Easter Island-Giant Stone Statues Tell Of A Rich And Tragic Past

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Imagine a mysterious island in the middle of nowhere. Look to the left, a statue, to the right, another statue. are at the unexplainable place, Easter Island. In the nonfiction book, “Easter Island - Giant Stone Statues Tell of a Rich and Tragic Past”, by Catherine Arnold, she writes about the significance and history of Easter Island. Easter Island is an island off the west coast of Chile and is still being excavated and discovered. It is significant because it holds large stone statues that tell stories about the history of the tribes that lived there. These mysterious statues are called Moai. Easter Island is a historical landmark that is composed of many artifacts that represent the people who once lived here. To start, the history of Easter …show more content…

These statues were all created for a belief or something important to the people who once lived on this island. Also, these statues are valuable to the ancient groups of people that once lived there. According to the ancient groups who were once living on Easter Island many centuries ago, whoever had the most amount of moai in their possession would have more power. All in all, Easter Island holds many statues called moai, and each one stands for a belief or a person. Furthermore, the Easter Island heads were made for a specific purpose and each one is distinctly different. The Moai of Easter Island each represent a different belief or person, and a few select of them represent gods. For instance, in the article from History.com, the text states, “moai are thought to have represented important figures that were deified after death.” This shows that some people who lived on this island passed away and were later considered …show more content…

The larger the moai, the more power the chief —and the clan—might gain. These pieces of evidence demonstrate that the moai were believed to possess powers and have “supernatural strength”. Some of these statues represent clans, but not specific people. In total, some moai statues were meant to represent gods and people, while others were meant to show stories and beliefs. Lastly, Easter Island represents many things that have great importance to the people who once lived there. Easter Island’s large stone statues not only tell stories, but also represent important events and gods that are symbolic of this island. These symbolic statues hold the aura of gods and power, cultural and religious beliefs, and the link between earth and sky. In the article from FactCite.com, “The moai played an important role in religious ceremonies. The Rapanui may have seen them as a link between the earth and sky. They might have been mediators (middlemen) between the people and the gods. This piece of evidence supports the idea that the moai of Easter Island connects the people to their beliefs and the things that they care

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