World History
Finnish tourist Marko Kulju, 26, is in trouble. He has been accused of intentionally damaging a Moai on Chile's Easter Island. If found guilty, this act of vandalizing history may cost him seven years in jail. CNN has details in Easter Island statue 'vandalized'.
The articles notes, "Kulju used his hands to tear off the earlobe, which fell to the ground and broke into pieces measuring 8 to 12 inches each, Easter Island Police Chief Cristian Gonzalez told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. Kulju ran away with at least one of the pieces from the 13-foot tall Moai, he said."
Easter Island government official Liliana Castro noted, "Fortunately, this type of thing does not happen every day, but it does happen, and it is almost impossible to control because on Easter Island there are sites of great archaeological value everywhere and the park guards cannot prevent all such incidents."
Archaeologists believe the island was discovered and colonized by Polynesians at about 400 AD. Subsequently, a unique culture developed. The human population grew to levels that could not be sustained by the island. A civil war resulted, and the island?s deforestation and ecosystem collapse was nearly complete. Over 880 statues called moai (pronounced 'mo eye') can be found on this isolated island, located 2,300 miles from the coast of Chile. The statues range in size from a few feet to over 30 feet, and weigh up to 150 tons. They were built sometime after the island was colonized in 300 C.E.. Each statue was hewn out of hard volcanic material from quarries near the Rano Raraku volcano. The statues are thought to honor their deity Make Make, or represent chieftans of the two or three tribes that inhabited this island. Originally the island was heavily forested for the construction of statues and campfires, but the rapid growth of the human population quickly denuded the island. About 250 years ago, warfare between the two tribes of 'Easter Islanders' led to the toppling of most of the statues. (Source)
If this all an misfortunate understanding, I wish Mr. Kulju well. However, if he did indeed damage this statue, I hope Chile throws the book at him. These sort of artifacts are not replaceable and they belong to the people of the Earth. This is a part of the human legacy.
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World History
Vandalizing History on Easter Island
Finnish tourist Marko Kulju, 26, is in trouble. He has been accused of intentionally damaging a Moai on Chile's Easter Island. If found guilty, this act of vandalizing history may cost him seven years in jail. CNN has details in Easter Island statue 'vandalized'.
The articles notes, "Kulju used his hands to tear off the earlobe, which fell to the ground and broke into pieces measuring 8 to 12 inches each, Easter Island Police Chief Cristian Gonzalez told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. Kulju ran away with at least one of the pieces from the 13-foot tall Moai, he said."
Easter Island government official Liliana Castro noted, "Fortunately, this type of thing does not happen every day, but it does happen, and it is almost impossible to control because on Easter Island there are sites of great archaeological value everywhere and the park guards cannot prevent all such incidents."
Archaeologists believe the island was discovered and colonized by Polynesians at about 400 AD. Subsequently, a unique culture developed. The human population grew to levels that could not be sustained by the island. A civil war resulted, and the island?s deforestation and ecosystem collapse was nearly complete. Over 880 statues called moai (pronounced 'mo eye') can be found on this isolated island, located 2,300 miles from the coast of Chile. The statues range in size from a few feet to over 30 feet, and weigh up to 150 tons. They were built sometime after the island was colonized in 300 C.E.. Each statue was hewn out of hard volcanic material from quarries near the Rano Raraku volcano. The statues are thought to honor their deity Make Make, or represent chieftans of the two or three tribes that inhabited this island. Originally the island was heavily forested for the construction of statues and campfires, but the rapid growth of the human population quickly denuded the island. About 250 years ago, warfare between the two tribes of 'Easter Islanders' led to the toppling of most of the statues. (Source)
If this all an misfortunate understanding, I wish Mr. Kulju well. However, if he did indeed damage this statue, I hope Chile throws the book at him. These sort of artifacts are not replaceable and they belong to the people of the Earth. This is a part of the human legacy.
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