Did you know Easter Island is called Easter Island because it was discovered on Easter Day? Easter Island is located in the South Pacific, between Chile and Tahiti. It is a peculiar place, home to hundreds of stone statues. Now, you may wonder why hundreds of stone statues are peculiar. Well, in normal circumstances this would not be strange, but on Easter Island these statues stand 4 to 6 metres (12 to 15 feet) tall and weigh 22 tonnes (20 tons)! The largest stands 9.6 metres (32 feet) tall and weighs about 100 tonnes (90 tons). That is about the size of a school bus! Amazing!

The statues face the ocean and are called Moai. They have rounded bellies, long noses and square chins. It is astounding that these large carvings exist, but even more intriguing is the fact that they were moved into their present positions!

The carvings were carved in the cliff face. When the carvings were near completion, they were slid down the slope of the cliff using a system of rollers and slides. It is believed that the Easter Islanders, also known as Rapa Nui, used trees as rollers and levers to hoist the large carvings into place on ahu. Ahu are platforms built to place the colossal statues on. Once on the platform, the carvings were completed.

The Rapa Nui became so involved in the creation of these massive statues that they cut down all the trees on the island, in order to use them as rollers, fuel, or building material. This was the beginning of their downfall. Once the trees were gone, there was no return to their previous way of life!

Without trees the soil washed away and the crops died. The island was in great disorder. There was no wood, no food, and no villages left. The Rapa Nui became violent and began to fight each other. At the southwest corner of the island is a cave named Ana Kai Tangata. Translated this means “a cave where men are eaten.” It is believed that in the end, the Rapa Nui became cannibals, eating their enemies!

The Rapa Nui culture built incredible statues that eventually led to their demise. However, the statues remain for us to admire and fantasize about!

Use the story to define the bolded words

Match the letter of the word to it's meaning.

A. peculiar

_______ amazing

B. circumstance

_______ fascinating

C. astounding

_______ lift

D. intriguing

_______ collapse

E. hoist

_______ eaters of human flesh

F. colossal

_______ odd

G. massive

_______ situations

H. downfall

_______ huge

I. disorder

_______ amazing

J. cannibals

_______ chaos

K. demise

_______ end

The words disorder and return have prefixes. Write the prefix for each word:

disorder _________________________

return _________________________

How do these prefixes help you understand the words?

Answer the following questions by filling in the circle beside the right answer.

1. Which sentence best summarizes the reading?

• Ancient peoples built statues on Easter Island, which eventually led to the people's extinction.
• Ancient peoples built Easter Island statues to frighten enemies who sailed to the island
• The people who built the statues used large machines to move them.
• The statues of Easter Island are a mystery and no one really knows how they came to be.

2. Easter Island is a peculiar place because:

• it has strange animals on it.
• it is not really an island.
• it is home to large statues.
• it is not a real place.

3. Moai are:

• people who lived on Easter Island.
• a type of turtle species found in the Pacific Ocean.
• a food found on tropical islands.
• large statues on Easter Island.

4. The trees that grew on Easter Island:

• were some of the biggest in the world.
• were cut down by the Rapa Nui.
• were very small.
• were homes to some of the rarest birds in the world.

5. The Rapa Nui built incredible statues which eventually:

• melted into the sea.
• were moved to the top of the mountain.
• led to their destruction.
• were broken to prevent their enemies from getting them..

6. Which statement describes the dilemma the Rapa Nui found themselves in?

• The Rapa Nui cut down too many trees and there was no wood, no food, and no villages left.
• The Rapa Nui sailed away from the island in order to escape cannibals.
• The Rapa Nui built the statues so big they were unable to move them
• The Rapa Nui were vegetarians and when the plants died they had no food left.

7. Ahu:

• are platforms built to place the colossal statues on.
• are birds that flock to Easter Island every April.
• means "don't sneeze" in Rapa Nui.
• are large rocks from which the statues were carved

8. At the southwest corner of the island is a cave named Ana Kai Tangata. It is thought that in this cave:

• the Rapa Nui cooked animals they found for a bar-be-queue
• the Rapa Nui ate their enemies.
• the Rapa Nui escaped from savage invaders to the island.
• the Rapa Nui lived, after all the trees were blown away.

Using Information from the story and your own ideas, explain why the Rapa Nui no longer live on Easter Island.