1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:16,720 Speaker 1: I'm editor Kandi Gibson, joined by staff writer Jane mccarno 4 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:20,079 Speaker 1: pay cannas Jane, I think that if I could go 5 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:22,919 Speaker 1: any place in the world, it would be Easter Island. 6 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:25,760 Speaker 1: Really is a beautiful place. Have you been. I haven't. 7 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: I've just seen pictures, but it looks beautiful. I am 8 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 1: kind of obsessed with that. And I was looking at 9 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: videos of Easter Island the other day and I stumbled 10 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:37,279 Speaker 1: upon this fabulous piece of information, and that is that 11 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:41,080 Speaker 1: Easter Island has its own marathon. And now I love 12 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:44,760 Speaker 1: love running long distances. I love half marathons and full marathons. 13 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:46,519 Speaker 1: And I'm very slow. I won't profess to be the 14 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:48,839 Speaker 1: first of the line or even like the eight hundred, 15 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:52,199 Speaker 1: but I don't think there'd be anything cooler than running 16 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:55,680 Speaker 1: around the moi of Easter Island. And it's not that 17 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:58,160 Speaker 1: big of an island. Actually, I was looking at it. 18 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 1: I mean I saw that it was about sixty four 19 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: square miles and that's about I mean, just to see 20 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:06,959 Speaker 1: the point of reference, Like it's about the same size 21 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:10,560 Speaker 1: as Washington, d C. It is itty bitty. Furthermore, it 22 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: is in the middle of nowhere. I think it's closest 23 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:17,319 Speaker 1: land neighbor. I guess a big land neighbor. I think 24 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:20,320 Speaker 1: there are other islands smattered around. Nearby, but not too 25 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 1: close by would be Chile, and that is about two 26 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 1: thousand miles away. That's right. If you look at a globe, 27 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: it looks like just a tiny little stock on the globe, 28 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 1: and it's fascinating that people were able to find it 29 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:35,680 Speaker 1: as early as they did. Yeah, considering that these are 30 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 1: the Polynesians who lived probably in South America, we're not 31 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:42,080 Speaker 1: quite sure where they came from, and we're not quite 32 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:45,040 Speaker 1: sure why they left, whether there was some sort of 33 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:48,360 Speaker 1: dispute the Rows, or whether some got ambitious and wanted 34 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:52,000 Speaker 1: to start their own colony elsewhere. But because the Polynesians 35 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:54,920 Speaker 1: are such great sailors and navigators, they were able to 36 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:57,600 Speaker 1: make it to this island. We know that they sailed 37 00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: and wooden boats that were probably lasted together with reds 38 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:03,880 Speaker 1: wrapped really tightly like ropes, and they were probably a 39 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:06,360 Speaker 1: drift in the ocean for about two weeks before they 40 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:09,720 Speaker 1: hit land. Easter Island, and that was around four hundred 41 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:14,079 Speaker 1: a d. And so you can understand how archaeological evidence 42 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:17,840 Speaker 1: can't really indicate like what exactly motivated these people because 43 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:21,480 Speaker 1: they ended up being isolated on this island for so long. Furthermore, 44 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:25,240 Speaker 1: speaking of isolation, we're not sure how many went the 45 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:28,760 Speaker 1: first time, and when they arrived at Easter Island, We're 46 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 1: not sure if they settled there because they had picked 47 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:33,000 Speaker 1: it and they knew it existed and that was their 48 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:35,919 Speaker 1: final destination, or if they were so desperate they picked 49 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: any land that they could have seen. And you've regardless, 50 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 1: they actually came very prepared for for being ready to 51 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:44,560 Speaker 1: survive wherever they landed. Yeah, they had a type of 52 00:02:44,639 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 1: leafy green with them to grow. They had sweet potatoes, 53 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:49,919 Speaker 1: and my fan as I now, who doesn't love a 54 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 1: sweet potato gosh um. I think they also had a 55 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:57,200 Speaker 1: couple of chickens. And again when they pulled up to 56 00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: Easter Island, I just I can't imagine how they must 57 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:04,519 Speaker 1: have felt because parts of Easter Island were just gorgeous, 58 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:07,799 