View source for Easter Island

{{Short description|Island in the southeastern Pacific}}
{{about||the Kris Kristofferson album|Easter Island (album){{!}}''Easter Island'' (album)|the province|Isla de Pascua Province}}
{{Redirect|Rapa Nui}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->
| name               = Easter Island
| native_name        = {{native name|es|Isla de Pascua}}<br />{{native name|rap|Rapa Nui}}
| settlement_type    = Special Territory, [[Provinces of Chile|Province]] and [[Communes of Chile|Commune]]
| image_skyline      = Easter Island 5.jpg
| imagesize          = 
| image_alt          = 
| image_caption      = [[Ahu (Easter Island)|Ahu]] with [[Hanga Roa]] in the background
| image              = 
| image_flag         = Flag of Rapa Nui, Chile.svg
| flag_size          = 
| flag_alt           = 
| flag_link          = 
| image_seal         = Logotipo de la Gobernación de Isla de Pascua.svg
| seal_type          = Logo
| image_shield       = 
| shield_size        = 
| shield_alt         = Emblem
| shield_link        = 
| image_blank_emblem = Emblem of Easter Island.svg
| blank_emblem_type  = Emblem
| nickname           = 
| motto              = 
| anthem             = 
| image_map          = Easter Island map-en.svg
| mapsize            = 
| map_alt            = 
| map_caption        = Easter Island map showing [[Terevaka]], [[Poike]], [[Rano Kau]], [[Motu Nui]], [[Orongo]], and [[Mataveri International Airport|Mataveri]]; major [[#Ahu (stone platforms)|ahus]] are marked with [[moai]]
| image_map1         = 
| mapsize1           = 
| map_alt1           = 
| map_caption1       = 
| image_dot_map      = 
| pushpin_map        = Pacific Ocean
| pushpin_label_position = 
| pushpin_label      = 
| pushpin_map_alt    = 
| pushpin_mapsize    = 
| pushpin_map_caption = Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean
| pushpin_map1       = 
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| pushpin_label1     = 
| pushpin_map_alt1   = 
| pushpin_mapsize1   = 
| pushpin_map_caption1 = 
| pushpin_relief     = 1
| coordinates        = {{coord|27.12|S|109.35|W|region:CL-VL_type:isle_dim:50000|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint      = 
| coordinates_footnotes = 
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = Chile
| subdivision_type1  = [[Regions of Chile|Region]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Valparaíso Region|Valparaíso]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[Provinces of Chile|Province]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Isla de Pascua Province|Isla de Pascua]]
| subdivision_type3  = [[Communes of Chile|Commune]]
| subdivision_name3  = [[Isla de Pascua (commune)|Isla de Pascua]]
| established_title  = 
| established_date   = 
| established_title1 = 
| established_date1  = 
| established_title2 = 
| established_date2  = 
| established_title3 = Special territory status
| established_date3  = 
| founder            = 
| named_for          = [[Easter]]
| seat_type          = 
| seat               = [[Hanga Roa]]
| parts_type         = 
| parts_style        = 
| parts              = 
| p1                 = 
| p2                 = 
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = Municipality
| governing_body     = [[Municipal council]]
| leader_party       = [[Independent (politician)|IND]]
| leader_title       = Provincial Governor
| leader_name        = [[René De la Puente Hey]]
| leader_title1      = [[Alcalde]]
| leader_name1       = [[Pedro Edmunds Paoa]] ([[Progressive Party (Chile)|PRO]])
| total_type         = 
| unit_pref          = Metric
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="INE">{{cite web |url=http://www.ine.cl/canales/chile_estadistico/censos_poblacion_vivienda/censo_pobl_vivi.php |title=Censo de Población y Vivienda 2002 |work=[[National Statistics Institute (Chile)|National Statistics Institute]] |access-date=1 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715195638/http://www.ine.cl/canales/chile_estadistico/censos_poblacion_vivienda/censo_pobl_vivi.php |archive-date=15 July 2010}}</ref>
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_total_km2     = 163.6
| area_total_sq_mi   = 63.2
| area_rank          = 
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 
| elevation_ft       = 
| elevation_max_footnotes = 
| elevation_max_m    = 507
| elevation_max_ft   = 1,663
| elevation_min_footnotes = 
| elevation_min_m    = 0
| elevation_min_ft   = 0
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total   = 7750<ref>{{cite web |language=es |url=https://resultados.censo2017.cl/Home/Download |title=Censo 2017 |work=[[National Statistics Institute (Chile)|National Statistics Institute]] |access-date=11 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511145942/https://resultados.censo2017.cl/Home/Download |archive-date=11 May 2018}}</ref>
| population_as_of   = 2017 census
| population_rank    = 
| population_density_km2 = 47
| population_blank1_title = Urban
| population_blank1  = <!--5,563<ref name="2012census">{{cite web |url=http://www.censo.cl/cuadros/Region_5/Poblacion/Cuadro%201.2.xlsx |title=Resultados Censo de Población y Vivienda 2012 |publisher=Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas |date=2 April 2013 |language=es}}</ref>-->
| population_blank2_title = Rural
| population_blank2  = <!--198<ref name="2012census"/>-->
| population_demonym = 
| population_note    = 
| demographics_type1 = 
| demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="INE"/>
| demographics1_title1 = 
| demographics1_info1 = 
| demographics1_title2 = 
| demographics1_info2 = 
| timezone           = [[Time in Chile|EAST]]
| utc_offset         = −6
| timezone_DST       = [[Time in Chile|EASST]]
| utc_offset_DST     = −5
| postal_code_type   = <!-- enter ZIP code, Postcode, Post code, Postal code... -->
| postal_code        = 
| area_code_type     = [[List of country calling codes|Country Code]]
| area_code          = [[Telephone numbers in Chile|+56 32]]
| geocode            = 
| registration_plate = 
| blank_name_sec1    = Currency
| blank_info_sec1    = [[Chilean Peso|Peso]] ([[ISO 4217|CLP]])
| blank1_name_sec1   = [[Language]]
| blank1_info_sec1   = [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Rapa Nui language|Rapa Nui]]
| blank2_name_sec1   = Driving side
| blank2_info_sec1   = Right
| blank_name_sec2    = 
| blank_info_sec2    = 
| blank1_name_sec2   = 
| blank1_info_sec2   = 
| blank2_name_sec2   = 
| blank2_info_sec2   = 
| website            = {{Official URL}}
| footnotes          = [[National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency|NGA]] UFI=-905269
}}
{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| WHS      = [[Rapa Nui National Park]]
| Image    = Moai Rano raraku.jpg
| Caption  = [[Moai]] at [[Rano Raraku]], Easter Island
| Criteria = Cultural: i, iii, v
| ID       = 715
| Year     = 1995
| Area     = {{cvt|71.3|km2|sqmi}}
}}

'''Easter Island''' ({{langx|es|Isla de Pascua}}, {{IPA|es|ˈizla ðe ˈpaskwa|}}; '''{{langx|rap|Rapa Nui}},''' {{IPA|rap|ˈɾapa ˈnu.i|}}) is an island and special territory of [[Chile]] in the southeastern [[Pacific Ocean]], at the southeasternmost point of the [[Polynesian Triangle]] in [[Oceania]]. The island is renowned for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, called ''[[moai]]'', which were created by the early [[Rapa Nui people]]. In 1995, [[UNESCO]] named Easter Island a [[World Heritage Site]], with much of the island protected within [[Rapa Nui National Park]]. Easter Island is also the only territory in [[Polynesia]] where Spanish is an [[official language]].

Experts differ on when the island's [[Polynesians|Polynesian]] inhabitants first reached the island. While many researchers{{Clarify|date=April 2025}} cited evidence that they arrived around the year 800, a 2007 study provided compelling evidence suggesting their arrival was closer to 1200.<ref name=terry_hunt/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Dangerfield |first1=Whitney |title=The Mystery of Easter Island |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-mystery-of-easter-island-151285298/ |website=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian Magazine]] |access-date=10 December 2020 |date=31 March 2007 |archive-date=1 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501195353/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-mystery-of-easter-island-151285298/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The inhabitants created a thriving and industrious culture, as evidenced by the island's numerous enormous stone ''moai'' and other artifacts. Land clearing for cultivation and the introduction of the [[Polynesian rat]] led to gradual [[deforestation]].<ref name=terry_hunt/> By the time of European arrival in 1722, the island's population was estimated to be 2,000 to 3,000. European diseases, Peruvian [[slave raiding]] expeditions in the 1860s, and emigration to other islands such as [[Tahiti]] further depleted the population, reducing it to a low of 111 native inhabitants in 1877.<ref name=peiser>{{cite journal |author=Peiser, B. |url=http://www.uri.edu/artsci/ecn/starkey/ECN398%20-Ecology,%20Economy,%20Society/RAPANUI.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610062402/http://www.uri.edu/artsci/ecn/starkey/ECN398%20-Ecology,%20Economy,%20Society/RAPANUI.pdf |archive-date=10 June 2010 |title=From Genocide to Ecocide: The Rape of Rapa Nui |doi=10.1260/0958305054672385 |journal=Energy & Environment |volume=16 |issue=3&4 |pages=513–539 |year=2005 |bibcode=2005EnEnv..16..513P |citeseerx=10.1.1.611.1103 |s2cid=155079232 |issn=0958-305X}}</ref>

Chile [[Annexation|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" ({{langx|es|territorio especial}}). Administratively, it belongs to the [[Valparaíso Region]], constituting a single [[Communes of Chile|commune]] ([[Isla de Pascua (commune)|Isla de Pascua]]) of the [[Provinces of Chile|Province]] of [[Isla de Pascua Province|Isla de Pascua]].<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.leychile.cl/Navegar?idNorma=1026285 |title=List of Chilean Provinces |publisher=Congreso Nacional |access-date=20 February 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910034328/http://www.leychile.cl/Navegar?idNorma=1026285 |archive-date=10 September 2012}}</ref> The 2017 Chilean census registered 7,750 people on the island, of which 3,512 (45%) identified as Rapa Nui.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://redatam-ine.ine.cl/redbin/RpWebEngine.exe/Portal?BASE=CENSO_2017&lang=esp |title=Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas – REDATAM Procesamiento y diseminación |website=Redatam-ine.ine.cl |access-date=11 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527171611/https://redatam-ine.ine.cl/redbin/RpWebEngine.exe/Portal?BASE=CENSO_2017&lang=esp |archive-date=27 May 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Easter Island is one of the world's most remote inhabited islands.<ref>{{citation |title=Welcome to Rapa Nui – Isla de Pascua – Easter Island |url=http://www.portalrapanui.cl/rapanui/informaciones.htm |work=Portal RapaNui, the island's official website |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114041943/http://www.portalrapanui.cl/rapanui/informaciones.htm |archive-date=14 January 2012}}</ref> The nearest inhabited land (around 50 residents in 2013) is [[Pitcairn Island]], {{convert|2075|km|mi}} away;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.citypopulation.de/Pitcairn.html |title=Pitcairn Islands |author=Thomas Brinkhoff |date=1 February 2013 |website=Citypopulation.de |publisher=Thomas Brinkhoff |access-date=8 November 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015182546/http://www.citypopulation.de/Pitcairn.html |archive-date=15 October 2013}}</ref> the nearest town with a population over 500 is [[Rikitea]], on the island of [[Mangareva]], {{cvt|2606|km|0}} away; the nearest continental point lies in central Chile, {{cvt|3512|km|mi}} away.

==Etymology==
The name "Easter Island" was given by the island's first recorded European visitor, the Dutch explorer [[Jacob Roggeveen]], who encountered it on [[Easter Sunday]] (April 5) in 1722, while searching for "[[Davis Land]]".<ref>{{cite book |last1=P. Paine |first1=Lincoln |title=Ships of Discovery and Exploration |date=2000 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |isbn=978-0-547-56163-9 |page=30 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FKHnKRLZxggC&pg=PT30 |access-date=15 September 2021}}</ref> Roggeveen named it {{Lang|nl|Paasch-Eyland}} (18th-century [[Dutch language|Dutch]] for "Easter Island").<ref name=jrjournal>"An English translation of the originally Dutch journal by Jacob Roggeveen, with additional significant information from the log by Cornelis Bouwman", was published in: Andrew Sharp (ed.), ''The Journal of Jacob Roggeveen'' (Oxford 1970).</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/easterislandisla00dosp |title=Easter Island: Island of Enigmas |last=Dos Passos, John |date=2011 |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=978-0-307-78705-7 |oclc=773372948 |access-date=19 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209181921/https://archive.org/details/easterislandisla00dosp |archive-date=9 December 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The island's official Spanish name, {{Lang|es|Isla de Pascua}}, also means "Easter Island".

The current Polynesian name of the island, {{Lang|rap|Rapa Nui}} ("Big Rapa"), was coined after the slave raids of the early 1860s, and refers to the island's topographic resemblance to the island of [[Rapa Iti|Rapa]] in the [[Bass Islands (French Polynesia)|Bass Islands]] of the [[Austral Islands]] group.<ref>{{citation |author=Thompson, William |year=1891 |url=http://www.rongorongo.org/thomson/453.html |title=Invention of the name 'Rapa Nui' |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224061303/http://www.rongorongo.org/thomson/453.html |archive-date=24 December 2007}}</ref> Norwegian [[ethnographer]] [[Thor Heyerdahl]] argued that ''Rapa'' was Easter Island's original name and that the Bass Islands' Rapa (''Rapa Iti'') was named by refugees from it.<ref>{{harvnb|Heyerdahl|1961}} Heyerdahl's view was that the two islands were about the same size, and that "big" and "small" were not physical but historical attributes, "big" indicating the original. In reality, however, Easter Island is more than four times bigger than Rapa Iti. Heyerdahl also stated that there is an island called "Rapa" in [[Lake Titicaca]] in South America, but so far there is no map available showing an island of that name in the lake.</ref>

The phrase "''Te pito o te henua"'' has been said to be the island's original name since French ethnologist [[Alphonse Pinart]] gave it the romantic translation "The Navel of the World" in his {{Lang|fr|Voyage à l'Île de Pâques}}, published in 1877.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pinart |first=Alphonse |year=1877 |url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k34409r/f228.image.r=Le%20Tour%20du%20monde%20%28Paris%201860%29 |title=Voyage à l'Ile de Pâques (Océan Pacifique) |journal=Le Tour du Monde: Nouveau Journal des Voyages |volume=36 |page=225 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716210555/http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark%3A/12148/bpt6k34409r/f228.image.r%3DLe%20Tour%20du%20monde%20%28Paris%201860%29 |archive-date=16 July 2017}}</ref> [[William Churchill (ethnologist)|William Churchill]] (1912) inquired about the phrase and was told that there were three "{{Lang|rap|te pito o te henua}}", these being the three capes (land's ends) of the island. The phrase appears to have been used in the same sense as the designation "Land's End" at the tip of [[Cornwall]]. He was unable to elicit a Polynesian name for the island and concluded that there may not have been one.<ref>{{cite book |author=Churchill, William |year=1912 |title=The Rapanui Speech and the Peopling of Southeast Polynesia |url=https://archive.org/details/easterislandrapa00churrich |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404191635/https://archive.org/details/easterislandrapa00churrich |archive-date=4 April 2016}}</ref>

According to Barthel (1974), [[oral tradition]] has it that the island was first named "''Te pito o te kainga a Hau Maka"'', meaning "The little piece of land of Hau Maka".<ref>{{cite book |last=Barthel |first=Thomas S. |title=The Eighth Land: The Polynesian Settlement of Easter Island |publisher=[[University of Hawaiʻi]] |year=1974 |edition=1978 |isbn=0-8248-0553-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/eighthlandpolyne0000bart}}</ref> However, there are two words pronounced ''pito'' in Rapa Nui, one meaning "end" and one "navel", and the phrase can thus also mean "The Navel of the World". Another name, "''Mata ki te rangi"'', means "Eyes looking to the sky".<ref name=beck/>

Islanders are referred to in Spanish as ''pascuense'', but members of the indigenous community are commonly called ''Rapa Nui''.

[[Felipe González de Ahedo]] named it ''Isla de San Carlos'' ("[[Charles Borromeo|Saint Charles]]'s Island", the patron saint of [[Charles III of Spain]]) or ''Isla de David'' (probably the [[phantom island]] of [[Davis Land]]; sometimes translated as "Davis's Island"<ref name="Guthrie">{{cite book |last1=Guthrie |first1=William |last2=Ferguson |first2=James |title=A New System of Modern Geography |date=1786 |publisher=C. Dilly, In The Poultry |location=London |page=21 |edition=3rd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dlwUVMxaDEsC&pg=PA23 |access-date=25 May 2020 |language=en |quote=Eaſter, or Davis's Iſland}}</ref>) in 1770.<ref name="San Carlos">{{cite map |author=[[Juan de Hervé]] |title=Plano de la Isla de San Carlos (alias de David) |trans-title=Map of the Island of Saint Charles (also of David) |map=EasterIsland 1772.JPG |map-url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/EasterIsland_1772.JPG |year=1772 |language=es |access-date=16 May 2020}} [[:File:EasterIsland 1772.JPG|In Wikimedia Commons]].</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of Easter Island}}

===Introduction===
Oral tradition states the island was first settled by a two-canoe expedition originating from Marae Renga (or Marae Toe Hau—otherwise known as [[Cook Islands]]), and led by the chief Hotu Matu'a and his captain Tu'u ko Iho. The island was first scouted after Haumaka dreamed of such a far-off country; Hotu deemed it a worthwhile place to flee from a neighboring chief, one to whom he had already lost three battles. At their time of arrival, the island had one lone settler, Nga Tavake 'a Te Rona. After a brief stay at [[Anakena]], the colonists settled in different parts of the island. Hotu's heir, Tu'u ma Heke, was born on the island. Tu'u ko Iho is viewed as the leader who brought the statues and caused them to walk.<ref name="Fischer">{{cite book |last1=Fischer |first1=Steven Roger |title=Island at the End of the World |date=2005 |publisher=Reaktion Books Ltd. |isbn=978-1-86189-282-9 |location=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/islandatendofwor00stev/page/14 14], [https://archive.org/details/islandatendofwor00stev/page/38 38] |author-link=Steven Roger Fischer}}</ref>

The Easter Islanders are considered Southeast Polynesians. Similar sacred zones with statuary (''[[marae]]'' and [[#Ahu (stone platforms)|''ahu'']]) in East Polynesia demonstrate homology with most of Eastern Polynesia. At contact, populations were about 3,000–4,000.<ref name=Fischer/>{{rp|17–18, 20–21, 31, 41–45}}

