EASTER ISLAND

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, there is a very special place: Easter Island. The island is itself is small, only 117 square kilometres, with very few people living on it. But it has a history going back more than 1000 years! All over Easter Island, there are large statues, called megaliths, built by the ancient people of Polynesia between 800 and 1600 AD. They are in the shape of people with large heads, noses and ears. There are more than 800 of these megaliths, and some of them are more than 30 feet tall. Many of them rest upon tombs. Apart from this, the megaliths are very much a mystery. Maybe, in time, we may learn more about why and how the ancient Polynesians built them.