Speaker 1: a very verdant paradise. I think that today archaeologists suspect 59 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:10,640 Speaker 1: that there may have been at one time sixteen million 60 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: palm trees, just you know, an Eden in the middle 61 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 1: of the ocean. But the part that they docked at 62 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 1: was a less welcoming landscape. And that's the thing about 63 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:22,080 Speaker 1: Easter Island. As tiny as it is, this little triangle 64 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 1: shaped island has very diverse landscapes that has white sandy beaches, 65 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: and then it has these very jagged and forbidden cliffs, 66 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:31,240 Speaker 1: and it has a volcano and volcanoes and palm trees. 67 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 1: So who is what they thought. But they set to 68 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,720 Speaker 1: task and they did pretty well. They cultivated the land, 69 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 1: and they increased their population and they became a very 70 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:44,840 Speaker 1: sophisticated society. Yeah, you can see how it was probably 71 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 1: pretty hard at first, especially because they brought most of 72 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 1: their sustenance with them, as we said, and what was 73 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:51,680 Speaker 1: actually on the island itself before they came there was 74 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:54,200 Speaker 1: not much. There were there were lizards, maybe an insects 75 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:57,240 Speaker 1: um but that. But they actually had to start from 76 00:03:57,280 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: the ground up mostly exactly. They were able to hide 77 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: dolphins and other types of fish in the waters. But 78 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 1: it's important to note that Eastern Island is not just 79 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:07,920 Speaker 1: remote as far as people go and animals. Like you 80 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 1: were saying, there aren't very many nutrients in the water, 81 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: or there weren't at that time, and so not much 82 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: could be sustained. So there were birds that would pass over. 83 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: And some people think that's how it got to be 84 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:20,920 Speaker 1: such a verdant little paradise, is that the birds would 85 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 1: bring seeds that they deposited. And for this is actually 86 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: a point of contention about like how things got there 87 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:30,040 Speaker 1: and and um, etcetera, because some historians claim, like, we're 88 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:31,840 Speaker 1: trying to figure out where the original people came from, 89 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:35,040 Speaker 1: and some historians claim, oh, these people came from Chile, obviously, 90 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:39,800 Speaker 1: like that's the closest land. Um. But when explorers eventually 91 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 1: stumbled upon the island, a European explorers, uh, a Polynesian 92 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 1: on the ship was actually able to converse with the 93 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:49,200 Speaker 1: people there, and so that's so they were obviously speaking 94 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:51,800 Speaker 1: of variation on Polynesian. So they think the people came 95 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 1: from Polynesia. And so we could tell y'all about Easter 96 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:57,480 Speaker 1: Island all day, and if you don't know much about it, 97 00:04:57,560 --> 00:04:59,720 Speaker 1: you may be saying, Okay, sure, so it's a tiny 98 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:02,479 Speaker 1: little island, things are green, people came from nowhere. Great. 99 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:08,320 Speaker 1: But the really important thing about Easter Island is the Moai, 100 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:13,719 Speaker 1: and ultimately the Moai brought about the height of the 101 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:17,760 Speaker 1: civilization and then they're very very darkest hour and the 102 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:20,240 Speaker 1: history of Easter Island. Not just how they got there, 103 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:22,279 Speaker 1: because that part is interesting in and of itself, but 104 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,480 Speaker 1: it gets so haunting and it really gives me to 105 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 1: chills every time I think about it. These people had 106 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:32,880 Speaker 1: a very specific religion and culture, and um their spirituality 107 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:37,080 Speaker 1: was manifested through art, you know, storytelling and string figures 108 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 1: and sculpture. And so they got to Easter Island. The 109 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: volcanoes and the quarries had all of this ash that 110 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:47,440 Speaker 1: was perfect for making sculpture, and so they made these 111 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:51,600 Speaker 1: giant heads and they're very stylized looking. If you've never 112 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:53,680 Speaker 1: seen a picture of them, I would encourage you to 113 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:56,480 Speaker 1: look at the Easter Island