Easter+Island

Nobody can even count how many mysteries there are in this world. There are mysteries from giant stones like Stonehenge to disappearing people at the Bermuda triangle to alien sightings, there's even undersea mysteries, and space mysteries. They're everywhere. Scientists and researchers have come up with theories to explain these mysteries. Some of them are bizarre, some realistic, some just plain amazing. One of those amazing unsolved mysteries is [|Easter Island], also called Rapa Nui in the native tongue. Easter Island is a sixty four mile island in the south of the Pacific Ocean.
 * Exploring Easter Island**

There are theories on how [|moais] moved from place to place. A moai is a giant stone head and torso, these moai are located on Easter Island. Scientists have theories that seem unreal, but we can’t prove that the theories are not true. They have theories that seem real, but we can’t prove those either. One of the most bizarre to me is the "Alien Theory". The theory is this: an alien spacecraft crashed on Easter Island, leaving the aliens trapped on Earth. They were so bored; they started carving the stones, and moving them with their more advanced tools. Since there is lack of trees on Rapa Nui, there is also the theory that the moai was put on a tree roller and rolled to the designated spot this is called the "Rolling Theory". Most people believe this would be the most likely way of moving a moai, and the "Walking Theory" is also believed true. The walking theory would be swaying and tilting the moai. This has a high chance of the moai falling over though. Another theory is certain people had the power to control the moais, and make them walk to a place. These theories could be true or false but the only one who knows the real truth is the moai themselves.
 * Moai Theories**

The mystery is really how 10-83 tons giant stone heads called a moai could get transported miles and miles. On average, they stand 13 feet high and weigh 14 tons. There are 887 moais found so far. Most people refer to moais as “heads” but they are actually heads and torsos. Some believe that the moais may represent powerful individuals. There are also “topknot” shaped brown stones called a [|pukau]. There has only been 100 pukaus found so far. The pukaus sit on top of some moais. Pukau may have represented dressed hair or headdresses of red bird feathers worn by chiefs throughout [|Polynesia]. The moais and pukaus sit on a giant alter called an ahu. Ahus are usually black, stone, rectangular, alters. Ahus are on average about four feet tall. The biggest moai is called Paro; Paro is 33 feet high and weighs about 83 tons. There are some heavy moai up to 10-13 tons moai, and some up to 80 tons. Moai go from 3 to 33 feet in length.
 * Mysterious Moai**

In conclusion no one knows how these giant heads and torsos got to be where they are today. Scientists have many theories about how these heads got to Easter Island. I believe the walking theory and the rolling theory are true because the other one seems not logical. I do not believe in aliens. Although we do not know how these amazing moai got to Easter Island, we can still enjoy them and learn.
 * Conclusion**


 * Bibliography**

Arnold, Caroline. __Easter Island__. New York: Clarion Books, 2000. "Easter Island." __http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_island____ Wikipedia. 11 Jan 2007 "Easter Island."__ Moai__. Wikipedia. 11 Jan 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moai McCall, Grant.__ RaPaNUI__. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1994. Beech, Charlotte.__ Chile and Easter Island__. Austrailia: Lonely Planet, 1994. Orliac, Catherine.__ Easter Island Mystery of the Stone Giants__. United States of America:__ “Moai” Online Image. 2/22/2007 http://bretzell.free.fr/blog/images/billets/moai.jpg