The true story of Easter Island

After 10 years of excavations onEaster Island, the team ofarcheologists lead by Giuseppe Orefici,accompanied by international expertsin anthropology, botany, geology, andof course, archaeology, think they arefinally able to reveal the mysteries ofEaster Island.

Ceremonial architecture, petroglyphs,rock art, colossal sculptures, woodenstatuettes, tablets inscribed withhieroglyphs: such are the wonders ofthis island filled with mystery. Many ofthe artefacts have never before beenphotographed, and are providingcrucial clues to unveiling the mysteriesof the island and its history.

The true story of Easter Island.Photos and text ©Stephane Compoint/DealTeam/LightMediation

Contact - Thierry Tinacci LightMediation Photo Agency +33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 [email protected]

1489-14: In 1960 a tidal wave came in the land in the south of the island and devastated everything. Thanks to an international archaeologic mission supported by the Unesco to which Giuseppe Orefici took part, the AhuTongariki site is now totally restored. This place is the most impressive one in the island because of its size and the number of Moais. The ancient village was located where horses took possession of the territory. On the

background, the Moto Maro Tiri. This architectural grouping dates from the 13th- 14th century A.D. 15. In 1960 a tidal wave came in the land in the south of the island and devastated everything. Thanks to an international archaeologic mission supported by the Unesco to which Giuseppe Orefici took part, the Ahu

Tongariki site is now totally restored. This place is the most impressive one in the island because of its size and the number of Moais. The archaeologist is at the feet of a Moai wearing a Pukao, the biggest of the islandstill erected on an Ahu.

1489-01: Hillsides of the Rano Raraku volcano : this is where happened for more than a millenium thegenesis and the cutting of the Moais, the giant statues of Easter Island. At this stone giants' feet, Giuseppe

1489-02: The hillsides of the Rano Raraku volcano: this is where happened for more than a millenniumthe genesis and the cutting of the Moais, the giant statues of Easter Island. At these stone giants' feet,

1489-03: On the Anakena site, the Ahu Nau Nau Moais are located on the northern shore of the island,not far away from the bay which is wearing the same name. They can be recognized thanks to their

1489-04: A view of Rapa Nui (local name of the island) from Motu Iti, a small island located in thesouth-west. The shore, a 200 metres-high cliff is constituted with the edge of the Kano Kau volcano's

1489-11: On the side of the Rano Raraku's crater, the archaeologists of the Giuseppe Orefici's team discovered the function of those shafts dug in the tuff : it would appear to be ropes' reels that permitted to control theMoais going down the slope of the volcano before the transport to their final destination : the Ahu. To reduce efforts, the Rapa Nui sculpted capstans by way of pulley (above the archaeologist on the right). On the inner

sides, we can see little black spots, which are the Moais. On the background the Pacific ocean.

1489-05: This little statue, the Tukuturi Moai, is the oldest of the island. It dates from the period of the firstnewcomers on the island, in the 5th century A.D. It was discovered about ten years ago by Thor

1489-06: These fishing hooks, made of bones, date from the 5th century A.D, that is to say the period ofthe first newcomers on the island. They were found during recent archeological excavations. They are the

1489-07: These fishing hooks, made of bones, date from the 5th century A.D, that is to say the period ofthe first newcomers on the island. They were found during recent archeological excavations. They are the

1489-08: On the Rano Raraku volcano's sides, Giuseppe Orefici, archeologist-in-chief of the scientificmission and his team are watching a series of lying Moais. These statues came out from this earth for

1489-23: Since the beginning of time, the weakness of food resources obliged the Easter Island inhabitantsto have a lot of imagination: to protect land under cultivation and plantation from bad weather and thefts, the

1489-18: The archaeologist Sergio Rapu, member of the council of the Easter Island's monuments andarchitect of the Ahu Anakena's restoration at the feet of one of the Moais with a Pukao.

1489-09: Three hundred tonne, twenty-one metres long: on the side of the Rano Raraku volcano, the MoaiTe Kokanga is the tallest statue that the Rapa Nui civilization ever sculpted. The face measures 8,50

1489-10: Three hundred tonne, twenty-one metres long: on the side of the Rano Raraku volcano, theMoai Te Kokanga is the tallest statue that the Rapa Nui civilization ever sculpted. The face measures 8,50

1489-11: On the side of the Rano Raraku's crater, the archaeologists of the Giuseppe Orefici's teamdiscovered the function of those shafts dug in the tuff : it would appear to be ropes' reels that permitted to

1489-12: Landscape of Rano Raraku

1489-12: Landscape of Rano Raraku

1489-13: Giuseppe Orefici's team makes again on horseback (the safest means of transport in thistortured landscape) the Moais' route on one of the numerous paths that came from the Rano Raraku

1489-14: In 1960 a tidal wave came in the land in the south of the island and devastated everything.Thanks to an international archaeologic mission supported by the Unesco to which Giuseppe Orefici took

1489-15: In 1960 a tidal wave came in the land in the south of the island and devastated everything.Thanks to an international archaeologic mission supported by the Unesco to which Giuseppe Orefici took

1489-16: The Ahu's direction, central places of the Rapa Nui's religion, provoked a lot of questioning,sometimes leading to fanciful theories. Some people thought it had something to do with astrology or even

1489-27: At the bottom of a cave, Giuseppe Orefici and the anthropologist Andrea Drusini are examinating a skeletton and try to determine the date and the reason of its death, under the eyes of Make Make, the RapaNui god of war.

