Key Facts about Easter Island

About Easter Island:

• It is a Chilean dependency in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
• It is the easternmost outpost of the Polynesian island world.
• Named Rapa Nui by its earliest residents, it is one of the most isolated inhabited islands in the world.
• It was discovered by Europeans on Easter Sunday (1722) by Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen. Hence the name “Easter Island”.
• It faces a tropical rainforest climate.
• The island comprises three extinct volcanoes, namely Terevaka, Poike, and Rano Kau.
• The island has no permanent rivers but contains three crater lakes, namely Rano Aroi, Rano Raraku, and Rano Kau.
• It is known for its iconic Moai statues, carved by the indigenous Rapa Nui people.
• UNESCO named Easter Island a World Heritage Site and major parts of the island have been protected under the Rapa Nui National Park.

What are Moai Statues?

• Rapa Nui is famous for its large statues called moai.
• They are shaped like large human heads and erected on stone pedestals.
• They are famous for their carved heads and “Pukao,” a hat-like covering made from a soft red stone.
• They were carved in volcanic stone at quarries and then moved to their current locations across the island.
• Scholars believe the Rapa Nui people built the moai between the 13th and the 16th centuries and represented their revered ancestors.

What is Rongorongo?

• Rongorongo is a writing system that comprises carved symbols, known as glyphs, on wooden tablets and artefacts discovered in Easter Island.
• Rongorongo differs from other scripts in that it has not yet been deciphered.
• Rongorongo was noted for the first time in 1864 when it was observed by Europeans.
• Rongorongo looks very different from the European writing This has led some experts to believe it may have developed locally by the inhabitants.