Rano Raraku

Rano Raraku is a volcanic crater formed of consolidated volcanic ash, or tuff, and located on the lower slopes of Terevaka in the Rapa Nui National Park on Easter Island. It was a quarry for about 500 years until the early eighteenth century, and supplied the stone from which about 95% of the island's known monolithic sculptures (moai) were carved. Rano Raraku is a visual record of moai design vocabulary and technological innovation, where 397 moai remain. Rano Raraku is in the World Heritage Site of Rapa Nui National Park and gives its name to one of the seven sections of the park.

Physical description

]]
Panorama of Rano Raraku's crater lake

The sides of Rano Raraku crater are high and steep except on the north and northwest, where they are much lower and gently sloping. The interior contains one of the island's three freshwater crater lakes, which is bordered by nga'atu or totora reeds. These plants, once thought as evidence of contact with the South American mainland, are now known to have been growing on the island for at least 30,000 years and were used by the Rapanui for thatched shelter and swimming aids.

Incomplete moai in the quarry

The incomplete statues in the quarry are remarkable both for their number, for the inaccessibility of some that were high on the outside crater wall and for the size of the largest; at 21.6 m (71 feet) in height, almost twice that of any moai ever completed and weighing an estimated 270 tonnes, many times the weight of any transported.

Some of the incomplete moai seem to have been abandoned after the carvers encountered inclusions of very hard rock in the material.

Others may be sculptures that were never intended to be separated from the rock in which they are carved.

Standing moai at Ranu Raraku

On the outside of the quarry are a number of moai, some of which are partially buried to their shoulders in the spoil from the quarry. They are distinctive in that their eyes were not hollowed out, they do not have pukao and they were not cast down in the island's civil wars. For this last reason, they supplied some of the most famous images of the island.

Tukuturi

in the background and Ahu Tongariki against the spray on the right]]

Tukuturi is an unusual moai. Its beard and kneeling posture distinguish it from standard moai.

Tukuturi is made of red scoria from Puna Pau, but sits at Rano Raraku, the tuff quarry. It is possibly related to the Tangata manu cult, in which case it would be one of the last moai ever made.

See also


References

Further reading

  • P.E. Baker (1968) "Preliminary Account of Recent Geological Investigations on Easter Island." Geological Magazine 104 (2): 116-122
  • J.R. Flenley, S.M. King, J.T. Teller, M.E. Prentice, J. Jackson and C. Chew (1991). "The Late Quaternary Vegetational and Climatic History of Easter Island." Journal of Quaternary Science 6:85-115.
  • Jo Anne Van Tilburg (1994). "Easter Island Archaeology, Ecology and Culture." London and Washington, D.C. British Museum Press and Smithsonian Institution Press ISBN 0-7141-2504-0 http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/ioa/eisp/
  • Alfred Metraux [1]
  • Katherine Routledge. 1919. The Mystery of Easter Island. The story of an expedition. London.
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Jarkko Sikiö
21 April 2013
Rano Raraku, the famous quarry, is something nobody visiting Easter Island cannot miss. Just remember to get your entrance ticket at the airport and then join Kia Koe Tour with a native guide!
Marco Illescas
6 October 2013
By FAR THE SPOT to understand how misterious this culture history is. This is the moai supermarket!
Fernando
16 September 2017
Fabulosa cantera y un crater volcánico lleno de agua de lluvia creando un ecosistema diferente!!!
claü erices
25 March 2017
Trate de identificar los moais que aún están en la piedra terminados o por terminar. El recorrido por la cantera toma unos 50-60 minutos y al bajar puede ir a ver el cráter (10 minutos más)
Verito Montoya
24 September 2013
la cantera!!! guau, lo magnifico del trabajo encestral Rapa Nui... de ahí salieron todos los moais que fueron distribuidos en la isla. Además afuera hay una feria de artesania muy buena y completa.
Loren Pérez Cruz
18 October 2016
El lugar es precioso, camine x todos lados, visite el moai k tiene piernas, toda la caminata vale la pena????????????
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7km from Camino Vaitea Anakena Parque Nacional Hanga Roa, Isla de Pascua, Valparaíso Region, Chile Get directions
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