Unsolved Mysteries: Easter Island The world has many unsolved mysteries that baffle even the most intelligent minds. One particular mystery, though, has remained truly unsolved. This mystery is the Easter Island heads that were built by people using primitive tools and manpower. Why is this mystery so puzzling and have we any clue about how the people of Easter Island accomplished this amazing task? Well, there are numerous facts, theories, and unanswered questions to be discovered. The following evidence further explains why and how the Easter Island people built the great stone carvings.
1. Facts Easter Island is one of the most isolated islands in the world leading to the lack of knowledge on the stone carvings and people located there. But why did the Rapa Nui leave their homeland, and did they mean to discover Easter Island? These incredible stone carvings are known as the moai ("Mysterious Places: Explore Easter Island in Words and Pictures."). Most moai are not heads, however, but full heads and torsos leading to the difficulty transporting and carving these sculptures. The islanders were able to carve the massive moai using only hand chisels and tools ("Easter
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This theory states that moai were moved in an upright position kept stable by ropes attached to the statue. The Rapa Nui people would then tug on the ropes and use the rocking motion to move the moai. This theory explains the ancient legend of the moai “walking” to their resting spots. The transported moai did not have sloping heads, like those left in the quarry, providing a more stable center of gravity for transport. Fractures along the moai bases have been found, suggesting pressure was put along the edges during transport. Abandoned statues have been found facing backward when ascending a hill and forward when descending a hill also suggesting upright transport ("Easter
Cahokia also constructed Ethagy mounds that were shaped like animals when viewed from the air. They also created the “American Woodhenge.” This woodhenge was constructed of 5 circles made from 12-60 wooden posts. These posts would likely have been used as a calendar of sorts marking the solstices, equinoxes and festivals important to the residents.
Most notably in Mesoamerica are the colossal Olmec heads. These heads are carved of basalt, weigh about ten tons and are between six and ten feet tall. What makes them notable is that the nearest source of basalt for the Olmecs was 60 miles away in the Tuxtla Mountains. In Peru, South America, the Nasca culture drew over 800 miles of complex lines on the top of the Nasca Plain. The creators of these networks made these lines by removing the dark top layer of stones to expose the light clay and calcite layer below. Art historians are unsure what these lines were for or even how these ancient peoples could create such seemingly perfect straight lines for such a distance. In the North American cultures, burial and effigy mounds were very common. The Serpent Mound in modern day Ohio was created by the Mississippian Culture, also well known for Monk’s Mound in Illinois. Unlike Monk’s Mound however, Serpent Mound was not for burial nor religious practices. Therefor the purpose for this mound is unknown, though some have hypothesized that the curves of the mound could be replicating the path of Halley’s Comet in
In 1785, a Christ Child was said to have appeared. A shepherd boy from the village of Tayankani played with the child, but the child disappeared. The child was believed to have disappeared into a rock that was left with his imprint. This is the story behind the pilgrimage to the rock, but those of our community don’t pay much attention to it. Their purpose in the event is to ‘honor’ their supernatural beings. They pay homage to Rit’i (the snow), Taytakuna (Fathers), and the great Apus (Lord Mountains).
They believe chanting is a very personal way of expressing feelings and thoughts on a higher level of communication. The topics of the chants may include warfare, death, sex, birth, chiefs, gods, the beauty of the island and water, or even surfing. This exotic culture was hidden from the world until 1778, when Captain James Cook and his men became the first westerners to discover the islands of Hawaii. When they arrived on Kaua’i, the islanders performed the hula dance as a way of greeting the strangers. Later in 1820, Christian missionaries from New England came to the islands, armed with the Bible and narrow-minded thoughts.
Between the years 300BC-400BC, a group of inhabitants landed ashore the island of Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui. Once ashore, these settlers began collecting resources and learned to survive with no help from the outside, stranded on an island in the middle of the Pacific. They created methods to hunt, fish, make clothing, and cook food properly. In addition, the people of Rapa Nui also separated into different groups or tribes. These tribes coexisted on the island for some time – until civil wars broke out across the island. The inhabitants of Rapa Nui disappeared from the island without a trace. The cause of their disappearance is unknown although experts believe the inhabitants of Rapa Nui were irresponsible with their resources.
However, that meaning is not always known. It is believed that Stonehenge was most likely made to bring people of a community together as well as to mark a place where individuals could gather to perform rituals, although many theories about why it was built and the purpose it serves exist. For example, recent studies show that the monument may mark the graveyard of a ruling dynasty. There is evidence of over 200 cremated human remains that have been buried at the site within a period of 500 years. Some evidence suggests the site may have been a piece in a larger series of structures used for funerary rituals. The only thing that is knows for sure “is that Stonehenge held meaning for the Neolithic community that built it”
Architecture, like many things, can also be made for the use of or inspired by the symbols people believe in. Therefore, art and architecture in Ancient Mesoamerica can be stated to be made for the use of religious symbols. Making architecture and art forms takes effort, dedication, and patience. Architecture can take years to make, as was s...
