actors that are in control of some part of the territory claimed by the state As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another See Colony and Colonization for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism They have left a cultural legacy that has brought them fame out of all proportion to their numbers.

Contemporary to the arrival of the first settlers of Hawaii, 300-400 CE was published as a date for initial settlement of Easter Island. The State of Hawaii ( or həˈwaɪʔiː Hawaiian: Mokuāina o Hawaii) is a state in the United States located on an Archipelago in the Although some scholars argue for initial settlement of 700-800 CE, there is an on-going study by archaeologists Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo that states: “Radiocarbon dates for the earliest stratigraphic layers at Anakena, Easter Island, and analysis of previous radiocarbon dates imply that the island was colonized late, about 1200 CE. See also Rapa Nui National Park ‘Anakena is a white coral sand beach in Rapa Nui National Park on Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) a Chilean Significant ecological impacts and major cultural investments in monumental architecture and statuary thus began soon after initial settlement. ”^[9]

There are many theories about the cultural composition and history of Easter Island. No two seem to agree. Most scholars consider the island's culture Polynesian. However, Thor Heyerdahl claimed that locals say the original culture consisted of two different races: the Hanau epe, or long-ears, the original settlers of the island with red hair and fair skin, and the Hanau momoko, or short ears, the Polynesian peoples generally associated with the Pacific. The Hanau epe or Long-ears were a group of semi-legendary people who are said to have arrived at Easter Island.

Pedro Atan, an eleventh generation descendant of Ororoina told Thor Heyerdahl in 1955: "There were handsome people among our ancestors. Thor Heyerdahl ( October 6, 1914 Larvik, Norway &ndash April 18, 2002 Colla Micheri, Italy) was a There were two kinds of people on this island: some were dark (Polynesian) and some were quite fair skinned like you from the mainland, and with light hair. Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a Subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over Real white people. But they were genuine Easter Islanders, quite genuine. In our family there were many of the fair type, who were called oho-tea, or the light-haired. My own mother and aunt had [red] hair. . . . There were many of that type in our family, all the way back. We brothers are not like that. But my daughter who was drowned had milk-white skin and completely red hair, and so has my grown up son, Juan. He makes the twelfth generation after Ororoina. "

That the population consisted of two distinct races was also noted by the first European to visit the island, Jacob Roggeveen, on Easter Sunday, 1722:

"Among the first who came aboard was a white man. Jacob Roggeveen (baptized 1 February 1659, Middelburg - 31 January, 1729, Middelburg was a Dutch explorer who was sent He was ornamented with a crown of feathers on his head, which was close shaven. Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering or Plumage, on Birds They are considered the most complex integumentary structures " The islander was presented with several gifts including "two strings of blue pearls, a small mirror, and a pair of scissors. " Particularly striking were the man's artificially lengthened ears which contained "round white pegs as large as his fist. " The lobes hung down to his shoulders. Roggeveen later noted that "masses of the islanders had their ears lengthened in this [same] manner. " If their long ears got in the way when working, they removed the pegs and lifted the long flap up and over the upper edge of the ear.

"They are a tall, well built people," he continues, "who, so far as can be judged, are fair skinned [Polynesains] such as we know them in Tahiti, Hawaii and other eastern islands of the south seas. But the population is mixed, some are conspicuous by their darker skins, while others are quite white, like Europeans. A few are also of a reddish tint as if somewhat severely tanned by the sun. Many had beards. "

"Many islanders went about stark naked, but with their entire body artistically tattooed in one continuous pattern of birds and strange figures. Others ware cloaks of bark cloth colored red and yellow. Some have waving crowns of feathers on their heads, and others [wear] queer reed hats. All are friendly, and we saw no weapons of any kind. Curiously there were hardly women to be seen, although the place was swarming with men. But the few women who showed themselves are more than cordial to us, without the men showing the slightest sign of jealousy. "

According to tradition, the first oho-tea, (light-skinned) Hotu Matua, landed on the island's North-Eastern shore at Anakena Bay sometime around 300 CE. See also Easter Island#Mythology Hotu Matu'a was the legendary first settler and ariki mau ("supreme chief" or "king" of Easter Island (The remains of his stone house and fireplace are still in evidence there with carbon 14 dating of the ashes providing the date. Carbon-14, 14C, or radiocarbon, is a Radioactive isotope of Carbon discovered on February 27, 1940, by ) The two vessels in Hotu Matua's party were so large they carried several hundred men, and Oroi, Matua's worst enemy made passage as a stowaway.

A single moai or statue (representing Hotu Matua?) stands on the platform, or ahu, at the beach. Moai (or mo‘ai) (ˈmoʊаɪ are Monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Polynesian island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island It was the first of the ancient stone sculptures to be re-erected under the urging of Thor Heyerdahl during his 1955 expedition to the island.

Ecology

View of Easter Island from space, 2001. The Poike peninsula is on the right.

