Who built the Ahu Tongariki?
Tadano Limited
The five-year project was carried out under an official agreement among the Chilean government, the University of Chile, and Japan-based crane manufacturer Tadano Limited.
What is Isla de Pascua known for?
Easter Island, Spanish Isla de Pascua, also called Rapa Nui, Chilean dependency in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is the easternmost outpost of the Polynesian island world. It is famous for its giant stone statues.
Why was Ahu Tongariki built?
Moais with full bodies visible at Ahu Tongariki. Moai statues were built to honor chieftain or other important people who had passed away. They were placed on rectangular stone platforms called ahu, which are tombs for the people that the statues represented.
What does ahu mean Easter Island?
The word “ahu” has two meanings in Easter Island culture. First, an ahu is the flat mound or stone pedestal upon which the moai stand. The ahus are, on average, about four feet high. The word ‘ahu’ also signifies a sacred ceremonial site where several moai stand.
Did a tsunami hit Easter Island?
In that disaster, a 9.5 magnitude quake devastated the south-central city of Valdivia, killing 1,655 people and sending a tsunami which battered Easter Island and continued as far as Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines.
How many moai are there?
887
Archaeologists have documented 887 of the massive statues, known as moai, but there may up as many as 1,000 of them on the island. Most were carved from volcanic rock between 1100 and 1680.
Why was the moai statues built?
Easter Island is famous for its stone statues of human figures, known as moai (meaning “statue”). The island is known to its inhabitants as Rapa Nui. The moai were probably carved to commemorate important ancestors and were made from around 1000 C.E. until the second half of the seventeenth century.
What do moai represent?
What do the Moai represent? It’s thought that the Moai were symbols of religious and political power and leadership. Carvings and sculptures in the Polynesian world often have strong spiritual meanings, and followers often believe a carving had magical or spiritual powers of the person or deity depicted.
Who built the moai?
The Moai are a collection of large monolithic statues built by the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island.