by Gabriel ORorke

Some have tattoos， some are fat， some are thin，

and we think we can tell the relations of some of them today by the 1）distinctive noses you see around town，” says Patricia Vargas.

I am on Easter Island， and Patricia—an 2）archaeologist， and one of the founders of Chiles Architectural Travel Service （ATS）—is talking about moai， the famous stone 3）monolith statues， carved out of the mountains by the islands 4）Neolithic inhabitants in the 12th to 14th centuries.

Patricias life has revolved around these astonishing creations for the last 36 years. They seem a worthy cause.

Despite being on the worlds most remote inhabited island—a volcanic 5）archipelago 2，300 miles west of Chile—the moai attract more than 50，000 visitors each year.

My destination is five-star Posada de Mike Rapu hotel， which sits on the south-eastern side of the island， five miles from the main village of Hanga Roa. Large windows frame views that seem to stretch wider than any normal 6）panorama， and the 30 bedrooms overlook little but fields and sea. The only sign of life are horses and cows which roam free， munching on grass and wandering between the coral trees.

I soon discover it is no unusual thing to see more 7）quadrupeds than 8）bipeds here—as Easter Island has more horses than people （the local Rapa Nui population is just 4，000）. However， I am here to see the statues， of which there are almost 1，000—and only one of which has legs.

This is Ahu Tukuturi who kneels on the hillside of Rano Raraku—the 9）quarry of volcanic tuffstone which gave birth to the entire race of moai.

“Different statues in different parts of the island belonged to the different clans that lived there，”explains Alex Searle， who is also an ATS guide.

What this means is that， if your clan lived on the far side， you had to transport your moai across the 64-square-mile island. Multiple theories have emerged over the years about how this supernatural feat was achieved.

“Some people thought they were lined up along the rim and fired into position when the volcano erupted，” says Alex. “Others say aliens moved them， and some say they walked.”

More than 400 figures loom out of the grass， carefully carved to completion. Gazing at them， it occurs to me that they look as though they were 10）petrified as they walked. Or perhaps that should be“staggered” —the irregular angles at which they jut out of the grass makes them look somewhat 11）tipsy.

他們中有的刻有文身，有的胖，有的瘦，我們覺(jué)得可以根據(jù)他們鼻子的特點(diǎn)辨別出鎮(zhèn)上一些人之間的關(guān)系” ，帕特里夏·瓦爾加斯說(shuō)道。

我現(xiàn)在身處復(fù)活島。帕特里夏是一位考古學(xué)家，也是智利的建筑旅游服務(wù)組織（ATS）的創(chuàng)始人之一。她正在介紹“摩艾”這舉世聞名的巨石群，這些石像是在公元12至14世紀(jì)由島上新石器時(shí)代的住民在山上開(kāi)鑿而成。

在過(guò)去的36年里，帕特里夏的生活軌跡都圍繞著這些驚世之作而展開(kāi)。這一切看來(lái)都是值得的。

盡管位于世上最人跡罕至的海島之上——智利以西2300英里的一個(gè)火山群島上，摩艾石像還是每年吸引了超過(guò)五萬(wàn)名旅客前往觀摩。

我的目的地是五星酒店P(guān)osada de Mike Rapu，坐落在島的東南一隅，距離當(dāng)?shù)氐闹饕迩f安加羅阿五英里。

透過(guò)巨大的窗戶，眼底的景色似乎要比任何景寬都要開(kāi)闊，30個(gè)酒店房間俯瞰的只是農(nóng)田與海景。在這片景觀中，唯一的生命跡象是馬和奶牛，他們自由自在地徜徉在草地上，穿梭于刺桐之間。

我很快就發(fā)現(xiàn)，這里的四肢動(dòng)物比兩肢動(dòng)物要多，因?yàn)閺?fù)活島上的馬的數(shù)量比人口還要多（當(dāng)?shù)氐木用駜H為4000人）。然而，我來(lái)這要看的石像，近1000座，其中只有一座是有腿的。

這就是阿胡圖庫(kù)圖日巨像，跪在拉諾拉拉庫(kù)山巔，所有這些巨像都是取材自這座火山上的凝灰?guī)r。

“島上各處的不同石像分屬于不同的宗族”，艾利克斯·瑟爾說(shuō)，他也是ATS的一位導(dǎo)賞員。

這意味著，如果你們的宗族住在邊遠(yuǎn)的地方，那你們就要穿越64平方英里的海島，把你們的巨像從這一頭搬到另一頭。多年來(lái)，關(guān)于這種超自然的事情是怎么完成的，人們有著各種各樣的說(shuō)法。

“有人認(rèn)為這些石像被排成一排，然后在火山爆發(fā)的時(shí)候被彈到現(xiàn)在的位置，”艾利克斯說(shuō)，“但有人說(shuō)是外星人把他們搬到這兒來(lái)的，更有人說(shuō)，是石像自己‘走到這兒的?！?/p>

四百余座石像佇立在草地上，雕工精細(xì)，渾然天成。凝望著他們，我覺(jué)得他們看起來(lái)像是在行走時(shí)突然被石化而成的。又或者應(yīng)該說(shuō)，他們有點(diǎn)“步履蹣跚”的樣子——從不同角度來(lái)看，他們?cè)诓莸刂酗@露出的形態(tài)有點(diǎn)像酒后的蹣跚。

As we explore the quarry， the entrails of the mountain gape open. On closer inspection， figures emerge from the stone. The statues were carved out of the hillside， chipped away with 12）basalt stone picks until they formed figurines.