Easter Island, together with its closest neighbour, the tiny island of Isla Sala y Gómez 415 km further east, is recognized by ecologists as a distinct ecoregion, the Rapa Nui subtropical broadleaf forests. An ecoregion ( ecological region) sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area smaller than a "realm" or " Having relatively little rainfall contributed to eventual deforestation. The original subtropical moist broadleaf forests are now gone, but paleobotanical studies of fossil pollen and tree moulds left by lava flows indicate that the island was formerly forested, with a range of trees, shrubs, ferns, and grasses. Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF also known as tropical moist forests, are a Tropical and Subtropical Forest Paleobotany, also spelled as palaeobotany (from the Greek words paleon = old and " Botany " study of plants is the branch of Pollen is a fine to coarse powder consisting of microgametophytes ( pollen grains) which produce the male Gametes (sperm cells of A large palm, Paschalococos disperta, related to the Chilean wine palm (Jubaea chilensis), was one of the dominant trees, as was the toromiro tree (Sophora toromiro). Arecaceae or Palmae (also known by the name Palmaceae, which is taxonomically invalid or commonly palm tree) the palm family is a family of Flowering Paschalococos disperta ( Easter Island Palm) formerly Jubaea disperta was the native cocoid palm species of Easter Island Jubaea chilensis ( Chilean Wine Palm) is the sole living species in the genus Jubaea in the palm family Arecaceae. Jubaea chilensis ( Chilean Wine Palm) is the sole living species in the genus Jubaea in the palm family Arecaceae. Toromiro (Sophora toromiro is a species of tree formerly common in the forests of Easter Island. Sophora is a Genus of about 45 species of small Trees and Shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The palm is now extinct, and the toromiro is extinct in the wild. However, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the Göteborg Botanical Garden are jointly leading a scientific program to reintroduce the toromiro to Easter Island. The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, usually referred to simply as Kew Gardens, are extensive Gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and The island is, and has been for at least the last three centuries, mainly covered in grassland with nga'atu or bulrush in the crater lakes of Rano Raraku and Rano Kau. Grasslands (also called greenswards) are areas where the Vegetation is dominated by Grasses ( Poaceae) and other Herbaceous (non-woody Totora ( Schoenoplectus californicus ssp tatora) is a Subspecies of the giant bulrush sedge. Rano Raraku is a volcanic crater formed of consolidated Volcanic ash, or Tuff, and located on the lower slopes of Terevaka in the Rapa Nui National See also Rapa Nui National Park, Easter Island#Geology Rano Kau is a tall Extinct volcano that forms the southwestern headland of Easter Presence of these reeds (which are called totora in the Andes) was used to support the argument of a South American origin of the statue builders, but pollen analysis of lake sediments shows these reeds have grown on the island for over 30,000 years. Before the arrival of humans, Easter Island had vast seabird colonies, no longer found on the main island, and several species of landbirds, which have become extinct. In Biology and Ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a Species or group of taxa.

Destruction of the ecosystem

"The overall picture for Easter is the most extreme example of forest destruction in the Pacific, and among the most extreme in the world: the whole forest gone, and all of its tree species extinct. "^[10]

Panorama of Anakena beach, Easter Island. See also Rapa Nui National Park ‘Anakena is a white coral sand beach in Rapa Nui National Park on Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) a Chilean The moai pictured here was the first to be raised back into place upon its ahu in 1955 by islanders using the ancient method.

Trees are sparse on modern Easter Island, rarely forming small groves. See Grove for other meanings (disambiguation of the word 'grove' The island once had a forest of palms, and it has generally been thought that native Easter Islanders deforested the island in the process of erecting their statues. Arecaceae or Palmae (also known by the name Palmaceae, which is taxonomically invalid or commonly palm tree) the palm family is a family of Flowering Experimental archaeology has clearly demonstrated that some statues certainly could have been placed on "Y" shaped wooden frames called miro manga erua and then pulled to their final destinations on ceremonial sites. Rapanui traditions metaphorically refer to spiritual power (mana) as the means by which the moai were "walked" from the quarry. But, given the island's southern latitude, the climatic effects of the Little Ice Age (about 1650 to 1850) may have contributed to deforestation and other changes, though such speculation is unproven. The Little Ice Age (LIA was a period of cooling occurring after a warmer era known as the Medieval Warm Period or Medieval Climate Optimum

Jared Diamond disregards the influence of climate but still gives an extensive look into the collapse of the ancient Easter Islanders in his book Collapse. TemplateInfobox writer --> Jared Mason Diamond (b 10 September, 1937) is an American Evolutionary biologist Collapse How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed is a 2005 book by Jared M The disappearance of the island's trees seems to coincide with a decline of its civilization around the 17th and 18th century. Midden contents show a sudden drop in quantities of fish and bird bones as the islanders lost the means to construct fishing vessels and the birds lost their nesting sites. A midden, also known as a kitchen midden, or a shell heap, is a dump for domestic waste. Fish are aquatic Vertebrate animals that are typically ectothermic (previously Cold-blooded) covered with scales, and equipped with two Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. Bones are rigid organs that form part of the Endoskeleton of Vertebrates They function to move support and protect the various organs of the body produce Soil erosion due to lack of trees is apparent in some places. Erosion is the carrying away or displacement of solids ( Sediment, Soil, rock and other particles usually by the agents of currents such as wind Sediment samples document that up to half of the native plants had become extinct and that the vegetation of the island was drastically altered. Chickens and rats became leading items of diet and there are contested hints that cannibalism occurred, based on human remains associated with cooking sites, especially in caves. Rats are various medium sized long-tailed Rodents of the superfamily Muroidea Cannibalism (from Spanish es ''caníbal'' in connection with cannibalism among the Antillean Caribs, also called anthropophagy (from Greek ἄνθρωπος

