Results (
Thai) 2:
[Copy]Copied!
Easter Island is one of the world’s most famous places. However, it is also one of the loneliest. Easter Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean, 4000 kilometres off the coast of South America and around 2000 kilometres from the nearest island. It can only be reached by plane, as it has no harbour. Most of the coastline consists of cliffs and there are some extinct volcanoes. As the island is covered in grass, most of its inhabitants are sheep farmers.
Besides its unique geographical location, Easter Island also has an extraordinary history. It was discovered by a Dutch explorer,
Jakob Rogeveen in 1722 on Easter Sunday. Some fifty years later, Captain James Cook came to the island during his second Pacific voyage of discovery. To his surprise,he found between 600 and 700 men and only 30 women living on the island. Legend has it that the women and children were captured and eaten during a war in 1680 between the two tribes living on the island. The population decreased even more in 1862, when about one third of the island’s inhabitants were taken to Peru to work as slaves. Only fifteen of them managed to return home alive. However, they brought back diseases with them. Which killed most of the rest the inhabitants.
Because of these tragic decreases in population, it is difficult to trace where the islanders originally came from. There are no written records of the island’s history and with the death of its inhabitants the oral tradition faded away. There two major theories regarding the islanders’ origins. The first is that they were Polynesian, while the second suggests that they came from South America. Whoever they were, one thing is certain in the world.
These statues are figures of men showing only the upper body. According to archaeologists, they were made of volcanic rock and were carved sometime between 1000 and 1600 AD. They were first carved lying down and then liften into the positions where they stand today. There are approximately six hundred of them and experts believe that they represent men who belonged to the ruling tribe of the island. These men were worshipped like gods after their death. The statues have long ears and wear a red stone hat, which probably represents the red hair most of the islanders had. The exact reason why the statues were made remains a mystery.
There are so many unanswered questions concerning Easter Island, its history and its inhabitants. This is probably what makes it a truly fascinating place.
Being translated, please wait..
