Easter Islands

Rapa nui

Easter Island, one of the most intriguing places on Earth. Just like Machu Pinchu, there are so many mysteries around this place. According to various scientists, Easter Island or ‘Rapa Nui’ was also home to a very civilised group of people. Who were the people of Easter Island?

well, hundreds of years ago, a small group of Polynesians rowed their wooden canoes across the open sea and washed ashore on a small island. When and why these people left their homeland remains a mystery. But what is clear is that they have made a small 63 square miles uninhabited island with hills and beautiful palm trees their new home. They called the island Rapa Nui, known to us as Easter Island. What you see back on the Island are statues that were made to worship their ancestors. These monolithic statues were made of volcanic stone. And these statues (on average 13 feet of tall and 14 tons) can be found all over the island.

Tragedy

Eventually, What we know is that the giant palms that the Rapanui depended on dwindled. Because, the trees had been cut down to make room for agriculture; others had been burned for fire and used to transport statues across the island. There are several stories about this. Some sources claim that they ate burnt grass in order to survive, others say that they became cannibals.

Although these events are generally accepted by scientists, the date of the Polynesians’ arrival on the island and why their civilization ultimately collapsed is still being debated. Many experts maintain that the settlers landed around 800 A.D. They believe the culture thrived for hundreds of years, breaking up into settlements and living off the fruitful land. According to this theory, the population grew to several thousand, freeing some of the labor force to work on the moai. But as the trees disappeared and people began to starve, warfare broke out among the tribes.

We do not yet know the real truth. But we actually see the same pattern with the Inca’s and the Babylonians and the Hebrews. They all worshipped their ancestors and had strange rituals. Often these groups were very strong in their time for hundreds of years. To suddenly collapse completely. Why did these civilizations collapse? Well it’s still a mystery. Maybe one day we’ll know for sure. What we know for certain is that great knowledge has been lost in the history of the Earth.