In his article "From Genocide to Ecocide: The Rape of Rapa Nui", Benny Peiser notes evidence of self-sufficiency on Easter Island when Europeans first arrived. Benny (Josef Peiser, born 1957 in Haifa, is a senior lecturer in the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Liverpool 's John Moores University Although stressed, the island may still have had some (small) trees, mainly toromiro. Toromiro (Sophora toromiro is a species of tree formerly common in the forests of Easter Island. Cornelis Bouman, Jakob Roggeveen's captain, stated in his log book, ". Jacob Roggeveen (baptized 1 February 1659, Middelburg - 31 January, 1729, Middelburg was a Dutch explorer who was sent . . of yams, bananas and small coconut palms we saw little and no other trees or crops. For the fruit see Banana. For other meanings see Banana (disambiguation. The Coconut Palm ( Cocos nucifera) is a member of the Family Arecaceae (palm family " According to Carl Friedrich Behrens, Roggeveen's officer, "The natives presented palm branches as peace offerings. Their houses were set up on wooden stakes, daubed over with luting and covered with palm leaves," (presumably from banana plants as the island was by then deforested). For the fruit see Banana. For other meanings see Banana (disambiguation. The stakes indicate that either driftwood or living trees were still available, though the reliability of Behrens as a source is questionable. Driftwood is Wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea or river by the action of winds tides waves or man By contrast, Peiser considers these reports to indicate that considerable numbers of large trees still existed at that time, which is explicitly contradicted by the Bouman quote above.

In his book A Short History of Progress, Ronald Wright speculates that for a generation or so, "there was enough old lumber to haul the great stones and still keep a few canoes seaworthy for deep water". A canoe is a small narrow Boat, typically human-powered though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors When the day came the last boat was gone, wars broke out over "ancient planks and wormeaten bits of jetsam". But this statement is flawed since the sea going craft the islanders used were not made of wood, but of bundles of freshwater reeds planted in the Rano Kao crater which, according to Wright, were planted by one of the first "long-ear" settlers. A one-man craft of bound Scirpus totora reeds was called a pora. Totora ( Schoenoplectus californicus ssp tatora) is a Subspecies of the giant bulrush sedge. PORA! (ПОРА! meaning IT'S TIME! in Ukrainian, is a civic youth organization in Ukraine espousing Nonviolent resistance There were larger reed ships, some containting three masts with reed sails and capable of holding over 400 individuals, and are depicted in petroglyphs, roof paintings and sculptures.

By the end of the third epoch in the island's history, with only one "long-ear" surviving, there were more than a thousand moai (stone statues), which was one for every ten islanders (Wright, 2004). When the Europeans arrived in the 18th century, the worst was over and they only found one or two living souls per statue.

Easter Island has suffered from heavy soil erosion in recent centuries, perhaps aggravated by agriculture and massive deforestation. Deforestation is the conversion of Forested areas to non-forest land for use such as Arable land, Pasture, urban use logged area or wasteland This process seems to have been gradual and may have been aggravated by extensive sheep farming throughout most of the 20th century. Sheep husbandry is the raising and breeding of Domestic sheep, and a subcategory of Animal husbandry. Jakob Roggeveen reported that Easter Island was exceptionally fertile. Jacob Roggeveen (baptized 1 February 1659, Middelburg - 31 January, 1729, Middelburg was a Dutch explorer who was sent "Fowls are the only animals they keep. They cultivate bananas, sugar cane, and above all sweet potatoes. " In 1786 M. de La Pérouse visited Easter Island and his gardener declared that "three days' work a year" would be enough to support the population. Jean François de Galaup comte de La Pérouse (23 August 1741&ndash1788? was a French Navy officer and Explorer whose expedition vanished in Oceania.

Rollin, a major in the Perouse expedition of 1786, wrote, "Instead of meeting with men exhausted by famine. . . I found, on the contrary, a considerable population, with more beauty and grace than I afterwards met in any other island; and a soil, which, with very little labour, furnished excellent provisions, and in an abundance more than sufficient for the consumption of the inhabitants. "^[11]

That oral traditions of the islanders are obsessed with cannibalism is sometimes taken as evidence supporting a rapid collapse. For example, to severely insult an enemy one would say, "The flesh of your mother sticks between my teeth. " Diamond suggests that this means the food supply of the people ultimately ran out^[12]; however, cannibalism was widespread across Polynesian cultures, rendering his conclusion speculative. ^[13]

Culture

Birdmen (Tangata manu) paintings in the so-called "Cave of the Men Eatresses". The Tangata manu ( bird-man) was the winner of a traditional competition on Rapa Nui ( Easter Island)

Mythology

Main article: Rapa Nui mythology

The most important myths are:

• Tangata manu, the Birdman cult which was practiced until the 1860s. The Rapa Nui mythology, also known as Pascuense mythology or Easter Island mythology, is the name given to the Mythology formed by myths Legends The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" The Tangata manu ( bird-man) was the winner of a traditional competition on Rapa Nui ( Easter Island)
• Make-make, an important god.
• Aku-aku, the guardians of the sacred family caves.
• Moai-kava-kava a ghost man of the Hanau epe (long-ears. The Hanau epe or Long-ears were a group of semi-legendary people who are said to have arrived at Easter Island. )
• Hekai ite umu pare haonga takapu Hanau epe kai noruego sacred chant to apease the aku-aku before entering a family cave.