1489-17: On the Anakena site, the Ahu Nau Nau Moais are located on the northern shore of the island.They can be recognized thanks to their Pukao, made of red volcanic tuff that represents hair into a bun.



1489-20: The Ahu Kote Riku site, located on the west side of the island, is a good example of how spacewas organized in a Rapa Nui village :

1489-16: The Ahu's direction, central places of the Rapa Nui's religion, provoked a lot of questioning, sometimes leading to fanciful theories. Some people thought it had something to do with astrology or even withastronomy: nowadays we know that it has nothing to do with that. The Moai on its Ahu is the incarnation of the ancient tribal chief. With its protective eyes it transmits its power received by the sky: the Mana to people

living in the village in front of it. Only the village determines the Ahu's direction.

1489-21: The Kava Kava Moais were burried next to the doors of the Rapa Nui houses. They incarnatedthe soul of the former members of the family. Contrary to the chiefs' Moais made in the Rano volcano's

1489-22: The Kava Kava Moais were burried next to the doors of the Rapa Nui houses. They incarnatedthe soul of the former members of the family. Contrary to the chiefs' Moais made in the Rano volcano's

1489-23: Since the beginning of time, the weakness of food resources obliged the Easter Islandinhabitants to have a lot of imagination: to protect land under cultivation and plantation from bad weather

1489-24: Since the beginning of time, the weakness of food resources obliged the Easter Islandinhabitants to have a lot of imagination: to protect land under cultivation and plantation from bad weather

1489-31: Not far away for the Anakena bay, the pluridisciplinary archaeologic mission directed by Giuseppe Orefici is working on the Ahu U Runga dated from the 12th century. There are about 212 archaeologic sites onthe territory.

1489-25: In the 16th century, there were violent fights between rival tribes with a lot of criminal fires whichreally destroyed the natural balance of the island. At the end of the Moais' religion there wasn't any tree

1489-26: During this troubled period, most of inhabitant took refuge in the many caves of the island, likethere in the Ana O Keke cavity on the north-east coast. We can fin there paintings and engravings from

1489-27: At the bottom of a cave, Giuseppe Orefici and the anthropologist Andrea Drusini areexaminating a skeletton and try to determine the date and the reason of its death, under the eyes of Make

1489-28: The bird, symbol of freedom: freedom is what survivors of the violent fights were missing themost on this island-prison. The new religion changed its symbol but also its place. The new religion settled

1489-36: Michel et Catherine Orliac sont chercheurs au Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris. Spécialistes du bois, ils ont entrepris une vaste campagne de récolte de vieux charbons de bois sur l'île de Pâques. A l'aidedu microscope électronique, ils ont pu établir le nom des espèces d'arbres aujourd'hui disparues qui existaient à l'époque de la religion des Moais. Ils ont pu également observer une forte concentration d'incendies

d'origine non naturelle dans la première moitié du 16ème siècle, date de la révolution qui aboutit à la disparition de la civilisation et de la religion des Moais

1489-29: The new island's village is settled in front of the litte islands of Motu Iti and Motu Nui (on thebackground). Every rocks are decorated with petroglyphs celebrating the "man-bird". From this place, men

1489-30: Clothing also reflected the worship of man-bird: ceremonial costumes were made of bird'sfeathers. But in this case too resources were limited: at the end of the 18th century, migratory birds

1489-31: Not far away for the Anakena bay, the pluridisciplinary archaeologic mission directed byGiuseppe Orefici is working on the Ahu U Runga dated from the 12th century. There are about 212

1489-32: The sifting of the land around the Ahu U Runga permits to get back fragments of tools made ofobsidian : precise marker of datation.

1489-39: Only copy that we could see, the Rongo Rongo staff, made of Hau Hau wood and 2 metres long.It belongs to the Museum of Natural History of Santiago and it is totally covered with hieroglyphs.

1489-37: Each tree has its own structure. 1700 times magnified by the electronic microscope, the specialisteasily recognized the wood fibre of the Toro Miro tree. This kind of tree was used to sculpt the Moai Kava

1489-33: About twenty metres below, two inhabitants of Easter Island discovered a Moai in the middle ofhigh grass : Giuseppe Orefici went there and asked to get the land clean : i twas a middle size statue from

1489-34: Giuseppe Orefici with the Moai discovered on the Ahu U Runga.

