Easter Island heads have bodies
The Easter Island Statue Project (EISP) is a private research program and archive created by Jo Anne Van Tilburg, Principle Investigator and EISP founder and director, with Cristián Arévalo Pakarati, Rapa Nui artist and co-director of EISP. The profound and immediate need for conservation actions on the moai became apparent over the course of more than 20 years of subjective observation and field experience acquired by us during our island-wide archaeological survey, which was conducted in association with our Chilean and Rapa Nui colleagues.
The Easter Island Statue Project office is located at 225 Arizona Avenue, Studio 500, Santa Monica, CA, 90401. The EISP field office is located at the Mana Gallery, Petero Atamu s/n, Hanga Roa, Easter Island (Rapa Nui), Chile.
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wild stuff..so did they bury them complete with petroglyphs..(who would see them if they are buried?) or was it covered by something else that happened?
401
It’s the way they are positioned with the hands and eyes half closed, has any one meditated whilst there? I would love to know if so and how it went. Great site by the way, i love new and insightful things to dwell on.
your welcome john..we like to awaken..sometimes its controversial..sometimes its just enlightening
[...] The heads of Easter Island are just the tip of the iceberg. (follow the money) [...]
Saturday links: economic engines | Abnormal Returns said this on November 19, 2011 at 9:24 pm |
i’m pretty sure that they became buried naturally over a period of time, like how fossils become buried.
thanks josie..point taken..
I’m thinking the other way around : the people that did that dug holes so that it would be easier to them to put the statues in upright position.
good theory
is it me or does that look like alien eyes where what looks like thumbs over the belly?
someone else said that..they do look similar..
I’m surprised that everyone is surprised by this. If these statues were just above-ground heads, they’d have been knocked over by earthquakes and/or tsunami. In course of fact, some of the head-only moai seen on pedestals had done just that and were moved far inland by a tsunami. They’ve been replaced to the pedestals in recent years, paid in large part by the Japanese. Also, the region is very seismically active as evidenced by the 2009 quake in Chile. Some of the strongest recorded quakes in modern history have struck in the region as it is part of the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire.
Another clue that there were likely bodies below ground is the MASSIVE full-body carving still in the quarry which is some 70ft / 22 meters in length. I say “length” as it is in a prone position.
I was there July 2010 for the total solar eclipse, which was itself spectacular, but enhanced by the gorgeous setting. We stayed on the island for several days afterward and toured around. A true “island paradise”. What our guide explained to us is that the moai are the equivalent to “family portraits”. They were set up to look over ones crops to bless them. The power comes from their eyes. So when rival tribes wanted to ruin your chances of good crops, they would knock them over, face-down, to prevent the eyes from bestowing power/energy.
A great book to read is James Grant Peterkin’s “A Companion To Easter Island”. Fascinating book with not only what to see and do while there, but also a good section on the history of the island, its peoples, and the moai. I learned more from the tours and the book in one week than I learned about Rapa Nui in my entire life. The Bird Man culture that followed the abandoning of the moai culture is equally fascinating.
I posted a video of the approaching eclipse on YouTube. You can view it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3mQSgxseFo Sorry for the audio, but it was quite windy that day. And here is a still photo of the eclipse and a moai I took that day: http://365project.org/beteljooz/moments-in-time/2011-04-29
Cheers
Thanks for your input beteljooz! Very informative, the eclipse would have been a wonderful experience.
[...] Easter Island heads have bodies (seeker401.wordpress.com) [...]
I would look into when that area had issues such as tsunamis and earthquakes and try to verify with other archeological finds. Have any pottery, weapons or indications of civilization been discovered at the base of the heads? that should give a fair indication of when people lived on the island and possibly what caused their death. i would be willing to bet that when you reach the base of the heads you will locate the other remnants of the people who lived there.
good points mate..thanks
[...] Weird thing I didn’t know: Those creepy Easter Island heads have bodies. [...]
Weird thing I didn’t know: Those creepy Easter Island heads have bodies. | Pop Loser said this on December 21, 2011 at 7:19 am |
[...] Easter Island heads have bodies Published: October 30, 2011 Filed Under: Uncategorized WAYBACK MACHINE: Memory [...]
DIANE J. WRIGHT said this on December 30, 2011 at 1:28 pm |
They could have been buried waiting for someone to dig them out. Kind of the same way we have time capsules these days.
Someone said that if they we’re only heads they would long since been knocked over and i believe the question was why the body was underground. Well… So they wouldnt be knocked over perhaps? Smart, smart easter people.
So why bother carving a lower body and not just leave it as a lump.
Why bother carving huge heads out of stone that just stand around without purpose? Because they are artists ofcourse.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moai says they were mostly toppled during internecine conflicts between 1722 and 1868; some were buried prior to this (perhaps because they had also been toppled in previous conflicts?).
The reference, 13 John Flenley and Paul G. Bahn (2003). The Enigmas of Easter Island: Island on the Edge. p. 150. ISBN 0192803409, states that there is no oral history of the Rapanui of any disasters causing the moai to fall, and that a 6.3 earthquake in 1987 did not disturb any of the re-erected moai. Also, there’s evidence that this happened over a very long time. In some cases the toppled statues were not merely toppled, but also defaced. There were also moai intentionally toppled into excavated holes for partial or complete burial. Reference has a link to the book where one can read it.
I always thought it was some religious reason, sky/earth; father/mother sort of thing. So much for my theory.
I would have thought religious to.
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Capetele din Insula Paștelui au trupuri! | B a r z i l a i – e n – D a n said this on January 22, 2012 at 5:22 pm |
surprisingly did not know that the heads of Easter Island moai had body, thanks for the info, I follow closely.
They need to break open the Easter Island Heads ASAP, my theory is that the villagers bow downed to the statues every night praying that Full house would never get aired in the future, The villagers have enchanted scrotum’s (+1000 stamina to be exact) that they sacrificed to the Easter Head. During a random pick throughout the year, the Easter Head woke up very excited to receive over 50 enchanted scrotum sacs sitting in the roof of his mouth. The stamina filled scrotum sacs transferred the energy to the Easter head only to backfire and overdose him into a coma stone state. The only person that can wake this Statue is legendary Bob Saget.
right..
LOL!!!!!!!!
wait what? ahhhhhhhahaha
[...] Easter Island heads have bodies! [...]
fanaticalmind: Easter Island heads have bodies! This is an ongoing research project by the Easter Is said this on February 22, 2012 at 9:13 am |