Polynesians landed there, farmed, thrived, built their famous statues, and then things went very bad, very fast. Easter island has an interesting history since it was discovered on easter by jacob roggoeveen, a dutch captain with approximately 3000 inhabitants with the presence of many statues that were all in the same position and shape with long unsmiling faces that appear as alienating creatures. Located almost in the middle of the south pacific, rapa nui is famous for the enormous stone heads, or moai, its inhabitants once built. The questions, discussion topics, and author biography that follow are intended to enhance your reading of jennifer vanderbes easter island. Jennifer vanderbes, in her first novel, easter island, plays loosely with. The society that built the mighty moai is long gone, and the island is today a province of chile. They travel to easter island, where edward plans to study the giant moai. The island stands in isolation 1,200 miles 1,900 kilometres east of pitcairn island and 2,200 miles west of chile. Easter island isnt a destination for michelinstarred fare. The mystery of easter island travel smithsonian magazine. Easter island history the island itself many people have found easter island history very fascinating.
Easter island was named on easter day, 1722, by the dutch navigator jakob roggeven. The lost gods of easter island top documentary films. Instead, the fresh, affordable and readily available seafood is the islands strongest suit. Elsa pendleton travels from england to easter island with her husband, an anthropologist sent by the. Slowly unearthing the islands haunting past, they are forced to confront turbulent discoveries about themselves and the people they love, changing their lives forever. What happened along the way that caused the island ecosystem to collapse. This guidebook includes the islands history, culture and.
Jun 01, 2004 easter island by jennifer vanderbes weaving together a pair of remarkable stories, debut novelist jennifer vanderbes explores the realms of love and anger, trust and betrayal, through the eyes of two exceptional young women living nearly a century apart who journey to the most remote island in the world easter island. Easter island, chilean dependency in the eastern pacific ocean. A brief history of easter islands incredible moai statues. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. Named easter island by the dutch explorer jacob roggeveen, who first spied it on easter day 1722, this tiny spit of volcanic rock in the vast south seas is. Polynesia is a vast stretch of ocean dotted with small islands. This source was also helpful as it contained primary source pictures of easter island like the moi and other artifacts scavenged. Im particularly interested in books that will give me the sort of info id get if i went on a guided tour.
There is also a small thread of a german world war i naval squadron present in the book. The average height of a moai is about ft 4m and can weigh around. My selfguided tour plan leads me to another question. The essential guidebook to this mysterious and enigmatic island, and the only book about easter island written by someone who actually lives here. Radio carbon studies estimate that the first inhabitants of easter island settled between 700 ce and 1200 ce. Easter island has been a very interesting place though out history. Captain roggeveen renamed the island easter island. There is much debate about the origin of the rapa nui. Books about the island tend to fall into two categories. The moai statutes date back nearly a thousand years and are the work of the early inhabitants of easter island. Named easter island by the dutch explorer jacob roggeveen, who first spied it on easter day 1722, this tiny spit of volcanic rock in the vast south seas is, even today, the most remote inhabited. A story about two journeys of transformation, forgiveness, and, ultimately, redemption, easter island is a powerful debut and a wonderfully intriguing book to discuss. It is thoughtful and intelligent, yet totally captivating.
Geologically one of the youngest inhabited territories on earth, easter island, located in the midpacific ocean, was, for most of its history, one of the most isolated its inhabitants, the rapa nui, have endured famines, epidemics of disease and cannibalism, civil war, environmental collapse, slave raids, various colonial contacts, and have seen their population crash on more than one occasi. Since the island consists of volcanic rock, the early inhabitants quarried the material into giant statues, some as tall as 14 feet, 6 inches and weighing about 14 tons. Archaeologists describe a technique that the ancient rapa nui may have. Easter island by jennifer vanderbes nook book ebook. The lost gods of easter island is a bbc documentary written and presented by david attenborough. While at yale, she began writing for the yale daily news and was featured on cbs evening news for her investigation into a suspicious egg donor agency that was then closed down due to her reporting. Easter island has a unique history that outlines key theories of how man can have detrimental effects on nature. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. The mysteries of easter of island is a detailed text that will keep students engaged and leave them with many of their own questions to consider. However, the captain did not understand how to say the name, so he named it easter island. First published in 1919, this work provides information on that most mysterious of islands easter island rapa nui.
Well shot footage of easter island especially interesting because it shows some of the landforms which suggest to some geologists that a massive tidal wave or several 150 200 feet high swept this island at one time, estimated to have occurred about 15002000 years ago and it looks to some like part of the island sunk in the process. With our beliefs, customs and general life needs, societies become dependent on our environment and resources. He was the first european to visit the island on april 5, 1722, easter sunday. They are tall sculptures made out of volcanic rock, with disproportionately large heads. For decades, scientists have studied this remote island in the south pacific and its hundreds of giant stone statues known as moai. List of books and articles about easter island online. Jennifer vanderbes mixes two love stories with a good helping of myth in her debut novel, easter island lisa allardice sat 17 may 2003 23.
It is the easternmost outpost of the polynesian island world. The spread of european diseases, especially smallpox, and the raids of spanish slavers reduced the population to slightly more than 100 by 1887. Its inhabitants, the rapa nui, have endured famines, epidemics of disease and cannibalism, civil war, environmental collapse, slave raids, various colonial contacts, and have seen their population crash on more than one. This can result in an irreversible destruction of an environment and easter island has proven this to be posable. I have already ordered both another book by vanderbes and the mystery of easter island, if that tells you how happy this book made me. For each of these authors, easter island represents a society, which in the words of jared diamond, chose to fail.