Moi and what people usually 114 00:05:56,520 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: asso associate with Easter Island is these huge hits, huge 115 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:02,400 Speaker 1: And what I found interesting is that there actually found 116 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:05,360 Speaker 1: other places, like other other cultures did have something like this, 117 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:08,760 Speaker 1: but it was the Easter Islanders who actually like they 118 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: had the most sophisticated and the biggest and the most 119 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:14,000 Speaker 1: incredible ones. Well, and you have to wonder too, I 120 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:16,839 Speaker 1: think they might have gotten bored, and there was a 121 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:19,760 Speaker 1: sense of competitiveness among them because they would build these 122 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:21,840 Speaker 1: giant giant heads. And just to give you guys an 123 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:25,560 Speaker 1: idea average average wise, they could weigh up to eighty 124 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,280 Speaker 1: two tons instead up to thirty two ft high. They 125 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:30,840 Speaker 1: were huge. They were just giant heads. They didn't have nacks, 126 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:33,159 Speaker 1: but they had these really long earlobes, and they were 127 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 1: very stylized, and their features with their long noses and 128 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:39,599 Speaker 1: their eyes were sometimes ornament with coral or obsidian. But 129 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: they look very phallic, and perhaps archaeologists say that's because 130 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:48,800 Speaker 1: the population was always struggling to reproduce and they were 131 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:52,200 Speaker 1: fertility guys. I believe they were. They were so they 132 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:56,800 Speaker 1: could be phallic in homage to fertility GUIDs and um. 133 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,480 Speaker 1: Speaking of which, because the population was the challenge they 134 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:01,600 Speaker 1: had to end read and so even to this day 135 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:03,800 Speaker 1: you'll find some Easter Islanders who have six toes on 136 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:06,400 Speaker 1: each foot. It's very interesting, and I guess it also 137 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:08,440 Speaker 1: probably stems from the fact that they had a class 138 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 1: system even within this tiny island. Um their population had 139 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 1: a class of like an upper class and a working 140 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:17,040 Speaker 1: class sort of thing. And I imagine that contributed to 141 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 1: separating how people bread. I think so, and when it 142 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 1: came to the Moi, this was such a manifestation of 143 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:27,240 Speaker 1: honor and spirituality. I think everyone was a participant, no 144 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:29,120 Speaker 1: matter the class. I don't know that far a fact, 145 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:31,720 Speaker 1: but I would assume that people would come together and 146 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:34,680 Speaker 1: there was a very specific process with creating the moi. 147 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:36,760 Speaker 1: The artist would start in the quarry and start, you know, 148 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,480 Speaker 1: putting the rock together and carving it down and chiseling it, 149 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:42,400 Speaker 1: and essentially it would be sort of on like a 150 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:45,320 Speaker 1: little block when Tommy finished carving it, and they would 151 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 1: create these deep rivets alongside the block. So finally there 152 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 1: was just like a tiny little sliver of stone that 153 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:55,280 Speaker 1: connected the head to the quarry, and this was the keel. 154 00:07:55,280 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 1: And once they could sever the keel, they would lay 155 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 1: the head on a series of logs, we'd imagine, and 156 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:06,200 Speaker 1: archaeologists are in dispute about how they transported these heavy, 157 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: heavy monoliths, and it's sort of like the stone Hinge 158 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:13,160 Speaker 1: of Eastern Island, because people are historians are boggled by 159 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:15,960 Speaker 1: the fact how could these people have the technology in 160 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 1: the in the in the ingenuity, I guess to move 161 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:22,440 Speaker 1: these humongous structures, and that's like a huge feat it is. 162 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:26,080 Speaker 1: And so people either imagine that about seventy men got 163 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:30,280 Speaker 1: together and pulled them with ropes fashioned from parts of trees, 164 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:32,600 Speaker 1: or else they laid them on a series of logs 165 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: in which two layers of logs be perpendicular to each other. 