Sloping slightly sideways on the grassy hills beneath the Ranu Raraku volcano, a giant stone head known as a moai shows the wear and tear of time on this triangular 64-square-mile island. On the right side of the oblong rectangular face with male features, the rock is lighter in color and its long, carefully sculpted ear and nostril are clearly visible. But on the statue's left side, the sun and wind have eroded the nose, lip and ear. "The moai are dying by natural causes," said archaeologist Sergio Rapu, a lifelong researcher of this isolated South Pacific island of hills and extinct volcanoes also known as Rapa Nui. "The prehistoric Rapa Nui people noted it would take 300 to 400 years for the statues to become completely eroded." Such predictions loom bleak for the island's nearly 1,000 signature moai statues, as the constant battering of erosion and rain is slowly eating away at the island's porous volcanic stone. Easter Island is among the world's most isolated inhabited islands with about 4,000 inhabitants. It lies 2,237 miles west of Chile, which annexed the island in 1888. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Rapu said erosion can be stopped by using chemical resins that seal the stone, as well as stabilizing the ahu, or altar platforms that support some of the moai, many of which are slowly falling into the ocean. But that would be costly, he said. Archaeologists had hoped this summer's New Seven Wonders of the World contest - organized by Swiss film producer and philanthropist Bernard Weber - would spark the release of funds to restore the moai. The statues were carved between 1200 and 1550 to honor the gods.After placing in the top 10 favorite sites during preliminary results, the island failed to make the final seven, chosen by 100 million people in a popular vote by Internet, phone and mail. When the moais finished eighth, Weber sent Chile a letter saying the statues were "morally" one of the New Seven Wonders, according to the local press. In the meantime, Jose Antonio Viera, minister of the presidency, said it is urgent for the Chilean government and the international community to come to the rescue.
View: Full Article | Source: San Francisco Chronicle
