17. Apart from their creation of the Moai statues, the construction of which scarce details are known, very little is understood about the history of the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island
The Rapa Nui are the aboriginal inhabitants of Easter Island, most famed for their historic creations of the celebrated “Moai” statues. However, reflecting the lack of information available concerning the Moai themselves, with even the manner of construction a matter of persistent speculation, our understanding of the Rapa Nui people is highly limited. A Polynesian people and culture, the Rapa Nui are believed to have settled Easter Island at some point between 300 and 1200 CE; radiocarbon dating suggests an arrival date towards the latter end of this broad timescale.
It is unknown from whence the Rapa Nui originally came from, apart from the wide oceanic area of Polynesia, or their purpose in settling the uninhabited Pacific island. According to their own mythology, Easter Island was first settled by an expedition embarking from Hiva – the legendary origin of the Polynesian people prior to expansion across the Pacific – and led by Hotu Matu’a between 300-800 CE in a deliberate migration using canoes. It has also been suggested, particularly by early European sources upon discovery of the island in 1722, that later migration occurred causing a multi-ethnic society; these claims are unverified, but it is entirely possible South American natives arrived at a later date to Easter Island and interbred with the Rapa Nui.
Best known for the creation of the Moai, despite being their defining historical feature only limited information is known even about these constructs. Carved between 1250-1500 CE, these 887 giant stone edifices were transported via unknown means to face inland until between 1722 and 1774 the vast majority were toppled; likely a product of internal conflict between rival tribes, by 1838 only one small group remained standing on the island.
Surviving the arrival of Europeans better than many “New World” natives, the Rapa Nui were almost eradicated as a result of a series of devastating environmental events most likely of their own making. Due to the rapid and near-total deforestation of the island during the period of moai-construction, the island’s eco-system became far less inhabitable and resulted in a dramatic population decline through decreasing crop-yields; today, just 48 different types of plants exist on Easter Island, with at least 22 extinct kinds verified to have once flourished, whilst a similar decline is observable among the remains of birds and other animals.