Easter Island History
Easter Island is a volcanic island, consisting of three extinct volcanoes. The history of
Archaeologists are still not entirely sure why the islanders abandoned the tradition of building the huge moai, which are believed to symbolise authority and power and to have been erected to honour the important ancestors of the clan.
For the curious visitor to the island there is plenty over which to ponder: gigantic ahus or ceremonial altars, as well as cave paintings and squat stone structures thought to be ancient observatories. Like so many of the skilled civilisations, that of the Rapanui eventually declined. Some say that it was after they cleared the land of the dense forest, causing soil erosion and crop production to fall. Inter-clan fighting may have broken out, which is then when many of the moai were toppled. Famine ensued. There was not even enough wood left to build a canoe and flee. Hundreds of years later and the island is still barren. Semi-wild horses gallop across the plains, but other than that there is precious little wildlife or bird life.
