Easter island statues

Easter Island (Rapa Nui) in Chile is a remote island surrounded by 4,000 km of ocean and with a mysterious past.

History of Easter Island

‘Discovered’ by Dutch explorers in 1722, Easter Island – so named because the explorers landed on Easter Sunday – is thought to have been inhabited since 700AD and perhaps even as early as the fourth century AD.

This is still disputed, as is the origin of the people of Easter Island. Most scientists now believe that the first inhabitants were of Polynesian descent.

Perhaps the most famous aspects of Easter Island are its almost 900 head shaped statues, known as moai.

Originally known as the “living faces of our ancestors”, the moai are incredibly large and heavy stone statues which are thought to have been built in around 1000AD to protect the islanders. When they were found, the moai were not standing and a large number have since been erected upright.

Much of the reason behind the mystery of Easter Island is due to the vast reduction in its population over the years.

When found, Easter Island had around 12,000 inhabitants, but

when easter island was discovered

when was easter island built