1489-35: Giuseppe Oreficci 1489-36: Michel et Catherine Orliac are research workers at the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris.They are specialized in wood and started to collect old charcoal on the Easter Island. Thanks to an

1489-41: These nine Moais Kava Kava belong to three museums in Santiago and Vina del Mar ( Chili).They are real masterpieces of Rapa Nui art and are put together for the first time. Made with Toro Miro wood, TheKava Kava Moais were burried next to the doors of the Rapa Nui houses. They incarnated the soul of the former members of the family. Contrary to the chiefs' Moais made in the Rano volcano's tuff, these were made of

wood. Wood has always been a very precious material on the island. Today, the Toro Miro tree has totally disappeared from the surface of the planet.

1489-37: Each tree has its own structure. 1700 times magnified by the electronic microscope, thespecialist easily recognized the wood fibre of the Toro Miro tree. This kind of tree was used to sculpt the

1489-38: Sculpted in Hau Hau wood, the Rongo Rongo tablets, with 12000 different signs engraved on it,are still today one of the most important mystery of modern deciphering. The reading was from down to up

1489-50: Map of Easter Island. Located 3800 kilometres away from Chili coasts and 4200 kilometresaway from Tahiti, Easter Island is the most isolated inhabited land of the planet. Its surface is 180 square

1489-40: Steven Fischer from New Zealand published an article in the scientific magazine « science ». Hetried to decipher the 12000 different hieroglyphs found on the tablets and on the Hau Hau wood staff :

1489-44: These nine Moais Kava Kava belong to three museums in Santiago and Vina del Mar (Chili).They are real masterpieces of Rapa Nui art and are put together for the first time. Made with Toro



1489-49: Two famous explorers who discovered the Easter Island in the 18th century : the English oneCook (on the left) in 1774 and the French one La Pérouse (on the right) in 1786.

1489-28: The bird, symbol of freedom: freedom is what survivors of the violent fights were missing the most on this island-prison. The new religion changed its symbol but also its place. The new religion settled on theOrongo site, located on the south-west side of the Rano Kao's crater, the biggest of the island. The shape of the numerous little ponds at the bottom of the crater always change: people considered that they were

harbouring dead people's souls.

1489-45: To swear allegiance to their hosts, Giuseppe Orefici and his team wore the traditional costumethat every Easter Island's inhabitant wear for the annual Rapa Nui feast which occurs at the end of

1489-46: To swear allegiance to their hosts, Giuseppe Orefici and his team wore the traditional costumethat every Easter Island's inhabitant wear for the annual Rapa Nui feast which occurs at the end of

1489-47: Some illustrations from the colonial period (end of 18th century) showing a Rapa Nui man and aRapa Nui woman.

1489-48: Some illustrations from the colonial period (end of the 18th century) showing the arrival ofEuropean settlers on the Easter Island ( from Holland, Spain, England or France).

The true storyof EasterIsland.

In 1989, as director of the Italian center ofarcheological research, Orefici was invitedby the Chilean government to visit EasterIsland. He was fascinated by the wealth ofarcheological treasures left by theinhabitants of the island: the imposingceremonial architecture, the petroglyphs,the cave art, wooden statuettes ofexquisite beauty and the famous colossalsculptures, the moai. More intriguinghowever, were tablets filled with symbolsakin to hieroglyphs, the meaning of whichremains unknown. A veteran at questionswithout answers however, Orefici decidedto begin extensive research in the hopesof revealing the mysteries of Easter Island.1990 was the first of a long series of digs,the last of which was completed inFebruary 2001, which was the first timesuch a number of Ester Island specialistswere ever united on a single researchproject. The experts included physicalanthropologist Andréa Drusini, the onlyscientist to have studied all the bonefragments of the island, archeologistsGeorgia Lee, Claudio Christino andPatricia Vargas, experts in petroglyps andmonumental sculpture, Andrej JacekJomaszewski, a stone industry specialist,Giuliano Romano, an astronomer whostudied the relationship between thelocations of ceremonial areas and thestars, botanists Luigi Piacenza, who holdsan amazingly complete collection of nativeEaster plant species, a geologistspecializing in volcanoes, twospeleologists and several archeologists,

Giuseppe Orefici and the team were finallyable to explore the missing pieces of thepuzzle of Easter Island. Where did thepopulation come from? How did theymanage to arrive in one of the mostremote arts of the transportation?

