Age of Easter Island Settlement, Ahu and Monolithic Sculpture

Abstract

The unique statues of Easter Island and their associated structures, the ahu, have puzzled the minds of scientists and laymen for more than two hundred years and their age and origin are still not ascertained. The same uncertainty is valid for the question of the primary settlement of the island. As is natural, the preserved early accounts of visits to the Island devote special attention to the statues, and ahu, but they do not include any useful information with regard to their age.