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Easter Island: Early Witnesses
William Thomson
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diameter and circular in shape. This is believed to have been the theater of the native ceremonies, and perhaps the spot where the feasts were held. We made excavations in the center and around the sides, but without a "find."
Platform No. 111.-Called "Ahutapai." Has been pretty thoroughly demolished. Six images in a bad condition lie on the top of the pile.
Platform No. 112.-Called "Ahurikiriki." Situated on the extreme southwestern end of the island, and remarkable from its position on the face of a perpendicular cliff nearly 1,000 feet high and midway between the sea and the top. Sixteen small images are lying on this platform and many of them seem to be in excellent condition. We could find no way of reaching the narrow ledge upon which this platform stands. No road leads down from the top; it can not be approached from either side,' and from below it is a straight up and down wall against which the sea dashes continually. It is hardly probable that the images were lowered from the top by ropes, and the natural conclusion is, that a roadway once existed, which has been undermined by the waves and has fallen into the sea.
Platform No. 113.-Called "Kaokaoe." This was originally a large structure, but has been completely demolished by Mr. Brander to obtain material for the construction of stone-fences about his place.
LANGUAGE.
The principal feature of interest, connected with Easter Island, is the written language by which the ancient traditions and legends were perpetuated. The existence of the incised tablets was not known until the missionaries settled upon the island. Numerous specimens were found in the possession of the natives, but no especial attention appears to have been directed towards them. Several persons, belonging to vessels that were wrecked at Easter Island, report having seen these tablets, but they were so highly prized by the natives, that they could not be induced to part with them. The three hundred islanders who emigrated to Tahiti had in their possession a number of these tablets; they created some attention on account of the remarkable skill with which the figures were executed, but they were highly prized by the owners and no effort was made to secure them because their real value was not discovered. The Chilian corvette O'Higgins visited Easter Island in January, 1870, and Captain Gana secured three tablets, two of which are on deposit in the national museum at Santiago de Chili and the third was sent to France, but does not appeared to have reached its destination. Paper impressions and casts were taken from the Chilian tablets for the various museums of Europe. Those sent to the English Ethnological Society created some interest after a time, but others sent to Berlin were regarded as stamps for marking native cloth (Mittheilungen, July, 1871). Seven of these tablets are now in the possession of Tepano Jansser, bishop of Axieri, all in excellent state of preservation.
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