The incredible, yet tragic, history of Easter Island

Easter Island, which is also known by the name Rapa Nui, is one of the world's most remote inhabited islands.

It is located over 2,000 miles (3,219 kilometers) from the Chilean coast in the southeastern Pacific Ocean.

For most of human history, it was uninhabited. This is primarily due to the sheer distance one had to cover in order to reach it.

Humans had to first develop safe ways of travelling across open ocean before travellers could even find the tiny land mass.

The first people to settle on Easter Island are believed to have been the Polynesians, who are thought to have arrived from other Polynesian islands, such as the Marquesas or the Gambier Islands.

However, the exact date of their arrival is debated among researchers, with estimates ranging from as early as 300-400 CE to as late as 1200 CE.

The most recent studies which included radiocarbon dating, suggest that the island was most likely settled around 1200 CE.

They brought with them plants and animals like bananas, taro, as well as chickens, and Polynesian rats.

Once there, they built a thriving society based on agriculture and fishing.

They also developed a mysterious Rongorongo written script, which is an undeciphered system of glyphs that may represent one of the few independent inventions of writing in human history.

It is thought that the Polynesians who settled Easter Island were part of a larger group of seafaring people who migrated across the Pacific Ocean.

One theory suggests that the Polynesians may have used a system of star navigation to guide their canoes across the ocean.

By using the positions of the stars, they could determine their location and course, even on cloudy or overcast nights.

Another theory suggests that the Polynesians may have used natural signs, such as the movement of ocean currents and the behavior of seabirds, to guide their navigation.

Whatever methods they used, the Polynesians who reached Easter Island would have faced a long and perilous journey across the open sea.

They likely traveled in sizable, double-hulled canoes, which were capable of carrying large numbers of people, along with supplies for the journey.

Once they arrived on the island, the Polynesians would have faced significant challenges in adapting to their new environment.

Despite its lush vegetation and abundant wildlife, Easter Island is a remote and isolated place, with limited resources and a challenging terrain.

The moai are perhaps the most iconic feature of Easter Island. These giant statues, which can be as tall as 33 feet (10 metres) and weigh over 80 tons, were carved from volcanic rock by the island's inhabitants.

The reasons for the creation of the moai are not entirely clear. It is believed that they were representations of ancestors or important figures in the community.

Alternatively, some researchers believe that the moai were strategically placed to align with celestial events, indicating advanced astronomical knowledge among the Rapa Nui people.

Approximately 900 moai statues have been documented on Easter Island, each carved with distinctive features and varying sizes. The majority were built between the 13th and 15th centuries.

They were typically carved with elongated heads and prominent brows. Some moai were adorned with pukao, which were carved topknots made from red scoria, a type of volcanic rock.

The creation of the moai was a highly specialized and labor-intensive process that involved the entire community.

The first step in creating a moai was to select a suitable piece of volcanic tuff from the quarry.

Once the block had been chosen, the sculptors would begin to carve away the excess stone, working from the top down.

They would use stone chisels and hammers to shape the stone into the desired form, carefully removing small chips of rock until the statue was complete.

In fact, there is an unfinished moai, often called 'El Gigante', still in the Rano Raraku quarry.

It measures around 21 meters (69 feet) and is estimated to weigh up to 270 tons.

The statues were placed on large platforms called ahu, which were often located near the coast and facing inland.

The tallest moai ever erected, known as Paro, stands at about 10 meters (33 feet) tall and weighs approximately 82 tons.

The Ahu Tongariki platform is the largest ahu on the island and features 15 moai statues.

How did a people, without wheels and pack animals, transport the moai? Even today, the answer to this question is not entirely clear.

The best guess is that the island's inhabitants used a combination of human labor, ropes and wooden sledges to move the statues across the island.

Recent experiments suggest that the moai might have been moved upright using ropes in a rocking motion, effectively 'walking' them to their destinations.

Easter Island was discovered by Europeans on April 5, 1722, when the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen arrived on the island during a voyage to find Terra Australis, a hypothetical southern continent.

Roggeveen and his crew were the first Europeans to make contact with the inhabitants of Easter Island and he was the one who named the island 'Easter Island' because he arrived on Easter Sunday, which fell on April 5th in 1722.

Despite this early interaction with Europeans, Easter Island remained relatively isolated and unknown to the rest of the world for many years.

It was not until the late 19th century that the island began to receive more regular visitors, including archaeologists, anthropologists, and tourists. 

The Europeans who followed Roggeveen to Easter Island included Spanish, British, and French explorers and traders.

Sadly, these visitors brought with them new diseases that the island's inhabitants had no immunity to.

Also, in the 1860s, Peruvian slave raids devastated the Rapa Nui population, abducting around 1,500 people.

This included much of the cultural elite, which led to a catastrophic loss of knowledge and tradition.

The Europeans also exploited the island's resources, including timber and food, which had already been severely depleted by the island's earlier inhabitants.

Before the arrival of Europeans in the 18th century, the population of the island is estimated to have been between 2,000 and 3,000 people. Although some estimate the population could have been as many as 15,000.

However, by the late 19th century, the population had declined to just a few hundred.

In addition to the impacts of European arrival, the islanders themselves were also responsible for some of the population decline.

As the island's population grew, the demand for resources increased, and the islanders began to overexploit the island's natural resources.

While the island was once covered with palm forests, it had limited wildlife, primarily birds, and no native land mammals.

Over time, deforestation led to significant environmental changes. This led to soil erosion and a decline in crop yields, which in turn led to famine and social unrest.

In 1888, Easter Island was officially annexed by Chile, which brought significant political and cultural changes to the Rapa Nui as they became Chilean citizens.

When the Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl conducted expeditions in the mid-20th century, he was the first to propose a theory about early contact between South America and Polynesia based on similarities in cultural artifacts. This theory generated significant interest, however it remains unproven and some historians doubt its accuracy.

In 1995, UNESCO designated Easter Island as a World Heritage Site. This has helped to preserve its moai and other cultural landmarks.

Today, the population of Easter Island is around 8,000 people, with most of the island's residents living in the main town of Hanga Roa.

While the island has seen some economic development in recent years, it remains one of the most isolated and economically challenged places in the world.

The island's fragile ecosystem and unique cultural heritage continue to be threatened by a range of challenges, including overfishing, climate change, and tourism pressures. 

Today, tourism is the cornerstone of Easter Island's economy, drawing thousands of visitors eager to experience its mysterious moai.

The island's inhabitants have also made efforts to preserve and protect the island's environment, including reforestation projects and the establishment of protected areas.

There are also efforts to revive the Rapa Nui language and traditions through educational programs and cultural events that aim to preserve the island's indigenous identity.

Despite these efforts, the legacy of Easter Island serves as a cautionary tale about the consequences of environmental degradation and social conflict.