166 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:37,400 Speaker 1: They'd grease them with palm oil and they'd roll them 167 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:40,000 Speaker 1: on a platform. And I imagine this was such a 168 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:42,360 Speaker 1: painsticking process. I think that it could take up to 169 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:46,199 Speaker 1: two weeks to move the moi. Important to them exactly, 170 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:48,520 Speaker 1: It's very important to them because they put such labor 171 00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:51,679 Speaker 1: into it, and their final resting spot were on ahu 172 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:55,520 Speaker 1: or platforms, and the moi faced inland towards the island. 173 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:58,320 Speaker 1: It was obviously meant to watch over the residents and 174 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:01,280 Speaker 1: to protect them. So they with these around the perimeter, right, 175 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:03,360 Speaker 1: it's like, and so all of these all around the perimeter, 176 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:06,040 Speaker 1: we're looking inward. Yeah, and it's really interesting. We think 177 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:08,480 Speaker 1: over the course of five years, about nine hundred of 178 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:12,200 Speaker 1: them were carved, and you can see where the artists 179 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:14,440 Speaker 1: got competitive because there were so many that were left 180 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:18,160 Speaker 1: unfinished in the quarry and archaeologists found them later. On um. 181 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:21,840 Speaker 1: Ones that had a flaw maybe are ones that were broken, 182 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:24,720 Speaker 1: you know, whether in transit or whether in construction, they 183 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:28,360 Speaker 1: were just abandoned completely. And they were perfectionists. They were 184 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:30,720 Speaker 1: a perfectionist. This is, you know, how they were expressing 185 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:33,040 Speaker 1: their division to the gods. And they got bigger over 186 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:35,880 Speaker 1: time too. They started out more modest, and then there 187 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:38,800 Speaker 1: was one that they call El Gigante, and it's so big. 188 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:40,760 Speaker 1: Of course it's in the quarry. No one could possibly 189 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:44,719 Speaker 1: have moved it. But here in lies the problem with 190 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:47,280 Speaker 1: what they were doing. Uh yeah, So if we go 191 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:50,720 Speaker 1: back to how they transported them, they obviously candid suggested 192 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:53,560 Speaker 1: that they were using logs and and it must have 193 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:56,080 Speaker 1: taken a lot and obviously they made a lot of 194 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 1: these moi. So they ended up cutting down a whole 195 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:01,920 Speaker 1: lot of trees and ended up being their huge flaw. 196 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:06,040 Speaker 1: They're they're huge mistake. You're right, because over time they 197 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:08,439 Speaker 1: had such an abundance of resources. I think that they 198 00:10:08,559 --> 00:10:11,960 Speaker 1: used it throwing cautins to the wind and Credaly, we 199 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,480 Speaker 1: sort of think of trees as the most renewable resource 200 00:10:14,559 --> 00:10:18,120 Speaker 1: there is, but of course, like on that isolated island, 201 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:22,160 Speaker 1: they must have just used. No, you're right. When you're 202 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:25,280 Speaker 1: living in isolation like that, when you use up your resources, 203 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:27,600 Speaker 1: no matter how renewable it is, if you're not getting 204 00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:30,480 Speaker 1: any more seeds to plant and you're cultivating the landscape, 205 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:33,480 Speaker 1: it's over. And that's what happened, because not only did 206 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:36,760 Speaker 1: they cut down all the trees, but they essentially caused 207 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:39,120 Speaker 1: all the top soil on the island to wash away 208 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:41,679 Speaker 1: because the roots were in there to hold it down. Furthermore, 209 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:43,880 Speaker 1: they were using the trees to make boats to go 210 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:47,360 Speaker 1: out and fish for dolphins and purposes. This is especially 211 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:49,600 Speaker 1: said to me. It's just that they couldn't make boats anymore. 212 00:10:49,679 --> 00:10:51,719 Speaker 1: You know, they couldn't fish because they couldn't make both 213 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:54,559 Speaker 1: because they didn't have trees. And what's worse than that, 214 00:10:54,679 --> 00:10:56,480 Speaker 1: not only did they not fished on only at they 215 00:10:56,480 --> 00:10:58,960 Speaker 1: not grow crops. After they realized that they had destroyed 216 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 1: their island and all the treas were gone, they didn't 217 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:04,800 Speaker 1: have anything left to make pots with to flee the ivan. 218 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:08,280 Speaker 1: They were prisoners of their own making, and that's when 219 00:11:08,280 --> 00:11:13,000 Speaker 1: things got really dark and really dangerous. Beau started starving. 