Orongo Ceremonial Site

Easter Island, Chile
15th--18th century
With the return of migratory birds to the remote island in the South Pacific, the village of Orongo became, beginning in the fifteenth century, the yearly scene of competitive athletic games. The village's 53 structures are constructed of horizontal stone slabs and cantilevered stone roofs covered with earth. At Mata Ngarahu, an area at the southern end of the complex, seven houses contain great concentrations of petroglyph art. It is believed that priests occupied these dwellings during ritual ceremonies. Virtually every rock surface displays scenes of Make Make (God of Creation) and Koman (fertility symbols). Orongo is built on a spectacular site: structures line a narrow tongue of rock, situated between the crater of Rano Kau volcano and the sea, 300 feet below. Recent measurements of the rock art indicate that these stones have shifted two meters since they were last measured 30 years ago. Continual rain erosion, exacerbated by visitor foot traffic, is undermining the dwellings' stability. Unless rainwater is redirected--a terrace built to stabilize the site--and tourism regulated, Orongo could collapse into the sea. Rapa Nui National Park is on the World Heritage List.

Listed in 1996