What were the ahu?

The ahu was the political, social and religious center of the different tribes and clans of Rapa Nui. Here any important gathering took place: ceremonies, funeral rites, assemblies, initiations, and parties to celebrate the harvests and distribute food. The ahu were sacred places dedicated to ancestor worship.

Why is Ahu tongariki important?

Ahu Tongariki is the largest ceremonial structure built on Easter Island and the most important megalithic monument in all of Polynesia. It represents the zenith of the sacred constructions called ahu-moai that were developed in Rapa Nui for more than 500 years.

When was Ahu tongariki built?

Ahu Tongariki was the largest ceremonial structure ever built on Easter Island. In terms of size, plan and the number of statues, it represents the apogee in the development of the so- called ‘image ahu’, most of which were built in a period of ap – proximately five or six hundred years between ca. AD 1000- 1500.

What did the statues at Ahu akivi overlook?

At Ahu Rongariki, 15 moai stand on a massive stone platform – an ahu – near the island’s coast, their backs to the sea. Ahu Akivi’s moai face the sea and overlook a ruined village.

What is an ahu moai?

The word “ahu” has two meanings in Easter Island culture. First, an ahu is the flat mound or stone pedestal upon which the moai stand. The ahus are, on average, about four feet high. The word ‘ahu’ also signifies a sacred ceremonial site where several moai stand.

Why is Ahu akivi unique?

Ahu Akivi is an unusual site because it is inland. Although many visitors assume the statues were placed here to face the ocean, in fact they were meant to look out over a very large village which today is in ruins. The site was restored in 1960 by the American archaeologist William Mulloy.

How big is Ahu tongariki?

Ahu Tongariki houses the largest stone platform on Easter Island. This platform, known as an ahu, is lined up on 200 metre (650 foot) long podiums. Easter Island’s ahu were meticulously restored in the early 1990s after the island’s civil war toppled the moai and a tsunami later displaced them inland.

Who built Ahu tongariki?

The five-year project was carried out under an official agreement among the Chilean government, the University of Chile, and Japan-based crane manufacturer Tadano Limited.

Why is it called Easter Island?

The first known European visitor to Easter Island was the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who arrived in 1722. The Dutch named the island Paaseiland (Easter Island) to commemorate the day they arrived.

Are there any Easter Islanders left?

The Rapa Nui are the indigenous Polynesian people of Easter Island. At the 2017 census there were 7,750 island inhabitants—almost all living in the village of Hanga Roa on the sheltered west coast.

Who lives on Easter Island?

Today, the people living on Easter Island are largely descendants of the ancient Rapa Nui (about 60%) and run the bulk of the tourism and conservation efforts on the island. Many locals living on Easter Island have livelihoods that involve the water—which makes sense!

How many moai are on Easter Island?

Easter Island’s monumental stone heads are well-known, but there’s more to the story: all along, the sculptures have secretly had torsos, buried beneath the earth. Archaeologists have documented 887 of the massive statues, known as moai, but there may up as many as 1,000 of them on the island.

Why does Easter Island have statues?

Easter Island is famous for its stone statues of human figures, known as moai (meaning “statue”). The island is known to its inhabitants as Rapa Nui. The moai were probably carved to commemorate important ancestors and were made from around 1000 C.E. until the second half of the seventeenth century.

Why does Easter Island have no trees?

When it rains on the island, also known as Rapa Nui, the water rapidly drains through the porous volcanic soil, leaving the grass dry again. That’s one reason why the island at the end of the world has stayed almost entirely bare, with no trees or shrubs.

Why are Easter Island statues buried?

The Moai monoliths, carved from stone found on the island, are between 1,100 and 1,500 CE. These events enveloped the statues and gradually buried them to their heads as the islands naturally weathered and eroded through the centuries.