220 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:17,400 Speaker 1: Some scholars posit that maybe some may have resorted to cannibalism. Yeah, 221 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:19,920 Speaker 1: that's true. And this is a point of contention because 222 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:25,319 Speaker 1: some some historians, notably UM Jared diamond says that these 223 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:29,280 Speaker 1: Um Islanders resorted to cannibalism after like other food sources 224 00:11:29,679 --> 00:11:35,000 Speaker 1: dwindled UM and he points to how cannibalism is the 225 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:37,600 Speaker 1: their oral tradition. The islanders oral tradition is rife with 226 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:39,960 Speaker 1: with cannibalism and talk of it. And there's a little 227 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:44,719 Speaker 1: bit of archaeologic archaeological evidence that um human bones were 228 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:48,800 Speaker 1: found in these pits of of garbage that where these 229 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:50,720 Speaker 1: are the pits where they threw their their food trash 230 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:55,520 Speaker 1: and so um people like Jared Diamonds used this to 231 00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:57,960 Speaker 1: to say, oh, well they must have resorted to cannibalism. 232 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:00,520 Speaker 1: Other historians are like, oh no, there's not an evidence 233 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:02,640 Speaker 1: to say then we shouldn't say that unless it's unless 234 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:04,800 Speaker 1: were sure, and they say that maybe you know, after 235 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:07,839 Speaker 1: people naturally died, they there were rituals that people did 236 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:10,080 Speaker 1: with people, don'tes we know what that happened too, So 237 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:13,040 Speaker 1: it's a point of contention. So however you interpret these 238 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:15,440 Speaker 1: relics of bones, you can look at the things that 239 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:18,600 Speaker 1: are alongside them that the date to around the same time, 240 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:21,400 Speaker 1: and you see that this is the first time and 241 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:25,240 Speaker 1: Eastern Island that they've manufactured weapons like spears and arrows 242 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:29,320 Speaker 1: and things like this. Between the tribes were yeah, and 243 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:31,280 Speaker 1: we know that when they came there were very very 244 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:33,959 Speaker 1: few of them. Around eleven fifty day, the population was 245 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:37,560 Speaker 1: somewhere from seven thousand to nine thousand, sixteen hundreds. That 246 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:40,120 Speaker 1: was the height of the civilization. It was around ten 247 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:43,959 Speaker 1: thousand population done. But then when things started declining and 248 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:47,120 Speaker 1: the population started dwindling, we say that people broke off 249 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:50,600 Speaker 1: into different clans and essentially they were all fighting for 250 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 1: the very tiny parcels of arable land that were left. 251 00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:57,800 Speaker 1: And it was very, very difficult to stake a claim 252 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:00,240 Speaker 1: to this because I think that the Easter Islanders they 253 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:03,839 Speaker 1: were respectful of their gods and they're respectful of women 254 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:06,520 Speaker 1: and children. Even the scholars who point the fact that 255 00:13:06,559 --> 00:13:09,880 Speaker 1: they may have resorted to cannibalism point out that women 256 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:13,040 Speaker 1: and children never watched this happen, which I don't know 257 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:15,280 Speaker 1: if that means that men were the only ones who 258 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:18,000 Speaker 1: resorted to cannibalism if they ate it in private away 259 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:20,560 Speaker 1: from women and children, but I think that they you know, 260 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:23,679 Speaker 1: they were still trying to hold their civilization together, but 261 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:27,400 Speaker 1: it got harder and harder, and finally there was this 262 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:30,559 Speaker 1: cult that rose out of all the distress, and it 263 00:13:30,679 --> 00:13:33,680 Speaker 1: was called the Birdman cult. And the premise was pretty simple. 264 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:36,920 Speaker 1: Be the first person to grab the egg from a 265 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:39,400 Speaker 1: city turned nest and you're gonna be the leader for 266 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:42,000 Speaker 1: twelve moons. And that may sound like a pretty simple feet, 267 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:46,160 Speaker 1: but the city turns nests are in the highest cliffs 268 00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:48,560 Speaker 1: on the islands. It would involve like a swim and 269 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:51,400 Speaker 1: the rock climb and then a massive track back to 270 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:53,760 Speaker 1: be the first person to have this egg. And if 271 00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:56,440 Speaker 1: you lost this contest, it was all bets off because 272 00:13:56,440 --> 00:14:00,920 Speaker 1: the losers were typically expected to stab themselves with spears. 