Protectors of the Island, Easter Island
The Easter Island’s (Chile) stone guardians

Easter Island is home to 838 megaliths, called Moai which would have represented the gods and ancestors of the Island’s inhabitants. It is not known how these blocks, which can weigh up to 80 tons, were moved. One hypothesis suggests that they were pulled upright using ropes and a lot of sweat.

Easter Island has a history that is both tragic and mysterious. Around 400 AD, the first inhabitants arrived on the island, coming from an island in the west more than 2000 km away. By the time the first Europeans arrived in 1722, the Island was still inhabited but its inhabitants had wreaked havoc on each other.

Behind this conflict also lies the depletion of resources, including wood. Was this caused by overexploitation? Or were the Easter Island palm forests destroyed by Polynesian rats who devoured the nuts from these trees? If only the Moai could tell us what really happened.

Curiously, although most of the Moai have their backs to the sea, seven of them face the open sea instead. According to legend, the inhabitants immortalized in these statues were the seven who discovered the Island, who since then look toward their native Polynesian island to the west.

The Island’s stone guardians are called Moai. These statues would have represented the gods and ancestors of the inhabitants. Photo: © ProvinceQuebec.com

Most of the Moai have their backs to the sea, seven of them face the open sea instead. According to legend, the inhabitants immortalized in these statues were the seven who discovered the Island, who since then look toward their native Polynesian island to the west. Photo: © ProvinceQuebec.com

One hypothesis suggests that the statues were pulled upright using ropes and a lot of sweat.Photo: © Lucie Dumalo