Easter Island weaponry and other interesting facts
 

Good people, I wish to take this opportunity to bring Easter Island weapons to the surface for discussion and of more importance, current excavations on the Island.
Whilst the excavations are not geared towards looking for old stone weapons but seeking the truth below the ground on other items, it might not be long before other things are unearthed.
I welcome images of genuine antique weapons from the island and leave you with two interesting links...the lower being current excavations....the symbolism unearthed is very interesting.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/pac/ei/ei32.htm

http://www.eisp.org/

Gav

A FEW PICTURES THE SHORT PATA FORM CLUBS SEEM TO RANGE IN LEGNTH FROM 18 TO 22 INCHES. I THINK THEY MAY BE REFERRED TO LOCALLY AS PAOA. THE LONGER DOUBBLE ENDED VARIETY AND LONGER POLE SHAPED ONES WOULD HAVE MADE A GOOD WEAPON BUT PERHAPS WERE ONLY SYMBOLIC BUT THERE DOES SEEM TO BE QUITE A FEW IN EXISTANCE IF ONLY FOR CEREMONY AND HIGH RANKING MEMBERS?
I FIND THE SHAPES OF THE EASTER ISLAND OBSIDIAN POINTS UNUSUAL THERE SEVERAL PICTURES OF THESE. SOME EXAMPLES ARE DEFINITELY OLD AND SOME LIKELY NOT AS OLD AS I. ONE PICTURE OF VARIOUS OLD ARTEFACTS FROM EASTER ISLAND. SOME OF THE CARVINGS I HAVE SEEN COULD HAVE SERVED AS A DAGGER THE LIZZARD MAN BEING ONE FORM AND THERE IS A BIRD MAN FORM THAT SOME WOULD SERVE AS A PICK TYPE CLUB? UNFORTUNATELY I HAVE NO PICTURES OF A COMPLETE SPEAR ONLY POINTS.

Gav & Vandoo, nice :) thanks!

Barry, thank you so very much for bringing forth these images!

Of interest are those knapped spear heads and what an odd shape to see...square.... :shrug:
There are very similar weapons to the Maori too, great stuff!

This is some cool stuff, thanks for sharing. To me the arrow heads could mean hunting, or maybe a bit more advanced warfare than wooden clubs. Very interesting.

Hi AJ,

I think those flaked obsidian are "spear" heads, not arrowheads. They were the sharp end of a weapon known as a mata'a. On a short shaft, they were used as a short spear/dagger/axe, while on a longer shaft, they became polearm heads. These weapons were used by the toa (warriors) and matatoa (master warriors) who basically took over when Rapan society broke down. They're quite common on the island, (un)fortunately, and they seem to be quite variable in size and shape.

Best,

F

fearn,
Thanks for the info, always was facinated the by Easter Islands and what could be discovered there. But ofcourse I don't have much info, so learning things here and there is very helpful .

A PICTURE OF A RARE OLD EASTER ISLAND CLUB, REPRESENTING THE FISH MAN. IT IS IN AN ARTICLE ON EASTER ISLAND IN THE TWO BOOK SET " WONDERS OF THE PAST" BY HAMMERTON 1948 VOL.1 COPYWRITE 1923 TO 1937. UNFORTUNATELY NO SIZE GIVEN BUT I SUSPECT IT TO BE FROM 18 TO 24 INCHES LONG AT MAXIMUM. ITS ONE OF MY FAVORITES AND RESEMBLES A TYPE OF WRASSE FISH.

A SIDE NOTE! EVEN THOUGH THE NATIVES OF EASTER ISLAND HAD OBSIDIAN ONE OF THE BEST AND EASIEST MATERIALS FOR KNAPPING STONE POINTS THEY NEVER DEVELOPED THE MASTERY TO MAKE THE INCREDIBLE POINTS BUT REMAINED VERY CRUDE. YET ANOTHER MYSTERY OF THE ISLAND.

Fishing this one out of the depths....

Well, it looks like everything I thought I knew about Easter Island is wrong.

Great talk by Terry Hunt and Carly Lipo at http://longnow.org/seminars/02013/ja...easter-island/

They've spent over a decade investigating the archeology of Easter Island, and they're pretty sure that the Collapse/ecocide story is wrong in just about every detail. There was a collapse, but it was caused (as in most other cases) by disease introduced by a Spanish ship.

They've got a book out too at Amazon (search their names).

Best,

F

Just ordered a copy . :)

Thanks for the information. I have been reading the "kindle" version today. A great book , wonderful study. I believe there are many areas ripe for this sort of logical study revision. Especially as we are is an age that the idea of "western world" might think of as being "post industrial" and certainly post colonial. Where the historic technical and craft achievements of strange tribal, colonised or conquered people can no longer be seen as a threat to the new order or coloured history to suit the mind set needed to continue an idea of superior thought. An area I would like to see explored with more determination would be metallurgy or metal trade in the North America.