Monday, March 11, 2013

The Connection Between Peru and Easter Island – Part II

Continuing from the last post, another example of similarities between Peru and Easter Island is seen in the rounded stones on both Easter Island and Peruvian walls that were carved into a curve identically, and almost the exact same size. This identical work off the western shores of Peru/Chile, about a thousand miles out on the current where Thor Heyerdahl’s drift voyage took him, has been lost on archaeologists who do not accept that Easter Island was inhabited by people form the east (South America), despite all the examples showing such a connection, and even the early interviews between original European visitors to Easter Island and those living on the island for centuries.
Top: The carved curved rocks on Easter Island along the seaward wall at Ahu Tahiri, Vinapu. Originally, it was one course higher; Bottom: The curved walls at Sacsayhuaman above Cuzco in Peru. Note the fine stone carving and identical work, completely fitted and interlocking in all the examples.
It should be kept in mind that in the cases where such curved carving of huge stones has been used on both Easter Island and at Sacsayhuaman and other Peruvian sites, there was really no need to have done so. Especially in light of the time and labor required to carve such large rocks. Yet in both areas the carving was done, which should suggest that the same people did both carvings—that is, a people from one area obviously settled in the other area, taking their talents with them and expressing their work in their new homeland.
Another example, is in the monolithic stonework in both locations. While there are other places in the world where huge monolithic rock formations have been found dating far back into pre-history, in the western hemisphere, there are very few. Mesoamerica is one, though most of that stonework is square and stacked
In these five examples of Mesoamerica stonework on pyramids and walls shows they used basically square stones stacked in rows,
On the other hand, the stones on Easter Island are carved, fitted and interlocking. The sea wall of Ahu Hanga Poukura, the wall of Ahu Vinapu, stonework of Ahu Tahira, Orongo, Akahanga, Ahu Hanga Hahave, and other sites, all show a skill at stonework and show their cuts and interlocking form. While the stonework on Easter Island is not as precise as that of Sacsayhuaman in Peru, it is the same type of work. In fact the Easter Islanders were skilled stonemasons, with ahus (platforms) as much as 500 feet long and 10 feet high, and the stones used weighed as much as 10 tons. In addition, their original work was precise, and when viewed from the inland side, not the ocean side, the fit is even better. In fact, they fitted almost as exact as those of the stonework in Andean Peru.
These six wall carvings of interlocking stones on Easter Island show a very similar technique to those of Peru (see below)
In Peru, as has been shown on this site many times, the stonework has baffled modern builders since it was first discovered in the 19th century. The exactness is beyond imagination for the time and place, with no modern tools, cranes, lifts, or other means of transporting, they moved stones weighing in the hundreds of tons, carved them to an exact match, sometimes with so many angles it boggles the mind.
The stonework of ancient Peru. Note the many angles and the tight, perfect fit. The artisans were more proficient than those of Easter Island, but not less talented
Again, large stonework is not limited to Andean Peru and Easter Island; however, most stonework has a mark and appearance of its own, including manner of stacking or interlocking, as well as the size of stones. For all its magnificent, Stonehenge in England is not a wall, but a circle of trilithon lintels; while Avebury are simply free-standing monolithic stones.
Left: Stonehenge trilithon lintels; Right: Avebury, free-standing stones; Bottom Left: Baalbek terrace monoliths laying on their side; Bottom Right: The Orthostat megalith, Ireland, similar to many such Dolmens around the world
However, in both Andean Peru and Easter Island, the stonework involves stone masons, cutting, fitting, and setting very large stones in place in an interlocking manner, which both strengthens the structure (wall or building), but also helps ensure seismic tolerance—a necessary requirement in the Andean area or rim of fire surrounding the Pacific coasts.
Size is also involved in the comparison. Top Left: Huge stone wall about 10-foot tall on Easter Island; Top Right: 10-12-foot stones in Peru; Bottom Left: Free standing wall on Easter Island; Right: Free standing wall in Peru. Note the similarity in placement of stones and manner of stacking
Another interesting similarity found on Easter Island with that of Andean Peru, is the stonework terracing, which is found all over Peru. In fact, the mountain terraces of the Andes, which shows the highly organized human effort to turn mountain slopes into over-sized “stairsteps” of narrow fields, each held up by a retaining wall, with each step irrigated by water transported down the mountainside from springs, rivers, or reservoirs. Sometimes, like in Peru, the transport involves a complex network of canals, sluices, and (rock) pipes. All of this allows the field to be cultivated with a minimum of soil erosion, which serves to keep the irrigation water on the fields, and avoids runoff.
Top: Stonework terraces on Easter Island; Bottom: Stonework terraces in Peru
The point is in all of this that there are so many similarities between Andean Peru and Easter Island, that a connection of the same ancient people settling both areas cannot be denied, though archaeologists and anthropologists, who simply cannot bring themselves to accept Easter Island (and Polynesia) being settled from the East (South America), rather than their favorite scenario, from the Asian west, continue to deny such a connection. It is also interesting that Thor Heyerdahl pointed out that the totora reed (native to Lake Titicaca in South America) that had somehow found its way into the crater lake on Easter Island. And he should know, he used those reeds to build Kon Tiki, and especially the follow-up drive voyage of the Ra expeditions.
Top: Thor Heyerdahl’s Ra Expeditions; Bottom: Two reed boats tied up alongside the reed island in Lake Titicaca, where village huts, etc., are made of reeds, and the entire island is all reeds

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