273 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:05,959 Speaker 1: So the Barman cult dies sound pretty drastic, but through 274 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:09,400 Speaker 1: this there actually wise every birth and arable land and 275 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:11,600 Speaker 1: cultivation of crops. I think the sweet potater reared its 276 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:14,640 Speaker 1: head again, so I think goodness for tuvers. Yeah, and 277 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:16,720 Speaker 1: they were struggling. They were they were still struggling to 278 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:19,960 Speaker 1: to um an extent, and this is when you know 279 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:23,440 Speaker 1: Europeans actually started stumbling upon these people and they finally 280 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:26,600 Speaker 1: had sort of contact and access to the outside world. 281 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:30,080 Speaker 1: But this ended up causing a lot of harm as 282 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:36,360 Speaker 1: well as good, um because like obviously Europeans come uh 283 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:40,160 Speaker 1: with their own diseases like that they have become immune to, 284 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:44,720 Speaker 1: and so they exposed these diseases to the islanders at 285 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:47,240 Speaker 1: the time, and so that hurt their population even more. 286 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:51,520 Speaker 1: And I think that when the nineteenth century came around, 287 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:54,640 Speaker 1: the population had dwindled to unlate gosh, just a little 288 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:57,480 Speaker 1: over a hundred maybe a hundred ten Easter Islanders. And 289 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:01,560 Speaker 1: not only did the Westerners bring their diseases, they also 290 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:05,240 Speaker 1: brought their religion and their ideas. And one of the 291 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:07,600 Speaker 1: reasons it's called Easter Island is because when it was 292 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:10,520 Speaker 1: first discovered I guess, discovered by Europeans was that it 293 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:14,600 Speaker 1: was Easter Sunday. And it's interesting and throughout the the 294 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:18,360 Speaker 1: I guess the nineteenth century, eventually Christian missionaries did come 295 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:22,200 Speaker 1: over and start and start converting the islanders um to uh, 296 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:24,840 Speaker 1: most of them, I guess, And they ended up sacrificing 297 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:27,080 Speaker 1: a lot of their culture, which is of course necessary 298 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:30,560 Speaker 1: when you sacrifice um your religion. Right when the Christian 299 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:33,320 Speaker 1: missionaries came the exchange for giving up their religion and 300 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:36,600 Speaker 1: their culture, like their storytelling and their their tattoos and 301 00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:40,640 Speaker 1: there's everything. Else was that they learned how to use 302 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:43,000 Speaker 1: their land to be a ranch essentially, so they had 303 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:45,120 Speaker 1: livestock and they were able to say, okay, so we 304 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:47,840 Speaker 1: have this very treeless land. Now that's not good for much, 305 00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:50,640 Speaker 1: but it is good for using as a ranch. And 306 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:53,720 Speaker 1: at this time the Easter Islanders, I think for the 307 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:57,240 Speaker 1: most part, they were very wearied with their culture, and 308 00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:00,680 Speaker 1: when things had gotten really dark, they turned to the 309 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:03,640 Speaker 1: moi and what and rather they blamed them, blame the 310 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:07,840 Speaker 1: gods for what had befallen them, or whether they realized 311 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:11,680 Speaker 1: that it was their own, you know, very overenthusiastic production 312 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:14,400 Speaker 1: of the sculptures that brought them down. They started knocking 313 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:16,800 Speaker 1: them down, and you know, like you said, like, we're 314 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:19,520 Speaker 1: not really sure why it happened. I remember reading One 315 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:23,760 Speaker 1: theory was that, like when when the population split into 316 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:27,040 Speaker 1: different clans, one clan would destroy those those statues because 317 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:28,720 Speaker 1: they believe those are the source of their power, the 318 00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 1: opposite clans power. And so there's all kinds of theories 319 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:36,600 Speaker 1: about this, but um regardless, it is interesting that they 320 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:38,840 Speaker 1: made such amazing feats and yet they ended up tearing 321 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:40,680 Speaker 1: it down. They did, and you can you can see 322 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:43,480 Speaker 1: where they galuged out the eyes, then a city and eyes, 323 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:46,920 Speaker 1: and they would arrange really sharp stones underwear. The head 324 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:48,960 Speaker 1: would fall so and then when they knocked it from 325 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:50,920 Speaker 1: the yahoo, the head with sever So they were in 326 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:56,160 Speaker 1: essence decapitating these gods. And it wasn't until archaeologists came 327 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:59,080 Speaker 1: back and tried to restructure them that they were able 328 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:01,640 Speaker 1: to rehoist the moai. And I think that today the 329 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:04,400 Speaker 1: Easter Islanders very much accept that as part of their culture. 