By the 15th century, two confederations, ''hanau'', of social groupings, ''mata'', existed, based on lineage. The western and northern portion of the island belonged to the Tu'u, which included the royal Miru, with the royal center at Anakena, though Tahai and Te Peu served as earlier capitals. The eastern part of the island belonged to the 'Otu 'Itu. Shortly after the Dutch visit, from 1724 until 1750, the 'Otu 'Itu fought the Tu'u for control of the island. This continued until the 1860s. Famine followed the burning of huts and the destruction of fields. Social control vanished as the ordered way of life gave way to lawlessness and predatory bands as the warrior class took over. Homelessness prevailed, with many living underground. After the Spanish visit, from 1770 onward, a period of statue toppling, ''huri mo'ai'', commenced. This was an attempt by competing groups to destroy the socio-spiritual power, or ''mana'', represented by statues, making sure to break them in the fall to ensure they were dead and without power. None were left standing by the time of the arrival of the French missionaries in the 1860s.<ref name=Fischer/>{{rp|21–24, 27, 54–56, 64–65}}

Between 1862 and 1888, about 94% of the population perished or emigrated. The island was victimized by [[blackbirding]] from 1862 to 1863, resulting in the abduction or killing of about 1,500, with 1,408 working as [[indentured servant]]s in Peru. Only about a dozen eventually returned to Easter Island, but they brought smallpox, which decimated the remaining population of 1,500. Those who perished included the island's ''tumu ivi 'atua'', bearers of the island's culture, history, and genealogy besides the ''[[rongorongo]]'' experts.<ref name=Fischer/>{{rp|86–91}}

===Rapa Nui settlement===
[[File:Ipomoea batatas 'rapa nui' 20220119 121604.jpg|thumb|Traditional cultivars of [[sweet potato]] (''kumara'') were staple crops on Polynesian Rapa Nui]]

Estimated dates of initial settlement of Easter Island have ranged from 400 to 1300&nbsp;CE,<ref name="h422">{{cite book |last1=Rull |first1=V. |last2=Stevenson |first2=C. |title=The Prehistory of Rapa Nui (Easter Island): Towards an Integrative Interdisciplinary Framework |publisher=Springer International Publishing |series=Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research |year=2022 |isbn=978-3-030-91127-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IY96EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA2 |access-date=7 July 2024 |page=2}}</ref> though the current best estimate for colonization is in the {{CE|12th century|link=y}}.<ref name="e761">{{cite book |last1=Bahn |first1=P. |last2=Flenley |first2=J. |title=Easter Island, Earth Island: The Enigmas of Rapa Nui |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-4422-6656-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GUEoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA245 |access-date=7 July 2024 |page=245}}</ref> Easter Island colonization likely coincided with the arrival of the first settlers in Hawaii. Rectifications in [[radiocarbon dating]] have changed almost all of the previously posited early settlement dates in Polynesia. Ongoing archaeological studies provide this late date: "Radiocarbon dates for the earliest stratigraphic layers at Anakena, Easter Island, and analysis of previous radiocarbon dates imply that the island was colonized late, about {{CE|1200}}. Significant ecological impacts and major cultural investments in monumental architecture and statuary thus began soon after initial settlement."<ref name="huntlipo2006">{{cite journal |last1=Hunt |first1=T. L. |last2=Lipo |first2=CP |s2cid=41685107 |title=Late Colonization of Easter Island |journal=Science |volume=311 |issue=5767 |pages=1603–1606 |year=2006 |pmid=16527931 |doi=10.1126/science.1121879 |bibcode=2006Sci...311.1603H |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="huntlipo2011">{{Cite book |publisher=Free Press |isbn=978-1-4391-5031-3 |last1=Hunt |first1=Terry |last2=Lipo |first2=Carl |title=The Statues that Walked: Unraveling the Mystery of Easter Island |year=2011}}</ref>

According to oral tradition, the first settlement was at [[Anakena]]. Researchers have noted that the Caleta Anakena landing point provides the island's best shelter from prevailing swells as well as a sandy beach for canoe landings and launchings, so it is a likely early place of settlement. However, [[radiocarbon dating]] concludes that other sites preceded Anakena by many years, especially the [[Tahai]] by several centuries.

The island was populated by Polynesians who most likely navigated in canoes or [[catamaran]]s from the [[Gambier Islands]] (Mangareva, {{cvt|2600|km|mi}} away) or the [[Marquesas Islands]], {{cvt|3200|km|mi}} away. According to some theories, such as the [[Polynesian Diaspora Theory]], there is a possibility that early Polynesian settlers arrived from South America due to their remarkable sea-navigation abilities. Theorists have supported this through the agricultural evidence of the [[sweet potato]]. The sweet potato was a favoured crop in Polynesian society for generations but it originated in South America, suggesting interaction between these two geographic areas.<ref>Rank, Michael (2013) ''Lost Civilizations''. Seattle: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. pages 46–47.</ref> Recent research has suggested that sweet potatoes may have spread to Polynesia by long-distance dispersal long before the Polynesians arrived.<ref name="Muñoz-RodríguezCarruthers2018">{{cite journal |last1=Muñoz-Rodríguez |first1=Pablo |last2=Carruthers |first2=Tom |last3=Wood |first3=John R.I. |last4=Williams |first4=Bethany R.M. |last5=Weitemier |first5=Kevin |last6=Kronmiller |first6=Brent |last7=Ellis |first7=David |last8=Anglin |first8=Noelle L. |last9=Longway |first9=Lucas|last10=Harris|first10=Stephen A. |last11=Rausher |first11=Mark D. |last12=Kelly |first12=Steven |last13=Liston |first13=Aaron |last14=Scotland |first14=Robert W. |title=Reconciling Conflicting Phylogenies in the Origin of Sweet Potato and Dispersal to Polynesia |journal=Current Biology |volume=28 |issue=8 |year=2018 |pages=1246–1256.e12 |issn=0960-9822 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2018.03.020 |pmid=29657119 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2018CBio...28E1246M |hdl=10568/92130 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> However, other researchers pointed out methodological flaws in this study and point to lingusitic evidence of contact between Pacific and South American peoples.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-04-13 |title=When did sweet potatoes arrive in the Pacific - Expert Reaction |url=https://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2018/04/13/when-did-sweet-potatoes-arrive-in-the-pacific-expert-reaction/ |access-date=2025-11-11 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Davis |first=Nicola |date=2018-04-12 |title=Tests on Captain Cook's sweet potato fuel row over how crop reached Polynesia |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/apr/12/tests-on-captain-cooks-sweet-potato-fuels-row-over-how-crop-reached-polynesia |access-date=2025-11-11 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Specifically the strong similarities between the words for [[sweet potato]] from Polynesian languages [[Rapa Nui language|Rapa Nui]] ''kumara'', [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] ''ʻuala'' and [[Māori language|Māori]] ''kūmara'' with South American [[Quechua language|Quechua]] and [[Aymara language|Aymara]] ''cumar, k'umar'' or ''k'umara''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Adelaar |first=Willem F. H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UiwaUY6KsY8C&pg=PA41 |title=The Languages of the Andes |date=2004-06-10 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-45112-3 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Doucleff |first=Michaeleen |date=2013-01-23 |title=How The Sweet Potato Crossed The Pacific Way Before The Europeans Did |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/01/22/169980441/how-the-sweet-potato-crossed-the-pacific-before-columbus |access-date=2025-11-11 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref> In support of contact between human populations, recent human genetic evidence shows contact and interbreeding between Pacific and Native American populations occurred 800 years ago, predating human settlement of Easter Island.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ioannidis |first1=Alexander G. |last2=Blanco-Portillo |first2=Javier |last3=Sandoval |first3=Karla |last4=Hagelberg |first4=Erika |last5=Miquel-Poblete |first5=Juan Francisco |last6=Moreno-Mayar |first6=J. Víctor |last7=Rodríguez-Rodríguez |first7=Juan Esteban |last8=Quinto-Cortés |first8=Consuelo D. |last9=Auckland |first9=Kathryn |last10=Parks |first10=Tom |last11=Robson |first11=Kathryn |last12=Hill |first12=Adrian V. S. |last13=Avila-Arcos |first13=María C. |last14=Sockell |first14=Alexandra |last15=Homburger |first15=Julian R. |date=July 2020 |title=Native American gene flow into Polynesia predating Easter Island settlement |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=583 |issue=7817 |pages=572–577 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2487-2 |pmid=32641827 |pmc=8939867 |issn=1476-4687}}</ref>

When [[James Cook]] visited the island, one of his crew members, a Polynesian from [[Bora Bora]], Hitihiti, was able to communicate with the Rapa Nui.<ref name="Anne" />{{rp|296–297}} It has been noted that the early jumping-off points for the early [[Polynesians|Polynesian]] colonization of Easter Island are more likely to have been from [[Mangareva]], [[Pitcairn Island|Pitcairn]] and [[Henderson Island (Pitcairn Islands)|Henderson]], which lie about halfway between the [[Marquesas Islands|Marquesas]] and Easter.{{sfn|Diamond|2005|p=88}} It has been observed that there is great similarity with the [[Rapa Nui language]] and [[Mangareva language|Early Mangarevan]],{{sfn|Diamond|2005|p=88}} similarities between a statue found in Pitcairn and some statues found in Easter Island,{{sfn|Diamond|2005|p=88}} the resemblance of tool styles in Easter Island to those in Mangareva and Pitcairn,{{sfn|Diamond|2005|p=88}} and correspondences of skulls found in Easter Island to two skulls found in Henderson,{{sfn|Diamond|2005|p=88}} all suggesting Henderson and Pitcairn Islands to have been early stepping stones from Mangareva to Easter Island.{{sfn|Diamond|2005|p=88}} In 1999, [[Hōkūleʻa#Closing the Triangle (1999–2000)|a voyage with reconstructed Polynesian boats]] was able to reach Easter Island from [[Mangareva]] after a seventeen-and-a-half-day voyage.{{sfn|Diamond|2005|p=88}}<ref>{{cite web |title=The Voyage to Rapa Nui 1999–2000 |url=http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/hawaiian/voyaging/pvs/rapanuiback.html |publisher=Polynesian Voyaging Society |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101112064209/http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/hawaiian/voyaging/pvs/rapanuiback.html |archive-date=12 November 2010}}</ref>
[[File:Hodges easter-island.jpg|thumb|''A View of the Monuments of Easter Island, Rapanui'', {{circa}} 1775–1776 by [[William Hodges]].<ref name="maritime">More information at [http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/13275.html the picture's page at the National Maritime Museum's collections' web site] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031094104/http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/13275.html |date=31 October 2014}}.</ref>]]

According to oral traditions recorded by [[Mission (Christianity)|missionaries]] in the 1860s, the island originally had a strong [[class system]]: an ''ariki'', or high [[Tribal chief|chief]], wielded great power over nine other clans and their respective chiefs. The high chief was the eldest descendant through first-born lines of the island's legendary founder, [[Hotu Matu'a]]. The most visible element in the culture was the production of massive moai statues that some believe represented [[ancestor worship|deified ancestors]]. According to ''[[National Geographic]]'', "Most scholars suspect that the moai were created to honor ancestors, chiefs, or other important personages, However, no written and little oral history exists on the island, so it's impossible to be certain."<ref>[http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/world-heritage/easter-island/ Easter Island] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140403193826/http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/world-heritage/easter-island/ |date=3 April 2014}}. ''National Geographic''.</ref>

It was believed that the living had a [[symbiotic relationship]] with the dead in which the dead provided everything that the living needed (health, fertility of land and animals, fortune etc.) and the living, through offerings, provided the dead with a better place in the spirit world. Most settlements were located on the coast, and most moai were erected along the coastline, watching over their descendants in the settlements before them, with their backs toward the spirit world in the sea.

====Ecocide hypothesis====
In his book ''[[Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed]]'', [[Jared Diamond]] suggested that [[Human cannibalism|cannibalism]] took place on Easter Island after the construction of the moai contributed to [[Natural environment|environment]]al degradation when extreme deforestation ([[ecocide]]) destabilized an already precarious ecosystem.<ref>[[Bo Rothstein|Rothstein, Bo]] (2005). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ECQY4M13-yoC Social traps and the problem of trust]'' {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413093535/https://books.google.com/books?id=ECQY4M13-yoC&pg=&dq&hl=en |year= 2016}}. Cambridge University Press. page 20. {{ISBN|0-521-84829-6}}</ref> Archeological record shows that at the time of the initial settlement the island was home to many species of trees, including at least three species which grew up to {{convert|15|m|ft}} or more: ''[[Paschalococos]]'' (possibly the largest palm trees in the world at the time), ''[[Alphitonia zizyphoides]]'', and ''[[Elaeocarpus rarotongensis]].'' At least six species of land birds were known to live on the island. A major factor that contributed to the extinction of multiple plant species was the introduction of the [[Polynesian rat]]. Studies by [[paleobotanist]]s have shown rats can dramatically affect the reproduction of vegetation in an ecosystem. In the case of Rapa Nui, recovered plant seed shells showed markings of being gnawed on by rats.<ref name=terry_hunt/> This version of the history speculates a high former population to the island that had already declined before Europeans arrived. Barbara A. West wrote, "Sometime before the arrival of Europeans on Easter Island, the Rapanui experienced a tremendous upheaval in their social system brought about by a change in their island's ecology... By the time of European arrival in 1722, the island's population had dropped to 2,000–3,000 from a high of approximately 15,000 just a century earlier."<ref>West, Barbara A. (2008) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=pCiNqFj3MQsC Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania]'' {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412174820/https://books.google.com/books?id=pCiNqFj3MQsC&pg=&dq&hl=en |year= 2016}}. Infobase Publishing. page 684. {{ISBN|0-8160-7109-8}}</ref>
[[File:Habitans de L'ile de Pasques by Louis Choris (British Museum, Oc2006,Prt.62).jpg|thumb|left|Rapa Nui people, painted by [[Louis Choris]], 1816]]

By that time, 21 species of trees and all species of land birds [[Extinction|became extinct]] through some combination of over-harvesting, over-hunting, rat predation, and [[climate change]]. The island was largely [[Deforestation|deforested]], and it did not have any trees taller than {{cvt|3|m|ft}}. Loss of large trees meant that residents were no longer able to build seaworthy vessels, significantly diminishing their fishing abilities. According to this version of the history, the trees were used as rollers to move the statues to their place of erection from the quarry at [[Rano Raraku]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Royle |first=Stephen A. |title=Islands: Nature and Culture. |date=2014 |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=978-1-78023-401-4 |location=London |page=65 |oclc=894790375}}</ref> Deforestation also caused erosion which caused a sharp decline in agricultural production.<ref name=terry_hunt>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1511/2006.61.1002 |title=Rethinking the Fall of Easter Island |journal=American Scientist |volume=94 |issue=5 |page=412 |year=2006 |last1=Hunt |first1=T. |quote=Corrections in radiocarbon dating suggests that the first settlers arrived from other Polynesia islands around 1200 A.D.}}</ref> This was exacerbated by the loss of land birds and the collapse in seabird populations as a source of food. By the 18th century, islanders were largely sustained by farming, with domestic chickens as the primary source of protein.<ref>{{harvnb|Diamond|2005|pp=103–107}}</ref>
[[File:Easter Island 11.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Motu Nui]] islet, part of the Birdman Cult ceremony]]

As the island became overpopulated and resources diminished, warriors known as ''matatoa'' gained more power and the Ancestor Cult ended, making way for the Bird Man Cult. Beverly Haun wrote, "The concept of mana (power) invested in hereditary leaders was recast into the person of the birdman, apparently beginning circa 1540, and coinciding with the final vestiges of the moai period."<ref>Haun, Beverley (2008). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=jHItbEsAQxMC Inventing 'Easter Island'] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412205947/https://books.google.com/books?id=jHItbEsAQxMC |year= 2016}}''. University of Toronto Press. page 8. {{ISBN|0-8020-9888-6}}</ref> This cult maintained that, although the ancestors still provided for their descendants, the medium through which the living could contact the dead was no longer statues but human beings chosen through a competition. The god responsible for creating humans, [[Makemake (mythology)|Makemake]], played an important role in this process. [[Katherine Routledge]], who systematically collected the island's traditions in her 1914/15 expedition,<ref name=routledge>{{harvnb|Routledge|1919}}</ref> showed that the competitions for Bird Man (Rapa Nui: ''[[tangata manu]]'') started around 1760, after the arrival of the first Europeans, and ended in 1878, with the construction of the first church by Roman Catholic missionaries who formally arrived in 1864. [[Petroglyphs]] representing Bird Men on Easter Island are the same as some in Hawaii, indicating that this concept was probably brought by the original settlers; only the competition itself was unique to Easter Island. According to Diamond and Heyerdahl's version of the island's history, the ''huri mo'ai''{{snd}}"statue-toppling"{{snd}}continued into the 1830s as a part of fierce internal wars. By 1838, the only standing moai were on the slopes of Rano Raraku, in [[Hoa Hakananai'a]] in [[Orongo]], and Ariki Paro in Ahu Te Pito Kura.