Easter island discovered history channel on foxtel. Jun 5, 2018 how easter islands mysterious statues got their 12ton hats. Migrations and settlements, the evolution of a culture, wars between tribes, and ultimate decimation of a whole population define the course of easter island history. To its original inhabitants the island is known as rapa nui, and its population is predominantly of polynesian descent. Indeed, clive ponting warns the reader that, despite its superficial insignificance, the history of easter island is a grim warning to the world. Well shot footage of easter island especially interesting because it shows some of the landforms which suggest to some geologists that a massive tidal wave or several 150 200 feet high swept this island at one time, estimated to have occurred about 15002000 years ago and it looks to some like part of the island sunk in. It was perfect because not only does it tell you history and legend, but also things you need to know day to day, plus fun stuff like the passport stamp. Easter island by jennifer vanderbes book club discussion. Easter island books 101 books meet your next favorite book. In this extraordinary fiction debutrich with love and betrayal, history and intellectual passiontwo remarkable narratives converge on easter island, one of the. I read the entire book before i left, then took it with me to reference while i was there. Of volcanic origin, easter island is mostly covered with grasslands and is swept by strong trade winds. Located on the remote chilean territory of easter island, they tell a mysterious story of the islands early people and their obsession with rock carvings.
Geologically one of the youngest inhabited territories on earth, easter island, located in the midpacific ocean, was, for most of its history, one of the most isolated. Easter island remains one of the most mysterious places in the world. The natives were fenced in around guarded borders in the area that today is the town of hanga roa to prevent sheep theft. Easter island history cultural development the cultural development on the island has been fodder for widespread speculation. Beautifully written, it skillfully blends the perfect balance of history and science with intriguing stories of the two heroines.
Restrained passion and conflicted loyalties drive this sweeping debut novel, in which two women of different eras experience the mysteries of easter island. Jun 5, 2018 how easter island s mysterious statues got their 12ton hats. May 17, 2003 jennifer vanderbes mixes two love stories with a good helping of myth in her debut novel, easter island lisa allardice sat 17 may 2003 23. This guidebook includes the islands history, culture and all of its significant archaeological sites. Easter island was so named by jacob roggeveen, a dutch explorer who on april 5, 1722, easter sunday, was the first european to visit the island. Easter island is most famous for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early rapa nui people. Much research has been carried out on these famous statues and many of the damaged and fallen statues have since been restored around. Easter island covers 64 sq miles and has a triangular shape.
Archaeologists describe a technique that the ancient rapa nui may have used to leverage the hats on the island s giant. For a young writer in search of a story or two easter island is rich with. The polynesian people of easter island voyaged to south america long before the time of christopher columbus. Chapter 1 the decisive moment for germanys fleet in the great war was, indisputably, its illtimed arrival at the falkland islands. In this extraordinary fiction debutrich with love and betrayal, history and intellectual passiontwo remarkable.
Easter island by jennifer vanderbes weaving together a pair of remarkable stories, debut novelist jennifer vanderbes explores the realms of love and anger, trust and betrayal, through the eyes of two exceptional young women living nearly a century apart who journey to the most remote island in the worldeaster island. In 1995, unesco named easter island a world heritage. Jennifer vanderbes mixes two love stories with a good helping of. The secrets of easter island history smithsonian magazine. By the time dutch explorersthe first europeans to reach the remote islandarrived on easter day in 1722, the land was nearly barren. Attenborough embarks on a personal quest to uncover the history of a strange wooden figurine carving which turned up in an auction room in new york during the 1980s. He had, of course, been beaten to the discovery of the island by the polynesians, surely the. It details routledges journey by yacht from england to south america, around patagonia to chile and on to easter island, giving an account of its life, history and folklore. Unlike other sources focusing on one topic, this gave a brief but helpful description of easter island. In this extraordinary fiction debutrich with love and betrayal, history and. Reading guide for easter island by jennifer vanderbes. A story about two journeys of transformation, forgiveness, and, ultimately, redemption, easter island is a powerful debut and a wonderfully intriguing book to. In this extraordinary fiction debutrich with love and betrayal, history and intellectual passiontwo remarkable narratives converge on easter. Aug 07, 2017 rapa nui, aka easter island, is as remote as it gets.
I am doing a research project on easter island and i cant decide what website to use. Rapa nui, aka easter island, is as remote as it gets. On an easter sunday on april 5th of 1722 jacob roggeveen, a dutch sea captain had landed the ship on an unknown island and it was called pito o te henua. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. This is a great website but i cant find the authors last name. On this day in 1722which was easter sundaythe littleknown dutch explorer jacob roggeveen became the first european to visit rapa nui, or easter island. It is the easternmost outpost of the polynesian island world and is famous for its giant stone statues. Jan, 2010 a 0 year exploration of easter island history. The moai are some of the worlds most fascinating and widelyrecognised monolithic statues. On easter sunday, april 5, 1722, a dutch sea captain named jacob roggeveen landed his ship on an island known as te pito o te henua, meaning the center of the world. Easter island is the story of two women who went to the island and did research. Score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. The grim history of easter island may have taken place over 300 years ago but its tragic fate has wider implications.
Best books on easter island easter island forum tripadvisor. Instead, the fresh, affordable and readily available seafood is the island s strongest suit. The origin and historical spread of the polynesian people was a topic of anthropological debate over the last century. The society that built the mighty moai is long gone, and the. In the book, routledge and her companions explore the secret caves, ancient roads, pyramid. About half of the inhabitants are of polynesian stock. Secondary sources work cited history of easter island.
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