Stone work

Rapa Nui is a volcanic island consisting of geologically recent igneous rock. The Rapa Nui people had a Stone Age civilisation and made extensive use of several different types of indigenous stone:

• Basalt, a hard, dense stone used for toki and at least one of the moai. Basalt (bəˈsɔːlt ˈbeisɔːlt ˈbæsɔːlt is a common Extrusive Volcanic rock. Hoa Hakananai'a is a Moai ( Easter Island statue housed in the British Museum in London.
• Obsidian, a volcanic glass with sharp edges used for sharp-edged implements such as Mataa and also for the black pupils of the eyes of the moai. Obsidian is a naturally occurring Glass formed as an extrusive Igneous rock.
• Red Scoria from Puna Pau, a very light red stone used for the pukao and a few moai. Scoria is a textural term for macrovesicular Volcanic rock. It is commonly but not exclusively Basaltic or andesitic in composition See also Rapa Nui National Park See also Pukao Punau Pau is a quarry in a small crater or Cinder cone on the outskirts of Hanga Roa See also Moai Pukao are the hats or topknots formerly placed on top of some Moai statues from Easter island. Moai (or mo‘ai) (ˈmoʊаɪ are Monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Polynesian island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island
• Tuff from Rano Raraku, a much more easily worked rock than basalt, and was used for most of the moai. Tuff (from the Italian "tufo" is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption Rano Raraku is a volcanic crater formed of consolidated Volcanic ash, or Tuff, and located on the lower slopes of Terevaka in the Rapa Nui National

Moai (statues)

Main article: Moai

Moai with replica eyes at Ahu Ko Te Riku in Hanga Roa, with Chilean Navy ship Buque Escuela Esmeralda behind. Moai (or mo‘ai) (ˈmoʊаɪ are Monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Polynesian island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island This is about the main town on Easter Island and not the Hangaroa river located in New Zealand Hanga Roa is the main The Chilean Navy (Armada de Chile is the naval force of Chile. Construction The ship is the sixth to carry the name Esmeralda.

The large stone statues, or moai, for which Easter Island is world-famous, were carved during a relatively short and intense burst of creative and productive megalithic activity. A total of 887 monolithic stone statues have been inventoried on the island and in museum collections. Although often identified as "Easter Island heads", the statues are actually complete torsos, the figures kneeling on bent knees with their hands over their stomach. Some upright moai have become buried up to their necks by shifting soils.

The period when the statues were produced remains disputed, with estimates ranging from 400 CE to 1500–1700 CE. Almost all (95%) moais were carved out of distinctive, compressed, easily worked volcanic ash or tuff found at a single site inside the extinct volcano Rano Raraku. Moai (or mo‘ai) (ˈmoʊаɪ are Monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Polynesian island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island Tuff (from the Italian "tufo" is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption Rano Raraku is a volcanic crater formed of consolidated Volcanic ash, or Tuff, and located on the lower slopes of Terevaka in the Rapa Nui National The native islanders who carved them used only stone hand chisels, mainly basalt toki, which still lie in place all over the quarry. The stone chisels were re-sharpened by chipping off a new edge when dulled. The volcanic stone the moai were carved from was first wetted to soften it before sculpting began, then again periodically during the process. While many teams worked on different statues at the same time, a single moai would take a team of five or six men approximately one year to complete. Each statue represents a deceased long-ear chief or important person, their body interred within the ahu, or coastal platforms, the moai stand upon.

Only a quarter of the statues were installed, while nearly half still remain in the quarry at Rano Raraku and the rest elsewhere on the island, probably on their way to final locations. Moving the huge statues required a miro manga erua, a Y-shaped sledge with cross pieces, pulled with ropes made from the tough bark of the hau-hau tree^[14], and tied fast around the statue's neck. Anywhere from 180 to 250 men were required for pulling, depending on the size of the moai. Some 50 of the now standing statues have been re-erected in modern times. The first moai was re-erected on the beach of Anakena in 1958 using traditional methods during an expedition to the island by Thor Heyerdahl. See also Rapa Nui National Park ‘Anakena is a white coral sand beach in Rapa Nui National Park on Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) a Chilean

Tukuturi, an unusual bearded kneeling moai. Rano Raraku is a volcanic crater formed of consolidated Volcanic ash, or Tuff, and located on the lower slopes of Terevaka in the Rapa Nui National Moai (or mo‘ai) (ˈmoʊаɪ are Monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Polynesian island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island

While the vast majority of moai follow a fairly standard design, a few are radically different, in most parts badly eroded and broken. These are believed to predate the better-known moai, including a kneeling statue with hands on its knees, parts of a statue with clearly carved ribs and a headless, rectangularly shaped torso. Similarities to Indian stone statues around Lake Titicaca in South America are striking, whether this is accidental or not. Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Bolivia and Peru. ^[15]