====Criticism of the ecocide hypothesis====
Diamond and West's version of the history is highly controversial. A study headed by Douglas Owsley published in 1994 asserted that there is little archaeological evidence of pre-European [[societal collapse]]. [[Bone pathology]] and [[osteometric]] data from islanders of that period clearly suggest few fatalities can be attributed directly to violence.<ref>{{cite book |last=Owsley |first=Douglas W. |display-authors=et al. |chapter=Biological effects of European contact on Easter Island |editor=C.S. Larson |editor2=G.R. Milner |title=In the Wake of Contact: Biological Responses to Conquest |year=1994 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-471-30544-6}}</ref> Research by Binghamton University anthropologists Robert DiNapoli and Carl Lipo in 2021 suggests that the island experienced steady population growth from its initial settlement until European contact in 1722. The island never had more than a few thousand people prior to European contact, and their numbers were increasing rather than dwindling.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Micale |first1=Jennifer |title=Resilience, not collapse: What the Easter Island myth gets wrong |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210713090153.htm |website=ScienceDaily |access-date=15 July 2021 |archive-date=7 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607055050/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210713090153.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=DiNapoli, R J, Crema, E R, Lipo, C P, et al. |title=Approximate Bayesian Computation of radiocarbon and paleoenvironmental record shows population resilience on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) |journal=Nature Communications |volume=12 |number=3939 |date=2021 |article-number=3939 |doi=10.1038/s41467-021-24252-z |pmid=34168160 |pmc=8225912 |bibcode=2021NatCo..12.3939D}}</ref>

Several works that address or counter Diamond's claims in ''Collapse'' have been published. In ''Ecological Catastrophe and Collapse -The Myth of "Ecocide" on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)'', Hunt and Lipo set out a claim-by-claim rebuttal to Diamond's claims. This includes, among other things, that deforestation began immediately, but the population grew while the forest declined as the land was converted to more productive farmland; that the island's population grew continuously up to the arrival of Europeans, with the only clear decline starting in the period of 1750–1800; that studies from other islands show clearly that Polynesian settlement without Polynesian rats is only associated with minimal forest loss while the arrival of rats without human settlement is devastating to forest populations; only species favoured by the rats for consumption were lost, not for example the native ''[[Sophora toromiro]]''; that the island's drier, less predictable climate made it inherently more vulnerable to deforestation than other Polynesian islands; and that the population declines on Rapa Nui can be well attributed to the very mechanism described by Diamond in another of his books, ''Guns, Germs and Steel'' – the devastating impact of introduced diseases, raids, slavery, and exploitation of indigenous populations.<ref name = "Hunt_Lipo_1">{{cite journal |title="Ecological Catastrophe and Collapse: The Myth of 'Ecocide' on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)" |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2042672 |journal=PERC Research Paper |publisher=PERC |edition=12 |number=3 |date=20 April 2012 |last1=Hunt |first1=Terry L. |last2=Lipo |first2=Carl P. |ssrn=2042672}}</ref>

In another work, Hunt and Lipo discuss more evidence against the ecocide hypothesis. In addition to focusing on the settlement chronology, they note that the island has an abnormally low amount of evidence of warfare compared to other Polynesian islands, only relatively small-scale intergroup conflict. There are no fortifications, and the attributed obsidian mata'a "weapons" show rather evidence of having been used in agriculture, and indeed, match up with agricultural tools long recognized among artifacts of other Polynesian peoples.<ref name = "Hunt_Lipo_2">{{cite journal |title=Chronology, deforestation, and "collapse:" Evidence vs. faith in Rapa Nui prehistory |last1=Hunt |first1=Terry L. |last2=Lipo |first2=Carl P. |date=October 2007 |journal=Rapa Nui Journal |volume=21 |issue=2 |url=https://islandheritage.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/RNJ_21_2_Hunt_Lipo.pdf |access-date=4 March 2023 |archive-date=24 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230224180003/https://islandheritage.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/RNJ_21_2_Hunt_Lipo.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> Evidence of violence among skeletal remains of pre-European native skeletons is minimal, with only 2.5% of crania showing evidence of antemortem fractures,<ref name = "Hunt_Lipo_2"/> consistent with Oswley's conclusions: "most skeletal injuries appear to have been nonlethal. Few fatalities were directly attributable to violence. The physical evidence suggests that the frequency of warfare and lethal events was exaggerated in folklore."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Owsley |first1=DW |last2=Gill |first2=G |last3=Ousley |first3=SD |date=1994 |editor-last1=Larsen |editor-first1=CS |editor-last2=Milner |editor-first2=GR |title=In the Wake of Contact: Biological Responses to Conquest |publisher=Wiley-Liss, Inc. |pages=161–177 |chapter=Biological effects of European contact on Easter Island}}</ref> Despite known folklore, Hunt and Lipo also conclude that clear evidence of cannibalism among skeletal remains is entirely lacking.<ref name = "Hunt_Lipo_2"/> They note that in the search for evidence supporting ecocide, the far more obvious answer has long been known, and cite Metraux as evidence that "The historic slave-trading, epidemic disease, intensive sheep ranching, and tragic population collapse – indeed the genocide of the Rapanui People – is well documented, and has been recognized for a long time."<ref>{{cite book |last=Métraux |first=A |date=1957 |title=Easter Island: A Stone-Age Civilization of the Pacific |publisher=Andre Deutsch}}</ref> They conclude that when it comes to the science, "It does not matter whether Rapa Nui offers a parable for today's urgent environmental problems."<ref name = "Hunt_Lipo_2"/>

In a 2010 metastudy on the state of the evidence, the Mulrooney et al. concludes that "To date, there is no conclusive evidence for the proposed precontact collapse of Rapa Nui society". In particular, the authors note that the obsidian usage trends lead to entirely different, self-inconsistent interpretations, while use of the oral histories of widespread intertribal warfare is undercut not just by early foreign visitors referring to the people as peaceful and docile, but the fact that the very wars in question were referred to as ''the wars of the throwing down of the statues'', an event well-dated to not have begun until after western contact.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/handle/2292/21098 |chapter=Empirical Assessment of a Pre-European Societal Collapse on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) |title=The Gotland Papers: Selected Papers from the VII International Conference on Easter Island and the Pacific: Migration, Identity, and Cultural Heritage |year=2010 |publisher=Gotland University Press |last1=Mulrooney |first1=M. |last2=Ladefoged |first2=T. |last3=Stevenson |first3=C. |last4=Haoa |first4=S. |isbn=978-91-86343-07-1 |editor1-last=Wallin |editor1-first=Paul |editor2-last=Martinsson Wallin |editor2-first=Helene |access-date=26 February 2023 |archive-date=26 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226160220/https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/handle/2292/21098 |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[Image:EasterIsland 1772.JPG|thumb|The map of Easter Island (renamed ''"Isla de San Carlos")'' from [[Felipe González de Ahedo|González de Ahedo]]'s 1770 expedition. North is down.]]
Another study published in 2024 finds no genetic evidence of the ecocide hypothesis.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Moreno-Mayar|first1= J. Víctor|last2= Sousa Da Mota|first2= Bárbara|last3= Higham|first3= Tom|last4= Klemm|first4= Signe|last5= Gorman Edmunds|first5= Moana|last6= Stenderup|first6= Jesper|last7= Iraeta-Orbegozo|first7= Miren|last8= Laborde|first8= Véronique|last9= Heyer|first9= Evelyne|last10= Torres Hochstetter|first10= Francisco|last11= Friess|first11= Martin|last12= Allentoft|first12= Morten E.|last13= Schroeder|first13= Hannes|last14= Delaneau|first14= Olivier|last15= Malaspinas|first15= Anna-Sapfo|date=11 September 2024 |title=Ancient Rapanui genomes reveal resilience and pre-European contact with the Americas |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume= 633|issue= 8029|pages= 389–397|doi= 10.1038/s41586-024-07881-4|pmid= 39261618|pmc= 11390480|bibcode= 2024Natur.633..389M}}</ref>

===European contact===
[[File:L'écriture, p. 127.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Jacob Roggeveen]] analyzing a Moai statue, 18th-century engraving]]
The first recorded European contact with the island was on April 5, 1722, Easter Sunday, by Dutch navigator [[Jacob Roggeveen]].<ref name="Anne">{{cite book |last1=Salmond |first1=Anne |title=Aphrodite's Island |date=2010 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |isbn=978-0-520-26114-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/aphroditesisland00salm/page/238 238] |url=https://archive.org/details/aphroditesisland00salm |url-access=registration}}</ref> His visit resulted in the death of about a dozen islanders, including the ''tumu ivi 'atua'', and the wounding of many others.<ref name=Fischer/>{{rp|46–53}}

The next foreign visitors (on 15 November 1770) were two Spanish ships, the [[Ship of the line]] ''San Lorenzo'' (70 guns) and the [[frigate]] ''Santa Rosalía'' (26 guns), under the command of Captain Don [[Felipe González de Ahedo]].<ref name=Anne/>{{rp|238,504}} The Spanish were amazed by the "standing idols", all of which were erect at the time.<ref name=Fischer/>{{rp|60–64}}

Four years later, in 1774, British explorer [[James Cook]] visited Easter Island; he reported that some statues had been toppled. Through the interpretation of Hitihiti, Cook learned the statues commemorated their former high chiefs, including their names and ranks.<ref name=Anne/>{{rp|296–297}}
[[File:Monuments et insulaires de l'île de Pâques 1786.jpg|thumb|[[Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse|La Pérouse]] at Easter Island in 1786]]
In 1776 the Chilean abbot [[Juan Ignacio Molina]] highlights the island for its "monumental statues" in the fifth chapter on "Chilean Islands" of his book "Natural and Civil History of the Kingdom of Chile",<ref name=historia/> in which the San Félix and San Ambrosio Islands are also mentioned mentioned.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Molina |first1=Giovanni Ignazio |title=Compendio de la historia geográfica, natural y civil del reyno de Chile |date=1788 |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u9PjzilCmTMC&dq=estatuas&pg=PA7 |access-date=1 September 2025 |language=es}}</ref> These islands are considered part of the territory inherited by Chile under the principle of ''[[uti possidetis iuris]]''.

On April 10, 1786, French Admiral [[Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse]] anchored at Hanga Roa at the start of a circumnavigation of the Pacific. He made a detailed map of the bay, including his anchorage points, as well as a more generalised map of the island, plus some illustrations.<ref>published in Paris in 1797 as "Voyage de La Perouse autour du monde", 1–4, available at the [https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15849648 Biodiversity Heritage Library] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003223241/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15849648 |date=3 October 2018}}</ref>

===19th century===
{{More citations needed|subsection|date=March 2025}}
A series of devastating events killed or removed most of the population in the 1860s. In December 1862, Peruvian slave raiders struck. Violent abductions continued for several months, eventually capturing around 1,500 men and women, half of the island's population.<ref>{{harvnb|Diamond|2005|p=171}}</ref> Among those captured were the island's paramount chief, his heir, and those who knew how to read and write the [[rongorongo]] script, the only Polynesian script to have been found to date, although debate exists about whether this is [[proto-writing]] or true writing.

When the slave raiders were forced to repatriate the people they had kidnapped, carriers of [[smallpox]] disembarked together with a few survivors on each of the islands.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sentinels in Stone – The Collapse of Easter Island's Culture |url=http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/easter/sentinels_in_stone3.php |website=Bradshaw Foundation |access-date=4 November 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119130525/http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/easter/sentinels_in_stone3.php |archive-date=19 November 2015}}</ref> This created devastating epidemics from Easter Island to the [[Marquesas]] islands. Easter Island's population was reduced to the point where some of the dead were not even buried.<ref name=Fischer/>{{rp|91}}
[[File:Eugène Eyraud.jpg|thumb|[[Eugène Eyraud]] converted the whole population of the island to [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]].]]

The first Christian missionary, [[Eugène Eyraud]], arrived in January 1864 and spent most of that year on the island and reported for the first time the existence of the so-called [[rongo-rongo]] tablets; but mass conversion of the [[Rapa Nui people|Rapa Nui]] only came after his return in 1866 with Father [[Hippolyte Roussel]]. Two other missionaries arrived with Captain [[Jean-Baptiste Dutrou-Bornier]]. Eyraud contracted [[tuberculosis]] during the 1867 island epidemic, which took a quarter of the island's remaining population of 1,200, with only 930 Rapanui remaining. The dead included the last ''ariki mau'', the last East Polynesia royal first-born son, the 13-year-old [[Manu Rangi]]. Eyraud died of tuberculosis in August 1868, by which time almost the entire Rapa Nui population had become [[Roman Catholic]].<ref name="Fischer"/>{{rp|92–103}}

[[Tuberculosis]], introduced by whalers in the mid-19th century, had already killed several islanders when Eugène Eyraud died from the disease in 1867. It ultimately resulted in the death of approximately a quarter of the island's population. The managers of the sheep ranch and the missionaries started buying the newly available lands of the deceased in the years that followed, which led to large confrontations between natives and settlers.
[[File:Queen of Easter Island meets Pinart in 1877.jpg|thumb|"Queen Mother" Koreto with her daughters "Queen" Caroline and Harriette in 1877]]

[[Jean-Baptiste Dutrou-Bornier]] bought up all of the island apart from the missionaries' area around [[Hanga Roa]] and moved a few hundred Rapa Nui to [[Tahiti]] to work for his backers. In 1871 the missionaries, having fallen out with Dutrou-Bornier, evacuated all but 171 Rapa Nui to the [[Gambier islands]].<ref>{{harvnb|Routledge|1919|p=208}}</ref> Those who remained were mostly older men. Six years later, only 111 people lived on Easter Island, and only 36 of them had any offspring.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rongorongo.org/cooke/712.html |title=Collapse of island's demographics in the 1860s and 1870s |publisher=Rongorongo.org |access-date=23 June 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927153809/http://www.rongorongo.org/cooke/712.html |archive-date=27 September 2011}}</ref> From that point on, the island's population slowly recovered. But with over 97% of the population dead or gone in less than a decade, much of the island's cultural knowledge had been lost.

[[Alexander Salmon, Jr.]], the son of an English Jewish merchant and a [[Pōmare Dynasty]] princess, eventually worked to repatriate workers from his inherited [[copra]] plantation. He eventually bought up all lands on the island with the exception of the mission, and was its sole employer. He worked to develop tourism on the island and was the principal informant for the British and German archaeological expeditions for the island. He sent several pieces of genuine Rongorongo to his niece's husband, the German consul in [[Valparaíso]], Chile. Salmon sold the Brander Easter Island holdings to the Chilean government on January 2, 1888, and signed as a witness to the cession of the island. He returned to Tahiti in December 1888. He effectively ruled the island from 1878 until his cession to Chile in 1888.
[[File:Policarpo Toro.jpg|thumb|Chilean Navy Captain [[Policarpo Toro]]]]

In 1887 Chile took concrete actions to incorporate the island into the national territory, at the request of the Chilean Navy Captain [[Policarpo Toro]], who was concerned about the unprotected situation of the Rapa Nui for decades and began to influence the situation on his own initiative. Policarpo, through negotiations, bought land on the island at the request of the Bishop of Valparaiso, Salvador Donoso Rodriguez, owner of 600 hectares, together with the Salmon brothers, Dutrou-Bornier and John Brander, from Tahiti. The Chilean captain put money from his own pocket for this purpose, together with 6000 pounds sterling sent by the Chilean government.<ref name=historia>{{Cite web |url=http://www.soberaniachile.cl/historia_de_la_incorporacion_y_las_controversias_de_la_isla_de_pascua.html |title=Corporación de Defensa de la Soberanía |website=www.soberaniachile.cl |access-date=14 January 2024 |archive-date=21 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321015938/http://www.soberaniachile.cl/historia_de_la_incorporacion_y_las_controversias_de_la_isla_de_pascua.html |url-status=live}}</ref> According to Rapa Nui tradition, the lands could not be sold, however, third parties believed they owned them and they were bought from them so that they would not interfere in the affairs of the island from that moment on.

At that time, the Rapa Nui population reached alarming numbers. In a census carried out by the Chilean corvette Abtao in 1892, there were only 101 Rapa Nui alive, of which only 12 were adult men. The Rapa Nui ethnic group, along with their culture, was at its closest point to extinction.<ref name=historia/>

Then, on September 9, 1888, thanks to the efforts of the Bishop of Tahiti, Monsignor José María Verdier, the Agreement of Wills (''Acuerdo de Voluntades'') was signed, in which the local representative [[Atamu Tekena]], head of the Council of Rapanui Chiefs ceded the sovereignty of the island to the State of Chile, represented by Policarpo Toro. The Rapa Nui elders ceded sovereignty, without renouncing their titles as chiefs, the ownership of their lands, the validity of their culture and traditions and on equal terms. The Rapa Nui sold nothing, they were integrated in equal conditions to Chile.

The annexation to Chile, together with the abolition of slavery in Peru, brought the advantage that foreign slavers did not take any more inhabitants from the island. However, in 1895, the ''[[Compañía Explotadora de Isla de Pascua]]'' from Enrique Merlet obtained the concession of the entire island after the failure of the State's colonization plan following the [[Chilean Civil War of 1891|Civil War of 1891]] and the change of government in the country.
[[File:Bandera de la isla de Pascua 1902.jpg|thumb|Flag flown by Easter Islanders before 1902, taking the design of the national flag and incorporating elements representative of the locals, including Catholic symbols. It was found by the school ship Baquedano which took it to the museum of Valparaíso.]]

The company imposed prohibitions to live and work outside [[Hanga Roa]] and even forced labor of the islanders in the company, something that was avoided thanks to the "safe-conducts" given by the Navy that allowed the islanders to cross the entire island once the Navy took control of the island during the 20th Century.<ref name=Edwards/>

In 1903 the island was bought by the English [[Williamson-Balfour Company|sheep-farming company Williamson Balfor]] from the Merlet company, and – no longer being able to farm for food – the natives were forced to work on the ranches in order to buy food.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/fighting-survival-easter-island |title=Fighting for Survival on Easter Island |date=18 June 2023 |author=Marisol Hitorangi}}</ref>

===20th century===
{{More citations needed|subsection|date=March 2025}}[[File:Pascuenses.jpg|thumb|Inhabitants of Easter Island around 1909.]]

In 1914 there was an uprising of the natives inspired by the elderly [[Catechesis|catechist]] [[Angata|María Angata Veri Veri]] and led by Daniel Maria Teave with the aim of getting the State to take charge of the situation generated by the company. The Navy held the company responsible for the "brutal and savage acts" committed by Merlet and the company's administrators and an investigation was requested.
[[File:Monseñor Rafael Edwards.jpg|thumb|Monsignor [[Rafael Edwards Salas]] sought to protect the Rapa Nui from private abuse with the help of the [[Chilean Navy]] and the powers he had as Vicar of the Military.<ref name=Edwards/><ref name=EdwardsEnRapaNui/>]]

In 1916, the island was declared a subdelegation of the Department of Valparaíso. In the same year, Archbishop [[Rafael Edwards Salas]] visited the island and became the main spokesman for the natives' complaints and demands. However, the Chilean State decided to renew the lease to the company, under the figure of the so-called "Provisional Temperament", distributing additional lands to the natives (5 ha per marriage as of 1926), allocating lands for the Chilean administration and establishing the permanent presence of the Navy, which in 1936 established a regulation according to which, with prior permission, the natives could leave Hanga Roa to fish or provide themselves with fuel.<ref name=Edwards/><ref name=EdwardsEnRapaNui>{{Cite book |last1=Foerster |first1=Rolf |last2=Alvear |first2=Alejandra |title="El Obispo Edwards en Rapa Nui. 1910–1938" |url= |access-date= |year=2015 |publisher=Rapa Nui Press |isbn=978-956-9337-07-9 |editor=Rolf Foerster |location= |page= |language= |chapter= }}</ref>

Monsignor Rafael Edwards sought to have the island declared a "naval jurisdiction" in order to intervene in it as military vicar and in this way support the Rapa Nui community, creating better living conditions.<ref name=Edwards>{{cite web |author1=Marcos Moncada Astudillo |title=MONSEÑOR RAFAEL EDWARDS SALAS Isla de Pascua y la Armada Nacional. |url=https://revistamarina.cl/revistas/2002/6/moncada.pdf |publisher=Revista Marina |access-date=14 January 2024 |language=es |date=2002}}</ref>

In 1933, the Chilean State Defense Council required the registration of the island in the name of the State in order to protect it from private individuals who wanted to register it in their own name.<ref name=Edwards/>

Until the 1960s the Rapanui were confined to Hanga Roa. The rest of the island was rented to the [[Williamson-Balfour Company]] as a sheep farm until 1953 when President [[Carlos Ibáñez del Campo]] cancelled the company's contract for non-compliance and then assigned the entire administration of the island to the Chilean Navy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.netaxs.com/~trance/annex.html |title=Annexation by Chile |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204063228/http://www.netaxs.com/~trance/annex.html |archive-date=4 February 2012}}</ref> The island was then managed by the [[Chilean Navy]] until 1966, at which point the island was reopened in its entirety. The Rapanui were given Chilean citizenship that year with the Pascua Law enacted during the government of [[Eduardo Frei Montalva]].<ref name=Diamond2005>{{cite book |author=[[Jared Diamond]] |title=[[Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed]] |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2005 |isbn=0-14-303655-6 |chapter=Twilight at Easter |pages=79–119}}</ref>{{rp|112}} Only Spanish was taught in the schools until that year. The Law also created the [[Isla de Pascua (commune)|Isla de Pascua commune]] depending from the [[Valparaíso Province]] and implemented the Civil Registry, created the positions of governor, mayor and councilman, as well as the 6th Police Station of [[Carabineros de Chile]], the first fire company of Easter Island, schools and a hospital. The first mayor was sworn in 1966 and was [[Alfonso Rapu]] who sent a letter to President Frei two years prior influencing him to create the Pascua Law.

