Easter+Island

amy It is one of the most isolated islands in the world but 1200 years ago a double-hulled canoe filled with seafarers from a distant culture landed upon its shores. The early settlers called the island "Te Pito O Te Henua" (Navel of The World): and a man named Admiral Roggeveen came to the island on Easter Day in 1722, named it Easter Island. On Easter Island a remarkable society developed in isolation on the island. For reasons still unknown they began carving giant statues out of volcanic rock. These statues were known, as moai are some of the most incredible ancient relics ever discovered. The people of Easter Island called themselves the Rapa Nui. On Easter Island and throughout Polynesia, the people maintain a spoken tradition in the form of songs and stories about their mythical gods and heroes who had the strengths and weaknesses of men, and into tales of history about noble ancestors who bore the names and attributes of gods.