Ahu

Two ahu at Hanga Roa. This is about the main town on Easter Island and not the Hangaroa river located in New Zealand Hanga Roa is the main In foreground Ahu Ko Te Riku (with a Pukao on its head). See also Moai Pukao are the hats or topknots formerly placed on top of some Moai statues from Easter island. In the mid-ground is a side view of an Ahu with five moai showing retaining wall, platform, ramp and pavement. Moai (or mo‘ai) (ˈmoʊаɪ are Monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Polynesian island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island

Ahu are stone platforms on which some of the moai were erected. Moai (or mo‘ai) (ˈmoʊаɪ are Monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Polynesian island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island They vary greatly in layout and many have been significantly reworked in the islands during or after the huri mo'ai or statue-toppling era; many became ossuaries; one was dynamited open; and Ahu Tongariki was swept inland by a tsunami. Moai (or mo‘ai) (ˈmoʊаɪ are Monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Polynesian island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island An ossuary is a chest building well or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains See also Moai, Easter Island#Ahu Ahu Tongariki is the largest Ahu on Rapa Nui / Easter Island (a Chilean island in A tsunami ((tsuːˈnɑːmi is a series of waves created when

The classic elements of ahu design are:

• A retaining rear wall several feet high, usually facing the sea.
• A platform behind the wall.
• Pads or cushions on the platform.
• A sloping ramp covered with evenly sized, wave-rounded boulders on the inland side of the platform rising most of, but not all, the way up the side of the platform.
• A pavement in front of the ramp.
• Inside the Ahu was a fill of rubble.

On top of many Ahu would have been:

• Moai on the pads looking out over the pavement with their backs to the rear wall. Moai (or mo‘ai) (ˈmoʊаɪ are Monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Polynesian island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island
• Pukao on the moai's heads. See also Moai Pukao are the hats or topknots formerly placed on top of some Moai statues from Easter island.
• And in their eye sockets, white coral eyes with black obsidian pupils.

Ahu evolved from the traditional Polynesian marae in which the word ahu was only used for the central stone platform, though on Easter Island ahu and moai evolved to a much greater size. A marae (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Maori, Tahitian) malae (in Tongan) malae (in Samoan and The biggest ahu contained 20 times as much stone as a moai; however, most of this stone was sourced very locally (apart from broken, old moai, fragments of which have also been used in the fill). ^[16] Also individual stones are mostly far smaller than the moai, so less work was needed to transport the raw material.

Ahu Akivi, one of the few inland ahu with the only moai facing the ocean

Ahu are found mostly on the coast, where they are distributed fairly evenly except on the western slopes of Mount Terevaka and the Rano Kau and Poike^[17] headlands. See also Rapa Nui National Park Ahu Akivi is an ahu with seven Moai on Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) in Chilean Polynesia See also Easter Island#Geology Terevaka is the largest tallest ( and youngest of three main Extinct volcanoes that form Rapa Nui ( Easter Island See also Rapa Nui National Park, Easter Island#Geology Rano Kau is a tall Extinct volcano that forms the southwestern headland of Easter See also Easter Island#Geology Poike is one of three main Extinct volcanoes that form Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) (a Chilean island These are the three areas with the least low-lying coastal land, and apart from Poike the furthest areas from Rano Raraku. Rano Raraku is a volcanic crater formed of consolidated Volcanic ash, or Tuff, and located on the lower slopes of Terevaka in the Rapa Nui National One ahu with several moai was recorded on the cliffs at Rano Kau in the 1880s, but had fallen to the beach by the time of the Routledge expedition in 1914. Katherine Maria Routledge, née Pease (1866-1935 was a British Archaeologist who initiated (but did not complete the first true survey of Easter

Of the 313 known ahu, only 125 carried a stone moai. Others perhaps had statues made of wood, now lost. The majority of the rest had just one moai, probably due to the shortness of the moai period and difficulties in transporting them. Ahu Tongariki, one kilometer from Rano Raraku, had the most and biggest moai, 15 in total. See also Moai, Easter Island#Ahu Ahu Tongariki is the largest Ahu on Rapa Nui / Easter Island (a Chilean island in Other notable ahu with moai are Ahu Akivi, restored in 1960 by William Mulloy, Nau Nau at Anakena and Tahai. See also Rapa Nui National Park Ahu Akivi is an ahu with seven Moai on Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) in Chilean Polynesia William Thomas Mulloy Jr (1917-1978 was an American Anthropologist. See also Rapa Nui National Park ‘Anakena is a white coral sand beach in Rapa Nui National Park on Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) a Chilean

Stone walls

One of the highest-quality examples of Easter Island stone masonry is the rear wall of the Ahu at Vinapu. Made without mortar by shaping hard basalt rocks of up to seven tons to match each other exactly, it has a superficial similarity to some Inca stone walls in South America. Basalt (bəˈsɔːlt ˈbeisɔːlt ˈbæsɔːlt is a common Extrusive Volcanic rock. Units of mass There are three similar units of Mass called the ton: Long ton (simply ton in countries such as the United South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a ^[18]

Stone houses

Some 1,233 prehistoric stone "houses", called tupa in earlier times^[19] and hare moa ("chicken house") later, are more conspicuous than the remains of the prehistoric human houses which only had stone foundations (except for those at Orongo). ‘Orongo is a stone village and ceremonial center at the southwestern tip of Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) Stone houses were up to 6 meters long, with a distinctive boat-shaped structure combined with a stick and palm leaf or thatch superstructure. For the fruit see Banana. For other meanings see Banana (disambiguation. The entrances were very low, and getting in required crawling.