Islanders were only able to travel off the island easily after the construction of the [[Mataveri International Airport]] in 1965, which was built by the Longhi construction company, carrying hundreds of workers, heavy machinery, tents and a field hospital on ships. However, its use did not go beyond airline operations with small groups of tourists. At the same time, a [[NASA]] tracking station operated on the island, which ceased operations in 1975.

Between 1965 and 1970, the [[United States Air Force]] (USAF) settled on Easter Island, radically changing the way of life of the Rapa Nui, as they became acquainted with the customs of the consumer societies of the developed world.<ref>{{cite book |title=Iorana & Goodbye |publisher=Pehuén |author=Patricia Stambuk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.24horas.cl/nacional/la-desconocida-historia-de-la-base-gringa-albergada-en-isla-de-pascua-2132317 |title=La desconocida historia de la base "gringa" albergada en Isla de Pascua |website=www.24horas.cl |access-date=14 January 2024 |archive-date=14 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114043540/https://www.24horas.cl/nacional/la-desconocida-historia-de-la-base-gringa-albergada-en-isla-de-pascua-2132317 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In April 1967 LAN Chile flights began to land and the island began to be oriented towards cultural tourism. Since then, the main concerns for the natives were to strengthen production and marketing cooperatives, which received state support, and to recover their communal lands.
[[File:General Pinochet junto a una pascuense.jpg|thumb|right|250px|General Pinochet posing with a native [[Rapa Nui people|Rapa Nui]] woman]]

Following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état]] that brought [[Augusto Pinochet]] to power, Easter Island was placed under [[martial law]]. Tourism slowed down and private property was restored. During his time in power, Pinochet visited Easter Island on three occasions. The military built a number of new military facilities and a new city hall.<ref>Lewis, Raymond J. (1994) "Review of [https://ojs.lib.byu.edu/spc/index.php/CCR/article/viewFile/12655/12527 ''Rapanui; Tradition and Survival on Easter Island''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520071110/https://ojs.lib.byu.edu/spc/index.php/CCR/article/viewFile/12655/12527 |date=20 May 2013}}.</ref>

On January 24, 1975, television arrived on the island, with the inauguration of a station of [[Televisión Nacional de Chile]], which broadcast programming on a delayed basis until 1996, when live satellite transmissions to the island began.

In 1976 the [[Isla de Pascua Province]] was created with [[Arnt Arentsen Pettersen]] appointed as the first governor between 1976 and 1979. Between 1984 and 1990 the administration of Governor [[Sergio Rapu Haoa]] stands out and since then all the governors have been Rapanui.

In 1979, Decree Law No. 2885 was enacted to grant individual land titles to regular holders.

On April 1, 1986, Law No. 18,502 is enacted, which establishes the special fuel subsidy in Easter Island, stating that it "may not exceed in each product 3.5 monthly tax units per cubic meter, whose value may be paid directly or through the imputation of the respective amount to the payment of certain taxes".

As a result of an agreement in 1985 between Chile and the United States, the runway at [[Mataveri International Airport]] was extended by {{convert|423|m}}, reaching {{convert|3353|m}}, and was re-opened in 1987. Pinochet is reported to have refused to attend the opening ceremony in protest against pressures from the United States to address human rights cases.<ref>Délano, Manuel (17 August 1987) [http://elpais.com/diario/1987/08/17/internacional/556149618_850215.html Pinochet no asiste a la inauguración de la pista de la isla de Pascua] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430074613/http://elpais.com/diario/1987/08/17/internacional/556149618_850215.html |date=30 April 2013}}. ''El Pais''.</ref>

===21st century===
[[File:Chile- Rapa Nui with love, stone carving.JPG|thumb|Manu Piri symbolizes love and union between two people. The slogan of the current administration is "Rapa Nui hai mahatu", translated as "Rapa Nui with love".]]
Fishers of Rapa Nui have shown their concern of [[illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing|illegal fishing]] on the island. "Since the year 2000 we started to lose tuna, which is the basis of the fishing on the island, so then we began to take the fish from the shore to feed our families, but in less than two years we depleted all of it", Pakarati said.<ref>{{citation |author=Pablo Hernandez Mares |title=Illegal Fishing Threatens Easter Island's Natural Resources |publisher=Mongabay |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2016/11/illegal-fishing-threatens-easter-islands-natural-resources/ |date=November 2016 |access-date=16 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170719002939/https://news.mongabay.com/2016/11/illegal-fishing-threatens-easter-islands-natural-resources/ |archive-date=19 July 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> On 30 July 2007, a constitutional reform gave Easter Island and the [[Juan Fernández Islands]] (also known as [[Robinson Crusoe Island]]) the status of "special territories" of Chile. Pending the enactment of a special charter, the island continues to be governed as a province of the V Region of [[Valparaíso]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bcn.cl/leyes/pdf/original/263040.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001104310/http://www.bcn.cl/leyes/pdf/original/263040.pdf |archive-date=1 October 2007 |date=1 October 2007 |access-date=11 January 2019 |title=LEY Num. 20.193 Reforma Constitucional Que Establece los Territorios Especiales de Isa de Pascua y Archipelago Juan Fernandez}}</ref>

Species of fish were collected in Easter Island for one month in different habitats including shallow lava pools and deep waters. Within these habitats, two [[holotype]]s and [[paratypes]], ''[[Antennarius randalli]]'' and ''[[Antennarius moai]]'', were discovered. These are considered frog-fish because of their characteristics: "12 dorsal rays, last two or three branched; bony part of first dorsal spine slightly shorter than second dorsal spine; body without bold zebra-like markings; caudal peduncle short, but distinct; last pelvic ray divided; pectoral rays 11 or 12".<ref>{{cite journal |author=Allen, Gerald R. |title=Two New Species of Frogfishes (Antennaridae) from Easter Island |journal=Pacific Science |volume=24 |issue=4 |year=1970 |page=521 |hdl=10125/6262 |url=http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/6262 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026115104/http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/6262 |archive-date=26 October 2011}}</ref>

In 2018, the government decided to limit the stay period for tourists from 90 to 30 days because of social and environmental issues faced by the Island to preserve its historical importance.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/easter-island-visit-chile-statues-tourists-tourism-social-environmental-impact-a8469791.html |title=Why Easter Island is limiting the number of days tourists can stay |work=The Independent |access-date=1 August 2018 |language=en-GB |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730175441/https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/easter-island-visit-chile-statues-tourists-tourism-social-environmental-impact-a8469791.html |archive-date=30 July 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

A tsunami warning was declared for Easter Island after the [[2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai eruption and tsunami]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 January 2022 |title=Chile alerta sobre posible "tsunami menor" tras erupción de volcán en Tonga |trans-title=Chile alerts of a possible "minor tsunami" after volcanic eruption in Tonga |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] |url=https://www.dw.com/es/chile-alerta-sobre-posible-tsunami-menor-tras-erupci%C3%B3n-de-volc%C3%A1n-en-tonga/a-60436791 |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220115175314/https://www.dw.com/es/chile-alerta-sobre-posible-tsunami-menor-tras-erupci%C3%B3n-de-volc%C3%A1n-en-tonga/a-60436791 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Easter Island was closed to tourists from March 17, 2020, until August 4, 2022, due to the [[COVID-19]] [[pandemic]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Chile's Easter Island reopens to tourists after pandemic shutdown |date=5 August 2022 |access-date=7 October 2022 |website=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/chiles-easter-island-reopens-tourists-after-pandemic-shutdown-2022-08-05/}}</ref> Then in early October 2022, just two months after the island was reopened to tourists, a forest fire burned nearly {{convert|148|acre|ha|abbr=off}} of the island, causing irreparable damage to some of the ''moai''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Easter Island Blaze Chars Famous Moai Statues |date=6 October 2022 |website=Barron's (AFP News) |url=https://www.barrons.com/articles/easter-island-blaze-chars-famous-moai-statues-01665095107 |access-date=7 October 2022 |archive-date=7 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007200029/https://www.barrons.com/articles/easter-island-blaze-chars-famous-moai-statues-01665095107 |url-status=live}}</ref> Arson is suspected.<ref>{{cite web |title='Irreparable': Easter Island fire chars famous towering Moai statues; arson suspected |author=Natalie Neysa Alund |website=USA Today |date=7 October 2022 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/10/07/easter-island-fire-maoi-statues-arson-suspected/8205884001/}}</ref>

===Indigenous rights movement===
Starting in August 2010, members of the indigenous Hitorangi clan occupied the [[Hotel Hanga Roa|Hangaroa Eco Village and Spa]].<ref name="bbc.co.uk">{{cite news |title=Police evict Rapa Nui clan from Easter Island hotel |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12378736 |access-date=29 November 2011 |publisher=BBC |date=6 February 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223135407/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12378736 |archive-date=23 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Rapanui: Protests Continue Against The Hotel Hanga Roa |url=http://indigenouspeoplesissues.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14679:rapanui-protests-continue-against-the-hotel-hanga-roa&catid=23:south-america-indigenous-peoples&Itemid=56 |access-date=28 July 2013 |newspaper=IPIR |date=17 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413123719/http://indigenouspeoplesissues.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14679%3Arapanui-protests-continue-against-the-hotel-hanga-roa&catid=23%3Asouth-america-indigenous-peoples&Itemid=56 |archive-date=13 April 2014}}</ref> The occupiers allege that the hotel was bought from the Pinochet government, in violation of a Chilean agreement with the indigenous Rapa Nui, in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Indian Law.org |url=http://www.indianlaw.org/rapa-nui/congressman-faleomavaega-visit-rapa-nui |work=Congressman Faleomavaega to Visit Rapa Nui |access-date=29 November 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117230505/http://www.indianlaw.org/rapa-nui/congressman-faleomavaega-visit-rapa-nui |archive-date=17 January 2012}}</ref> The occupiers say their ancestors had been cheated into giving up the land.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hinto |first=Santi |title=Giving Care to the Motherland: conflicting narratives of Rapanui |url=http://saverapanui.org/?page_id=187 |work=Save Rapanui |access-date=29 November 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713123040/http://saverapanui.org/?page_id=187 |archive-date=13 July 2012}}</ref> According to a [[BBC]] report, on 3 December 2010, at least 25 people were injured when Chilean police using [[Rubber bullet|pellet guns]] attempted to evict from these buildings a group of Rapa Nui who had claimed that the land the buildings stood on had been illegally taken from their ancestors.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11917511 |title=Easter Island land dispute clashes leave dozens injured |publisher=BBC |date=4 December 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110210105843/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11917511 |archive-date=10 February 2011}}</ref> In 2020 the conflict was settled. The property rights were transferred to the Hitorangi clan while the owners retained the exploitation of the hotel for 15 years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Familia Schiess sella acuerdo con el clan Hito y pone fin a una década de disputa por el terreno del Hotel Hanga Roa {{!}} GDA – Grupo de Diarios América |url=https://gda.com/detalle-de-la-noticia/?article=4096263 |access-date=20 November 2022 |language=es-ES |archive-date=20 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120153722/https://gda.com/detalle-de-la-noticia/?article=4096263 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 2011, the [[UN Special Rapporteur]] on Indigenous People, [[James Anaya]], expressed concern about the treatment of the indigenous Rapa Nui by the Chilean government, urging Chile to "make every effort to conduct a dialogue in good faith with representatives of the [[Rapa Nui people]] to solve, as soon as possible the real underlying problems that explain the current situation".<ref name="bbc.co.uk"/> The incident ended in February 2011, when up to 50 armed police broke into the hotel to remove the final five occupiers. They were arrested by the government, and no injuries were reported.<ref name="bbc.co.uk" />

==Geography==
{{Main|Geography of Easter Island}}

Easter Island is one of the world's most isolated inhabited islands.<ref>Hemm, Robert & Mendez, Marcelo. (2003). ''Aerial Surveys of Isle De Pasqua: Easter Island and the New Birdmen''. {{doi|10.1007/978-1-4615-0183-1_12}}</ref> Its closest inhabited neighbour is [[Pitcairn Island]], {{cvt|1931|km|mi}} to the west, with approximately 50 inhabitants.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://islandheritage.org/intro-to-easter-island/ |title=Intro EI |publisher=Easter Island Foundation |access-date=5 November 2022}}</ref> The nearest continental point lies in central Chile near [[Concepción, Chile|Concepción]], at {{convert|3512|km|mi}}. Easter Island's [[latitude]] is similar to that of [[Caldera, Chile]], and it lies {{cvt|3510|km|mi}} west of continental Chile at its nearest point (between [[Lota, Chile|Lota]] and [[Lebu, Chile|Lebu]] in the [[Biobío Region]]). [[Isla Salas y Gómez]], {{cvt|415|km|mi}} to the east, is closer but is uninhabited. The [[Tristan da Cunha]] archipelago in the southern Atlantic competes for the title of the most remote island, lying {{cvt|2430|km|mi|0}} from [[Saint Helena]] island and {{cvt|2816|km|mi|0}} from the South African coast.

The island is about {{cvt|24.6|km|mi}} long by {{cvt|12.3|km|mi}} at its widest point; its overall shape is triangular. It has an area of {{cvt|163.6|km²|sqmi}}, and a maximum elevation of {{cvt|507|m|ft}} above mean sea level. There are three ''Rano'' (freshwater [[volcanic crater lake|crater lake]]s), at [[Rano Kau]], Rano Raraku and [[Rano Aroi]], near the summit of Terevaka, but no permanent streams or rivers.

===Geology===
[[File:Rapa-Nui-Landscape.jpg|thumb|Typical landscape on Easter Island; rounded extinct volcanoes covered in low vegetation.]]
Easter Island is a [[volcanic island]], consisting mainly of three extinct coalesced [[volcano]]es: [[Terevaka]] (altitude 507 metres) forms the bulk of the island, while two other volcanoes, [[Poike]] and Rano Kau, form the eastern and southern headlands and give the island its roughly triangular shape. Lesser cones and other volcanic features include the crater Rano Raraku, the [[cinder cone]] [[Puna Pau]] and many volcanic caves including [[lava tubes]].<ref name="gvp">{{cite gvp |vn=356011 |title=Easter Island |access-date=18 March 2010}}</ref> Poike used to be a separate island until volcanic material from Terevaka united it to the larger whole. The island is dominated by [[hawaiite]] and [[basalt]] flows which are rich in iron and show affinity with [[igneous rock]]s found in the [[Galápagos Islands]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baker |first1=P. E. |last2=Buckley |first2=F. |last3=Holland |first3=J. G. |title=Petrology and geochemistry of Easter Island |journal=[[Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology]] |volume=44 |pages=85–100 |year=1974 |doi=10.1007/BF00385783 |bibcode=1974CoMP...44...85B |issue=2 |s2cid=140720604}}</ref>
[[File:Easter Island or Rapa Nui and Salas y Gómez Island, Chile, its territorial waters and the surrounding continental shelf.png|350px|thumb|Easter Island or Rapa Nui and [[Isla Salas y Gómez|Salas y Gómez Island]], Chile, its [[territorial waters]] and its [[Continental Shelf of Chile#In Insular Chile|extended continental shelf]].<ref>{{cite web |title=La plataforma continental extendida en isla de Pascua y Salas y Gómez |url=https://revistamarina.cl/es/articulo/la-plataforma-continental-extendida-en-isla-de-pascua-y-salas-y-gomez |publisher=Revista Marina |access-date=26 January 2024 |date=27 October 2020 |archive-date=26 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126195627/https://revistamarina.cl/es/articulo/la-plataforma-continental-extendida-en-isla-de-pascua-y-salas-y-gomez |url-status=live}}</ref><br/>{{legend|#BD9FFF|[[Exclusive Economic Zone]] and [[Continental Shelf]]}} {{legend|#E6DBFF|[[Extended Continental Shelf]]}}]]

Easter Island and surrounding islets, such as [[Motu Nui]] and [[Motu Iti (Rapa Nui)|Motu Iti]], form the summit of a large volcanic mountain rising over {{cvt|2000|m}} from the sea bed. The mountain is part of the Salas y Gómez Ridge, a (mostly submarine) [[mountain range]] with dozens of [[seamount]]s, formed by the [[Easter hotspot]]. The range begins with [[Pukao (Seamount)|Pukao]] and next [[Moai (seamount)|Moai]], two seamounts to the west of Easter Island, and extends {{cvt|2700|km|mi}} east to the [[Nazca Ridge]]. The ridge was formed by the [[Nazca Plate]] moving over the Easter hotspot.<ref name=petro1>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1093/petroj/38.6.785 |title=The Petrogenetic Evolution of Lavas from Easter Island and Neighbouring Seamounts, Near-ridge Hotspot Volcanoes in the SE Pacific |journal=[[Journal of Petrology]] |volume=38 |issue=6 |page=785 |year=1997 |last1=Haase |first1=K. M. |last2=Stoffers |first2=P. |last3=Garbe-Schonberg |first3=C. D. |bibcode=1997JPet...38..785H |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Located about {{cvt|350|km|mi}} east of the [[East Pacific Rise]], Easter Island lies within the Nazca Plate, bordering the [[Easter Plate|Easter Microplate]]. The Nazca-Pacific relative plate movement due to the [[seafloor spreading]], amounts to about {{cvt|150|mm|in}} per year. This movement over the Easter hotspot has resulted in the Easter Seamount Chain, which merges into the Nazca Ridge further to the east. Easter Island and [[Isla Salas y Gómez]] are surface representations of that chain. The chain has progressively younger ages to the west. The current hotspot location is speculated to be west of Easter Island, amidst the Ahu, Umu and Tupa submarine volcanic fields and the Pukao and Moai seamounts.<ref name="Vezzoli">{{cite journal |last1=Vezzoli |first1=Luigina |last2=Acocella |first2=Valerio |s2cid=131106438 |title=Easter Island, SE Pacific: An end-member typr of hotspot volcanism |journal=Geological Society of America Bulletin |date=2009 |volume=121 |issue=5/6 |pages=869–886 |doi=10.1130/b26470.1 |bibcode=2009GSAB..121..869V}}</ref>