Giuseppe Orefici is most interested in theAhu Nau Nau region of the Island, thearea formed when the island's two mainvolcanoes came together. The soil, madeup of sands and sediments, os rich inarcheological materials never before seenon any other part of the island and is in aremarkable state of conservation. Thefact that the area was formed beforehuman settlement of the island helpsscientists determine the precise time ofthe island's occupation. The first bits ofdata are very promising and are providingcrucial clues to understanding the RapaNui society. Special attention is beinggiven to the study of human and animalbone fragments as they provide newinformation about the origin of the island'sinhabitants. This last mission allowsGiuseppe Orefici to finally drawconclusions from the tremendous workdone on Easter Island.

Paradise Lost

The Rapa Nui are generally thought tohave arrived on Easter Island in the 7thcentury AD. However, it seems that theyactually set food on the island at least 3centuries earlier, according to recent finds.Upon their arrival on Easter Island, theRapa Nui found a true paradise, butshortly thereafter they lost their Eden. TheRapa Nui society went through manyphases of development in order tomaintain the island's ecologicalequilibrium. The cramped environmentand the ecosystem's fragility were a recipe

for catastrophe's from the get-go. Theplants and animals brought to the islandby the Rapa Nui ravaged the nativespecies, including the Toromiro tree, anabundant species widely used forsculpture. Such would be the fate oh theHau Hau tree, used for making tablets ofthe Rongo Rongo language and almostcompletely wiped out by the importation oflivestock on the island. Furthermore, theabsence of any waterway on the island ledto the quick drying up of the land. Thenatural reservoirs atop the volcanic craterswere not enough to sustain the irrigationof crops.

However, before these tragic times, theinhabitants of the island lived off of coastaland open water fishing, agriculture, andraising of chickens and rats as their mainsustenance. Turtle eggs were a seasonaldelicacy reserved for the King Ariki. Soon,however, the depletion of the sea'sresources led the population to overworkthe land. The land became infertile andthe forest were destroyed. Thesephenomena, however necessary for theisland's economic development, led to anecological disaster which in turn provokeda social and political crisis. Around 1500,the environment was destroyed, and theinhabitants were seeing their island hometransformed into a prison from which itwas impossible to escape. Tension brokeout between various clans due to lack ofsustenance. Women and the defeatedparties became victims of cannibalism,which served both as a kind of sustenanceand a demographic stabilizer. Terror,desolation and misery reigned upon thepopulation while the environment steadilydeteriorated.

The arrivals of Dutchman JacobRoggeven in 1772 was the first of manyvisits by Europeans. The Spaniards Felipe

Gonzalez came to Easter Island 50 yearslater, followed by Cook in 1775 andPerousse, in 1789. Unfortunately theEuropeans' arrivals did nothing butaccentuate the degradation of theenvironment by importing new animal andvegetable species such as goats, sheepand pigs and cotton, maize, and fruittrees. Destabilization of the ecosystem aswell as the deportation of the localpopulation to plantations on the Americancontinent undeniably led to the extinctionof the Rapa Nui culture.

A mysterious people: the Rapa Nui

The Rapa Nui lived for many centuriesisolated from the rest of the world. Only in1772 with the arrival of Dutch explorerJacob Roggeveen on Easter day wouldthe island join the rest of the world. Sincethen, the most extravagant theories aboutthe island's original population have beenfounded. Scientific research began in the19th century, leading to discoveries andabsurd experiments. Among the importantdiscoveries, strange tablets covered in"hieroglyphs" of which no one knows themeaning, but which do confirm theexistence of a written language belongingspecifically to the island. We know that theMaori Rongo Rongo, who held the key tothe interpretation of these symbols. Theknowledge of the Maori Rongo Rongopeople, who were deported by slavetraders in 1862, was never transmitted.Many scientists have attempted todecipher the writings with little success.Today, fewer than 10 of these tablets existin the world.

The monumental architecture of EasterIsland, however, has withstood thepassing of time. The altars built for theworship of ancestors are often

surrounded by a dozen giganticsculptures, called the moai. Thetechnological and artistic prowess requiredof the Rapa Nui to create such giants ofstone seem inconceivable and are in largepart unexplained. Furthermore, many haveattempted over the centuries to discoverfrom which continent the Rapa Nui came,by the teams of maritime research. Inn themid 20th century Norwegian scientist ThorHeyerdal set out to prove that ancientpeople could have come to Polynesia, andtherefore to Easter Island, from theSouthern American continent, and in 1947set sail from the port of Callao in Peru ona replica of an aboriginal balsa raft namedKon Tiki. 101 days later he arrived at theof Raroia atoll, in the TuamotuArchipelago. He repeated the experiment9 years later. In 1958, Baron Erich deBisschop sailed on a raft named Tahiti NuiII from Tahiti to Chile and back. Finally in1999, Spanish explorer Kitin Munoz andcraftsmen of Lake Titicaca built a reedboat with which he travelled from Arica inChile to the Marquesas Islands. Thoughthese experiments did confirm that EasterIsland could be reached from bothPolynesia and the American continent,they do not offer any theories on theorigins of the people that settled on thedeserted island. As discoveries continue,the mysteries unfold, as the manyarcheological remains continue to suggestthe presence of a highly sophisticated andorganized culture.