Germans excavated some of the Hare Moa in 1882 and found human remains inside. Locals told them that they were resting places for the ariki, Easter Island kings and chiefs. Each house had two small holes—if a hostile spirit entered through one, the spirit of the deceased could escape through the other. As such and also by their old name, the stone houses are seen similar to Indian chullpas in Peru and Bolivia. A chullpa is an ancient Aymara funerary tower originally constructed for a noble person or noble family Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. The Republic of Bolivia (República de Bolivia) named after Simón Bolívar, is a Landlocked country in central South America. ^[20] Noteworthy is that the remaining numbers of the stone houses and moais are quite close to each other, possibly meaning that for each person buried in a stone house, a moai was immediately constructed. Usage of stone houses as graves seems to have ceased around the same time when production of moais ended and ancestral worship declined. Moai (or mo‘ai) (ˈmoʊаɪ are Monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Polynesian island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island During the turmoils of the late 18th century, the islanders seem to have started to bury their dead among the ruined ahus—the moai platforms—and use the stone houses as chicken shelters. There are no human remains in them any more.

Petroglyphs

Petroglyphs are pictures carved into rock, and Easter Island has one of the richest collections in all Polynesia. Petroglyphs are Images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising pecking carving and abrading Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a Subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over Around 1,000 sites with more than 4,000 petroglyphs are catalogued. Designs and images were carved out of rock for a variety of reasons: to create totems, to mark territory or to memorialize a person or event. There are distinct variations around the island in terms of the frequency of particular themes among petroglyphs, with a concentration of Birdmen at Orongo. ‘Orongo is a stone village and ceremonial center at the southwestern tip of Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) Other subjects include sea turtles, Komari (vulvas) and Make-make, the chief god of the Tangata manu or Birdman cult. The Tangata manu ( bird-man) was the winner of a traditional competition on Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) (Lee 1992)

Petroglyphs are also common in the Marquesas islands.

Makemake with two birdmen. The Tangata manu ( bird-man) was the winner of a traditional competition on Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) Carved from red scoria

Fish petroglyph found near Ahu Tongariki

Petroglyphs on Basalt rocks at Orongo. Scoria is a textural term for macrovesicular Volcanic rock. It is commonly but not exclusively Basaltic or andesitic in composition See also Moai, Easter Island#Ahu Ahu Tongariki is the largest Ahu on Rapa Nui / Easter Island (a Chilean island in ‘Orongo is a stone village and ceremonial center at the southwestern tip of Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) A Make-make at the base and two birdmen higher up

Caves

The island and neighbouring Motu Nui are riddled with caves, many of which show signs of past human use and fortification, including narrowed entrances and crawl spaces with ambush points. The Tangata manu ( bird-man) was the winner of a traditional competition on Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) Motu Nui is the largest of three Islets just south of Easter Island and is the most westerly place in Chile. Many caves feature in the myths and legends of the Rapa Nui.

Rongorongo

Main article: Rongorongo

Sample of rongorongo. Rongorongo (ˈrɒŋɡoʊˈrɒŋɡoʊ in English in Rapa Nui) is a system of Glyphs discovered in the 19th century on Easter Island that appears to be Rongorongo (ˈrɒŋɡoʊˈrɒŋɡoʊ in English in Rapa Nui) is a system of Glyphs discovered in the 19th century on Easter Island that appears to be

The undeciphered Easter island script rongorongo may be one of the very few writing systems created ex nihilo, without outside influence. Rongorongo (ˈrɒŋɡoʊˈrɒŋɡoʊ in English in Rapa Nui) is a system of Glyphs discovered in the 19th century on Easter Island that appears to be The Latin phrase ex nihilo means "out of nothing" It often appears in conjunction with the concept of Creation, as in creatio ex nihilo Alternatively, the islanders' brief but very visible exposure to Western writing during the Spanish visit in 1770 inspired the ruling class to establish rongorongo as a religious tool. ^[21] Rongorongo was first reported by a French missionary, Eugène Eyraud, in 1864. Eugène Eyraud (1820 Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur – 1868 August 23 Easter Island) was a lay friar of the Congrégation de Picpus and At that time, several islanders still claimed to be able to understand the scripture, but all attempts to read them were unsuccessful. According to traditions, only a small part of the population was ever literate, rongorongo being a privilege of the ruling families and priests. This contributed to the total loss of knowledge of how to read rongorongo in the 1860s, when the island's elite was annihilated by slave raids and disease.

Of the hundreds of wooden tablets and staffs reportedly having rongorongo writing carved on them, only 26 survive,^[22] all in museums around the world and none remaining on Easter Island. Decades of numerous attempts to decipher proved unfruitful, and the scientific community does not agree on whether rongorongo was truly a form of writing.

Legends claim that Hotu Matu'a brought the original tablets with him when he first landed at Anakena. See also Easter Island#Mythology Hotu Matu'a was the legendary first settler and ariki mau ("supreme chief" or "king" of Easter Island See also Rapa Nui National Park ‘Anakena is a white coral sand beach in Rapa Nui National Park on Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) a Chilean However, there is not a single line of rongorongo carved in stone despite thousands of Rapanui petroglyphs and other remarkable stonework, and rongorongo probably originated on Easter Island in a rather late period.