Easter Island lies atop the Rano Kau Ridge, and consists of three [[shield volcanoes]] with parallel geologic histories. Poike and Rano Kau exist on the east and south slopes of Terevaka, respectively. Rano Kau developed between 0.78 and 0.46 [[Megaannum|Ma]] from [[tholeiitic]] to [[Calc-alkaline|alkalic]] basalts. This volcano possesses a clearly defined summit [[caldera]]. [[Benmoreite|Benmoreitic]] lavas [[extrusive (geology)|extruded]] about the rim from 0.35 to 0.34 Ma. Finally, between 0.24 and 0.11 Ma, a {{cvt|6.5|km|mi}} [[fracture (geology)|fissure]] developed along a NE–SW trend, forming [[monogenetic volcanic field|monogenetic]] vents and [[rhyolitic]] [[intrusion]]s. These include the [[cryptodome]] [[islet]]s of Motu Nui and Motu Iti, the islet of Motu Kao Kao, the [[sheet intrusion]] of Te Kari Kari, the [[Perlitic Structure|perlitic]] [[obsidian]] Te Manavai dome and the Maunga Orito dome.<ref name=Vezzoli/>

Poike formed from tholeiitic to alkali basalts from 0.78 to 0.41 Ma. Its summit collapsed into a caldera which was subsequently filled by the Puakatiki lava cone [[pahoehoe]] flows at 0.36 Ma. Finally, the [[trachyte|trachytic]] lava domes of Maunga Vai a Heva, Maunga Tea Tea, and Maunga Parehe formed along a NE-SW trending fissure.<ref name=Vezzoli/>

Terevaka formed around 0.77 Ma of tholeiitic to alkali basalts, followed by the collapse of its summit into a caldera. Then at about 0.3Ma, cinder cones formed along a NNE-SSW trend on the western rim, while [[porphyritic]] benmoreitic lava filled the caldera, and pahoehoe flowed towards the northern coast, forming lava tubes, and to the southeast. Lava domes and a vent complex formed in the Maunga Puka area, while breccias formed along the vents on the western portion of Rano Aroi crater. This volcano's southern and southeastern flanks are composed of younger flows consisting of basalt, alkali basalt, hawaiite, [[mugearite]], and benmoreite from eruptive fissures starting at 0.24 Ma. The youngest lava flow, Roiho, is dated at 0.11 Ma. The Hanga O Teo embayment is interpreted to be a 200 m high [[volcanic landslide|landslide]] [[escarpment|scarp]].<ref name=Vezzoli/>

Rano Raraku and Maunga Toa Toa are isolated [[tuff cone]]s of about 0.21 Ma. The crater of Rano Raraku contains a freshwater lake. The [[stratum|stratified]] tuff is composed of [[sideromelane]], slightly altered to [[palagonite]], and somewhat [[lithified]]. The tuff contains [[lithic fragment (geology)|lithic fragments]] of older lava flows. The northwest sector of Rano Raraku contains reddish [[volcanic ash]].<ref name=Vezzoli/> According to Bandy, "...all of the great images of Easter Island are carved from" the light and [[porous]] tuff from Rano Raraku. A carving was abandoned when a large, dense and [[hardness scale|hard]] lithic fragment was encountered. However, these lithics became the basis for stone hammers and chisels. The Puna Pau crater contains an extremely porous [[pumice]], from which was carved the Pukao "hats". The Maunga Orito obsidian was used to make the "mataa" spearheads.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bandy |first1=Mark |title=Geology and Petrology of Easter Island |journal=Bulletin of the Geological Society of America |date=1937 |volume=48 |issue=11 |pages=1599–1602, 1605–1606, Plate 4 |bibcode=1937GSAB...48.1589B |doi=10.1130/GSAB-48-1589}}</ref>

In the first half of the 20th century, steam reportedly came out of the Rano Kau crater wall. This was photographed by the island's manager, Mr. Edmunds.<ref>[http://libweb.hawaii.edu/digicoll/rapanui/Box13E01.html Rapanui: Edmunds and Bryan Photograph Collection] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080403002327/http://libweb.hawaii.edu/digicoll/rapanui/Box13E01.html |date=3 April 2008}}. Libweb.hawaii.edu. Retrieved 6 November 2010.</ref>

The ancient Easter Island residents captured fresh groundwater where it seeped into the sea.<ref name="sciencedaily/210921091735">{{cite news |title=Drone helps researchers find fresh water in the sea at Easter Island |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210921091735.htm |access-date=24 January 2023 |work=[[ScienceDaily]] |language=en |archive-date=24 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124041033/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210921091735.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="10.3390/rs13132531">{{cite journal |last1=DiNapoli |first1=Robert J. |last2=Lipo |first2=Carl P. |last3=de Smet |first3=Timothy S. |last4=Hunt |first4=Terry L. |title=Thermal Imaging Shows Submarine Groundwater Discharge Plumes Associated with Ancient Settlements on Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile) |journal=Remote Sensing |date=28 June 2021 |volume=13 |issue=13 |page=2531 |doi=10.3390/rs13132531 |bibcode=2021RemS...13.2531D |doi-access=free |hdl=10150/661222 |hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref name="orb.binghamton.edu/1041">{{cite web |last1=Hixon |first1=SW |title=The Ethnohistory of Freshwater Use on Rapa Nui |url=https://orb.binghamton.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1041&context=anthropology_fac |website=orb.binghamton.edu |access-date=24 January 2023 |date=2019}}</ref><ref name="researchgate.net/334000200">{{cite journal |last1=Hixon |first1=Sean W. |last2=DiNapoli |first2=Robert J. |last3=Lipo |first3=Carl P. |last4=Hunt |first4=Terry L. |title=The ethnohistory of freshwater use on Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile) |journal=Journal of the Polynesian Society |date=June 2019 |volume=128 |issue=2 |pages=163–189 |doi=10.15286/jps.128.2.163-189 |s2cid=198744017 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334000200 |access-date=24 January 2023}}</ref><ref>K Rosa; 2013 [https://islandheritage.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Rosa_RNJ2013.pdf RNJ2013] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124041030/https://islandheritage.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Rosa_RNJ2013.pdf |date=24 January 2023}} Easter Island Foundation</ref>

===Climate===
{{Expand section|date=March 2025}}{{See also|Climate of Chile}}

Under the [[Köppen climate classification]], the climate of Easter Island is classified as a [[tropical rainforest climate]] (''Af'') that borders on a [[humid subtropical climate]] (''Cfa'').<ref name="auto">{{Cite book |last=K |first=Ana María Errázuriz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oXGaJKGMaMgC |title=Manual de geografía de Chile |date=1998 |publisher=Andres Bello |isbn=978-956-13-1523-5 |page=74 |language=es}}</ref> The lowest temperatures are recorded in July and August (minimum {{convert|15|°C|disp=or}}) and the highest in February (maximum temperature {{convert|28|°C|1|disp=or}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.enjoy-chile.org/easter-island-climate-chile.php |title=Enjoy Chile – climate |publisher=Enjoy-chile.org |access-date=23 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929020038/http://www.enjoy-chile.org/easter-island-climate-chile.php |archive-date=29 September 2009}}</ref>), the summer season in the southern hemisphere. Winters are relatively mild. The rainiest month is May, though the island experiences year-round rainfall.<ref>[http://www.letsgochile.com/locations/central-zone/pacific-islands/easter-island Easter Island Article] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170603195715/http://www.letsgochile.com/locations/central-zone/pacific-islands/easter-island |date=3 June 2017}} in Letsgochile.com</ref> Easter Island's isolated location exposes it to winds which help to keep the temperature fairly cool. Precipitation averages {{convert|1118|mm|0|disp=or}} per year. Occasionally, heavy rainfall and rainstorms strike the island. These occur mostly in the winter months (June–August). Since it is close to the [[South Pacific High]] and outside the range of the [[Intertropical Convergence Zone]], [[cyclone]]s and [[hurricane]]s do not occur around Easter Island.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.islandheritage.org/vg/vg06.html |title=Weather |publisher=Easter Island Foundation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091002040056/http://www.islandheritage.org/vg/vg06.html |archive-date=2 October 2009}}</ref> There is significant temperature moderation due to its isolated position in the middle of the ocean.
{{Clear}}
{{Weather box
|location = Easter Island ([[Mataveri International Airport]]) 1991–2020, extremes 1912–present
|metric first = Y
|single line = Y
|Jan record high C = 32.0
|Feb record high C = 31.0
|Mar record high C = 32.0
|Apr record high C = 31.0
|May record high C = 30.0
|Jun record high C = 29.0
|Jul record high C = 31.0
|Aug record high C = 28.3
|Sep record high C = 30.0
|Oct record high C = 29.0
|Nov record high C = 33.0
|Dec record high C = 34.0
|year record high C = 34.0
|Jan high C = 26.9
|Feb high C = 27.5
|Mar high C = 26.9
|Apr high C = 25.5
|May high C = 23.4
|Jun high C = 21.9
|Jul high C = 21.2
|Aug high C = 21.2
|Sep high C = 21.6
|Oct high C = 22.5
|Nov high C = 23.8
|Dec high C = 25.5
|year high C = 24.0
|Jan mean C = 23.5
|Feb mean C = 24.0
|Mar mean C = 23.6
|Apr mean C = 22.4
|May mean C = 20.5
|Jun mean C = 19.3
|Jul mean C = 18.5
|Aug mean C = 18.5
|Sep mean C = 18.7
|Oct mean C = 19.3
|Nov mean C = 20.6
|Dec mean C = 22.1
|year mean C = 20.9
|Jan low C = 20.0
|Feb low C = 20.6
|Mar low C = 20.2
|Apr low C = 19.4
|May low C = 17.7
|Jun low C = 16.7
|Jul low C = 15.9
|Aug low C = 15.7
|Sep low C = 15.7
|Oct low C = 16.2
|Nov low C = 17.5
|Dec low C = 18.7
|year low C = 17.9
|Jan record low C = 12.0
|Feb record low C = 14.0
|Mar record low C = 8.2
|Apr record low C = 12.2
|May record low C = 10.0
|Jun record low C = 6.1
|Jul record low C = 7.2
|Aug record low C = 7.0
|Sep record low C = 8.0
|Oct record low C = 8.0
|Nov record low C = 8.0
|Dec record low C = 9.7
|year record low C = 7.0
|rain colour = green
|Jan rain mm = 81.3
|Feb rain mm = 69.3
|Mar rain mm = 86.9
|Apr rain mm = 123.0
|May rain mm = 116.9
|Jun rain mm = 109.2
|Jul rain mm = 113.1
|Aug rain mm = 97.1
|Sep rain mm = 97.3
|Oct rain mm = 90.9
|Nov rain mm = 75.2
|Dec rain mm = 69.6
|year rain mm = 1129.8
|unit rain days = 1.0 mm
|Jan rain days = 10.1
|Feb rain days = 9.6
|Mar rain days = 10.7
|Apr rain days = 11.6
|May rain days = 12.0
|Jun rain days = 12.3
|Jul rain days = 11.6
|Aug rain days = 10.6
|Sep rain days = 10.2
|Oct rain days = 9.3
|Nov rain days = 9.4
|Dec rain days = 9.0
|year rain days = 126.4
|Jan humidity = 77
|Feb humidity = 79
|Mar humidity = 79
|Apr humidity = 81
|May humidity = 81
|Jun humidity = 81
|Jul humidity = 80
|Aug humidity = 80
|Sep humidity = 79
|Oct humidity = 77
|Nov humidity = 77
|Dec humidity = 78
|year humidity = 79
|Jan sun = 271.7
|Feb sun = 255.6
|Mar sun = 238.7
|Apr sun = 199.9
|May sun = 175.9
|Jun sun = 148.3
|Jul sun = 162.4
|Aug sun = 177.2
|Sep sun = 180.3
|Oct sun = 213.6
|Nov sun = 219.9
|Dec sun = 251.0
|year sun = 2494.5
|source 1 = Dirección Meteorológica de Chile (extremes 1954–present)<ref name=climatenormals>{{cite web |url=https://climatologia.meteochile.gob.cl/application/historico/datosNormales/270001 |title=Datos Normales y Promedios Históricos Promedios de 30 años o menos |publisher=Dirección Meteorológica de Chile |language=es |access-date=20 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230521023051/https://climatologia.meteochile.gob.cl/application/historico/datosNormales/270001 |archive-date=21 May 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=records>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230521023434/https://climatologia.meteochile.gob.cl/application/historico/temperaturaHistoricaAnual/270001 |archive-date=21 May 2023 |url=https://climatologia.meteochile.gob.cl/application/historico/temperaturaHistoricaAnual/270001 |title=Temperatura Histórica de la Estación Chacalluta, Arica Ap. (180005) |publisher=Dirección Meteorológica de Chile |language=es |access-date=20 May 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|source 2 = [[NOAA]] (precipitation days 1991–2020),<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112047/https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-3-WMO-Normals-9120/Chile/CSV/Isladepascuaad_85469.csv |archive-date=6 August 2023 |url=https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-3-WMO-Normals-9120/Chile/CSV/Isladepascuaad_85469.csv |title=Isla de Pascua Climate Normals 1991–2020 |work=World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020) |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |access-date=6 August 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Deutscher Wetterdienst]] (extremes 1912–1990 and humidity)<ref name = DWD>{{cite web |url=http://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_854690_kt.pdf |title=Klimatafel von Mataveri / Osterinsel (Isla de Pascua) / Chile |work=Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world |publisher=Deutscher Wetterdienst |language=de |access-date=24 January 2016 |archive-date=3 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003101130/https://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_854690_kt.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>
| date = November 2011
}}

==Ecology==
Easter Island, together with its closest neighbour, the tiny island of [[Isla Salas y Gómez]] {{cvt|415|km|mi}} farther east, is recognized by ecologists as a distinct [[ecoregion]], the Rapa Nui tropical broadleaf forests.<ref name="auto"/> The original [[tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests|tropical moist broadleaf forests]] are now gone, but [[paleobotany|paleobotanical]] studies of [[fossil]] [[pollen]], tree moulds left by [[lava]] flows, and root casts found in local [[soil]]s indicate that the island was formerly forested, with a range of trees, shrubs, ferns, and grasses. A large [[extinction|extinct]] [[Arecaceae|palm]], ''[[Paschalococos disperta]]'', related to the [[Chilean wine palm]] (''[[Jubaea chilensis]]''), was one of the dominant trees as attested by fossil evidence. Like its Chilean counterpart it probably took close to 100 years to reach adult height. The [[Polynesian rat]], which the original settlers brought with them, played a very important role in the disappearance of the Rapa Nui palm. Although some may believe that rats played a major role in the degradation of the forest, less than 10% of palm nuts show teeth marks from rats. The remains of palm stumps in different places indicate that humans caused the trees to fall because in large areas, the stumps were cut efficiently.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.jas.2009.10.006 |title=Humans, climate or introduced rats – which is to blame for the woodland destruction on prehistoric Rapa Nui (Easter Island)? |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science |volume=37 |issue=2 |page=417 |year=2010 |last1=Mieth |first1=A. |last2=Bork |first2=H. R. |bibcode=2010JArSc..37..417M}}</ref>

The loss of the palms to make the settlements led to their extinction almost 350 years ago.<ref>Hogan, C. Michael. (2008). [http://globaltwitcher.auderis.se/artspec_information.asp?thingid=82831 Chilean Wine Palm: ''Jubaea chilensis''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017013207/http://globaltwitcher.auderis.se/artspec_information.asp?thingid=82831 |date=17 October 2012}}. GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg</ref> The [[toromiro]] tree ''([[Sophora]] toromiro)'' was prehistorically present on Easter Island, but is now extinct in the wild. However, the [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] and the [[Göteborg Botanical Garden]] are jointly leading a scientific program to reintroduce the toromiro to Easter Island. With the palm and the toromiro virtually gone, there was considerably less rainfall as a result of less condensation. After the island was used to feed thousands of sheep for almost a century, by the mid-1900s the island was mostly covered in [[grassland]] with [[totora (plant)|''nga'atu'' or bulrush]] (''[[Schoenoplectus californicus]] tatora'') in the crater lakes of Rano Raraku and Rano Kau. The presence of these reeds, which are called ''totora'' in the [[Andes]], was used to support the argument of a South American origin of the statue builders, but pollen analysis of lake sediments shows these reeds have grown on the island for over 30,000 years.{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}} Before the arrival of humans, Easter Island had vast [[seabird]] colonies containing probably over 30 resident species, perhaps the world's richest.<ref>{{harvnb|Steadman|2006|pp=251, 395}}</ref> Such colonies are no longer found on the main island. [[Fossil]] evidence indicates six species of land birds (two [[Late Quaternary prehistoric birds#Gruiformes|rails]], two [[Late Quaternary prehistoric birds#Psittaciformes|parrots]], one owl, and one [[Late Quaternary prehistoric birds#Ciconiiformes|heron]]), all of which have become extinct.<ref>{{harvnb|Steadman|2006|pp=248–252}}</ref> Five [[Introduced species|introduced]] species of land bird are known to have breeding populations (see [[List of birds of Easter Island]]).