The strength of the ancestors

The moai, long time symbols of themystery of Easter Island, are not only

artistic expression of the Rapa Nui. Thesecolossal ancestral statues were placedupon the ahu, ceremonial altars made of agiant basalt slabs, and turned to protectthe home with their gaze. A topknot, orpukao, of red volcanic tuff sat atop theirhead. The sculptures wererepresentations of the social andeconomic power of the clans and stribes,and could number between 1 and 15,measuring between 3 and 8 meters, andsometimes more. The style of thesespectacular figures changed over time,and their size became more imposing.Depending on the clan they representedthey could be adorned with large or smallears, and their body was sometimessculpted, as is the case of one moaiwhose body is carved with a boat. Theavanga, or burial chamber beneath theahu, held the bone remains of the clan'sancestors.

The digs led in 1990 by Giuseppe Oreficito one of the island's most importantceremonial spaces, Ahu Tongariki,produced some valuable physicalanthropological data regarding the humanremains left there. Not only did the teamfind ancestral remains, (the skulls aregenerally incised or incinerated), they alsofound traces of human and animalsacrifice (fish, rats, chickens) practicedduring ceremonies. The beneficialpresence of the ancestors was alsomaterially represented by a number ofbeautifully executed objects. The long andlanky Kava Kava statuettes, recognized bytheir projecting ribs, the ceremonialpaddles decorated with a stylised feminineface, and the pectoral ornaments used byaristocrats or the king were all included inthe ceremonies. These cultural objectswere made of toromiro, a small native treewhich produces a dense, rot proof wood ofa rich blood color. For years Andrej Jacek

Jomaszewski, a stone industry specialist,has been taking inventory of the obsidiantools of the island. For sculpture, the artistused basalt blades, knives, percoir,obsidian scissors and shark teeth. Theobject would then be polished using sand,coral and shark skin stretched on a stick.

Later on, when tension led to violentbetween different clans, rock art (stillunknown by many) appeared in many ofthe caves. Some of the petroglyphs(carved images in stone) depicted for thefirst time the face of the god Make Make,a relatively new deity who confirmed thedisintegration of the society due toecological catastrophes. These manycultural representations help scientistsunderstand the foundations of Rapa Nuiculture. At the beginning, Ariki Henua, theking of the earth, was the supreme rulerwhose authority was undisputed. He wasconsidered a divine and supernaturalbeing. He was later challenged by awarrior clan represented by the god MakeMake and symbolized by a Bird-Man,when the island resources were depletedand the inhabitants' lives were at risk.These political-religious pressures led to achange in the cultural representation ofthe island, which began to move awayfrom the ancestral symbolism until themoai disappeared completely. It was,however, the depopulation of the island,due to the Europeans' deportation of theinhabitants as slaves to plantations in theAmericas that dealt the final blow andannihilate what remained of Rapa Nuiculture.

______________

Captions.

1. Hillsides of the Rano Raraku volcano :this is where happened for more than amillenium the genesis and the cutting ofthe Moais, the giant statues of EasterIsland. At this stone giants' feet, GiuseppeOrefici, archaeologist-in-chief of thescientific mission. Although the Moais arestill intact, only their faces turned to thesouth are still visible.

2. The hillsides of the Rano Rarakuvolcano: this is where happened for morethan a millennium the genesis and thecutting of the Moais, the giant statues ofEaster Island. At these stone giants' feet,Giuseppe Orefici, archaeologist-in-chief ofthe scientific mission. Although the Moaisare still intact, only their faces turned tothe south are still visible.

3. On the Anakena site, the Ahu Nau NauMoais are located on the northern shore ofthe island, not far away from the baywhich is wearing the same name. Theycan be recognized thanks to their Pukao,made of red volcanic tuff that representhair into a bun.

The origin of the first newcomers (5th-8thcentury A.D)

4. A view of Rapa Nui (local name of theisland) from Motu Iti, a small island locatedin the south-west. The shore, a 200metres-high cliff is constituted with theedge of the Kano Kau volcano's crater, thebiggest volcano in the island. On theforeground, Giuseppe Orefici and a part ofhis team.

5. This little statue, the Tukuturi Moai, is

the oldest of the island. It dates from theperiod of the first newcomers on theisland, in the 5th century A.D. It wasdiscovered about ten years ago by ThorHeyerdhal, organizer and author of "Theexpedition of Kon Tiki" in 1947. The aim ofthis expedition was to demonstrate thesouth-American origin of the Rapa Nuipopulation: today, the whole internationalscientific community recognizes that M.Heyerdhal was wrong: the Easter Islandpopulation comes from French Polynesiaand more precisely from the MarquesasIslands. Paradoxically, that is this statue(and a hook, see view n°44) that soundsthe knell of the Norwegian adventurer'stheory. This statue looks like the Tikis,stone statues discovered in theMarquesas Islands and dated the sameperiod.

