saving the saving

by Chris Hardman

he giant stone heads on the island of Rapa Nui (), , have captured the imagination of Tcountless explorers, dreamers, and scientists. Hundreds of monoliths Scientists are working to of solid volcanic rock provide indestruc- tible evidence of man’s mastery over his environment. They hint at great feats of reconstruct and restore the engineering and the ingenuity of men. Up close, the statues show their vulnerabili- ty. Their sharp features have eroded, massive monoliths of Easter Island in effort to growths invade their surface, and many lie in piles of rubble. A combination of natural and human preserve these world forces threatens the statues, which are called in the native Rapa Nui lan- guage. To combat these forces and save the moai, teams of native and interna- tional scientists are working on recon- struction and restoration projects.

AMÉRICAS 7 At 400 to 1,000 years-old the moai are attraction to the heads. Archaeologists One of the first scientists to realize the young compared to other archaeological estimate that between 1100–1500 AD While nature has been hard on the moai, archaeological and cultural significance monuments in the Americas, but the very islanders meticulously carved approxi- of the site was University of properties of the stone that make them mately 900 statues and their accompany- Professor , who tirelessly ideal for carving also make them suscep- ing stone platforms from the island’s soft man has been even harder. campaigned UNESCO for support to tible to rapid deterioration. Nearly all of volcanic rock. Most likely the carvers study the island’s monuments. During his the statues were carved in the Rano belonged to family groups who were com- The human toll on the statues has been immeasurable first official mission to the island in 1966, Raraku quarry located on the northeast peting with each other to produce larger Mulloy and Gonzalo Figueroa led a team corner of the island. Many of the statues and larger moai. The biggest statue, of experts who developed a plan for never made it out of the quarry and named El gigante, weighs between 145 The relationship between man and Locals warn that the island is not studying, conserving, and restoring Rapa moai is complex, and similar to the prepared to support the number of Nui’s cultural treasures. What followed admirers of the past, modern-day man’s tourists that arrive each year. According was a series of projects with international fascination with the statues has produced to Easter Island officials, tourism doubled support that restored moai and their plat- both positive and negative results. As the from 22,000 visitors in 2003 to more than forms and eventually the village. island’s only industry, tourism provides a 50,000 in 2007. Not only does increased In 1986, Chile’s National Center for way to make a living for the most remote tourist traffic stress the monuments, the Conservation and Restoration worked with civilization on Earth. Unfortunately the masses of visitors strain the island’s UNESCO to investigate possible treatment occasional unscrupulous visitor has resources. Locals struggle to deal with plans to prevent or slow the deterioration encouraged islanders to sell broken parts piles of trash and to meet the increased of the statues. They chose a moai at Hanga of the statues for souvenirs. Further demand for food and water. Kio’e that had been re-erected but was damage comes from foreigners and locals Although Easter Island has been an highly deteriorated. After spending several alike who defile the moai with graffiti or official historic and national months drying out under a protective tent, accidently step on fallen rocks or buried park since 1935, it took until 1966 for the the moai was cleaned of all growths and petroglyphs. In spite of admonishments government of Chile to actually send a dirt. The restoration experts applied a con- from local tour guides, some visitors small staff to the island. The Rapa Nui solidation treatment to harden the stone touch the statues or climb on their plat- National Park takes up nearly half of the and prevent erosion and a hydrophobiza- forms. In the early 90s, the World island and includes nearly all of the moai tion treatment to prevent water from seep- Monuments Fund, reported a 20 percent sites. In 1995, UNESCO named Easter ing into the stone. Although these treat- increase in graffiti in a two-year period. Island to its world heritage list of the ments have worked so far, they do not pro- world’s greatest monuments. vide permanent protection of the moai and

Above, left to right: The Easter Island Statue Project remain there today in varying stages of and 165 tons and would be nearly 72 feet early-phase excavation of statue RR-001-156; A field completion. The red stone used for high if it were standing. But for reasons crew screens deposits for artifacts after excavation in headpieces found on some of the moai unknown, El gigante was never raised the quarry; University student Rafael came from solidified froth of lava. and remains in the Rano Raraku quarry. Paoa Rapu uses portable XRF equipment to collect These soft, volcanic rocks are particu- The islanders’ obsession with larger data on the chemical characteristics of the stone that larly vulnerable to erosion from Easter and more impressive moai wreaked havoc was used to make tools. Over 500 ancient tools Island’s relentless wind and rain. “When on the environment. More and more trees were collected during the excavation of two statues in the stone is wet, the clays present in it had to be cut down to provide scaffolding the Rano Raraku quarry. Opposite: Overview of two absorb moisture and expand; as the stone for the statues and to build wooden sleds phases of the Easter Island Statue Project excavation of dries, they contract. The internal stress to move the statues overland. By the time statues RR-001-156 (left) and RR-001-157(right) of these repeated expansions and con- Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen landed tractions results in microfissures within on the island on Easter Day in 1722, he the stone which serve as channels for found a desolate landscape void of trees water migration and its corrosive effects,” or bushes over ten feet high with no wrote A. Elena Charola in a 1994 publica- birds, bats, or lizards. The people were tion of the . hungry and fighting amongst themselves. Another natural process that weakens Sometime after contact with the outside the stone is the growth of algae and world, the islanders knocked over and lichens. Not only do they trap water— destroyed most of the moai, probably as a

which plays a part in the wet -dry cycle of result of clan warfare. Contact with the ©EASTER ISLAND STATUE PROJECT (4) the stone—but they also eat away at the outside world brought new diseases, a stone surface. new form of religion, and kidnappings for Starting with the carvers themselves— the slave trade. By 1877 the native popu- who not only knocked over their beloved lation of 15,000 had declined to a mere statues but also beheaded some of 111. them—people have had a sort of fatal ©MICHELINE PELLETIER

