02/2019_Rapa Nui

Rapa Nui : Archaeological overview of Easter Island

Rapa Nui, also called Easter Island or Isla de Pascoa in Spanish is an isolated island located in the south east of the Pacific Ocean. Wider of more than 2000 km of the first inhabited land, it is considered as the most isolated land in the world.

Discovered in 1722 on the Eastern day by the first european, the island was colonized by Spain and France before being spotted in Chile in 1888. The island has nearly 8000 inhabitants (around the half of them bellongs to the Rapa Nui community) and hosts several thousand tourists each year. Indeed, the island is world famous for its monumental statues, the moai.

Many mysteries and interrogations remain around n the traces left by the first inhabitants of the island, the « Haumacas« . When the europeans discovered the island, the inhabitants already turned away from their old cults (including the production of moai) for more than two centuries and knew the history of thier ancester only through oral tradition. Archaeologists have issued many theories (sometimes controversial). I just stay for a few days on the island, that’s why I prefer to present you here a simple summary presentation based mainly on the information found on site or in the travel guides (Le Petit Futé : Chili Ile de Pâques, 2014-2015 ; Lonely Planet, Chili et île de Pâques, troisième édition). You’ll no trouble to find documentation on the island.

Rapa Nui fascinates me by discovering the moai, I dream about. I was also impressed by the mixture of culture and tradition on the island or by the beauty of the natural landscapes subject to the power of the elements.

Lonely moai in Ahu Tepeu. Moai (or Mo’ai or Moais) are statues generally measuring between 2 meters and 5 meters high. They would be around 1000 moais Easter Islan and were probably built between 1200 and 1500 AC. Each of them represant a chief of a clan and the moai are still considered as sacred by the Rapa Nui community.
Wild landscape of the North-Est coast
Horses among the petroglyphes of the archeologiacl site of Papa Vaka.
Natural cave used as shelter by the pascuans in Ana Kagenga.
Ahu Tahai. The « ahu » are platforms of stone and earth that served as burials (each clan had its ahu) or as pedestal for one or many moai. These « altars » are usually built along the coast, parallel to it. In a first period, the ahu were only simple parallelepideds but many were completed by one or many ramps during an archaeological period called « intermediate ».
On the site of Vinapu, there are two ahu whose moais have been flipped. One of these platforms presents a remarkable stonework ; as this recalls the walls of some Inca cities, several archaeologists have considered it could have one (or more) contact between the two cultures (it is now admitted that Pascuan People would have arrived from Polynesia).
Other elements support these controversial theories : some ahus on Easter Island are, for example, oriented according to astrological principles found in many pre-Columbian cultures.
Two moai are hidden in this picture on the Hanga Roa‘s port.
The restaurated moai in the first ground is wearing a pukao  : this element dosen’t represent a hat but a traditional hairstyle worn by the chefs. They were carved in red stone in the flank of the volcano Puna Pau. Even today, archeologists have doubt in how the pukaos were bring on the top of the moais. Some think that the moai was already straightened with the pukao on its head (and kept together by a kind of scaffolding). Others think it was placed on the top of the sculpture at the very end thanks to an earthen ramp.
Crater of the volcano Ranau Ku. On the ridge between the crater and the ocean stands the sacred village of Orongo (left on the picture).
The crater of Ranau Ku remains inaccessible 100m under the cliffs. It is filled by rain water and houses now a great diversity of vegetation.
Houses of Orongo : they are semi-burried in the slope of the volcano.
Like the « boat houses » present in the rest of the island, the plans of Orongo’s houses have ellipsoidal shapes and each house is only one or two meters wide. The volume is closed by a corbelled vault and lit by a single opening.
Lonely moai of Hanga Te’e
Ahu Akahanga. On the island, numerous moai were found overturned, head against the ground. Several theories tribute this position to seismic shocks or tsunamis. Some archaeologists believe that the moai were intentionally overthrown by the pascuans when they turned away from their first religion to adopt the worship of the god Make-Make.
Ahu Akahanga, the pukao rolled away from the heads…

The Volcano Rano Raraku where the statues were extract from. In the first ground lays an abandoned moai witch
certainly fell during the transport.
All the moai of the island were excrated from the tuff open air career of the volcano Rano Raraku. They were carved in one block witch measures often between 2 and 8m and weighs an average of 14 tons (the biggest erected one measured 10m and last around 80 tons) . Only the richest villages could afford to carved big moai and many clans could just product modest sculptures.
Moai on the slope of the volcano Rano Raraku.
After the extraction, the block of stone was straighten.
Rather than building a scaffold, the sculptors preferred to bury part of the moai and then refine the block from the top of the head. As they progressed, they removed the earth and carved their hands or backs, often covered with engravings. Many moai of Rano Raraku are still partially burried for the the simple reason that their sculpture was not finished.
The Ahu of Tongariki. With 15 standing moai it is the biggest ahu ever built. – Nice place to have breakfast with the sunrise…
Anakena, one of the only beaches of the island – most of the coast consist of impressive cliffs.
The moai of the Ahu Anakena count among the best preserved of the island. They were found overturned in the sand and have been straightened by archeology only recently. In fact they have been protected from erosion and the finesse of their sculpture is remarkable.
The moai of the Ahu Akivi are sometimes nicknamed « the seven incas ». This ahu is the only one built away from the coast, on it the moai are also the only ones of the island turned towards the sea. The position of the ahu were certainly designed with astronomic principles in to face the sunset at the summer solstice.
This moai in Hanga Roa was restaured : it found back its eyes carved in corail and obsidian.

by baptiste quételart – architect / architectural reporter