The Voyagers Come
Speculation has it that ancient Eastern Polynesian voyagers inhabited the island around 400 AD. The archaeological record, however, puts the date somewhat later, at about 700 - 800 AD. For thousands of years prior to this, Polynesian traders traveled the ocean looking for new lands, exchanging obsidian for food or new types of plants. These voyagers navigated by the stars and the signs of the sea across endless expanses of ocean before stumbling upon what they thought must surely be an island paradise.
Rapa Nui legend tells the story of a powerful chief who set sail with his wife and extended family in search of new lands. This chief, Hotu Matu'a, landed on the island at Anakena Beach, some 1500 years ago. They laid claim to the land and made it a part of their culture, their religion and their lives. The people brought with them plants from their native land to cultivate in their new home. These plants are thought to have included taro root, banana trees and sweet potatoes.
In the years to come, the population of Rapa Nui (a term that has come to refer not only to the island, but also to the people and language on the island as well) flourished. The great palm forest found by the first settlers was cut little by little for use in canoe and boat building, cooking fires and in moving the giant statues the natives created in the practice of their enigmatic religion.
"What eventually made them (the Rapa Nui) distinctive is that they were so isolated from the rest of Polynesia," says Dr. Georgia Lee, an archaeologist with the Easter Island Foundation. "Once the forests were cut down, there was no more wood to make a sailing canoe, so they were basically 'trapped' on the island. Without an interchange of ideas from other island groups, they seem to have focused more and more narrowly on the religious aspects, such as the moai and the shrines upon which they were placed."
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