The death of Easter Island
16 05 12 - 09:49
A signed stone recently discovered beneath one of the heads held a petroglyph of a Polynesian style canoe, and a clue: It was meant to signify identity, Van Tilburg said.
âIt was meant to identify that statue either to a family group of people or a subgroup, either carvers or the family unit the carvers came from, or beyond that, to the chief,â she told FoxNews.com. The giant sculptures were most likely relatives and not guardians, in other words.
Later sculptures were far more realistic and individualistic, she noted, which also reveals something about the changing culture, as native peoples moved from highly controlled fiefdoms to a society allowing for more individual expression.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/05/16/easter-island-archaeology-project-digs-up-islands-secrets/#ixzz1v3ISqF4h
When a society has identity in an idea, like culture or heritage, it lives; when it resorts to collectivism (social in-group) or individualism, it fragments and dies. The two are sides of the same coin.
No comments