Megaliths of Ahu Vinapu, Easter Island, Polynesia

Ahu Vinapu is an archaeological site on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in Eastern Polynesia.

While it is true that the moai are quintessential archaeological symbols, in Vinapu you can find a magnificent example of the building and carving techniques that were developed for the construction of the ahu or platforms. This displays a way of working the stone that doesn’t exist in anywhere else in Polynesia and that has given rise to many theories about the origins of the island’s population that relate to the Inca culture in South America.

The moai or Easter Island heads or Easter Island statues, represent the most important pieces of Rapa Nui art and they have become its trademark. However, in spite of their abundance, there are around 600 moai distributed throughout the whole island and 397 are in the Rano Raraku quarry, there are still plenty of unanswered questions regarding these stone giants.

It is the oldest ahu in the Vinapu ceremonial complex. There are remains of at least five moai and several headdresses scattered around the platform.

The most prominent landmark here is the great red stone monolithic column built in front of the ahu, which is reminiscent of the pre-Inca statues-columns found in the Andes. It was unearthed in 1956 by an American archaeologist, William Mulloy, who after a detailed examination concluded that it was possibly a female moai based on the details of the thin arms and hands, small breasts and pronounced navel.

Wall of Ahu Tahira

This Ahu has 6 moai that are now lying face down with 3 of their headdresses in front of them. The torsos of some of the statues were used, at later times, for shelter, which shows just how much respect was lost for these sculptures that were once considered sacred.

However, what’s special about the Ahu Tahira is its platform’s back wall. It consists of large stones held together without mortar and finely carved, similar to those found in the Inca ruins. This striking similarity has convinced the scientific community that there were contacts between Polynesia and South America.

Sweet potatoes and squash, which are native to South America and Polynesia and existed in the year 1000 AD, long before Europeans sailed between the two regions, are further evidence of these supposed cultural exchanges. It was also discovered that some chicken bones from southern Chile had the same DNA sequence of samples taken in Tonga and Samoa, which suggests that the chickens came to South America from Polynesia approximately in the fourteenth century. However, no sign of Polynesian settlements have been found in South America, so it is assumed that these meetings were sporadic and brief.