Easter Island Flashcards
Where is Easter Island and what is it also called?
2000 miles off the coast of Chile in the South Pacific
It is also known as Rapa Nui
What is the early history of Rapa Nui?
It was full of tropical forests.
First people arrived 400 CE - about 1500 years ago
Arrived on wooden boats. Made wooden houses with palm thatch
The soil was good for farming.
Population grew to 10,000
Many people then left because the soil was overused and too thin. Food became scarce.
What happened later?
In 1722 CE Admiral Roggeveen arrived.
Discovered over 600 giant statues called Moai.
Many were destroyed.
3000 people left on the island living in caves and huts.
Explain the statues?
Built by the first settlers.
Great skill and technical knowledge needed to build, carve and move the statues.
Probably needed 70 men rolling the statues on trees to move them
Key lessons from Rapa Nui?
The price of deforestation - the trees were cut down and the soil was fertile only for a limited period
Inventiveness - the settlers were very clever and skilled
BUT they didn’t know what a wheel was!
Isolation - when the soil deteriorated most people left and the people who remained had a very poor life because they were isolated from the world
