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.
The most spectacular petroglyph boulder is in the depths of the crater of Rano Kau (pictured above). This huge boulder has designs that curve and swirl around the 5 meter surface of the rock. Here we see sea forms one with a human face. Some parts of the design are in bas relief, others are in intaglio (designs cut lower than the surface of the rock). This is the finest example of rock carving in Oceania.
Marine creatures were popular elements in Easter Island's rock art. We find turtles, tuna, swordfish, shark, whale, dolphin, crab, and octopus designs. Some fish forms are combined with human faces. Several of these can be connected to legends of half-fish, half-human creatures, and these legends are still remembered on the island.
Another popular motif is of a canoe shape. This motif can be seen in one particular area of the island, and probably related to status concerns for it was a ruling chief who had control over such things as great sea-going watercraft.
The komari (vulva) motif is the most prevalent single design on the island, with 564 recorded. The original count was certainly higher, for early visitors carried away from the island many small rocks with these designs. Today some can be seen in various museum collections.
The ancient Easter Islanders carved designs on nearly everything, including some statues and on topknots (hat-like cylinders placed on top of the statue heads). Whether this was a way to reuse of the sacred, or to extract "mana" (power) from the sacred shrines and statues is unknown.
Rapa Nui Rock Art - Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
