In contemporary times, a well-known theory about Easter Island suggested that Indians hailing from the coastal regions of South America were the first to populate the secluded island. Following a careful study from renowned archaeologists and linguists though, the theory was eventually discredited by the rest of the academic world.
These days, the widely recognized notion is that the original people that discovered Easter Island came from Polynesian ancestry. It’s highly possible that the Islanders came from the Marquesas or the Society Islands which is an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Historians believe that they arrived in Rapa Nui as early as 318 AD.
Distant Location
As you would have imagined, Easter Island is among the most isolated places in the entire world. The next closest island that is populated, Pitcairn, is located about 1,200 miles west of Easter Island. The nearest major land mass is Chile, which lies 2,300 miles far in the east. Obviously, you’d have to cover thousands of miles of the sea just to get to the remote Easter Island in the Pacific.
With that being said, the same question still stands: is Easter Island worth such a demanding voyage? Well, the answer will be determined by your level of desire to step foot on the famed island and witness the iconic Moai, up close and personal. Besides that, you will also find an abundance of amazing natural beauty and a rich history everywhere on the island.
Where Did the Name Come From?
The land of the Moai came to be known as Easter Island after it was discovered by Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen during an expedition to find “Davis Land”. Roggeveen was the first-ever European to reach the remote volcanic island in the Pacific and called it Paasch-Eyland which meant "Easter Island" in 18th century Dutch. And as it appeared, it was during an Easter Sunday (April 5, 1722), when the Dutch explorer found the island.
Formally a territory of Chile, the official name of the island is “Isla de Pascua”, which is in Spanish, but at the same time would translate to “Easter Island” in English. It also goes by the name of Rapa Nui, due to its similarity to the Rapa Island of the Bass Islands.
"The Center of the World”
Before the Dutch explorer, Jacob Roggeveen discovered the isolated island in the Pacific and gave it the name that the rest of the world would come to know today, Easter Island had numerous other names way back. The oldest name on record is Te Pito o Te Henua, which directly translates to “The Center of the World” in English.
Besides that, settlers of the island also called it Mata-Ki-Te-Rani, which in English means “Eyes Looking at Heaven.” In the end, sailors from Tahiti named the volcanic island Rapa Nui during the 1860s and the rest, as they say, was history.
There Was More Under the Surface
The most recent discovery surrounding the Moai was that the stone heads actually had bodies that were buried deep into the earth. Oftentimes, only their massive heads popped out from the ground which is why nobody would have imagined prior to the discovery that they, in fact, have bodies complete with arms and legs. The discovery also led many to believe that there might be plenty more secrets hidden beneath the ground waiting to be uncovered.
And as it happened, the Moai still had plenty of secrets to share and they were later revealed following a major excavation project led by top archaeologists who discovered that their bodies also featured highly detailed tattoos. If there is one thing that we can learn from this discovery that is there is truth to the saying: “there is more to something than meets the eye.”