6. These fishing hooks, made of bones,date from the 5th century A.D, that is tosay the period of the first newcomers onthe island. They were found during recentarcheological excavations. They are theirrefutable proof of the Marquesas originsof the Rapa Nui: indeed, scientists foundexact copies dated from the same period,during recent excavations in theMarquesas Islands.

Birth of a religion and of a civilization (9thcentury-11th century):

7. The sides of the Rano Raraku volcanostill have at least 600 Moais, which stayedunfinished at every step of their making.These huge sculptures never reachedtheir goal and their final destination. Real'Moais factory", we consider that 1200sculptures came out from the RanoRaraku volcano's sides.

8. On the Rano Raraku volcano's sides,Giuseppe Orefici, archeologist-in-chief of

the scientific mission and his team arewatching a series of lying Moais. Thesestatues came out from this earth for morethan a millennium. Their style anddimensions really changed with time. Theexamination of the size of their hands,their bust and their face permits to dateprecisely when these statues weresculpted

9. Three hundred tonne, twenty-onemetres long: on the side of the RanoRaraku volcano, the Moai Te Kokanga isthe tallest statue that the Rapa Nuicivilization ever sculpted. The facemeasures 8,50 metres ( one white and redline= one metre). Giuseppe Orefici's teammakes there some measures.

10. Three hundred tonne, twenty-onemetres long: on the side of the RanoRaraku volcano, the Moai Te Kokanga isthe tallest statue that the Rapa Nuicivilization ever sculpted. The facemeasures 8,50 metres ( one white and redline= one metre). Giuseppe Orefici's teammakes there some measures.

11. On the side of the Rano Raraku'scrater, the archaeologists of the GiuseppeOrefici's team discovered the function ofthose shafts dug in the tuff : it wouldappear to be ropes' reels that permitted tocontrol the Moais going down the slope ofthe volcano before the transport to theirfinal destination : the Ahu. To reduceefforts, the Rapa Nui sculpted capstans byway of pulley (above the archaeologist onthe right). On the inner sides, we can seelittle black spots, which are the Moais. Onthe background the Pacific ocean. 12. Landscape of Rano Raraku

13. Giuseppe Orefici's team makes againon horseback (the safest means of

transport in this tortured landscape) theMoais' route on one of the numerouspaths that came from the Rano Rarakuvolcano to rejoin the Ahus, religious siteswhere the giant statues were erected. Onthe edges of the path, a lot of statues'fragments which did not resist the journey.Indeed, volcanic tuff is a lightest mineralthan granite or limestone: it is easier tosculpt but also more fragile.

The golden age of Rapa Nui's civilizationand religion ( 12th century- 16th century) :

14. In 1960 a tidal wave came in the landin the south of the island and devastatedeverything. Thanks to an internationalarchaeologic mission supported by theUnesco to which Giuseppe Orefici tookpart, the Ahu Tongariki site is now totallyrestored. This place is the mostimpressive one in the island because of itssize and the number of Moais. Theancient village was located where horsestook possession of the territory. On thebackground, the Moto Maro Tiri. Thisarchitectural grouping dates from the 13th-14th century A.D.

15. In 1960 a tidal wave came in the landin the south of the island and devastatedeverything. Thanks to an internationalarchaeologic mission supported by theUnesco to which Giuseppe Orefici tookpart, the Ahu Tongariki site is now totallyrestored. This place is the mostimpressive one in the island because of itssize and the number of Moais. Thearchaeologist is at the feet of a Moaiwearing a Pukao, the biggest of the islandstill erected on an Ahu.

16. The Ahu's direction, central places ofthe Rapa Nui's religion, provoked a lot ofquestioning, sometimes leading to fancifultheories. Some people thought it had

something to do with astrology or evenwith astronomy: nowadays we know that ithas nothing to do with that. The Moai onits Ahu is the incarnation of the ancienttribal chief. With its protective eyes ittransmits its power received by the sky:the Mana to people living in the village infront of it. Only the village determines theAhu's direction.

17. On the Anakena site, the Ahu NauNau Moais are located on the northernshore of the island. They can berecognized thanks to their Pukao, made ofred volcanic tuff that represents hair into abun. The tuff comes from the Puna Paucrater. Their size sophistication and thesort of petrogliphs discovered down theAhu permit to date this architecturalgouping from the 15th and 16th centuryA.D. 18. The archaeologist Sergio Rapu,member of the council of the EasterIsland's monuments and architect of theAhu Anakena's restoration at the feet ofone of the Moais with a Pukao.

