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The Easter Island

In 1722, the Dutch vessel Arena is lost in the Pacific and is running out 

food. Captain Jakob Roggeven trying to reach the island of Davis, named after its discoverer. The land is in sight, but the captain did not recognize at all the island expected. In his telescope, he saw huge statues, colossal shapes placed on rafts evoking the foundations of temples. 

The new island is called Easter Island, the day of its discovery. The sailors went ashore to refuel, but the local population welcomed them grudgingly and Captain Roogeven to open fire to quell the natives. This is the first contact with the islanders 'civilization'. 

Easter Island has an area of ​​165 square kilometers, it is located 3700 km coast of Chile and 2000 Polynesian archipelagos. Called Rapa Nui by the natives, it is the farthest inhabited land on the globe from any other land. The famous English adventurer James Cook had this thought discovering the moai in 1774: "How do these islanders, who knew in any way the powers of mechanics, could elevate the masses so amazing, and then place above the large round stones. These singular monuments, being above the existing strength of the nation, are likely the remains of a more fortunate time. Seven hundred islanders, private tools, housing and clothing, while the busy task of finding food and meet their basic needs, could not build platforms that would require centuries of work. "

It therefore found these giant sculptures, moai, monoliths 3 to 10 meters high. They weigh between 3 and 100 tonnes. One counts from 300 to 1000, even those relying on land, those buried and those unfinished. We find without parallel anywhere in the world. The moai are all facing the interior of the island, except for the alignment of seven moai, called Ahu Akivi, who look to the ocean. 

Almost three hundred years after the discovery of Easter Island and its archaeological treasures, mysteries remain about Rapa Nui integers. These are just snippets of answers, assumptions and theories that architecture enthusiasts, as researchers, are able to give. Another feature, all the statues looking skyward. 

Originally, all wore a headdress called Pu Kao, red, iron from a different volcanic rock statues, from the west of the island. As for the meaning of the moai, one wonders again. Religious functions, statues erected in honor of the gods, gigantic idols dedicated to prayer and worship? 

Others see it as a symbol of protection (that's why they would be looking to the interior of the island). The moai show the presence of man. The seven are facing the ocean sentinels. It is believed that the island was first settled around 500, but by whom? 

Scientific studies based on DNA tend to prove that the island was populated by Polynesians.