Was Thor Heyerdal's Kon Tiki voyage an unintentional decoy to discovering the true origins of the distinctive yet silent statues of Easter Island? In December of 1862 eight ships approached a volcanic island located in the far reaches of the Pacific Ocean. This was the year that the fate of the island's beleagured population was sealed; a population that had evolved in cultural isolation to produce works of art that have become one of the wonders of the world.
One of the most frequently-asked questions about rock art is "what does it mean?"
As with most other areas of the world, there is no simple (or single) answer for the motifs on the rocks of Easter Island. Some appear to refer to status, some to clan identification; others were offerings or supplications; and some marked the location of special rites and ceremonies. We have connected a few Easter Island petroglyphs to ancient myths. In other words, in one way or the other, the motifs related to the esoteric and religious aspects of the society.
The purpose of the birdman contest was to obtain the first egg of the season from an offshore islet, Motu Nui. Contestants descended the sheer cliffs of 'Orongo and swam to Motu Nui where they awaited the coming of the birds. The first to procure an egg became the winner. He swam back and presented it to his sponsor, who then was declared birdman for that year, an important status position. At 'Orongo we documented 1,274 petroglyphs, nearly all of them of birdmen.
These birdmen designs from 'Orongo show how the figure developed from an elongated form into the highly stylized "developed" design. Two earlier birdmen, carved in linear form, were superimposed and over-cut by the large birdman created in bas relief.
That the birdmen carvings predated the stone houses erected in prehistoric times is clear from this drawing that shows the figures disappearing beneath the walls of a house (left side). Traces of an earlier birdman can be seen in the body of the central figure.
Rapa Nui Rock Art - Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
