British archaeologists solve the mystery of the Easter Island red hats

The Daily Mail ^ | 07 Sep 2009 | Sarah Nelson

[BGHater]

A team of British archaeologists has solved the mystery of how the famous statues dotting the landscape of Easter Island acquired their distinctive red hats.

Dr Sue Hamilton from University College London and Dr Colin Richards from the University of Manchester believe the hats were constructed in a hidden quarry and then rolled down from the slopes of an ancient volcano.

They are the first archaeologists ever to have excavated the Puna Pau quarry on the tiny Pacific island.

The team have discovered the mystery behind the red hats worn by the Easter Island statues

Around 70 intact giant red hats, which each weigh several tons, have been discovered

They also discovered a ceremonial axe in the volcano’s crater, which is believed to have been an ancient offering.

At around 2,500 miles off the coast of Chile, Easter Island is the world’s most remote place inhabited by people.

‘We now know that the hats were rolled along the road made from a cement of compressed red scoria dust with a raised pavement along one side,’ said Dr Richards.

‘It is likely that they were moved by hand but tree logs could also have been used,’ he added.

[Flag_This]

"Easy there, alot of legs on FR."

Okay, I admit it! I was a leg - a dirty, nasty leg! But I saw a black hat once...from a distance.

[Tainan]

RLTW

[Cvengr]

Al Gore has suggested the reason for the extermination of the Easter Island civilization was due to over-harvesting the palm trees, leading to one factor after another until the civilization died out.

Today’s 8.8 quake in Chile and tsunami warning in Hawaii, led me to ponder if perhaps the destruction of such remote Pacific island cultures might not be more easily explained by remote seismic activity, consequent tsunami, and washing away of the flotsam.

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Just updating the GGG info, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.