The Mystery of Easter Island R-301

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How would you describe these places? A B C

2 1 How do people get to an island? What would you see on an island? 3 Which islands have you visited? A B C D

Where are these places? How old are they? What are they made of? A B C D E

1 2 Easter Island lies in the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the most isolated1 islands in the world, thousands of miles away from any other islands. Today, Easter Island is a territory2 of Chile, which is about 3,600 km east of the island. Easter Island is a strange and mysterious place, and it is famous for its giant stone statues. The island is called Rapa Nui in the local language. It was given the name Easter Island by a sea captain from Holland, Jacob Roggeveen. He landed there on Easter Sunday in 1722. Roggeveen found an interesting culture on the island. He also found huge statues called Moai. The Moai are face-like giant rocks that dot the coastline. Since that time, scholars have tried to answer some important questions about Easter Island. 5 10 15 isolated: very far from other places, and hard to get to territory: a place that belongs to a certain country

3 Where did the people come from? Historians still can't agree on where the island's people came from. Did they sail from Chile, thousands of miles to the East? Did they sail from Hawaii or a Polynesian island, thousands of miles to the West? The Polynesian people are spread across the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Polynesians originally settled3 New Zealand, Hawaii, Samoa and many other islands. They used the stars to find their way on long sailing trips. Most experts today think that the people of Easter Island came from another Polynesian Island. 5 10 to settle: to live somewhere for a long time

4 Why did they put up the statues? The Moai are 13-foot-tall4, 14-ton stone carvings. Historians think that the people of Easter Island built them between 1400 and 1600 A.D. There are 887 statues; many of them look like enormous heads, but they are actually entire torsos5. Many of the statues have sunk into the earth, with only their heads showing. Some historians believe that the statues are symbols of the island's ancestors6. The statues were believed to protect the islanders. But no written history exists on the island. It is impossible to know the purpose of the statues for certain. 5 10 a foot: an old measurement (30 cm) a torso: the main part of the human body, without the arms and legs an ancestor: someone in your family who lived long before you were born 5 6

7 How did they move the statues? The statues had to be moved from quarries7 in the middle of the island to the coast. Some historians believe that the islanders used tree trunks8 to transport the statues. The trees were put on the ground to form a ‘track’, like a train. Other experts believe that the people tied two sets of ropes to the statues, one set of ropes on each side. They stood the statues upright9, and pulled them from side to side. In this way, the statues would ‘walk’ to the coast. 5 10 a quarry: a place where you take stone from the ground a tree trunk: the main part of a tree without the branches upright: in a standing position 8 9

What is unusual about Easter Island? Would you like to go there?

or Easter Island is close to Chile. Many historians think that the people of Easter Island came from a Polynesian island. The statues are called Moai and weigh around 14 tons. There are no quarries on Easter Island. True False 1 2 3 4

5) Puerto Rico is a ______ of the United States. 6) The doctor did an x-ray of my father’s ______ to check whether any bones were broken. 7) The ______ is in charge of the ship. 8) After the storm, there was a tree ______ in the middle of the street. Choose the correct word for each sentence. territory torso captain trunk

There are two theories about how the statues on Easter Island were moved… What are the two theories? Which one do you think is right? Why?

We can say that a place is ‘isolated’ when it is difficult to get to, or far from places that people usually go to. Name two places in your city or country which are isolated. A B

What is the most mysterious place you have been, or the most mysterious object you have ever seen?