A.D. 400
About 100 Polynesian settlers arrive on what will be called Easter Island after sailing great distances in canoes.
A.D. 700
Building of more than 200 stone platforms called ahu begins. Years later, giant stone statues called moai will be placed atop the ahu.
A.D. 1000-1500
Majority of nearly 1,000 stone moai are carved in quarries. By 1500, the island's human population is more than 10,000.
1600-1700
Island's forests have been chopped down, the rich soil is eroded, springs are dried up, and most birds and fish have disappeared.
1722
On Easter Day, Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen lands on the island, which was unknown to Europeans. He calls it Easter Island.
1860s
Tahitian sailors give Easter Island the name Rapa Nui because it reminds them of Rapa, a small island in French Polynesia.
1877
By this time war, famine, and disease have reduced population to just 111. Not a single moai remains upright.
1888
Easter Island becomes a territory of Chile, a country in South America. Population of the island is back up to about 2,000.
About 100 Polynesian settlers arrive on what will be called Easter Island after sailing great distances in canoes.
A.D. 700
Building of more than 200 stone platforms called ahu begins. Years later, giant stone statues called moai will be placed atop the ahu.
A.D. 1000-1500
Majority of nearly 1,000 stone moai are carved in quarries. By 1500, the island's human population is more than 10,000.
1600-1700
Island's forests have been chopped down, the rich soil is eroded, springs are dried up, and most birds and fish have disappeared.
1722
On Easter Day, Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen lands on the island, which was unknown to Europeans. He calls it Easter Island.
1860s
Tahitian sailors give Easter Island the name Rapa Nui because it reminds them of Rapa, a small island in French Polynesia.
1877
By this time war, famine, and disease have reduced population to just 111. Not a single moai remains upright.
1888
Easter Island becomes a territory of Chile, a country in South America. Population of the island is back up to about 2,000.