Easter Island exists.Hidden in the blue. And it is, as you suspect, the hiding place of mysteries.
Description:
Everyone knows about the enormous stone heads staring out to sea from the cliffs of Easter Island. But did you know that many of these heads actually have huge bodies below them, revealed only when centuries of dirt and ash were dug away? And that some head wear huge circles of red stone like massive crowns? And that these images somehow "walked" from miles from their volcanic quarries to their pedestals on seaside cliffs?
And everyone has heard of Thor Heyerdahl and his 3,000 mile voyage in the balsa and reed raft from South America to the Polynesian Islands to prove people from the Americas settled those islands. Now Heyerdahl is back to explore the stone carvings and culture found on the far-flung Easter Island, hoping to discover answers that have eluded scientists and anthropologists for centuries.
The results of his historical research and his fascinating personal explorations are vividly shared in his book, Easter Island: The Mystery Solved. And are his findings revolutionary!
After narrating the official history of the island using records from the first European navigators and even Captain James Cook, Heyerdahl painstakingly pieces together the oral history of Easter Island from the locals themselves (the islanders had no written language).
His findings show the island was settled first from the West by sailors from the Americas rather than by Polynesians from the East as was traditionally thought. Statues and stone walls show a strong resemblance to carvings in Peru, but not those found in Polynesia. Plants and ancient pollen traces reveal vegetation on the island common in South America, but again not found in Polynesia. And ocean currents and trade winds running west to east have been shown by Heyerdahl to pull voyagers from Peru right to the shores of Easter Island.
Unfortunately, none of the locals knew the origins of the statues, nor who built the roads and walls, nor who wrote the untranslated rongo rongo script found on wooden tablets. The islanders are very secretive of the few ancient items they have found, hiding small idols and other relics deep in caves throughout the island, rarely showing them to strangers. But Heyerdahl persists, winning the trust of the locals to uncover their secrets and help them understand their own culture.
Heyerdahl scientifically pursues and charts these mysteries then tracks down answers. He discovers (then demonstrates on an actual sEaster Island statue) how the huge images were transported using only ropes (the island is treeless); why some statues have white eyes inserted into their faces and others are sightless; why some images are only heads and others are complete bodies that have been buried over the centuries; and eventually who were the first settlers who built the images and what happened to those cultures that left current populations completely in the dark about their own history.
Easter Island is a thoroughly detailed story cleverly and breathtakingly told of the many mysteries unraveled by Heyerdahl and other scientists. Under Heyerdahl's probing, digging, and experimentation those long-buried secrets are explained to the world in patient, clear writings and a story-telling style of narration.
Originally I thought I would just flip through this book and check out the many pictures of this island and images, but immediately found myself riveted by Heyerdahl's clear storytelling and discoveries that I simply could not put it down. A wonderful book that is very highly recommended.
And everyone has heard of Thor Heyerdahl and his 3,000 mile voyage in the balsa and reed raft from South America to the Polynesian Islands to prove people from the Americas settled those islands. Now Heyerdahl is back to explore the stone carvings and culture found on the far-flung Easter Island, hoping to discover answers that have eluded scientists and anthropologists for centuries.
The results of his historical research and his fascinating personal explorations are vividly shared in his book, Easter Island: The Mystery Solved. And are his findings revolutionary!
After narrating the official history of the island using records from the first European navigators and even Captain James Cook, Heyerdahl painstakingly pieces together the oral history of Easter Island from the locals themselves (the islanders had no written language).
His findings show the island was settled first from the West by sailors from the Americas rather than by Polynesians from the East as was traditionally thought. Statues and stone walls show a strong resemblance to carvings in Peru, but not those found in Polynesia. Plants and ancient pollen traces reveal vegetation on the island common in South America, but again not found in Polynesia. And ocean currents and trade winds running west to east have been shown by Heyerdahl to pull voyagers from Peru right to the shores of Easter Island.
Unfortunately, none of the locals knew the origins of the statues, nor who built the roads and walls, nor who wrote the untranslated rongo rongo script found on wooden tablets. The islanders are very secretive of the few ancient items they have found, hiding small idols and other relics deep in caves throughout the island, rarely showing them to strangers. But Heyerdahl persists, winning the trust of the locals to uncover their secrets and help them understand their own culture.
Heyerdahl scientifically pursues and charts these mysteries then tracks down answers. He discovers (then demonstrates on an actual sEaster Island statue) how the huge images were transported using only ropes (the island is treeless); why some statues have white eyes inserted into their faces and others are sightless; why some images are only heads and others are complete bodies that have been buried over the centuries; and eventually who were the first settlers who built the images and what happened to those cultures that left current populations completely in the dark about their own history.
Easter Island is a thoroughly detailed story cleverly and breathtakingly told of the many mysteries unraveled by Heyerdahl and other scientists. Under Heyerdahl's probing, digging, and experimentation those long-buried secrets are explained to the world in patient, clear writings and a story-telling style of narration.
Originally I thought I would just flip through this book and check out the many pictures of this island and images, but immediately found myself riveted by Heyerdahl's clear storytelling and discoveries that I simply could not put it down. A wonderful book that is very highly recommended.
If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
Heyerdahl, Thor. Kon Tiki
The classic true-life adventure of the author and five men who constructed a balsa and reed raft, then sailed 3,000 miles from Peru to the Polynesian Islands to prove those islands had originally been settled by a culture of skilled boatmen from South America.
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