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
Where is Easter Island located in the world?
Chile Technical Information of original image Resolution: 10 metres (Optical) Acq Date: 07 Apr 2019
Is Easter Island part of Polynesia or South America?
Because Rapa Nui, the westernmost territory of Chile, is located in Polynesia, it would be best to answer that geographically Easter Island is part of the continent of Oceania although politically it belongs to South America
Do the Rapa Nui still live on Easter Island?
Today, the people living on Easter Island are largely descendants of the ancient Rapa Nui (about 60%) and run the bulk of the tourism and conservation efforts on the island Many locals living on Easter Island have livelihoods that involve the water—which makes sense!
Which country is Rapa Nui National Park?
Rapa Nui National Park is a protected Chilean wildlife area located in Easter Island, which concentrates the legacy of the Rapa Nui culture
What language is spoken in Rapa Nui?
Rapa Nui or Rapanui (/ˌræpəˈnuːi/), also known as Pascuan (/ˈpæskjuən/) or Pascuense, is an Eastern Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family It is spoken on the island of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island The island is home to a population of just under 6,000 and is a special territory of Chile
How did the Rapa Nui get to Easter Island?
Known as Rapa Nui to its earliest inhabitants, the island was christened Paaseiland, or Easter Island, by Dutch explorers in honor of the day of their arrival in 1722 It was annexed by Chile in the late 19th century and now maintains an economy based largely on tourism
Where did the Polynesians come from?
The direct ancestors of the Polynesians were the Neolithic Lapita culture, which emerged in Island Melanesia and Micronesia at around 1500 BC from a convergence of migration waves of Austronesians originating from both Island Southeast Asia to the west and an earlier Austronesian migration to Micronesia to the north
Are there natives on Easter Island?
The Rapa Nui are the indigenous Polynesian people of Easter Island The easternmost Polynesian culture, the descendants of the original people of Easter Island make up about 60% of the current Easter Island population and have a significant portion of their population residing in mainland Chile
What is Rapa Nui?
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 To its original inhabitants the island is known as Rapa Nui (“Great Rapa”) or Te Pito te Henua (“Navel of the World”)
Can you buy a house on Easter Island?
Decades ago, the property was acquired by the government, and then traded between private owners By law, only Rapanui can own land on Easter Island But the law is not strictly enforced
How much does it cost to live on Easter Island?
Overview of how much an Easter Island vacation costs Expense Cost (daily) Accommodation Double room $35,000 CLP ($54 USD)-$59,000 CLP ($90 USD)* Food $5,000 CLP-$8,000 CLP ($8 USD-$12 USD) Transportation $24,000 CLP ($37 USD) Total $66,000 CLP ($100 USD)
Are there any trees on Easter Island?
Easter Island was covered with palm trees for over 30,000 years, but is treeless today There is good evidence that the trees largely disappeared between 1200 and 1650
Where is Chile located?
Chile, country situated along the western seaboard of South America It extends approximately 2,700 miles (4,300 km) from its boundary with Peru, at latitude 17°30′ S, to the tip of South America at Cape Horn, latitude 56° S, a point only about 400 miles north of Antarctica
Who owns Easter Island?
Chile annexed Easter Island in 1888 In 1966, the Rapa Nui were granted Chilean citizenship In 2007 the island gained the constitutional status of “special territory” (Spanish: territorio especial) Administratively, it belongs to the Valparaíso Region, constituting a single commune of the Province Isla de Pascua
Is Rapa Nui National Park located in the southern hemisphere?
Rapa Nui is the Polynesian name of Easter Island; its Spanish name is Isla de Pascua The island is located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeastern extremity of the Polynesian Triangle The island was taken over by Chile in 1888 Rapa Nui National Park Region Latin America and the Caribbean
What religion is Easter Island?
Rapa Nui Religion The religious practice that persists in the island up to this day is called Ivi Atua, and it is based on the immortality of the soul Basically, it states that the spirit of the ancestors comes to help their heirs or closest relatives if they need it
What is the currency of Easter Island?
The official currency on Easter Island is the Chilean Peso (CLP; approximately 645 pesos to one US dollar)
How is electricity on Easter Island generated?
Modern society at Easter Island Rapa Nui locals today live in houses with windows and doors The town of Hanga Roa has electricity generated by diesel engines, though it cuts around once a week for a couple of hours because of failure or maintenance
Was there cannibalism on Easter Island?
With no trees to anchor the soil, fertile land eroded away resulting in poor crop yields, while a lack of wood meant islanders couldn’t build canoes to access fish or move statues This led to internecine warfare and, ultimately, cannibalism
What destroyed Easter Island?
In December 1862, Peruvian slave raiders struck Easter Island Violent abductions continued for several months, eventually capturing or killing around 1500 men and women, about half of the island’s population
Where is Polynesia?
Polynesia encompasses a huge triangular area of the east-central Pacific Ocean The triangle has its apex at the Hawaiian Islands in the north and its base angles at New Zealand (Aotearoa) in the west and Easter Island (Rapa Nui) in the east
Are Polynesians from Peru?
Around 2,000 Polynesians were brought to Peru in the 1860s, and some could have ended up in Brazil, although the researchers say that they are not aware of any evidence that this occurred
Is Polynesian Indian?
As a result, their descendants still carry some Native American DNA However, not all modern Polynesians carry Native American ancestry; the researchers found the signal predominantly on several eastern Polynesian islands, which were likely settled after the coupling event happened, the researchers said
Where did Polynesians migrate?
Archaeology suggests that the migration eastward occurred in roughly two waves, the first occurring in the Bismarck Archipelago, Samoa and Tonga from 1600–1200 BC, and the second occurring later and spreading to the outer reaches of the Polynesian Triangle, bordered by Hawaii, Easter Island and New Zealand
Why are Polynesians so big?
The study of genetics suggests that Polynesians are enormous due to trait inheritance Environmental factors might have played a key role Their ancestry is also associated with colossal body size genes This depicts a scenario where these genes are passed onto the offspring
What really happened on Easter Island?
According to Easter Island: The Truth Revealed, approximately 1,500 to 2,000 people – half the population – were taken in 1862 in a raid by slave traders from Peru to work there, predominately in agriculture They brought disease with them and much of the remaining population was decimated
How big is Rapa Nui?
6317 mi²