EVALUATE AND COMMUNICATE 8. Evaluate what maritime knowledge assisted the Polynesian explorers. 9. Given that charts made from sticks and shells such as in SOURCE1 were handed down from generation to generation, determine what this suggests about the connection between Polynesian islands. 10. Summarise what SOURCE2 and the information in the lesson suggest about the navigation and seafaring skills of the early Polynesians. Answers and sample responses for this topic are available online.
LESSON 11.4 What happened on Rapa Nui?
LEARNING INTENTION By the end of this lesson you should be able to: • explain the achievements of the Rapanui people • compare the impact on the island of Rapa Nui with modern climate change, and describe the impacts of overusing the land.
Tune in The mo’ai demonstrate a form of ancestor worship, recognising great figures in the past. 1. Consider whether you know any stories from your ancestors which you think are worth memorialising in the same way. 2. Brainstorm some different ways you could achieve this and compare your ideas to others in the class.
SOURCE1 The mo’ai are enormous carved statues.
11.4.1 In the middle of the ocean Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island and Te Pito o Te Henua, is a tiny island 11 000 kilometres east of Australia and 3600 kilometres west of Chile. It’s one of the most remote islands in the world. According to legend, the Polynesian chief Hotu Matu’a led his people to the island over 1300 years ago and they named it Te Pito o Te Henua, meaning ‘the end of land’. The name Rapa Nui (Big Rapa) came later, from a visiting Tahitian who noticed the island’s resemblance to another island, Rapa Iti (Small Rapa). Europeans named it Easter Island after Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen arrived on Easter Sunday, 1722. 11.4.2 Themo’ai Rapa Nui’s isolation led to the unique creation of stone statues called mo’ai between 1000 and 1600 CE. More than 900 statues exist today, made from volcanic rock, which is now degrading. Preserving the mo’ai is important.
Jacaranda Humanities Alive 8 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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