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Review Questions for Easter Island

These questions are drawn from class discussions, the text and video.

1. What are the reasons for believing that Rapa Nui was not reached by accident? In other words, why do most scholars believe that the island was reached on a voyage of discovery that involved sailing on a set course? Approximately when did this occur? Who do we think the first settlers were? Discuss the various types of evidence that support this conclusion.

Some scholars believe that a second group arrived on the island approximately 400 years after it was first settled. What do proponents of this idea believe were the effects of this second group’s arrival?

2. Approximately how tall and how heavy is the largest moai ever erected? How does this compare to the largest moai ever made?

3. What do most scholars believe the moai represented? How does mana figure into this matter?

4. What was the source of the stone for most of the moai? How were they carved? What was involved in getting them down from the quarry site? What appear to be the most likely methods used to transport them to the ahu?

5. What is a pukao? What may it represent?

6. When did the first Europeans land on Rapa Nui? What did they find?

7. Describe the ahu and their placement on the island. How were the moai situated on the ahu? What was discovered a few years ago concerning the eyes of the moai?

8. What does tradition say about the sculptors? How does the concept of redistribution figure into our explanations of their activities?

9. What was the Birdman “cult”? How do Orongo and Motu Nui figure into it? How was the Birdman selected and what privileges did he obtain? What does the rise of the Birdman cult say about changes in sociopolitical organization on the island? How did the roles of the ariki and mata toa change?

10. What are the Kohau Rongo Rongo tablets? What do scholars think the symbols on the tablets may represent? Why do some people think that the Rongo Rongo script postdates the arrival of the Spanish explorers?

11. Who was responsible for toppling the moai? What reasons may explain this destruction? What do we know about the timing of this destruction?

12. What does analysis of pollen cores tell us about the changing ecology of Rapa Nui from the time the first settlers arrived until the era of European exploration. What can be learned from the analysis of remains of land and sea animals? What is the significance of the rise in chicken bones and the Hare Moa?

13. Study the systems model distributed in class to prepare yourself for questions concerning the multiple factors (and the complex interrelationships among those factors) that led to the collapse of civilization on Rapa Nui.

14. Characterize the treatment of the people of Rapa Nui by Europeans and Americans in the 18th and 19th centuries. Make a short chronological outline using the information in your text.

15. Additional terms to know: hau, tapa, moai kava kava, mana, Rano Raraku, manavai, toromiro.