Easter Island (Rapa Nui)
Rapa Nui island is located at Latitude 27°09
0 S and Longitude 109°20W, in the
South Pacific Ocean, about 3,700 km from the South American coast and
2,000 km from Pitcairn island (Fig. 9.3). The name Rapa Nui means ‘‘Big Bald
Mountain’’ in Polynesian. (Rapa Nui means ‘‘Big Rapa’’ as opposed to Rapa-ita,
meaning ‘‘small Rapa’’.) Probably, its first inhabitants gave the island its Polynesian name, because when they arrived they did not see any trees on it. Rapa Nui
was colonized quite late, about 660–870 years ago, as shown by the carbon 14
dating on charcoal (Hunt and Lipo 2006). The charcoal strata were found at a
depth of about 345 meters below the surface in a part of the island called Anakena.
Jacob Roggeveen, on board the Dutch vessel ARENA, was the first western
explorer to see the island, on Easter Day of the year 1722. The Chileans annexed
the Island in 1888.
Easter Island is one of the places where Polynesians who were probably sailing
from Papua, New Guinea, and from Fiji found a safe haven. It is an island of
legends with mysterious statues of an unknown origin. The statues were most
likely carved between the years 1000 to 1600 AD from the red and black tuff on
the flank of the island’s volcano, which had become a quarry. These strange, tall
men with flat hats are called mohai in the Polynesian language. They can be up to
22 m tall. About 200 of the statues still lie unfinished in their quarry, while 500
others are scattered throughout the Island. The oldest statues are smaller, while the
taller ones (180 tons), are the youngest. The population’s memory of their ancient
language and writing has vanished, so the local people can no longer read the
hieroglyph tablets, copies of which are carved and sold to tourists (Decaud 1993).
Easter Island is a strategic place for marine geologists wanting to explore the
South Pacific Ocean because of its position near the extension of the southern
branches of the East Pacific Rise spreading centers, and also because of its relatively easy access by commercial planes. In addition, there is a refueling station for
ships. The island is located 3,700 km from Valparaiso, Chile. The easiest way to
get there when traveling from Europe is to travel by plane through Santiago de
Chile.
I have been to Easter Island 8 times during the various cruises on which I
participated during my career. Since my first visit in 1989 (SONNE cruise, Leg
65), there have been many changes on the island. The most drastic change was
seen in 1997, after the departure of the film crew making the Hollywood production film called ‘‘RAPA NUI’’ with Kevin Costner. For the first time, I saw
sidewalks and asphalt on the main road. I believe there must now be a few hundred
automobiles on the island, whereas the first time I landed, there were only about 30
cars, and horses were the main means of transportation. Indeed, even now, there
are more horses (5,000) on the island than human beings (4,000 local population).
When visiting Easter Island, we usually stayed with a family who lived in a
house located on top of a hill, called the ‘‘Villa Tiki Hotel’’, in the village of
Hangaroa. Maria Giorgina Paoa Hucki was our hostess, and she always received us
310
9 Hotspots
Rapa Nui island is located at Latitude 27°09
0 S and Longitude 109°20W, in the
South Pacific Ocean, about 3,700 km from the South American coast and
2,000 km from Pitcairn island (Fig. 9.3). The name Rapa Nui means ‘‘Big Bald
Mountain’’ in Polynesian. (Rapa Nui means ‘‘Big Rapa’’ as opposed to Rapa-ita,
meaning ‘‘small Rapa’’.) Probably, its first inhabitants gave the island its Polynesian name, because when they arrived they did not see any trees on it. Rapa Nui
was colonized quite late, about 660–870 years ago, as shown by the carbon 14
dating on charcoal (Hunt and Lipo 2006). The charcoal strata were found at a
depth of about 345 meters below the surface in a part of the island called Anakena.
Jacob Roggeveen, on board the Dutch vessel ARENA, was the first western
explorer to see the island, on Easter Day of the year 1722. The Chileans annexed
the Island in 1888.
Easter Island is one of the places where Polynesians who were probably sailing
from Papua, New Guinea, and from Fiji found a safe haven. It is an island of
legends with mysterious statues of an unknown origin. The statues were most
likely carved between the years 1000 to 1600 AD from the red and black tuff on
the flank of the island’s volcano, which had become a quarry. These strange, tall
men with flat hats are called mohai in the Polynesian language. They can be up to
22 m tall. About 200 of the statues still lie unfinished in their quarry, while 500
others are scattered throughout the Island. The oldest statues are smaller, while the
taller ones (180 tons), are the youngest. The population’s memory of their ancient
language and writing has vanished, so the local people can no longer read the
hieroglyph tablets, copies of which are carved and sold to tourists (Decaud 1993).
Easter Island is a strategic place for marine geologists wanting to explore the
South Pacific Ocean because of its position near the extension of the southern
branches of the East Pacific Rise spreading centers, and also because of its relatively easy access by commercial planes. In addition, there is a refueling station for
ships. The island is located 3,700 km from Valparaiso, Chile. The easiest way to
get there when traveling from Europe is to travel by plane through Santiago de
Chile.
I have been to Easter Island 8 times during the various cruises on which I
participated during my career. Since my first visit in 1989 (SONNE cruise, Leg
65), there have been many changes on the island. The most drastic change was
seen in 1997, after the departure of the film crew making the Hollywood production film called ‘‘RAPA NUI’’ with Kevin Costner. For the first time, I saw
sidewalks and asphalt on the main road. I believe there must now be a few hundred
automobiles on the island, whereas the first time I landed, there were only about 30
cars, and horses were the main means of transportation. Indeed, even now, there
are more horses (5,000) on the island than human beings (4,000 local population).
When visiting Easter Island, we usually stayed with a family who lived in a
house located on top of a hill, called the ‘‘Villa Tiki Hotel’’, in the village of
Hangaroa. Maria Giorgina Paoa Hucki was our hostess, and she always received us
310
9 Hotspots