Lack of studies results in poor understanding of the oceanic fauna of Easter Island and waters in its vicinity; however, possibilities of undiscovered breeding grounds for [[humpback whale|humpback]], [[blue whale|southern blue]] and [[pygmy blue whale]]s including Easter Island and [[Isla Salas y Gómez]] have been considered.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Hucke-Gaete R, Aguayo-Lobo A, Yancovic-Pakarati S, Flores M |title=Marine mammals of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) and Salas y Gómez Island (Motu Motiro Hiva), Chile: a review and new records |url=http://www.scielo.cl/pdf/lajar/v42n4/art05.pdf |journal=Lat. Am. J. Aquat. Res. |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=743–751 |year=2014 |doi=10.3856/vol42-issue4-fulltext-5 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313031935/http://www.scielo.cl/pdf/lajar/v42n4/art05.pdf |archive-date=13 March 2016 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2014LAJAR..42..743H}}</ref> Potential breeding areas for [[fin whale]]s have been detected off northeast of the island as well.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Acevedo J, O'Grady M, Wallis B |year=2012 |title=Sighting of the fin whale in the Eastern Subtropical South Pacific: Potential breeding ground? |url=http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=47925145017 |journal=Revista de Biología Marina y Oceanografía |volume=47 |issue=3 |pages=559–563 |access-date=31 March 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413234108/http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=47925145017 |archive-date=13 April 2016 |doi=10.4067/S0718-19572012000300017 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

<gallery align="centre" widths="180" caption="Vegetation on the island">
File:Easter Island ESA419941 (cropped, lightened).jpg|Satellite view of Easter Island 2019. The Poike peninsula is on the right.
File:RAPA NUI.JPG|Digital recreation of its ancient landscape, with tropical forest and palm trees
File:Easter Island 3.jpg|Hanga Roa seen from Terevaka, the highest point of the island
File:Easter Island 13.jpg|View of [[Rano Kau]] and Pacific Ocean
</gallery>

The [[immunosuppressant]] drug [[sirolimus]] was first discovered in the bacterium ''[[Streptomyces hygroscopicus]]'' in a [[soil]] sample from Easter Island. The drug is also known as rapamycin, after Rapa Nui.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/local/projects/russell/index.html |title=Rapamycin – Introduction |access-date=10 July 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090726073222/http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/local/projects/russell/index.html |archive-date=26 July 2009}}</ref> It is now being studied for extending longevity in mice.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rapamycin Extends Longevity in Mice |date=9 July 2009 |url=http://www.medpagetoday.com/Geriatrics/GeneralGeriatrics/15016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529174122/http://www.medpagetoday.com/Geriatrics/GeneralGeriatrics/15016 |archive-date=29 May 2010}}</ref>
{{Clear}}

Trees are sparse, rarely forming natural [[grove (nature)|groves]], and it has been argued whether native Easter Islanders deforested the island in the process of erecting their statues,<ref name=Jones>{{cite news |url=http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/item/2007/1012/jone/jones_easterisland.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128045603/http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/item/2007/1012/jone/jones_easterisland.html |archive-date=28 November 2007 |title=Easter Island, What to learn from the puzzles? |work=American Diplomacy |author=Jones, David T. |year=2007}}</ref> and in providing sustenance for an [[overconsumption]] of natural resources from a [[overcrowding|overcrowded]] island.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} [[Experimental archaeology]] demonstrated that some statues certainly could have been placed on Y-shaped wooden frames called ''miro manga erua'' and then pulled to their final destinations on ceremonial sites.<ref name=Jones/> Other theories involve the use of "ladders" (parallel wooden rails) over which the statues could have been dragged.<ref name=Diamond>{{harvnb|Diamond|2005|p=107}}</ref> Rapa Nui traditions metaphorically refer to spiritual power ''(mana)'' as the means by which the moai were "walked" from the quarry. Recent experimental recreations have proven that it is fully possible that the moai were literally walked from their quarries to their final positions by use of ropes, casting doubt on the role that their existence plays in the environmental collapse of the island.<ref name=Walk>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/10/easter-island-moai/ |title=Easter Island Statues Could Have 'Walked' Into Position |magazine=Wired |access-date=6 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530032450/http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/10/easter-island-moai |archive-date=30 May 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Given the island's southern latitude, the climatic effects of the [[Little Ice Age]] (about 1650 to 1850) may have exacerbated deforestation, although this remains speculative.<ref name=Jones/> Many researchers<ref>Finney (1994), Hunter Anderson (1998); P.D. Nunn (1999, 2003); Orliac and Orliac (1998)</ref> point to the climatic downtrend caused by the Little Ice Age as a contributing factor to resource stress and to the palm tree's disappearance. Experts, however, do not agree on when the island's palms became extinct.

[[Jared Diamond]] dismisses past climate change as a dominant cause of the island's deforestation in his book ''[[Collapse (book)|Collapse]]'' which assesses the collapse of the ancient Easter Islanders.{{sfn |Diamond |2005 |pp=79–119}} Influenced by Heyerdahl's romantic interpretation of Easter's history, Diamond insists that the disappearance of the island's trees seems to coincide with a decline of its civilization around the 17th and 18th centuries, alongside declines of fish bones in middens (suggesting a decline in fishing) and then declines in bird bones, which he attributes to habitat loss. He notes that they stopped making statues at that time and started destroying the [[#Ahu (stone platforms)|ahu]]. But the link is weakened because the Bird Man cult continued to thrive and survived the great impact caused by the arrival of explorers, whalers, [[sandalwood]] traders, and slave raiders.

[[Benny Peiser]]<ref name=peiser/> noted evidence of self-sufficiency when Europeans first arrived. The island still had smaller trees, mainly [[toromiro]], which became extinct in the wild in the 20th century probably because of slow growth and changes in the island's ecosystem. Cornelis Bouman, [[Jakob Roggeveen]]'s captain, stated in his [[logbook]], "...&nbsp;of [[Yam (vegetable)|yams]], bananas and small [[coconut palm]]s we saw little and no other trees or crops." According to [[Carl Friedrich Behrens]], Roggeveen's officer, "The natives presented palm branches as peace offerings." According to ethnographer Alfred Mètraux, the most common type of house was called "hare paenga" (and is known today as "boathouse") because the roof resembled an overturned boat. The foundations of the houses were made of buried basalt slabs with holes for wooden beams to connect with each other throughout the width of the house. These were then covered with a layer of totora reed, followed by a layer of woven sugarcane leaves, and lastly a layer of woven grass.

Peiser claims that these reports indicate that large trees existed at that time, which is perhaps contradicted by the Bouman quote above. Plantations were often located farther inland, next to foothills, inside open-ceiling lava tubes, and in other places protected from the strong salt winds and salt spray affecting areas closer to the coast. It is possible many of the Europeans did not venture inland. The statue quarry, only {{convert|1|km|mi|frac=8|spell=in|abbr=off}} from the coast with an impressive cliff {{cvt|100|m|ft}} high, was not explored by Europeans until well into the 19th century.

{{wide image|Pano Anakena beach.jpg|800px|Panorama of [[Anakena]] beach, Easter Island. The moai pictured here was the first to be raised back into place on its [[#Ahu (stone platforms)|''ahu'']] in 1955 by Thor Heyerdahl<ref name="Heyerdahl 1961">{{harvnb|Heyerdahl|1961}}</ref> using the labor of islanders and wooden levers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://imaginarapanui.com/que-ver/sitios-arqueologicos/ahu-nau-nau/ |title=Ahu Nau Nau, los moai de Anakena |website=Imagina Rapa Nui |date=28 August 2013 |language=es |access-date=19 August 2025}}</ref>}}

Easter Island has suffered from heavy soil erosion in recent centuries, aggravated by massive historic [[deforestation]] alongside modern [[sheep farming]] throughout most of the 20th century. Jakob Roggeveen reported that Easter Island was exceptionally fertile. "Fowls are the only animals they keep. They cultivate bananas, sugar cane, and above all sweet potatoes." In 1786 Jean-François de La Pérouse visited Easter Island and his gardener declared that "three days' work a year" would be enough to support the population. Rollin, a major in the Pérouse expedition, wrote, "Instead of meeting with men exhausted by famine... I found, on the contrary, a considerable population, with more beauty and grace than I afterwards met in any other island; and a soil, which, with very little labor, furnished excellent provisions, and in an abundance more than sufficient for the consumption of the inhabitants."<ref>{{harvnb|Heyerdahl|1961|p=57}}</ref> The islanders' innovation of lithic mulching – the practice of covering fields with gravel or rocks to trap moisture and improve soil fertility – is a well-known and effective practice in dry areas of the premodern world.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Morphology and Ecology of Lithic-Mulch Agriculture |journal=Geographical Review |date=April 1994 |volume=84 |issue=2 |pages=172–185 |first=Dale R. |last=Lightfoot |doi=10.2307/215329 |jstor=215329 |bibcode=1994GeoRv..84..172L}}</ref>

According to Diamond, the oral traditions (the veracity of which has been questioned by Routledge, [[Henri Lavachery|Lavachery]], Mètraux, Peiser, and others) of the current islanders seem obsessed with cannibalism, which he offers as evidence supporting a rapid collapse. For example, he states, to severely insult an enemy one would say, "The flesh of your mother sticks between my teeth." This, Diamond asserts, means the food supply of the people ultimately ran out.<ref>{{harvnb|Diamond|2005|p=109}}</ref> Cannibalism, however, was widespread across Polynesian cultures.<ref name="Kirch 2003">{{cite web |url=http://sscl.berkeley.edu/~oal/background/pacislands.htm |title=Introduction to Pacific Islands Archaeology |last=Kirch |first=Patrick |author-link=Patrick Vinton Kirch |year=2003 |publisher=Social Science Computing Laboratory, [[University of California, Berkeley|Berkeley]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206100604/http://sscl.berkeley.edu/~oal/background/pacislands.htm |archive-date=6 December 2008 |access-date=21 December 2014}}</ref> Human bones have not been found in earth ovens other than those behind the religious platforms, indicating that cannibalism in Easter Island was a ritualistic practice. Contemporary ethnographic research has proven there is scarcely any tangible evidence for widespread cannibalism anywhere and at any time on the island.<ref>{{cite book |title=The enigmas of Easter Island: Island on the Edge |last1=Flenley |first1=John |last2=Bahn |first2=Paul G. |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2003 |pages=156–157 |url=https://archive.org/details/enigmasofeasteri0000flen/page/156/mode/2up |isbn=0-19-280340-9}}</ref> The first scientific exploration of Easter Island (1914) recorded that the indigenous population strongly rejected allegations that they or their ancestors had been cannibals.<ref name=routledge/>

==Culture==
[[File:Easter Island cave.jpg|thumb|upright|Bird paintings in the cave called "Cave of the Men Eaters"]]

===Mythology===
{{Main|Rapa Nui mythology}}

The most important [[Mythology|myths]] are:{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}
*[[Tangata manu]], the Birdman cult which was practised until the 1860s.
*[[Makemake (mythology)|Makemake]], an important god.
*[[Aku-aku]], the guardians of the sacred family caves.
*{{lang|rap|Moai-kava-kava}} a ghost man of the [[Hanau epe]] (long-ears.)
*{{lang|rap|Hekai ite umu pare haonga takapu Hanau epe kai noruego}}, the sacred chant to appease the aku-aku before entering a family cave.

===Stone work===
The Rapa Nui people had a Stone Age culture and made extensive use of local stone:
*[[Basalt]], a hard, dense stone used for [[basalt toki|toki]] and at least [[Hoa Hakananai'a|one of the moai]].
*[[Obsidian]], a volcanic glass with sharp edges used for sharp-edged implements such as [[Mataa]] and for the black pupils of the eyes of the moai.
*Red [[scoria]] from [[Puna Pau]], a very light red stone used for the [[pukao]] and a few moai.
*[[Tuff]] from [[Rano Raraku]], a much more easily worked rock than basalt that was used for most of the moai.

===={{anchor|Statues}}Moai (statues) ====
{{main|Moai}}

The large stone statues, or ''moai'', for which Easter Island is famous, were carved in the period 1100–1680&nbsp;CE (rectified radio-carbon dates).<ref name=beck>{{citation |first=J. Warren |last=Beck |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=blsknwEpGSoC&pg=PA100 |title=Easter Island: Scientific Exploration into the World's Environmental Problems in Microcosm |chapter=Mata Ki Te Rangi: Eyes towards the Heavens |page=100 |access-date=27 March 2013 |year=2003 |publisher=Springer |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412174906/https://books.google.com/books?id=blsknwEpGSoC&pg=PA100 |archive-date=12 April 2016 |isbn=978-0-306-47494-1}}</ref> A total of 887 monolithic stone statues have been inventoried on the island and in museum collections.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eisp.org/279/ |title=What is the Easter Island Statue Project? |publisher=Easter Island Statue Project |date=6 May 2009 |author=Jo Anne van Tilburg |access-date=9 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309163830/http://www.eisp.org/279/ |archive-date=9 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Although often identified as "Easter Island heads", the statues have torsos, most of them ending at the top of the thighs; a small number are complete figures that kneel on bent knees with their hands over their stomachs.<ref>Skjølsvold, Arne "Report 14: The Stone Statues and Quarries of Rano Raraku in Thor Heyerdahl and Edwin N. Ferdon Jr. (eds.) 'Reports of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island and the East Pacific'", Volume 1, ''Archaeology of Easter Island'', Monographs of the School of American Research and The Museum of New Mexico, Number 24, Part 1, 1961, pages 339–379. (esp. page 346 for the description of the general statues and Figure 91, page 347, pages 360–362 for the description of the kneeling statues)</ref><ref>Van Tilburg, Jo Anne. ''Easter Island. Archaeology, Ecology and Culture'', British Museum Press 1994:134–135, fig. 106</ref> Some upright moai have become buried up to their necks by shifting soils.

Almost all (95%){{Citation needed|date=June 2013}} moai were carved from compressed, easily worked solidified volcanic ash or [[tuff]], found at a single site on the side of the extinct volcano Rano Raraku. The native islanders who carved them used only stone hand chisels, mainly basalt ''toki'', which lie in place all over the quarry. The stone chisels were sharpened by chipping off a new edge when dulled. While sculpting was going on, the volcanic stone was splashed with water to soften it. While many teams worked on different statues at the same time, a single moai took a team of five or six men approximately a year to complete. Each statue represented the deceased head of a [[:wikt:lineage|lineage]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2018}}

Only a quarter of the statues were installed. Nearly half remained in the quarry at Rano Raraku, and the rest sat elsewhere, presumably on their way to intended locations. The largest moai raised on a platform is known as "Paro". It weighs {{convert|82|t|ST}} and is {{cvt|9.89|m|ftin}} long.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eisp.org/1954/ |title=Moai Paro digital reconstruction |author=Van Tilburg, Jo Anne |date=5 May 2009 |publisher=Easter Island Statue Project (eisp.org) |access-date=12 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830195248/http://www.eisp.org/1954/ |archive-date=30 August 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/easter/explore/paro.html |title=Paro |website=Pbs.org |access-date=6 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608215146/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/easter/explore/paro.html |archive-date=8 June 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Several other statues of similar weight were transported to [[#Ahu (stone platforms)|ahu]] on the north and south coasts.

Possible means by which the statues were moved include employment of a ''[[miro manga erua]]'', a Y-shaped sledge with cross pieces, pulled with ropes made from the tough bark of the [[Hibiscus tiliaceus|hau]] tree<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Flenley |first1=J. R. |last2=King |first2=Sarah M. |title=Late Quaternary pollen records from Easter Island |journal=Nature |volume=307 |page=47 |year=1984 |doi=10.1038/307047a0 |issue=5946 |bibcode=1984Natur.307...47F |s2cid=4265688}}</ref> and tied around the statue's neck. Anywhere from 180 to 250 men were required for pulling, depending on the size of the moai. Among other researchers on moving and erecting the moai was [[Vincent Richards Lee|Vince Lee]], who reenacted a moai moving scenario. Some 50 of the statues were re-erected in modern times. One of the first was on Ahu Ature Huke in Anakena beach in 1956.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://easterislandtraveling.com/places-to-visit/anakena/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150514215804/https://easterislandtraveling.com/places-to-visit/anakena/ |archive-date=14 May 2015 |title=Anakena beach at Easter Island |publisher=Easter Island Traveling |access-date=2 May 2015}}</ref> It was raised using traditional methods during a Heyerdahl expedition.

Another method that might have been used to transport the moai would be to attach ropes to the statue and rock it, tugging it forward as it rocked. This would fit the legend of the Mo'ai 'walking' to their final locations.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hunt |first1=Terry |last2=Lipo |first2=Carl |title=The Statues that Walked: Unraveling the Mystery of Easter Island |year=2011 |publisher=Free Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=NG Live!: Walking With Giants: How the Easter Island Moai Moved |url=http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/ng-live/hunt-lipo-animation-bonus-nglive |website=video.nationalgeographic.com |access-date=12 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511140108/http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/ng-live/hunt-lipo-animation-bonus-nglive |archive-date=11 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=NG Live!: Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo: The Statues That Walked |url=http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/ng-live/hunt-lipo-easter-island-lecture-nglive |website=video.nationalgeographic.com |access-date=12 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150522011214/http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/ng-live/hunt-lipo-easter-island-lecture-nglive |archive-date=22 May 2015}}</ref> This might have been managed by as few as 15 people, supported by the following evidence:
*The heads of the moai in the quarry are sloped forward, whereas the ones moved to final locations are not. This would serve to provide a better centre of gravity for transport.
*The statues found along the transport roads have wider bases than statues installed on ahu; this would facilitate more stable transport. Studies have shown fractures along the bases of the statues in transport; these could have arisen from rocking the statue back and forth and placing great pressures on the edges. The statues found mounted on ahu do not have wide bases, and stone chips found at the sites suggest they were further modified on placement.
*The abandoned and fallen statues near the old roads are found (more often than would be expected from chance) face down on ascending grades and on their backs when headed uphill. Some were documented standing upright along the old roads, e.g., by a party from Captain Cook's voyage that rested in the shade of a standing statue. This would be consistent with upright transport.

There is debate regarding the effects of the monument creation process on the environment. Some believe that the process of creating the moai caused widespread deforestation and ultimately a civil war over scarce resources.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Easter Islanders' Weapons Were Deliberately Not Lethal |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/02/160222-easter-island-rapa-nui-collapse-archaeology-moai-mataa-warfare-weapons-Jared-Diamond/ |website=National Geographic News |date=22 February 2016 |access-date=24 February 2016 |first=Kristin |last=Romey |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223101557/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/02/160222-easter-island-rapa-nui-collapse-archaeology-moai-mataa-warfare-weapons-Jared-Diamond/ |archive-date=23 February 2016}}</ref>

In 2011, a large moai statue was excavated from the ground.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eisp.org/3879/ |title=Easter Island Statue Project Field Season IV |publisher=Eisp.org |access-date=23 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725230401/http://www.eisp.org/3879/ |archive-date=25 July 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> During the same excavation program, some larger moai were found to have complex dorsal [[petroglyph]]s, revealed by deep excavation of the torso.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eisp.org/category/about/featured/ |title=Featured Articles Phase 2 Season 2 |author=Jo Anne Van Tilberg |website=Easter Island Statue Project |access-date=15 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717025243/http://www.eisp.org/category/about/featured/ |archive-date=17 July 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2020, a pickup truck crashed into and destroyed a moai statue due to brake failure. No one was injured in the incident.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jones |first=Sam |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/05/easter-island-anger-after-truck-crashes-into-sacred-stone-statue |title=Anger on Easter Island after truck crashes into sacred stone statue |date=6 March 2020 |work=The Guardian |access-date=11 March 2020 |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Hauser |first1=Christine |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/world/americas/easter-island-statue.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200306225006/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/world/americas/easter-island-statue.html |archive-date=6 March 2020 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Truck Crashes into an Easter Island Statue |date=6 March 2020 |work=The New York Times |access-date=11 March 2020 |last2=Yuhas |first2=Alan |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

<gallery align="center" caption="Moais" widths="180px">
File:Kneeled moai Easter Island.jpg|[[Rano Raraku#Tukuturi|Tukuturi]], an unusual bearded kneeling moai
File:Ahu-Tongariki-2013.jpg|All fifteen standing moai at [[Ahu Tongariki]], excavated and restored in the 1990s
File:Ahu-Akivi-1.JPG|[[Ahu Akivi]], one of the few inland ahu, with the only moai facing the ocean
</gallery>
<!-- Label used in other articles -->

===={{anchor|stone platforms}}Ahu (stone platforms)====
[[File:Hangaroa Moais.jpg|thumb|right|Two ahu at [[Hanga Roa]]. In foreground Ahu [[Ko Te Riku]] (with a [[pukao]] on its head). In the mid-ground is a side view of an [[#Ahu (stone platforms)|ahu]] with five moai showing retaining wall, platform, ramp and pavement. The Mataveri end of Hanga Roa is visible in the background with [[Rano Kau]] rising above it.]]