8 AMÉRICAS AMÉRICAS 9 Little by little [they] realized what their ancestors did was incredible. Their sense of pride was enormous

need to be reap- forever. Then, in 1991, a Japanese com- plied periodically. pany donated a crane to move the statues From 1992 to and provided partial funding for recon- 1996, a team led struction costs. Cristino and Vargas led by University of the reconstruction project which lasted Chile four years and took a team of 50 people, professors Claudio most of them islanders themselves. Each Cristino and rock fragment had to be studied, drawn, Patricia Vargas and then entered into the computer. Due completed an to the soft nature of volcanic tuft, the ambitious recon- rocks were in poor condition. struction project of The team covered the moai with huge , the plastic tents and once they were dry, the largest and most statues could be moved without falling impressive cere- apart. “The first statue that went up was monial center on about 45 tons [and] went up in a few Easter Island. Both days,” Cristino explains. Painstakingly, Cristino and the team reconstructed the statues and Vargas had exten- placed them on their ahu platform. The sive knowledge of result is a monument as tall as a five the island’s monu- story building with fifteen moai and their ments. From 1977 topknots called pukaos. to 1996, they “We started from zero, little by little, were part of trying to put this back together,” Cristino the Easter Island explains. “We used historic photographs ©EASTER ISLAND STATUE PROJECT (3) Archaeological Survey, a University of and maps. Our main goal was the recon- fund a preservation project to develop Although the mixture will take several CONAF Executive Director Eduardo Vial Above: Dr. Jo Anne Van Tilburg and Cristián Chile research program that recorded struction of a largely destroyed monu- treatments for the fragile stone. With the months to evaporate and dry, the team Ruiz-Tagle. Arévalo Pakarati during their co-directed more than 20,000 archaeological sites ment.” For his mostly local staff, the pro- grant, EISP installed a weather monitor- could see that it was already working The moai of Easter Island tell different excavation of statue RR-001-156. Opposite left: and features. At its peak, the ahu ject was a revelation. “Little by little ing station near two moai in the Rano when they poured water on the monu- stories depending on the listener. For the Rapa Nui students Joaquin Soler Hotu (left) Tongariki measured nearly 720 feet long, [they] realized what their ancestors did Raraku quarry. For the first time, scien- ments and watched the water droplets islanders, they tell the story of their and Tikitehatu Astete Paoa screen with a central platform measuring 325 was incredible. Their sense of pride was tists will be able to record fluctuations in run off the stone. ancestors. For scientists they tell the archaeological deposits for artifacts. Opposite feet and a wing on either side. A total of enormous.” wind, moisture, and temperature near a To better educate and manage visitors story of a society gone awry, and for the right: Specialized environmental monitoring fifteen statues weighing 40 to 90 tons UCLA archaeologist Jo Anne Van statue and observe how the stone reacts to Easter Island, the National Forest rest of the world they tell the story of equipment collects information on weather once stood on that platform. Tilburg considers herself to be “a friend to changes in weather. Van Tilburg says Corporation (CONAF)—the government human ingenuity. “Without something to conditions, including temperature and The ahu Tongariki was leveled in 1960 of the family” to the moai. Since 1982 she that with this information, the team will agency that manages all of Chile’s nation- remind us of the achievements or prob- moisture. Deterioration of the statue’s stone by an earthquake that destroyed most of has surveyed the moai, compiling what be able to develop a treatment plan that al parks and reserves—opened a sustain- lems of the past, we don’t pay attention,” surface is also carefully tracked and then the central and southern regions of Chile. she calls “biographies” of 1,045 sculptural could be used not only on the sample able visitor center in May 2011. The cen- says Jo Anne Van Tilburg. To make sure uploaded to UCLA for analysis That deadly quake, some 2,200 miles objects that include full or partial moai. moai, but also on the 400 other statues ter is located at the entrance to the that we continue to pay attention, scien- away, triggered a powerful tsunami that Van Tilburg runs the Easter Island Statue that reside in the quarry. Orongo Ceremonial Village, which is one tists and conservationists are working to swept over the twelve-foot-high monu- Project (EISP) with Co-director Cristián As part of the same project, Research of the most visited archaeological sites on protect the statues for the generations of ment wall, destroying the ahu platforms Arévalo Pakarati, a native Rapa Nui artist Associate Christian Fischer of UCLA and the island. “Easter Island is a landmark in listeners in the years to come. 1 and dragging the statues inland. The bro- and surveyor. “The statues today do not Conservation Chief Monica Bahamondez the tourism world, and that is why we ken moai were covered by tons of rocks look the same as when I saw them in of Chile’s National Center for Conservation need to work hard to preserve its from the destroyed platforms. 1982,” she says. “I could see the change and Restoration used a portable sprayer resources as well as offer all kinds of Chris Hardman is a longtime contribu- Fans of Easter Island feared that this over time.” Van Tilburg appealed to the to apply two different types of water- information and education to its visitors, tor to Américas. great archaeological treasure was lost Archaeological Institute of America to repellent solutions to the test statues. both national and international,” says

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