330 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:09,280 Speaker 1: But another thing that they lost forever was their language, 331 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:13,600 Speaker 1: which was Wrongo wrongo, and it actually came about from 332 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:15,720 Speaker 1: a very dirty trick that the Spanish pulled back in 333 00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:19,680 Speaker 1: seventy two. They came over and essentially they tricked the 334 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:23,560 Speaker 1: tribal leader into signing a treaty that turned Easter Island 335 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:27,200 Speaker 1: over to Spanish control. So while that in itself was 336 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:31,080 Speaker 1: not diplomatic to any extent, it inspired the Easter Islanders 337 00:17:31,119 --> 00:17:32,960 Speaker 1: to create their own system of writing. And so there 338 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:35,600 Speaker 1: are still tablets today with Wrongo wrongo that exists, and 339 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:38,439 Speaker 1: I think Easter Islanders continue to carve these little symbols 340 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:41,440 Speaker 1: that no one knows what it means, because again, part 341 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:44,520 Speaker 1: of giving up the culture to Christian missionaries was getting 342 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:48,320 Speaker 1: you know, ranches established and getting their crops re established 343 00:17:48,359 --> 00:17:52,640 Speaker 1: and essentially surviving. So they made that choice. That's interesting 344 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:55,560 Speaker 1: that both the introduction of writing sort of hurt and 345 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:59,200 Speaker 1: helped them sort of in a way like, uh, it's 346 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:01,320 Speaker 1: certainly in a trick to be like, hey, this is 347 00:18:01,359 --> 00:18:04,280 Speaker 1: what writing is. Write anything on this line and you're 348 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:06,960 Speaker 1: sacrificing your island and knowingly sort of thing. But it 349 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 1: also brought about to fall up the Birdman cult too, 350 00:18:09,359 --> 00:18:12,680 Speaker 1: because the tribal leader was able to reassert his power 351 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:16,200 Speaker 1: through writing. So it's just such an interesting history and 352 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:18,359 Speaker 1: the Easter Islanders are very very proud of their history. 353 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:21,160 Speaker 1: I think that today there are maybe around two thousand 354 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:24,200 Speaker 1: people on the island. Yeah, their population is really rebounded. 355 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:27,280 Speaker 1: Thankfully they have and they have i think joint citizenship 356 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:29,639 Speaker 1: with Chile, so they can go back and forth. And 357 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:31,800 Speaker 1: if you want to go to Easter Island, I think 358 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:33,320 Speaker 1: that you have to fly to Chile first, and then 359 00:18:33,359 --> 00:18:35,399 Speaker 1: there are flights certain days of the week that go 360 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:37,560 Speaker 1: out to Easter Island. And that's what I mean. It's 361 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:40,360 Speaker 1: awesome that Easter Island has has an um an airport 362 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:43,000 Speaker 1: now and so people can come and they like argaelogist 363 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:45,400 Speaker 1: can study and tourists can can find out the rich 364 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:48,680 Speaker 1: culture and it's pretty interesting. And yeah, they had Chili 365 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:50,840 Speaker 1: actually has control over it because they annexed it in 366 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:53,320 Speaker 1: eighty eight. We should probably mention that. But um, but 367 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:56,040 Speaker 1: the culture of Easter Island is still alive. The people 368 00:18:56,080 --> 00:18:59,520 Speaker 1: are incredibly friendly, and I think that people have written 369 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:02,120 Speaker 1: that as I've traveled to Easter Island. If hotel rooms 370 00:19:02,119 --> 00:19:04,960 Speaker 1: are booked, you can stay with any Easter Island family 371 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:07,880 Speaker 1: in their house and they'll happily welcome you. So it's 372 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:09,560 Speaker 1: just it seems like such a great place to visit. 373 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:12,280 Speaker 1: I can't wait to go. Mark my words. If I'm 374 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:15,119 Speaker 1: not there or someone comes, shake me please. So if 375 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:17,240 Speaker 1: you want to learn even more about Easter Island and 376 00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:20,440 Speaker 1: other ancient civilizations, be sure to check out how stuff 377 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:24,760 Speaker 1: works dot com for more on this and thousands of 378 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:28,199 Speaker 1: other topics. Does it how stuff works dot com? Let 379 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:30,959 Speaker 1: us know what you think. Send an email to podcast 380 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:32,560 Speaker 1: at how stuff works dot com.