''Ahu'' are stone platforms. Varying greatly in layout, many were reworked during or after [[Moai#1722–1868 toppling of the moai|the ''huri mo'ai'' or ''statue-toppling'']] era; many became [[ossuary|ossuaries]], one was dynamited open, and [[Ahu Tongariki]] was swept inland by a [[tsunami]]. Of the 313 known ahu, 125 carried moai{{snd}}usually just one, probably because of the shortness of the moai period and transportation difficulties. [[Ahu Tongariki]], {{cvt|1|km|mi|spell=in}} from Rano Raraku, had the most and tallest moai, 15 in total.{{sfn |Diamond |2005 |p=80}} Other notable ahu with moai are [[Ahu Akivi]], restored in 1960 by [[William Mulloy]], Nau Nau at Anakena and Tahai. Some moai may have been made from wood and were lost.

The classic elements of ahu design are:
*A retaining rear wall several feet high, usually facing the sea
*A front wall made of rectangular basalt slabs called ''paenga''
*A fascia made of red scoria that went over the front wall (platforms built after 1300)
*A sloping ramp in the inland part of the platform, extending outward like wings
*A pavement of even-sized, round water-worn stones called ''poro''
*An alignment of stones before the ramp
*A paved plaza before the ahu. This was called ''marae''
*Inside the ahu was a fill of rubble.

On top of many ahu would have been:
*Moai on squarish "pedestals" looking inland, the ramp with the poro before them.
*Pukao or Hau Hiti Rau on the moai heads (platforms built after 1300).
*When a ceremony took place, "eyes" were placed on the statues. The whites of the eyes were made of coral, the iris was made of obsidian or red scoria.

Ahu evolved from the traditional Polynesian ''[[marae]]''. In this context, ''ahu'' referred to a small structure sometimes covered with a thatched roof where sacred objects, including statues, were stored. The ahu were usually adjacent to the marae or main central court where ceremonies took place, though on Easter Island, ahu and moai evolved to much greater size. There the marae is the unpaved plaza before the ahu. The biggest ahu is {{cvt|220|m|ft}} and holds 15 statues, some of which are {{cvt|9|m|ft}} high. The filling of an ahu was sourced locally (apart from broken, old moai, fragments of which have been used in the fill).<ref name="Heyerdahl 1961" /> Individual stones are mostly far smaller than the moai, so less work was needed to transport the raw material, but artificially leveling the terrain for the plaza and filling the ahu was laborious.

Ahu are found mostly on the coast, where they are distributed densely and fairly evenly. The exceptions are the western slopes of Mount [[Terevaka]] and the Rano Kau and [[Poike]] headlands, where they are much sparser. These are the three areas with the least low-lying coastal land and, apart from Poike, the furthest areas from Rano Raraku. One ahu with several moai was recorded on the cliffs at Rano Kau in the 1880s but had fallen to the beach before the [[Katherine Routledge|Routledge expedition]].<ref name=routledge/> At least three recorded on Poike in the 1930s have also since disappeared.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lavachery |first=Henri |title=Ile de Paques |title-link=Henri Lavachery |publisher=Bernard Grasset |year=1935 |edition=1st |location=Paris |language=French}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=SEAGER THOMAS |first=Mike |author-link=Mike Seager Thomas |date=2019 |title=New Contextual Survey on Poike, 2019 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353577661 |journal=Landscapes of Construction Interim Reports |volume=15 |page=2}}</ref>
[[File:Rapa nui cyark 2.jpg|thumb|right|A Hare Moa, a Chicken House, image cut from a [[3D scanner|laser scan]] collected by nonprofit [[CyArk]].]]

====Stone walls====
One of the highest-quality examples of Easter Island stone masonry is the rear wall of the [[#Ahu (stone platforms)|ahu]] at [[Ahu Vinapu|Vinapu]]. Made without mortar by shaping hard basalt rocks of up to {{cvt|7000|kg|ton}} to match each other exactly, it has a superficial similarity to some [[Inca]] stone walls in South America.<ref>{{harvnb|Heyerdahl|1961}} However, [[Alfred Metraux]] pointed out that the rubble-filled Rapanui walls were a fundamentally different design to those of the Inca, as these are trapezoidal in shape as opposed to the perfectly fitted rectangular stones of the Inca. See also {{cite web |url=http://islandheritage.org/faq.html |title=this FAQ |access-date=6 September 2007 |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011083729/http://islandheritage.org/faq.html |archive-date=11 October 2007}}</ref>

====Stone houses====
Among the various structures, the hare paenga, hare oka, tupa, hare moa, and the distinctive stone houses of [[Orongo]] village stand out for their unique designs and functions.

The hare paenga, commonly referred to as "boat houses," were the predominant residential structures in ancient [[Rapa Nui people|Rapa Nui]]. Their design featured an elliptical foundation constructed from meticulously dressed basalt slabs, known as paenga stones, which supported a thatched roof resembling an inverted boat hull. This aerodynamic shape was particularly suited to withstand the island's strong winds. These dwellings varied in size, with some measuring up to 45 meters in length, indicating their communal use by extended families or for significant gatherings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Easter Island boat house – hare paenga |url=https://www.easterisland.travel/easter-island-facts-and-info/boat-houses/ |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=www.easterisland.travel}}</ref>

The hare oka were round stone structures whose specific functions remain less documented. Closely related to these were the tupa, which bore a striking resemblance in design but served a specialized purpose. Tupa were typically situated near the coastline and were inhabited by astronomer-priests who observed celestial movements, underscoring the importance of astronomy in Rapa Nui culture.<ref>Stevenson, Christopher & LADEFOGED, THEGN & HAOA, SONIA. (2007). An upland agricultural residence on Rapa Nui: Occupation of a hare oka (18–473G) in the Vaitea Region. Archaeology in Oceania. 42. 10.1002/j.1834-4453.2007.tb00018.x</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Stevenson |first1=Christopher M. |last2=Ladefoged |first2=Thegn N. |last3=Haoa |first3=Sonia |date=2007-07-01 |title=An upland agricultural residence on Rapa Nui: occupation of a hare oka (18-473G) in the Vaitea Region. |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA166988897&issn=00038121&it=r&linkaccess=abs&p=AONE&sid=googleScholar&sw=w&v=2.1&userGroupName=anon%7Eb5c4d4e4&aty=open-web-entry |journal=Archaeology in Oceania |language=English |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=72–79|doi=10.1002/j.1834-4453.2007.tb00018.x |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Integral to Rapa Nui settlements were the hare moa, oblong stone enclosures designed to house chickens. Given the value of poultry as a food source and possibly for ceremonial purposes, these structures were strategically placed within villages to facilitate monitoring and protection of the birds.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Easter Island |url=https://www.rhodyman.net/Easter_Island/Easter_Island_Photo_Album.html |website=Rhodyman Net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ferdon |first=Edwin N. Jr |date=2000-01-01 |title=Stone Chicken Coops on Easter Island |url=https://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/items/bf9936e9-ab24-4e85-98bc-a9ceef1b9eec |journal=[[University of Hawaiʻi]] |language=en |via=}}</ref>

The ceremonial village of [[Orongo]] presents a unique architectural adaptation. Here, the traditional hare paenga design was transformed; instead of thatched roofs, the houses were constructed entirely from [[Basalt|flat basalt slabs]] sourced from the [[Rano Kau|Rano Kao]] crater. These stone houses, built around 1400, reflect a response to the village's exposure to harsh coastal weather conditions and the availability of basalt as a building material. The entrances to these dwellings were notably low, requiring individuals to crawl for entry, a feature that may have offered protection against the elements and added structural stability.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 August 2013 |title=The Ceremonial Village of Easter Island |url=https://imaginarapanui.com/en/easter-island-sightseeing/easter-island-archaeology/orongo/}}</ref>

====Petroglyphs====
Easter Island has one of the richest collections of [[petroglyph]]s in all Polynesia. Around 1,000 sites with more than 4,000 petroglyphs are catalogued. Designs and images were carved out of rock for a variety of reasons: to create totems, to mark territory, or to memorialize a person or event. There are distinct variations around the island in the frequency of themes among petroglyphs, with a concentration of Birdmen at Orongo. Other subjects include [[sea turtle]]s, Komari (vulvas) and Makemake, the chief god of the ''[[Tangata manu]]'' or Birdman cult.<ref>{{harvnb|Lee|1992}}</ref>
<gallery widths="300" heights="200" align="centre" caption="Petroglyphs">
File:Makemake.jpeg|[[Makemake (mythology)|Makemake]] with two [[Tangata Manu|birdmen]], carved from red [[scoria]]
File:Ahu-Tongariki-4-Petroglyph.JPG|Fish [[petroglyph]] found near [[Ahu Tongariki]]
</gallery>

====Caves====
The island<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hangaroa.cl/en/the-easter-island-caves/ |title=The Easter Island Caves: an underground world |website=Nayara Hangaroa |access-date=22 July 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813003906/https://www.hangaroa.cl/en/the-easter-island-caves/ |archive-date=13 August 2021}}</ref> and neighbouring [[Motu Nui]] are riddled with caves, many of which show signs of past human use for planting and as fortifications, including narrowed entrances and crawl spaces with ambush points. Many caves feature in the myths and legends of the Rapa Nui.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/chile/activities/private-tour-easter-island-caves/a/pa-act/v-41148P7/363257 |title=Private Tour: Easter Island Caves &#124; Chile Activities |website=Lonely Planet}}</ref>

====Stone aerophone====
{{Main|Pu o Hiro}}

[[File:Pu o Hiro (Trumpet of Hiro) in Easter Island 2018.jpg|thumb|Pu o Hiro (Trumpet of Hiro)]]
The ''Pu o Hiro'' (''Trumpet of Hiro)'' is a {{convert|1.25|m}} high ancient stone [[aerophone]] on the north coast of Easter Island.<ref name="RapaNui"/> It was once used by the [[Rapa Nui people|Rapa Nui]] as a musical instrument in fertility rituals.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://boingboing.net/2018/03/21/easter-island-musical-stone-we.html |website=boingboing.net |title=Easter Island musical stone went from priceless to worthless / Boing Boing |date=21 March 2018 |access-date=28 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322114037/https://boingboing.net/2018/03/21/easter-island-musical-stone-we.html |archive-date=22 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/pu-o-hiro-hiros-trumpet |title=Pu o Hiro (Hiro's Trumpet) – Easter Island, Chile |website=Atlas Obscura |access-date=28 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322114036/https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/pu-o-hiro-hiros-trumpet |archive-date=22 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.osterinsel.de/02-trompete-pu-o-hiro.htm |title=Pu O Hiro – Die Trompete des Hiro |website=osterinsel.de |access-date=28 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102040434/http://www.osterinsel.de/02-trompete-pu-o-hiro.htm |archive-date=2 January 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="RapaNui"/> The stone is covered in petroglyphs called ''komari'' which represent fertility.<ref name="RapaNui"/> By skillfully blowing wind in the top hole it makes a deep, trumpeting sound to invoke the god of rain Hiro in Polynesian mythology.<ref name="RapaNui">{{cite web |date=29 October 2021 |title=Pu o Hiro, the trumpet of Hiro |url=https://imaginarapanui.com/en/easter-island-sightseeing/easter-island-archaeology/pu-o-hiro/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402034320/https://imaginarapanui.com/en/easter-island-sightseeing/easter-island-archaeology/pu-o-hiro/ |archive-date=2 April 2023 |website=Imagina Rapa Nui Easter Island}}</ref>
[[File:Rongo-rongo script.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Sample of [[rongorongo]]]]

===Rongorongo===
{{Main|Rongorongo}}

Easter Island once had an apparent script called ''[[rongorongo]]''. Glyphs include pictographic and geometric shapes; the texts were incised in wood in reverse [[boustrophedon]] direction. It was first reported by French missionary [[Eugène Eyraud]] in 1864. At that time, several islanders said they could understand the writing, but according to tradition, only ruling families and priests were ever literate, and none survived the slave raids and subsequent epidemics. Despite numerous attempts, the surviving texts have not been deciphered, and without decipherment it is not certain that they are actually writing. Part of the problem is the small amount that has survived: only two dozen texts, none of which remain on the island. There are also only a couple of similarities with the [[#Petroglyphs|petroglyphs]] on the island.<ref>Fischer, pages 31, 63.</ref>
{{clear}}

===Wood carving===
<!-- [[Gallery of flags by design]], [[Flag of Rapa Nui]] both link here -->
{| class="wikitable" align="right"
|- caption="Wood carving"
| [[File:Skeletal easter island statue.JPG|100px]] || [[File:Fat wooden Moai.JPG|130px]]
|-
| Skeletal statuette || Atypical portly statuette
|}
Wood was scarce on Easter Island during the 18th and 19th centuries, but a number of highly detailed and distinctive carvings have found their way to the world's museums. Particular forms include:<ref>{{harvnb|Routledge|1919|p=268}}</ref>
[[File:Ancestor Figure (moai kavakava) LACMA M.2008.66.6 (2 of 3).jpg|thumb|upright|Ancestor figure, {{Circa|1830}}, from [[LACMA]] collections]]
*[[Reimiro]], a [[gorget]] or breast ornament of crescent shape with a head at one or both tips.<ref>[https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aoa/w/wooden_gorget_rei_miro.aspx Wooden gorget (rei miro)] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018233013/http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aoa/w/wooden_gorget_rei_miro.aspx |date=18 October 2015}}. British Museum.</ref> The same design appears on the [[flag of Rapa Nui]]. Two Rei Miru at the British Museum are inscribed with Rongorongo.
*[[Moko Miro]], a man with a lizard head. The Moko Miro was used as a club because of the legs, which formed a handle shape. If it was not held by hand, dancers wore it around their necks during feasts. The Moko Miro would also be placed at the doorway to protect the household from harm. It would be hanging from the roof or set in the ground. The original form had eyes made from white shells, and the pupils were made of obsidian.<ref>Brooklyn Museum, [http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/63656/Lizard_Figure_Moko_Miro/image/14222/image "Collections: Arts of the Pacific Islands: Lizard Figure (Moko Miro)."] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202224700/http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/63656/Lizard_Figure_Moko_Miro/image/14222/image |date=2 December 2013}} Last modified 2011.</ref>
*[[Moai kavakava]] are male carvings and the Moai Paepae are female carvings.<ref name=brit>Encyclopædia Britannica Online, [https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/386738/moai-figure "Moai Figure"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203000934/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/386738/moai-figure |date=3 December 2013}}.</ref> These grotesque and highly detailed human figures, carved from Toromiro pine, represent ancestors. Sometimes these statues were used for fertility rites. Usually, they are used for harvest celebrations; "the first picking of fruits was heaped around them as offerings". When the statues were not used, they would be wrapped in bark cloth and kept at home. There were a few times that are reported when the islanders would pick up the figures like dolls and dance with them.<ref name=brit/> The earlier figures are rare and generally depict a male figure with an emaciated body and a goatee. The figures' ribs and vertebrae are exposed and many examples show carved glyphs on various parts of the body but more specifically, on the top of the head. The female figures, rarer than the males, depict the body as flat and often with the female's hand lying across the body. The figures, although some were quite large, were worn as ornamental pieces around a tribesman's neck. The more figures worn, the more important the man. The figures have a shiny [[patina]] developed from constant handling and contact with human skin.{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}}
*Ao, a large dancing paddle

===21st-century culture===
The [[Rapanui]] sponsor an annual festival, the ''Tapati'', held since 1975 around the beginning of February to celebrate Rapa Nui culture. In 2016, local band [[Topatangi]] played the Tapati festival.<ref>{{Cite web |title=La Fiesta Tapati Rapa Nui 2016 continúa con el inicio de las competencias entre familias |url=https://www.cultura.gob.cl/eventos-actividades/la-fiesta-tapati-rapa-nui-2016-continua-con-el-inicio-de-las-competencias-entre-familias/ |access-date=2025-08-27 |language=es}}</ref> The islanders also maintain a [[CF Rapa Nui|national football team]] and three [[nightclub|disco]]s in the town of Hanga Roa. Other cultural activities include a [[music of Easter Island|musical tradition]] that combines South American and Polynesian influences and woodcarving.

====Sports====
The Chilean leg of the [[Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series]] takes place on the Island of Rapa Nui.

===Tapati festival===
Tapati Rapa Nui festival ("week festival" in the local language) is an annual two-week long festival celebrating Easter Island culture.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.easterisland.travel/easter-island-facts-and-info/tapati-rapa-nui-festival/ |title=Tapati Rapa Nui festival |website=Easterisland.travel |language=en |access-date=12 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013014519/https://www.easterisland.travel/easter-island-facts-and-info/tapati-rapa-nui-festival/ |archive-date=13 October 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Tapati is centered around a competition between two families/ clans competing in various competitions to earn points. The winning team has their candidate crowned 'queen' of the island for the next year. The competitions are a way to maintain and celebrate traditional cultural activities such as cooking, jewelry-making, woodcarving, and canoeing.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://travelcollecting.com/easter-island-tapati-festival-rapa-nui/ |title=Easter Island: More Than Just Statues – Tapati Festival on Rapa Nui |last=Ian |first=James |date=20 October 2018 |website=Travel Collecting |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207072237/https://travelcollecting.com/easter-island-tapati-festival-rapa-nui/ |archive-date=7 February 2019 |url-status=live |access-date=6 February 2019}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{Further|Europeans in Oceania#Easter Island}}

===2012 census===
Population at the 2012 census was 5,761 (increased from 3,791 in 2002).<ref>[http://www.estrellavalpo.cl/site/edic/20020611093623/pags/20020611124031.html Primeros datos del Censo: Hay 37.626 mujeres más que hombres en la V Región] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116204716/http://www.estrellavalpo.cl/site/edic/20020611093623/pags/20020611124031.html |date=16 January 2010}}. Estrellavalpo.cl (11 June 2002). Retrieved 6 November 2010.</ref> In 2002, 60% were persons of indigenous [[Rapa Nui people|Rapa Nui]] origin, 39% were mainland [[Demographics of Chile|Chileans]] (or their Easter Island-born descendants) of European (mostly Spanish) or [[mestizo]] (mixed European and indigenous Chilean Amerindian) origin and Easter Island-born mestizos of European and Rapa Nui and/or native Chilean descent, and the remaining 1% were indigenous mainland Chilean [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Amerindians]] (or their Easter Island-born descendants).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ine.cl/cd2002/index.php |title=Censo 2002 |publisher=Ine.cl |access-date=23 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120621012515/http://www.ine.cl/cd2002/index.php |archive-date=21 June 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> {{as of|2012}}, the population density on Easter Island was {{cvt|35|PD/km2}}.

