EASTER ISLAND — At the easternmost extremity of Polynesia, isolated 

 between the countless islands of Oceania and the west coast of South 

 America there is a single, lonely and barren island. It was discovered 

 on Easter Sunday in 1722 by the Dutch explorer Roggeveen and derives 

 its name from this event. This remote and wind-swept island with its 

 silent volcanic cones and its huge somber statues which stare tirelessly out 

 to sea from grassy slopes has always conveyed a sense of mystery to anthro- 

 pologists. The culture of the early Easter Islanders will never be well 

 known, but the grotesque physical remnants of a lost civilization — the 

 statues, carvings, and strange script incised on wooden tablets — testify 

 mutely to a way of life distinct from all others in the Pacific. 



Among the unique carvings of Easter Island are images representing 

 ancestral spirits. They are emaciated and gaunt. Their cheeks are hol- 

 low, their ribs protrude, and their obsidian eyes glint maliciously. No 

 proper explanation has ever been offered for these bearded figures. 



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