One of the world's biggest mysteries isthe idols of Easter Island, located in the South Pacific, at a distance of almost 4,000 kilometers west of the coast of Chile. This island, also called Rapa Nui, was discovered on Easter Sunday in 1722 by a Dutch captain. At that time it was almost uninhabited, but there were hundreds of giant statues on its territory, each weighing several tons. The traditional term for the name of these idols was
So who built them and how did they get there?No one still knows the exact answer to these questions, but many are trying to find a clue. For the inhabitants of the island, it was almost impossible to cut and place the moai in a vertical position without transport, only with their primitive tools.
One theory suggests that Easter Island wasinhabited by Polynesian sailors who traveled in their canoes, guided by the stars, the rhythms of the ocean, the color of the sky and the shape of the clouds. They first arrived on the island in 400 BC. It is possible that there were two classes of inhabitants on the island - with short and long ears. Long-eared people were rulers and forced short-eared to cut out moai. That is why the statues on Easter Island for the most part have long ears. Then the short-eared people rebelled and killed all the long-eared.
Apparently, the statues of Easter Island werecarved from the top edge of the wall of the volcano located on the island. They moved them with ropes made from ancient stiff grass. The rope was wrapped around a moai, and then a large group
Another smaller group acted as a counterweight and pulled the other end of the rope back.
Thus the statues of Easter Island moved to the ocean. Moving one image could last a month, as this process was very difficult.
The population of Easter Island is estimated at 11,000 people. Due to the small size of the island, its resources were rapidly depleted.
When they were all exhausted, people resorted to cannibalism - they began to eat each other. Work on the statues ceased. When
Another question is which featurescarried moai and for which they were erected. Archaeological and iconographic analysis shows that the statues of Easter Island were symbols of power, both religious and political.
In addition, for the people who created them, they were actually the repositories of the sacred spirit.
Regardless of what the moai were intended for and why they were built, today their popularity is higher than ever.
Currently the island is boomingmodern tourism industry, hundreds of travelers and lovers of the unknown come there to see with their own eyes the majestic idols, looking to the sea.