===Demographic history===
The 1982 population was 1,936. The increase in population in the last census was partly caused by the arrival of people of [[European ethnic groups|European]] or mixed European and Native American descent from the Chilean mainland. However, most married a Rapa Nui spouse. Around 70% of the population were natives. Estimates of the pre-European population range from 7–17,000. Easter Island's all-time low of 111 inhabitants was reported in 1877. Out of these 111 Rapa Nui, only 36 had descendants, and all of today's Rapa Nui claim descent from those 36.

===Languages===
Easter Island's traditional language is [[Rapa Nui language|Rapa Nui]], an [[Eastern Polynesian languages|Eastern Polynesian language]], sharing some similarities with [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] and [[Tahitian language|Tahitian]]. However, as in the rest of Chile, the official language used is Spanish. Easter Island is the only territory in [[Polynesia]] where Spanish is an official language.

It is supposed<ref name="ethnologue.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/rap |title=Rapa Nui |website=Ethnologue |access-date=11 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604175906/https://www.ethnologue.com/language/rap |archive-date=4 June 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> that the 2,700 [[Rapa Nui people|indigenous Rapa Nui]] living in the island have a certain degree of knowledge of their traditional language; however, census data does not exist on the primary known and spoken languages among Easter Island's inhabitants, and there are recent claims that the number of fluent speakers is as low as 800.<ref>Fischer 2008: page 149</ref> Indeed, Rapa Nui has been declining in its number of speakers as the island undergoes [[Hispanicization]], because the island is under the jurisdiction of Chile and is now home to a number of Chilean continentals, most of whom speak only Spanish. For this reason, most Rapa Nui children now grow up speaking Spanish, and those who do learn Rapa Nui begin learning it later in life.<ref>Makihara 2005a: page 728</ref> Even with efforts to revitalize the language,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gobernacionisladepascua.gov.cl/ |title=Gobernación Provincial Isla de Pascua |website=Gobernación Provincial Isla de Pascua |access-date=11 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103135921/http://www.gobernacionisladepascua.gov.cl/ |archive-date=3 January 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Ethnologue]] has established that Rapa Nui is currently a threatened language.<ref name="ethnologue.com"/>

Easter Island's indigenous Rapa Nui [[toponymy]] has survived with few Spanish additions or replacements, a fact that has been attributed in part to the survival of the Rapa Nui language.<ref>Latorre 2001: page 129</ref>

==Administration and legal status==
{{Main|Isla de Pascua (commune)|Isla de Pascua Province}}

Easter Island shares with [[Juan Fernández Islands]] the constitutional status of "special territory" of Chile, granted in 2007. {{As of|2011}} a special charter for the island was under discussion in the [[Congress of Chile|Chilean Congress]].

Administratively, the island is a [[Provinces of Chile|province]] ([[Isla de Pascua Province]]) of the [[Valparaíso Region]] and contains a single commune (''comuna'') ([[Isla de Pascua (commune)|Isla de Pascua]]). Both the province and the commune are called ''Isla de Pascua'' and encompass the whole island and its surrounding islets and rocks, plus [[Isla Salas y Gómez]], some {{cvt|380|km|-1}} to the east. The provincial governor is appointed by the [[President of Chile|President of the Republic]].<ref name="INE2">{{cite web |url=http://www.ine.cl/canales/chile_estadistico/territorio/division_politico_administrativa/pdf/DPA_COMPLETA.pdf |title=Territorial division of Chile |access-date=14 March 2011 |publisher=[[National Statistics Institute (Chile)|National Statistics Institute]] |year=2007 |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101114052159/http://www.ine.cl/canales/chile_estadistico/territorio/division_politico_administrativa/pdf/DPA_COMPLETA.pdf |archive-date=14 November 2010}}</ref> The municipal administration is located in Hanga Roa, led by a [[Alcalde|mayor]] and a six-member municipal council, all directly elected for a four-year mandate.

In August 2018, a law took effect prohibiting non-residents from staying on the island for more than 30 days.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.leychile.cl/Navegar?idNorma=1116414 |title=Law 21,070 |publisher=Chile Library of Congress |language=es |access-date=11 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511145752/https://www.leychile.cl/Navegar?idNorma=1116414 |archive-date=11 May 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Since 1966 rape, sexual abuse and crimes against property in Easter Island had lower sentences than corresponding offences in mainland Chile.<ref>{{Cite news |title=TC allana camino para modificar ley que atenúa penas por violación y abuso sexual en Rapa Nui |url=https://www.cooperativa.cl/noticias/pais/rapa-nui/tc-allana-camino-para-modificar-ley-que-atenua-penas-por-violacion-y/2020-09-03/204314.html |date=3 September 2020 |access-date=4 September 2020 |work=[[Radio Cooperativa]] |archive-date=25 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025222240/https://www.cooperativa.cl/noticias/pais/rapa-nui/tc-allana-camino-para-modificar-ley-que-atenua-penas-por-violacion-y/2020-09-03/204314.html |url-status=live}}</ref> This law was repealed in 2021 by a [[Constitutional Court of Chile|Constitutional Court]] decree.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Verdugo |first=Montserrat |date=1 February 2021 |title=TC publica sentencia en que declara inaplicabilidad de norma que permite sancionar con penas inferiores a ciudadanos de Rapa Nui que comentan un delito en ese lugar, en juicio por presunto delito de violación. |trans-title=The Constitutional Court publishes a ruling in which it declares the inapplicability of a norm that allows citizens of Rapa Nui to be punished with lesser penalties who commit a crime in that place, in a trial for the alleged crime of rape. |url=https://www.diarioconstitucional.cl/2021/02/01/tc-publica-sentencia-en-que-declara-inaplicabilidad-de-norma-que-permite-sancionar-con-penas-inferiores-a-ciudadanos-de-rapa-nui-que-comentan-un-delito-en-ese-lugar-en-juicio-por-presunto-delito-de-v/ |access-date=7 March 2023 |website=Diario Constitucional |language=es |archive-date=7 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307141957/https://www.diarioconstitucional.cl/2021/02/01/tc-publica-sentencia-en-que-declara-inaplicabilidad-de-norma-que-permite-sancionar-con-penas-inferiores-a-ciudadanos-de-rapa-nui-que-comentan-un-delito-en-ese-lugar-en-juicio-por-presunto-delito-de-v/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Notable people==
[[File:Angata, The Prophetess, The Mystery of Easter Island, published 1919.jpg|thumb|140px|[[Angata]], 1919]]
[[File:Mahani Teave (7700623710) (cropped).jpg|thumb|140px|[[Mahani Teave]], 2012]]

===Indigenous figures===
*[[Hotu Matuꞌa]], island founder
*[[Nga'ara]] (died 1859), one of the last '[[ariki]]
*[[Riro Kāinga]] (died 1898 or 1899), last person to hold title of king and rule before Chilean consolidation
*[[Ana Eva Hei]] (c.1849 – c.1949), consort of Atamu Tekena and one of the last women to have traditional facial tattoos
*[[Atamu Tekena]] ({{circa}} 1850–1892), missionary installed King who ceded island to Chile
*[[Angata]] ({{circa}} 1853–1914), native catechist and prophetess who led a 1914 rebellion
*[[Alexander Ariʻipaea Salmon]] (1855–1914), English-Jewish-Tahitian de facto ruler of Easter Island, 1878–1888
*[[Juan Tepano]] (1867–1947), indigenous leader and cultural informant
*[[Jacobo Hey Paoa]], first Rapa Nui male to earn a law degree and become an attorney
*[[Juan Edmunds Rapahango]] (1923–2012), former mayor
*[[Valentino Riroroko Tuki]] (1932–2017) last claimant to the Rapa Nui throne
*[[Carmen Cardinali]] (born 1944) a Rapa Nui Chilean professor, governor of Easter Island, 2010–2014
*[[Melania Hotu]] (born 1959), governor (2006–2010, 2015–2018)
*[[Pedro Edmunds Paoa]] (born 1961), mayor and former governor
*[[Lynn Rapu Tuki]] (born 1969), head-teacher, promotes the arts and traditions of the Rapa Nui People
*[[Marta Hotus Tuki]] (born 1969), governor (2014–2015)
*[[Luz Zasso Paoa]] (born 1972), a Rapa Nui politician, mayor of Easter Island, 2008–2012
*[[Laura Alarcón Rapu]] (born 1977), governor from 2018 to 2022
*[[Tiare Aguilera Hey]] (born 1982), member of the [[Constitutional Convention (Chile)|Chilean Constitutional Convention]]
*[[Mahani Teave]] (born 1983), a Chilean American classical pianist
*[[José Fati Tepano]], first Rapa Nui male to serve as a titular judge upon completing training in Chile

===Foreign settlers and researchers===
*[[Felipe González de Ahedo]] (1714–1802), a Spanish navigator and cartographer; annexed Easter Island in 1770.
*[[Eugène Eyraud]] (1820–1868), missionary
*[[Hippolyte Roussel]] (1824–1898), a French priest and missionary
*[[Jean-Baptiste Dutrou-Bornier]] (1834–1876) a French mariner, removed many of the Rapa Nui people and turned the island into a sheep ranch.
*[[Policarpo Toro]] (1856–1921), a Chilean naval officer, took possession of the island on behalf of Chile.
*[[Katherine Routledge]] (1866–1935), an English archaeologist and anthropologist
*Monsignor [[Rafael Edwards Salas]], (1878–1938), a Chilean priest, professor, and bishop who served as the military vicar of Chile and specially in the island.
*[[Sebastian Englert]] (1888–1969), missionary and ethnologist
*[[Thomas Barthel]] (1923–1997) a German ethnologist and epigrapher
*[[Thor Heyerdahl]] (1914–2002), a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer
*[[William Mulloy]] (1917–1978), an American anthropologist and archaeologist

==Transportation==
Easter Island is served by [[Mataveri International Airport]], with jet service (currently [[Boeing 787]]s) from [[LATAM Chile]] and, seasonally, subsidiaries such as [[LATAM Perú]].

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed">
File:HangaroaAlcaldía.jpg|Hanga Roa town hall
File:TAMURE.png|[[Polynesian culture|Polynesian]] dancing with feather costumes is on the tourist itinerary.
File:EasterIslandsFishingBoats.jpg|Fishing boats
File:Hanga Roa Catholic Church exterior 1.JPG|Front view of the Catholic Church, Hanga Roa
File:Hanga Roa Catholic Church exterior 2.JPG|[[Catholic Church, Hanga Roa]]
File:Hanga Roa Catholic Church interior.JPG|Interior view of the Catholic Church in Hanga Roa
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Div col}}
*''[[Humankind: A Hopeful History]]''
*[[King of Easter Island]]
*[[Lists of islands]]
*[[List of largest monoliths]]
*[[North Sentinel Island]]
*[[Omphalos]]
*[[Podesta (island)|Podesta]]
{{Div col end}}
{{clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |author-link=Jared Diamond |last=Diamond |first=Jared |year=2005 |title=Collapse. How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed |location=New York |publisher=Viking |isbn=978-0-14-303655-5 |title-link=Collapse (book)}}
*{{cite journal |last=Fischer |first=Steven Roger |year=1995 |title=Preliminary Evidence for Cosmogonic Texts in Rapanui's Rongorongo Inscriptions |journal=Journal of the Polynesian Society |issue=104 |pages=303–21 |url=http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_104_1995/Volume_104%2C_No._3/Preliminary_evidence_for_cosmogonic_texts_in_Rapanui%26apos%3Bs_Rongorongo_inscriptions%2C_by_Steven_Roger_Fischer%2C_p_303-322/p1 |access-date=26 August 2022 |archive-date=8 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808172204/https://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_104_1995/Volume_104%2C_No._3/Preliminary_evidence_for_cosmogonic_texts_in_Rapanui%26apos%3Bs_Rongorongo_inscriptions%2C_by_Steven_Roger_Fischer%2C_p_303-322/p1 |url-status=dead}}
*{{cite book |last=Fischer |first=Steven Roger |year=1997 |title=Glyph-breaker: A Decipherer's Story |location=New York |publisher=Copernicus/Springer-Verlag |isbn=978-1-4612-2298-9}}
*{{cite book |last=Fischer |first=Steven Roger |year=1997 |title=RongoRongo, the Easter Island Script: History, Traditions, Texts |location=Oxford and New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-823710-5}}
*{{cite book |author-link=Thor Heyerdahl |last=Heyerdahl |first=Thor |year=1961 |title=The Concept of Rongorongo Among the Historic Population of Easter Island |editor=Thor Heyerdahl |editor2=Edwin N. Ferdon Jr. |location=Stockholm |publisher=Forum}}
*{{cite book |last=Heyerdahl |first=Thor |year=1958 |title=Aku-Aku; The 1958 Expedition to Easter Island. |publisher=Chicago, Rand McNally |url=https://archive.org/details/akuakusecretofea00heye |url-access=registration}}
*{{cite book |last=McLaughlin |first=Shawn |year=2007 |title=The Complete Guide to Easter Island |location=Los Osos |publisher=Easter Island Foundation |isbn=978-1-880636-25-1}}
*{{cite journal |author-link=Alfred Metraux |last=Metraux |first=Alfred |year=1940 |title=Ethnology of Easter Island |journal=Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin |issue=160 |isbn=978-0-527-02268-6}}
*{{cite journal |author-link=Alphonse Pinart |last=Pinart |first=Alphonse |year=1877 |url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k34409r/f228.image.r=Le%20Tour%20du%20monde%20%28Paris%201860%29 |title=Voyage à l'Ile de Pâques (Océan Pacifique) |journal=Le Tour du Monde: Nouveau Journal des Voyages |volume=36 |page=225}}
*{{cite book |author-link=Katherine Routledge |last=Routledge |first=Katherine |year=1919 |title=The Mystery of Easter Island. The story of an expedition |publisher=Hazell, Watson and Viney |location=London |isbn=978-0-404-14231-5}}
*{{cite book |author-link=David Steadman |last=Steadman |first=David |year=2006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vBZXJQ3HDg0C |title=Extinction and Biogeography in Tropical Pacific Birds |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-77142-7}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last=Altman |first=Ann M. |year=2004 |title=Early Visitors to Easter Island 1864–1877 (translations of the accounts of Eugène Eyraud, Hippolyte Roussel, Pierre Loti and Alphonse Pinart; with an Introduction by Georgia Lee) |location=[[Los Osos]] |publisher=Easter Island Foundation}}
*{{cite book |last1=Boersema |first1=Jan J. |title=The Survival of Easter Island: Dwindling Resources and Cultural Resilience |date=13 April 2015 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-316-29845-9 |language=en}}
*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Easter Island |volume= 8 | page = 834}}
*{{cite book |last=Englert |first=Sebastian F. |year=1970 |title=Island at the Center of the World |url=https://archive.org/details/islandatcenterof00seba |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Erickson |first1=Jon D. |author-link=Jon David Erickson |last2=Gowdy |first2=John M. |year=2000 |title=Resource Use, Institutions, and Sustainability: A Tale of Two Pacific Island Cultures |journal=Land Economics |volume=76 |issue=3 |pages=345–54 |doi=10.2307/3147033 |jstor=3147033|bibcode=2000LandE..76..345E}}
*{{cite book |author=Kjellgren, Eric |url=http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/101315/rec/1 |title=Splendid isolation: art of Easter Island |location=New York |publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-58839-011-0}}
*{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/rockartofeasteri0000leeg |last=Lee |first=Georgia |year=1992 |title=The Rock Art of Easter Island. Symbols of Power, Prayers to the Gods |location=Los Angeles |publisher=The Institute of Archaeology Publications |isbn=978-0-917956-74-4}}
*{{cite book |last1=Pendleton |first1=Steve |first2=David |last2=Maddock |year=2014 |title=Collecting Easter Island – Stamps and Postal History |location=London |publisher=Pacific Islands Study Circle |isbn=978-1-899833-22-1 |url=http://www.pisc.org.uk/}}
*{{cite book |last=Shepardson |first=Britton |year=2013 |title=Moai: a New Look at Old Faces |location=Santiago |publisher=Rapa Nui Press |isbn=978-956-9337-00-0}}
*{{cite journal |last=Thomson |first=William J. |year=1891 |title=Te Pito te Henua, or Easter Island. Report of the United States National Museum for the Year Ending June 30, 1889 |journal=Annual Reports of the Smithsonian Institution for 1889 |pages=447–552}}[https://archive.org/details/tepitotehenuaor00thomgoog in Internet Archive]
*{{cite book |last=van Tilburg |first=Jo Anne |year=1994 |title=Easter Island: Archaeology, Ecology and Culture |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press |isbn=978-0-7141-2504-6}}
*{{cite web |author=Vergano, Dan |url=https://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/2009-11-13-easter-island_N.htm |title=Were rats behind Easter Island mystery? |website=USA Today |date=15 November 2009}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|d=Q14452|c=Category:Easter Island|voy=Easter Island|n=no|s=no|m=no|mw=no|v=no|species=no|q=no|b=no}}
*[http://www.terevaka.net/ Terevaka Archaeological Outreach (TAO)] – Non-profit Educational Outreach & Cultural Awareness on Easter Island
*[http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/easter/index.php Easter Island – The Statues and Rock Art of Rapa Nui] – Bradshaw Foundation / Dr Georgia Lee
*[http://www.chileculture.org/easter-island/ Chile Cultural Society – Easter Island]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140630182423/http://archive.cyark.org/rapa-nui-intro Rapa Nui Digital Media Archive] – [[Creative Commons]] – licensed photos, laser scans, panoramas, focused in the area around Rano Raraku and Ahu Te Pito Kura with data from an Autodesk/[[CyArk]] research partnership
*[http://video.pbs.org/video/2299677471 Mystery of Easter Island] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151204033332/http://video.pbs.org/video/2299677471 |date=4 December 2015}} – PBS Nova program
*[http://www.rapanui.org.uk/ Current Archaeology's comprehensive description of island and discussion of dating controversies] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610223823/http://www.rapanui.org.uk/ |date=10 June 2017}}
*[https://archive.org/search.php?query=%22easter%20island%22&and%5b%5d=mediatype%3A%22texts%22 Books and Texts about Easter Island from the Internet Archive]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130308024237/http://www.jeanhervedaude.com/Ile%20de%20Paques%20histoire%20par%20les%20timbres.htm History of Easter Island illustrated by stamps]
*{{Skeptoid | id=4827 | number=827 | date=12 April 2022 | title=What Really Happened on Easter Island| access-date=14 May 2022}}

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