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Our next stop is a historical landmark off the west coast of Chile, known as Easter Island.
Easter Island is perhaps most famous for the giant stone monoliths, known as Moai, that
have been placed along the coastline. Here, the moai are more 'standardized' in design,
and are believed to have been carved, transported, and erected between AD 1400 and 1600. They
stand with their backs to the sea and are believed by most archaeologists to represent
the spirits of ancestors, chiefs, or other high-ranking males who held important positions
in the history of Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, the name given by the indigenous people to
their island in the 1860s. Archaeologists believe the island was discovered
and colonized by Polynesians at about 400 AD. Subsequently, a unique culture developed.
The human population grew to levels that could not be sustained by the island. A civil war
resulted, and the island's deforestation and ecosystem collapse was nearly complete. Today,
a new forest (primarily eucalyptus) has been established in the center of the island.