The rongorongo script has few similarities to the petroglyph corpus. ^[23]

Wood carving

Wood was scarce on Easter Island during the 18th and 19th centuries, but a number of highly detailed and distinctive carvings have found their way to the world's museums. Particular forms include:^[24]

• Rei Miro, a gorget or breast ornament of crescent shape with a head at one or both tips. A gorget originally was a steel collar designed to protect the Throat. ^[25] The same design appears on the flag of Rapa Nui. The flag of Rapa Nui (Easter Island/Isla de Pascua is a white flag charged with a red Reimiro, an Easter Island wood carving Two Rei Miru at the British Museum are inscribed with Rongorongo.
• Moko-Miro, a man with a lizard head.
• Moai-Miro, human images often emaciated and sometimes with long ears.
• Ao, a large dancing paddle.

Contemporary culture

Polynesian dancing with feather costumes is on the tourist itinerary

The Rapanui have:

• An annual cultural festival, the Tapati, celebrating Rapanui culture. Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a Subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over The Rapanui or Rapa Nui ("Big Rapa" are the native Polynesian inhabitants of Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean (the island itself
• A "national" football team. The Easter Island national football team is the official football team for Rapa Nui / Easter Island.
• Three diskos in the town of Hanga Roa. This is about the main town on Easter Island and not the Hangaroa river located in New Zealand Hanga Roa is the main
• A musical tradition that combines South American and Polynesian influences (see music of Easter Island). Easter Island is located in the Pacific Ocean. Though its earliest inhabitants are ethnically Polynesian the island is controlled by the South American
• A vibrant carving tradition.

2002 census

Population at the 2002 census was 3,791 (3,304 in Hanga Roa alone). This is about the main town on Easter Island and not the Hangaroa river located in New Zealand Hanga Roa is the main 60% were Rapanui, Chileans of mixed mestizo descent were 39% of the population, and the remaining 1% were Native Americans from mainland Chile. Chile has a population of over 16 million people About 85% is urban-dwelling roughly half of which (approx Mestizo is a Spanish term that was coined during the Spanish Empire to refer to people of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry in Latin For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States.

Rapanui have also migrated out of the island. At the 2002 census, 2,269 Rapanui lived on Easter Island, while 2,378 lived in the mainland of Chile (half of them in the metropolitan area of Santiago). Santiago ( (litteraly in spanish Saint James) is the Capital of Chile, and the center of its largest Conurbation ( Greater Santiago

Population density on Easter Island is only 23 inhabitants per km² (60 per sq mi), much lower than in the 17th century heyday of the moai building when there were possibly as many as 15,000 inhabitants, or roughly 92 inhabitants per km² (214 per sq mi).

Demographic history

The population was 1,936 inhabitants in 1982. This increase in population is partly due to the arrival of people of European descent from the mainland of Chile. The European peoples are the various Nations and Ethnic groups of Europe. Consequently, the island is losing its native Polynesian identity. Polynesian culture refers to the aboriginal Culture of the Polynesian -speaking peoples of Polynesia and the In 1982 around 70% of the population were Rapanui (the native Polynesian inhabitants). The Rapanui or Rapa Nui ("Big Rapa" are the native Polynesian inhabitants of Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean (the island itself Population had already declined to only 2,000–3,000 inhabitants before the slave raids of 1862. The history of slavery uncovers many different forms of human exploitation across many cultures throughout history In the 19th century, disease due to contacts with Europeans, as well as deportation of 2,000 Rapanui to work as slaves in Peru, and the forced departure of the remaining Rapanui to Chile, carried the population of Easter Island to the all-time low of 111 inhabitants in 1877. An infectious disease is a clinically evident Disease resulting from the presence of Pathogenic microbial agents including Pathogenic viruses Pathogenic Out of these 111 Rapanui, only 36 had descendants, but all of today's Rapanui claim descent from those 36.

Administration

Region

Easter Island is a province of the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Geography It is west but on the same latitude as the "Región Metropolitana de Santiago "

The Provincial Governor is Melania Carolina Hotu Hey. Melania Carolina Hotu Hey is the provincial governor of Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) in Chilean Polynesia.

Local Council

Easter Island has only one municipality, the town of Hanga Roa whose Mayor is Pedro Pablo Edmunds Paoa (PDC). This is about the main town on Easter Island and not the Hangaroa river located in New Zealand Hanga Roa is the main A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "greater" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government Pedro Pablo Edmunds Paoa is a Rapanui politician He is a member of the Partido Demócrata Cristiano de Chile, and the Mayor of Hanga Roa, the only

Hanga Roa's Councillors are:

• Hipólito Juan Icka Nahoe — PH (Humanist Party)
• Eliana Amelia Olivares San Juan — UDI
• Nicolás Haoa Cardinali — Independent, center-right
• Marcelo Icka Paoa — PDC
• Alberto Hotus Chávez — PPD
• Marcelo Pont Hill — PPD

Famous people

• Hotu Matu'a - founder
• Fr Sebastian Englert, OFM Cap. - Missionary and Ethnologist
• William Mulloy - Archaeologist
• Melania Carolina Hotu Hey - Governor
• Sergio Rapu Haoa - Former Governor
• Pedro Pablo Edmunds Paoa - Mayor
• Juan Edmunds Rapahango - Former Mayor
• Iohan "Itto" HauMoana - Musician - Surfer

