The Rapa Nui people were a set of tribes who lived in Easter Island, which nowadays belongs to the
Chilean government and there's a population of 2.095 people. They descend from the first settlers from Polynesia.
LOCATION AND CREATION OF THE ISLAND
The Easter Island is a very little island in the Polynesia which was formed by three volcanic eruptions in the bottom of the sea between 3,000,000 and 750,000,000 years ago, which made the island have a triangular shape. All the volcanos in the island are considered extinct, there hasn't been any volcanic activity for more than 10.000 years. The three main volcanos are Poike, Rano Kau and
Terevaka. The island is so small that if you climb to the top of one of the volcanos, you can see the entire island. It's 2,200 miles of Chile …show more content…
HISTORY
Rapa Nui people left no written history so there are many theories about the origin of this ethnic group. It is believed that the first humans who arrived to the island came from other Polynesian islands between the years 600 and 900. Back then, 70% of the island surface was covered by palm trees and edible plants and there were many sea birds and fish. Oral tradition says during the years between Hotu Matu'a (the first king) and first contact with the western world, ocurred a growth of population (up to 10,000), the creation of the moais, and also civil wars, cannibalism and deforestation of the land. The first European arriving to the island was Jacob Roggeveen who got to
Rapa Nui in Easter of 1722 and named it Easter Island. Inter-clan wars began a few decades later, and resulted in the destruction on many moai in 1864. In 1888 Chile annexed the island, which nowadays continues being a territory of the nation. In the 1950s the anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl, suggested a connection between South America and Polynesia and went to Rapa Nui to study the moai. MOAIS AND RELIGION
It is believed that moais were first created by Polynesian villagers. They are stone sculptures built
Chilean government and there's a population of 2.095 people. They descend from the first settlers from Polynesia.
LOCATION AND CREATION OF THE ISLAND
The Easter Island is a very little island in the Polynesia which was formed by three volcanic eruptions in the bottom of the sea between 3,000,000 and 750,000,000 years ago, which made the island have a triangular shape. All the volcanos in the island are considered extinct, there hasn't been any volcanic activity for more than 10.000 years. The three main volcanos are Poike, Rano Kau and
Terevaka. The island is so small that if you climb to the top of one of the volcanos, you can see the entire island. It's 2,200 miles of Chile …show more content…
HISTORY
Rapa Nui people left no written history so there are many theories about the origin of this ethnic group. It is believed that the first humans who arrived to the island came from other Polynesian islands between the years 600 and 900. Back then, 70% of the island surface was covered by palm trees and edible plants and there were many sea birds and fish. Oral tradition says during the years between Hotu Matu'a (the first king) and first contact with the western world, ocurred a growth of population (up to 10,000), the creation of the moais, and also civil wars, cannibalism and deforestation of the land. The first European arriving to the island was Jacob Roggeveen who got to
Rapa Nui in Easter of 1722 and named it Easter Island. Inter-clan wars began a few decades later, and resulted in the destruction on many moai in 1864. In 1888 Chile annexed the island, which nowadays continues being a territory of the nation. In the 1950s the anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl, suggested a connection between South America and Polynesia and went to Rapa Nui to study the moai. MOAIS AND RELIGION
It is believed that moais were first created by Polynesian villagers. They are stone sculptures built