19. The archaeologist Sergio Rapudiscovered the first Moai'eye on theAnakena site. Made of coral (for the white)and obsidian (for the eye), today we knowthat most of the Moais had eyes throughwhich the Mana, a power from the sky,could be transmitted to earth and livings. The Rapa Nui village :

20. The Ahu Kote Riku site, located on thewest side of the island, is a good exampleof how space was organized in a RapaNui village :

- On the background the Ahus, ceremonialaltars made of a basalt platform whereMoais are erected. The interior of the Ahucontained the Avanga, a funeral roomwhich kept bones of the clan's ancestorincarnated in a Moai.- at the top in the middle the pier for thevillage's fishing boats. - at the top, on the right, the ceremonialcircle, a holy place where the main eventsof the village take place.- At the bottom, the traditional house of aRapa Nui family. Covered with palm treebranches or reed in an arc of a circle, thishouse had a stone overhang and a littledoor. In front of this door: GiuseppeOrefici. Like everywhere in the island,horses are totally free.

21. The Kava Kava Moais were burriednext to the doors of the Rapa Nui houses.They incarnated the soul of the formermembers of the family. Contrary to thechiefs' Moais made in the Rano volcano'stuff, these cultural objects were made inToro Miro, a little endemic tree providing avery tough fine-grained and rot proof redwood. Wood has always been a veryprecious material on the island. Today, theToro Miro tree has totally disappearedfrom the surface of the planet. 22. Around the houses' vestiges, we canfind a lot of petroplyphs that is to sayimages engraved on stones. They oftenrepresent theMake Make god, god of war.We also discovered a lot of animals'representations, in particular big fishes,symbol of abundance and birds, symbol offreedom. On the left, Giuseppe Orefici. Onthe background the Tongariki Ahu themost imposing of the island. 23. Since the beginning of time, theweakness of food resources obliged theEaster Island inhabitants to have a lot of

imagination: to protect land undercultivation and plantation from badweather and thefts, the Manavaï (burriedgardens) were often burried in the manycavities of this volcanic island. On thispicture, the botanist Luigi Piacenza islooking at a burried garden in the Te Paucave. Luigi Piacenza is the author of aunique set of illustrations of endemicplants of the island.

The fall of the Moai's religion (16thcentury)

24. In the 16-th century, the whole of the1200 Moais erected on their Ahus waspulled down like here on the One MakihiAhu on the south coast. On thebackground the Rano Raraku volcano, theplace of the Moais' genesis. There areseveral reasons to this revolution: - the hostility of the climate for severaldecades. - few water and food resources.- the clergy was incapable to change itsways and had become to expensive forthe island's resources.- an exacerbated rivalry between thetwelve tribes of the island.

25. In the 16th century, there were violentfights between rival tribes with a lot ofcriminal fires which really destroyed thenatural balance of the island. At the end ofthe Moais' religion there wasn't any treeleft on the island. 26. During this troubled period, most ofinhabitant took refuge in the many cavesof the island, like there in the Ana O Kekecavity on the north-east coast. We can finthere paintings and engravings from thisperiod but also indecipherablehieroglyphs. Some cavities werediscovered by Giuseppe Orefici himself.

27. At the bottom of a cave, GiuseppeOrefici and the anthropologist AndreaDrusini are examinating a skeletton andtry to determine the date and the reasonof its death, under the eyes of MakeMake, the Rapa Nui god of war.

The religion of the man-bird (17th-18thcentury):

28. The bird, symbol of freedom: freedomis what survivors of the violent fights weremissing the most on this island-prison.The new religion changed its symbol butalso its place. The new religion settled onthe Orongo site, located on the south-westside of the Rano Kao's crater, the biggestof the island. The shape of the numerouslittle ponds at the bottom of the crateralways change: people considered thatthey were harbouring dead people's souls.

29. The new island's village is settled infront of the litte islands of Motu Iti andMotu Nui (on the background). Everyrocks are decorated with petroglyphscelebrating the "man-bird". From thisplace, men used to organize theceremony of the "egg race" at everyspring: the clans' representatives had tofight to get the first egg layed by the ternson the Motu Nui. They had to go down thecliff (on photo n°3), swim to the Motu Nui,take the egg and swim back to the cliffand climb it to be the first on this Orongoplace with this precious trophy. Thewinner, appointed by the priests, permittedhis tribe to rule the island for one year. Onthis place, every rocks are decorated withpetroglyphs celebrating Tangata Manu the« man-bird ».

30. Clothing also reflected the worship ofman-bird: ceremonial costumes weremade of bird's feathers. But in this case

too resources were limited: at the end ofthe 18th century, migratory birdsdisappeared from the little islands whichtriggered progressively to the questioningof the religion. Since the little islands ofMotu Iti and Motu Nui were listed asnature reserve about ten years ago, birdsand their offspring took possession of theislands again.

Excavations and researches :

31. Not far away for the Anakena bay, thepluridisciplinary archaeologic missiondirected by Giuseppe Orefici is working onthe Ahu U Runga dated from the 12thcentury. There are about 212 archaeologicsites on the territory.