In this ancient place there were all different kinds of remnants from what looked to be a permanent settlement, which led us to believe that it was formed in the Neolithic period. Scientists also believe from the skull fragments found that the Cro-Magnons were the hominid type that inhabited the area. Some of the fossils found helped to prove that the settlement was immobile because the fossilized plants were apparently in a specific arrangement, showing that they were planted purposefully. Some of the cotton grown in this area was apparently used to make woven cloth. Remnants of corn meal were used to make some of the mortar for their establishments, along with mud and sand. They also made their bricks, which were much larger than today’s, from mud. Some of the teeth from the Cro-Magnons were found to be stained. They were thought to be from the coffee ingested due to the high amounts of caffeine deposits in the bones.
The Olmecs are the earliest known Mesoamerican civilization. Around 1200 B.C. the Olmecs originated as a primitive people living and farming on the shores of Mexico (Stanton 91). Soon, however, they began to build cities such as San Lorenzo, La Venta, and Monte Alban. These “cities” were religious centers where people gathered to worship, and were not populated (Stanton 91). The first of these centers, San Lorenzo, was built c. 1150 B.C., on a flat topped, man-made mountain. It was mysteriously abandoned 200 years later (Stanton 92-93). La Venta, built between 1000 and 600 B.C., sat on an island in a swamp (Stanton 93). Later, around 500 B.C., Monte Alban, which was used as a religious center even after the Olmecs faded, was built on an immense mountain (Stanton 93). The cities were made up of temples and plazas, and decorated by monumental stone heads, which weighed up to 50 tons (Stanton 93)! These heads probably represented their early kings and had distinct helmets (Kingfisher 32). It is incredible how the Olmec people transported the stone from the distant mountains to La Venta, near the shore, without the aid of work animals or carts. It appears that the Olmecs did this grueling work for their gods willingly, as there is no evidence of forced labor (Stanton 93). The Olmecs probably worshipped the jaguar, as it appears so often in their artwork. There are also many e...
A farmer in the late 19th century, upon plowing his land near Carthage, Alabama, discovered an object buried in the earth. From the soil, he removed a large stone disk, polished and flawlessly round. The disk was about 12 inches in diameter with small-notched edges. One side displayed incised globular lines and the flip side was “a strange engraving showing an open hand with what looked like an eye peering from it. Encircling the hand-and-eye image were two entwined rattlesnakes with horns and long tongues.” The farmer had previously found tools pieces of pottery, but he had never seen an object such as this (Blitz 2008:1).
Hawai'i is a land full of diverse people and ideas, starting from the Polynesians who decided to cross the ocean to settle and form the traditions practiced today by the Hawaiians. Unlike many other states, the beliefs of Hawai'i have managed to stay alive. Its unique culture is what attracts tourists most. Many people see it as a vacation spot, full of fun attractions and say, “When I go to Hawai'i I'm going to get some Hawaiian tattoos, they look so cool!” or “I'm going to buy a hula skirt, they're really pretty!” But all those hula dances and tattoos are not just for show. People do not know that there is more to it than ink or hip swaying; behind every hula skirt and every tattoo there is a story. Hawai’i’s culture consists of the significance of its dances, tattoos, and traditions that give Hawaiians their unique lifestyle.
Stony sentry’s, carved years ago by Polynesian craftsmen, gaze over one of the most remote places in the world. With their land enlarged by overuse, islanders now draw on a revival of their culture to attract visitors. I intend to tell about this small island off the coast of Chile named Easter Island.
The Polynesian peoples have a lifestyle quite different than that of any other culture, as living on an island requires a level of flexible adaptability in order to cope with such a different, sometimes difficult environment. We see the way diverse cultures build their lives around their circumstances and how they respect them in their cultural myths and stories. The Polynesian legends emphasize the physical environment that they live in. They are quite different than any other region in the world, but the beauty and individuality of the Polynesian culture is prominent as seen in their mythology.
Archeologists suggest that the large stones used in building the pyramids were transported by rolling them over logs or a wet, slippery, clay surface. These methods may have been effective in moving the blocks close to the building site, but do not explain how the massive bricks, weighing as much as a Ford F250 truck, were lifted on top of each other.
Each block weighs fifty tons! They would thatch the roofs with tree trunks and straw. After the buildings were constructed, the Incan people would smooth the stones with sand, mud, and clay to make the structures look polished. The people who inhabited this ancient site considered it to be magical because of the Andes Mountains and the Amazon River. The Temple of the Condor was a place of worship where the head of the condor was used as an altar for sacrifices.