See also

• Rapa Nui language
• Rongorongo
• Orongo
• Rapa Nui mythology
• Rapa Nui National Park
• Omphalos
• Mataveri International Airport

References

Selected bibliography

• ALTMAN, Ann M. 2004. Early Visitors to Easter Island 1864-1877 (translations of the accounts of Eugène Eyraud, Hippolyte Roussel, Pierre Loti and Alphonse Pinart; with an Introduction by Georgia Lee). Los Osos, CA: Easter Island Foundation.
• BARTHEL, Thomas. 1958. Grundlagen zur Entzifferung der Osterinselschrift. Hamburg: Cram, de Gruyter.
• BUTINOV, Nikolai A. , & Yuri V. KNOROZOV. 1957. Preliminary Report on the Study of the Written Language of Easter Island. Journal of the Polynesian Society 66. 1.
• Diamond, Jared. 2005. TemplateInfobox writer --> Jared Mason Diamond (b 10 September, 1937) is an American Evolutionary biologist Collapse. How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Viking. Collapse How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed is a 2005 book by Jared M ISBN 0-14-303655-6.
• ENGLERT, Sebastian F. 1970. Island at the Center of the World. Translated and Edited by William Mulloy. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
• FEDOROVA, Irina K. 1965. Versions of Myths and Legends in Manuscripts from Easter Island. In: Heyerdahl et al (eds. ), Miscellaneous Papers: Reports of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island and East Pacific 2. 395-401. Stockholm: Forum.
• FISCHER, Steven Roger. 1995. Preliminary Evidence for Cosmogonic Texts in Rapanui’s Rongorongo Inscriptions. Journal of the Polynesian Society 104. 303-21.
• FISCHER, Steven Roger. 1997. Glyph-breaker: A Decipherer's Story. N. Y. : Copernicus/Springer-Verlag.
• FISCHER, Steven Roger. 1997. RongoRongo, the Easter Island Script: History, Traditions, Texts. Oxford and N. Y. : Oxford University Press.
• GUY, Jacques B. M. 1985. On a fragment of the “Tahua” Tablet. Journal of the Polynesian Society 94. 367-87.
• GUY, Jacques B. M. 1988. Rjabchikov’s Decipherments Examined. Journal of the Polynesian Society 97. 321-3.
• GUY, Jacques B. M. 1990. On the Lunar Calendar of Tablet Mamari. Journal de la Société des Océanistes 91:2. 135-49.
• HEYERDAHL, Thor. 1965. The Concept of Rongorongo Among the Historic Population of Easter Island. In: Thor Heyerdahl & Edwin N. Ferdon Jr. (eds. and others. ), 1961-65. Stockholm: Forum.
• HEYERDAHL, THOR Aku-Aku; The 1958 Expedition to Easter Island.
• HUNT, Terry L. 2006. Rethinking the Fall of Easter Island. American Scientist, 94, 412 (Sept-October 2006)
• HUNTER-ANDERSON, R. 1998. Human vs climatic impacts at Rapa Nui: did the people really cut down all those trees? In:Stevenson, C. M. ; Lee, G. & Morin, F. J. (eds): Easter Island in Pacific Context. South Seas Symposium: Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Easter Island and East Polynesia: 85–99. Easter Island Foundation.
• LEE, Georgia. 1992. The Rock Art of Easter Island. Symbols of Power, Prayers to the Gods. Los Angeles: The Institute of Archaeology Publications (UCLA).
• MELLÉN BLANCO, Francisco. 1986. Manuscritos y documentos españoles para la historia de la isla de Pascua. Madrid: CEHOPU.
• MÉTRAUX, Alfred. Alfred Métraux (1902 in Lausanne, Switzerland - April 12, 1963 in Paris, France 1940. Ethnology of Easter Island. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 160. Honolulu: Bernice P. Bishop Museum Press.
• POZDNIAKOV, Konstantin. 1996. Les Bases du Déchiffrement de l'Écriture de l'Ile de Pâques. Journal de la Societé des Océanistes 103:2. 289-303.
• ROUTLEDGE, Katherine. Katherine Maria Routledge, née Pease (1866-1935 was a British Archaeologist who initiated (but did not complete the first true survey of Easter 1919. The Mystery of Easter Island. The story of an expedition. London.
• THOMSON, William J. 1891. Te Pito te Henua, or Easter Island. Report of the United States National Museum for the Year Ending June 30, 1889. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the Usurper Year 1889 ( MDCCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Annual Reports of the Smithsonian Institution for 1889. 447-552. Washington: Smithsonian Institution.
• VAN TILBURG, Jo Anne. 1994. Easter Island: Archaeology, Ecology and Culture. Washington D. C. : Smithsonian Institution Press.
• VARGAS, Patricia; CRISTINO, Claudio and IZAURIETA, Roberto. 2006. 1000 AÑOS EN RAPA NUI. Arqueologia del Asentamiento. Santiago, Universidad de Chile, Editorial Universitaria. ISBN 956-11-1879-3.

External links

• Easter Island travel guide from Wikitravel
• Easter Island at the Open Directory Project