32. The sifting of the land around the AhuU Runga permits to get back fragments oftools made of obsidian : precise marker ofdatation.

33. About twenty metres below, twoinhabitants of Easter Island discovered aMoai in the middle of high grass :Giuseppe Orefici went there and asked toget the land clean : i twas a middle sizestatue from the middle age period (12thcentury) which was erected on the Ahu URunga. 34. Giuseppe Orefici with the Moaidiscovered on the Ahu U Runga. 35. Giuseppe Oreficci.

36. Michel et Catherine Orliac areresearch workers at the Museumd'Histoire Naturelle in Paris. They arespecialized in wood and started to collect

old charcoal on the Easter Island. Thanksto an electronic microscope they couldestablish the name of kind of trees thatexisted at the time of the Moais' religionbut not anymore. They also could observea high concentration of non-natural fires inthe first part of the 16th century that is tosay when the revolution led to the end ofthe Moais' civilization and religion.

37. Each tree has its own structure. 1700times magnified by the electronicmicroscope, the specialist easilyrecognized the wood fibre of the Toro Mirotree. This kind of tree was used to sculptthe Moai Kava Kava but it has totallydisappeared from the planet.

Rongo Rongo et Kava Kava :

38. Sculpted in Hau Hau wood, the RongoRongo tablets, with 12000 different signsengraved on it, are still today one of themost important mystery of moderndeciphering. The reading was from downto up and from left to right with reversedsigns one line by two, probably becausetwo people could read in front of eachothers. Researchers from all the world butalso collectors are fascinated by thesetablets. There are only 26 tablets in theworld and the value of each tablet issometimes estimated for 1 million dollar.Today the Hau Hau tree has totallydisappeared. 39. Only copy that we could see, theRongo Rongo staff, made of Hau Hauwood and 2 metres long. It belongs to theMuseum of Natural History of Santiagoand it is totally covered with hieroglyphs.

40. Steven Fischer from New Zealandpublished an article in the scientificmagazine « science ». He tried todecipher the 12000 different hieroglyphs

found on the tablets and on the Hau Hauwood staff : today we know that this craftwork belonged to a caste, the RongoRongo Maori. According to Steven Fischerthe hieroglyphs represent religious songsvery similar to those that the Maori fromNew Zealand still sing nowadays. TheMaori from New Zealand are distantcousins with inhabitants of Easter Island.

41. These nine Moais Kava Kava belongto three museums in Santiago and Vinadel Mar ( Chili).They are real masterpiecesof Rapa Nui art and are put together forthe first time. Made with Toro Miro wood,The Kava Kava Moais were burried next tothe doors of the Rapa Nui houses. Theyincarnated the soul of the former membersof the family. Contrary to the chiefs' Moaismade in the Rano volcano's tuff, thesewere made of wood. Wood has alwaysbeen a very precious material on theisland. Today, the Toro Miro tree hastotally disappeared from the surface of theplanet.


43. These nine Moais Kava Kava belongto three museums in Santiago and Vinadel Mar ( Chili).They are real masterpiecesof Rapa Nui art and are put together for

the first time. Made with Toro Miro wood,The Kava Kava Moais were burried next tothe doors of the Rapa Nui houses. Theyincarnated the soul of the former membersof the family. Contrary to the chiefs' Moaismade in the Rano volcano's tuff, thesewere made of wood. Wood has alwaysbeen a very precious material on theisland. Today, the Toro Miro tree hastotally disappeared from the surface of theplanet.


45. To swear allegiance to their hosts,Giuseppe Orefici and his team wore thetraditional costume that every EasterIsland's inhabitant wear for the annualRapa Nui feast which occurs at the end ofJanuary and beginning of February everyyear. 46. Giuseppe Orefici wearing thetraditional costume of a Rapa Nui chief. 47. Some illustrations from the colonialperiod (end of 18th century) showing aRapa Nui man and a Rapa Nui woman. 48. Some illustrations from the colonialperiod (end of the 18th century) showingthe arrival of European settlers on the

Easter Island ( from Holland, Spain, England or France). 49. Two famous explorers who discovered the Easter Island in the 18thcentury : the English one Cook (on the left) in 1774 and the French one LaPérouse (on the right) in 1786.

50. Map of Easter Island. Located 3800 kilometres away from Chili coastsand 4200 kilometres away from Tahiti, Easter Island is the most isolatedinhabited land of the planet. Its surface is 180 square kilometre. The islandlooks like a triangle with a long side of 22 kilometres and the two other sidesof 17 kilometres. Twice largest than Paris intra muros, there are 3000inhabitants living there today and only one city, Hanga Roa, located at thesouth-west. Almost the rest of the territory is listed as nature reserve.

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The true story of Easter Island