One of the loneliest places on earth, tiny Easter Island, or Rapa Nui as it is known by its people, is home to some 4,000 islanders, of whom around seventy percent are native pascuenses, with the rest being mainly continentales (Chilean immigrants).

The enduring symbol of Easter Island always has been, and doubtless always will be, the monolithic statues that line its shores. The moai astonish for a good many reasons, not least because they are utterly unique, and can be found nowhere else in the world.

The Easter Island moai range in height from 2m to almost 10m, and while no two statues are identical, all are carved in the same highly stylized manner, with gently rounded bellies, arms held tightly by their sides, and long and rectangular heads, with pointed chins, angular noses and thin, tight lips curled into an expression of disdain.

It's impossible to establish exactly when the first were carved, as radiocarbon dating works only on organic material, but archeologists have proposed tentative dates of around the seventh century AD for the early statues, and around the fifteenth century for the bulk of the statues, when production was at its peak.

Easter Island clearly enjoyed a long, rich history before it was "discovered" and named by the Dutch naval commander Jacob Roggeveen on Easter Sunday, 1722, but it was another 48 years before Easter Island was revisited, this time by the Spanish commander Felipe González, who mapped the island and claimed it for King Carlos III of Spain during his six-day stay. Four years later, Captain Cook anchored here in the hope of restoring the health of his crew, who had developed scurvy during their long search for the "southern continent". As there were few provisions to be found, Cook stayed only four days, but observed with incredulity the "stupendous figures", or moai, erected on the island, though he noted that some lay strewn on the ground, toppled from their platforms.

On September 9, 1888, the Chilean navy officially annexed Easter Island, and declared it Chilean territory. The last few decades have thankfully seen a more enlightened approach on the part of the Chilean government, which has finally transferred the management of most local affairs to the islanders.