The secret of Easter Island?

L 1: Easter Island, Polynesian? Rapa Nui (meaning big place, Rapa = place)? The center of the world. It is often misinterpreted as Easter Island (resurrection, especially the resurrection of Jesus). Located at 27 08 south latitude? 37? 109 26 W？ 10? It is 3,500km from Chile in the east and1750km from Pitcairn Island in the west. Area 166 km2, population 2000. The administrative center is Hanga Roa, and 1935 has become a national park, belonging to Val Palesa province of Chile. The United Nations has approved it as a World Heritage Site. There are 600 stone statues called "Moai" and the cemetery platform called "Ahu", which is 3-6 meters high. The tallest one 1 1 meter weighs 50 metric tons and the hat weighs 10 metric tons. Many people are standing in groups, and the biggest one is 15, which is 65438+. The aborigines call this island "a land of birds and people", and the stone statues are like white faces. There is no water or trees on the island, and it is carved with obsidian, volcanic glass and tuff. It is said that in 1722, the Dutch explorer Jacob Loki made a voyage in the South Pacific. It happened to be Easter, so this nameless island was named Easter Island. 1888, the Chilean government sent someone to take over the island.

Easter Island is a triangle with a length of 24 kilometers, its widest point 17.7 kilometers and its area 1 17 square kilometers. There are many extinct volcanoes on the island. There are three higher volcanoes at the top of the three corners of the island. Coastal cliffs are steep and extremely difficult to climb.

When it comes to Easter Island, people first think of more than 600 giant stone statues standing on the island. The unique modeling and exquisite carving skills of stone statues are amazing. People cannot help asking who carved so many stone statues. What is the purpose of carving so many stone statues? Is it to be admired or worshipped? In recent years, historians, archaeologists and anthropologists from some countries have visited this island, trying to find out its truth. Although various explanations have been put forward, they can only be guesses and are not convincing.

The stone statues on Easter Island are generally 7- 10 meters high and weigh 30-90 tons. Some stone statues and hats weigh 10 tons. The stone statue is carved from a whole piece of dark red igneous rock. All the stone statues have no legs, they are busts, and their shapes are similar. The facial expressions of the stone statues are very rich, and the eyes are specially inlaid with shiny obsidian or shiny shells, which is particularly vivid. They all have long and narrow foreheads, high noses, sunken eyes, pursed mouths, big earlobes and shoulders, and their arms cling to their abdomen. All the stone statues face the sea, and their expressions are indifferent and dignified. From a distance, it looks like a group of warriors preparing for war, which is spectacular. Faced with this ingenious giant stone statue, tourists will naturally have a series of questions: when was the stone statue carved? How can such a tall stone statue be moved to the seaside? What happened to some unfinished stone statues and suddenly stopped? In order to reveal these mysteries, scientists have conducted long-term investigations and obtained preliminary answers to some questions.

According to relevant scholars' research, humans landed on Easter Island in 1 century, and the pedestal altar of the stone statue was built in the 7th century, and the stone statue was carved after 1 century. By the12nd century, this carving activity had reached its peak and lasted for four or five hundred years. 1650 or so, the carver stopped. Judging from the site environment, the direct cause of the sudden shutdown at that time may be a sudden encounter with natural disasters, such as volcanic eruption, or natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis. As for what the stone statue represents, most scholars think it may represent the late chief or religious leader.

The next question is how the stone statue was transported to the seaside. In the quarry in the southeast of the island, there are 300 unfinished stone statues, the tallest of which is 22 meters high and weighs about 400 tons. At that time, such a huge stone statue could not be transported by manpower and simple tools. According to local legend, in order to transport these stone statues, they were moved to the seaside by the power of ghosts and gods or volcanic eruption. Others said that the stone statues lying on the hillside were moved to the big sledge with a crowbar and rope, and thatched reeds were laid on the road, and then people pulled the crowbar to move forward bit by bit. However, some archaeologists really organized people to do this, and it turned out to be unworkable. Therefore, Easter Island is still a mysterious place for tourists.