Easter Island - still a mystery!
Md. Rahber-E-Alam Raafa | Wednesday, 13 August 2008
EASTER Island, also known as Rapa Nui, in the South Pacific, is host to one of the world's greatest archaeological sites. Its isolation is one of the key factors affecting the culture that evolved here. The settlers of the 66 square-mile [171 square kilometer] island are the Hardy Polynesians, who found this island around 400 AD. They call the island "Te Pito O Te Henua" (Navel of The World). However, there is much controversy and confusion concerning the origin of the Easter Islanders. Some have suggested that Easter Island is the remnant of a lost continent, or the result of an extra-terrestrial influence. Easter Island was discovered by a Dutch sailor in 1722 A D on the day of Easter Friday, and hence, he named it Easter Island.
According to a myth a giant, who waged war against the island, used to lever it up from the surface and push it to the bottom of the ocean. Even he succeeded to break up parts of the Easter Island but, ultimately the islanders defeated him. Archaeological evidence, however, indicates discovery of the island by Polynesians at about 400 AD.
Easter Island has long been the subject of curiosity and speculation. How and why did its inhabitants carve and transport the massive statues which surround the island? What remains of this culture today, and what lessons can we learn from it? The statues, which stand on Easter Island, are among the greatest mysteries on earth. It has been suggested that these might have been the work of aliens from the outer space.
One theory suggests that the ocean currents which carried the Polynesian seafarers to this island, could not take them back. They were trapped and, having arrived there, could not leave.
It appears there were two classes or races of inhabitants, those with long ears and those with short ears. The long-eared were the rulers. The short-eared, who came earlier, were the workers. Most of the statues have long ears.
Eventually, the short-eared people revolted and killed all the long eared.
In all, 887 statutes have been discovered on the island. However, only a few statues made it to their intended destination. The rest were abandoned on the way. Like silent sentinels, it seems, the statues are guarding the island. But each statue faces the centre of the Islands, showing the back to the ocean. The reason is still unexplained.
The statues appear to have been carved out of the top edge of the walls of a volcano and might have been rolled or dragged down to its base. Kept upright, with ropes were tied around, the statues were taken to intended destination, using the pulley system. But these are only guesses made by the experts. The question is how those massive statues were actually moved? There was nothing to make such ropes. They had no lifting gear. Even if they had, they would need immense power to make it work. Still the islanders managed to move the statues over rough and unsmooth masses of volcanic rock, all the way down to the base. The question is how they set the statues upright and how they were installed so well on the bases? The statues are set so perfectly that not even a knife can be inserted between them.
Moving the statues would require the entire population of the island. To get them to the work the people must have been motivated that their gods required them to build and shift the statues. Did they do nothing all day except carving and hauling the stones to make the statues? Did their entire existence revolve round making and setting the statues?
Another question is how did the population became extinct? Experts deduced that at one point of the civilisation, the population reached almost to 11000 and used up it the resources of the island and there was nothing left for them to survive on. The islanders then switched to cannibalism. They started to feed on each other and at one point only a few survived. Possibly the islanders can tell the real story.
The Easter Islanders had their own system of writing, different from any other in the world. No other people living the numerous islands in the Pacific knew how to write. The American Red Indians did not know how to write. Who taught the Easter Islanders how to write, or did they develop their own system? Remember that writing was first invented in Asia only a few thousand years BC. Engraved handwritings were found below many statues. But the experts still fail to unravel the mystery.
There are several theories regarding Easter Island and the statues there. Theories even suggest alien intervention from other planets. However, Easter Island continues to be one of the world's greatest unexplained mysteries.
Source- Internet: The writer is a ClassX student of Sunnydale School
According to a myth a giant, who waged war against the island, used to lever it up from the surface and push it to the bottom of the ocean. Even he succeeded to break up parts of the Easter Island but, ultimately the islanders defeated him. Archaeological evidence, however, indicates discovery of the island by Polynesians at about 400 AD.
Easter Island has long been the subject of curiosity and speculation. How and why did its inhabitants carve and transport the massive statues which surround the island? What remains of this culture today, and what lessons can we learn from it? The statues, which stand on Easter Island, are among the greatest mysteries on earth. It has been suggested that these might have been the work of aliens from the outer space.
One theory suggests that the ocean currents which carried the Polynesian seafarers to this island, could not take them back. They were trapped and, having arrived there, could not leave.
It appears there were two classes or races of inhabitants, those with long ears and those with short ears. The long-eared were the rulers. The short-eared, who came earlier, were the workers. Most of the statues have long ears.
Eventually, the short-eared people revolted and killed all the long eared.
In all, 887 statutes have been discovered on the island. However, only a few statues made it to their intended destination. The rest were abandoned on the way. Like silent sentinels, it seems, the statues are guarding the island. But each statue faces the centre of the Islands, showing the back to the ocean. The reason is still unexplained.
The statues appear to have been carved out of the top edge of the walls of a volcano and might have been rolled or dragged down to its base. Kept upright, with ropes were tied around, the statues were taken to intended destination, using the pulley system. But these are only guesses made by the experts. The question is how those massive statues were actually moved? There was nothing to make such ropes. They had no lifting gear. Even if they had, they would need immense power to make it work. Still the islanders managed to move the statues over rough and unsmooth masses of volcanic rock, all the way down to the base. The question is how they set the statues upright and how they were installed so well on the bases? The statues are set so perfectly that not even a knife can be inserted between them.
Moving the statues would require the entire population of the island. To get them to the work the people must have been motivated that their gods required them to build and shift the statues. Did they do nothing all day except carving and hauling the stones to make the statues? Did their entire existence revolve round making and setting the statues?
Another question is how did the population became extinct? Experts deduced that at one point of the civilisation, the population reached almost to 11000 and used up it the resources of the island and there was nothing left for them to survive on. The islanders then switched to cannibalism. They started to feed on each other and at one point only a few survived. Possibly the islanders can tell the real story.
The Easter Islanders had their own system of writing, different from any other in the world. No other people living the numerous islands in the Pacific knew how to write. The American Red Indians did not know how to write. Who taught the Easter Islanders how to write, or did they develop their own system? Remember that writing was first invented in Asia only a few thousand years BC. Engraved handwritings were found below many statues. But the experts still fail to unravel the mystery.
There are several theories regarding Easter Island and the statues there. Theories even suggest alien intervention from other planets. However, Easter Island continues to be one of the world's greatest unexplained mysteries.
Source- Internet: The writer is a ClassX student of Sunnydale School