“They were constantly changing and making new statues， recycling older ones， constantly reviewing and updating，” says Alex.

“These statues were their ancestors. To them， they were like vessels.”

One unfinished figure， which still lies in the hillside， measures a staggering 21 metres in length， its front carved out but its back not yet freed from the grip of the mountain. The tallest statue on the island stands at 12 metres so this 13）double-decker moai is ambitious to say the least.

Perhaps this example of over-reaching is a clue as to why these craftsmen upped and went. How and why the moai were transported and erected is one of the worlds mysteries， and the longer I spend on Easter Island， the more I feel the Rapa Nui people like it this way.

隨著我們?cè)趰u上的觀光愈發(fā)深入，這時(shí)山的內(nèi)部結(jié)構(gòu)也呈現(xiàn)眼前了。走近一看，一座座的巨像從山石上顯現(xiàn)。這些石像沿著山壁雕刻成形，都是人們用玄武巖石鎬一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)地開(kāi)鑿而成的。

“這些石像的形態(tài)千變?nèi)f化。人們?cè)诓粩嗟氐窨绦碌氖?，將舊的石料循環(huán)再用，不斷地審視以往的作品，然后推陳出新，”艾利克斯說(shuō)。

“這些石像就是他們的祖先。對(duì)他們來(lái)說(shuō)，石像就如同容器一般?！?/p>

一座還未完成的石像躺在山邊，長(zhǎng)度竟有驚人的21米。它的前半部分已經(jīng)雕琢完成，后半部卻還沒(méi)從山體分離。目前島上最高的石像有12米，毫不夸張地說(shuō)，這座兩層的石像堪稱雄心之作。

也許這座野心巨作能為我們揭開(kāi)謎團(tuán)提供線索——為什么這些石匠突然有一天就消失了。這些石像到底是如何以及為何被搬動(dòng)和安放到這里的？這是當(dāng)今世界的一大未解之謎。我在島上停留的時(shí)間越長(zhǎng)，我越覺(jué)得島上的居民更希望這個(gè)謎沒(méi)有解開(kāi)的一天。

Today， most archaeologists concede that wooden sledges were used to transport the statues to their positions around the coast（about 400 were lined up along platforms）. Naturally， the larger ones were destined for closer locations.

As if in proof of this， on the coast below the quarry stands a line of 15 moai.

“For one minute close your eyes and imagine you are in the early 18th century when the Europeans arrived，” says Patricia. “Not much has changed in the landscape since then.”

Yet， difficulty and conflict lie between us and this lost era.

When the Europeans arrived， the statues were standing. But they found an island in hard times. When a Dutch expedition landed in 1722， this was the Rapa Nuis first contact with outsiders. The next visit wasnt to be for another 50 years， when the Spanish came.

“Before these visits， they thought they were the only people surviving in the universe，” says Patricia. “Imagine the impact of Europeans： it would have been like ET arriving in Central Park！”

The descriptions taken down by the Spanish tell a very different tale from the healthy community described by the Dutch—and it is clear this dense population of 20，000 was struggling to survive with few resources， scarce water and over-worked land.

今天，大多數(shù)的建筑學(xué)家都相信，古人是用木橇沿著海岸線將這些巨石搬運(yùn)到現(xiàn)在的位置的（大約400座石像是依序排列在平臺(tái)之上的）。大的石像自然是安放在較近的位置。

山下海邊排列的15座石像似乎就證明了這一點(diǎn)。

“用一分鐘的時(shí)間，閉上雙眼，想象你是在18世紀(jì)初，歐洲人剛剛來(lái)到這里的時(shí)候，”帕特里夏說(shuō)，“從那以后，這里的景觀就沒(méi)有發(fā)生過(guò)什么大的變化。”

然而，橫亙?cè)谖覀兣c那逝去的年代之間的，是爭(zhēng)議和分歧。

歐洲人剛到此地時(shí)，石像已經(jīng)存在了。但他們是在艱難時(shí)世發(fā)現(xiàn)這座島的。當(dāng)一個(gè)荷蘭遠(yuǎn)征隊(duì)在1722年登上這座島時(shí)，那是復(fù)活節(jié)島第一次與外界接觸。到下一次再有外人登島，已是五十年之后，這次來(lái)的是西班牙人。

“在這兩次與外界接觸之前，島上的人以為他們是宇宙間唯一生存的人類，”帕特里夏說(shuō)?！跋胂笠幌職W洲人出現(xiàn)在島上居民眼前的情景：他們就像外星人出現(xiàn)在中央公園那樣！”

西班牙人流傳下來(lái)的記錄所述說(shuō)的情況與荷蘭人形容的“健康的社區(qū)”有所不同——顯然，因?yàn)橘Y源有限、淡水不足和土地貧瘠，當(dāng)時(shí)島上的兩萬(wàn)名居民正苦苦掙扎于生存的邊緣。

Within a hundred years， not one moai was left standing and a new cult had taken over—one based more on 14）virility than piety， and called the Birdman Cult. The chief was chosen by means of an annual race which involved scrambling down the cliff-top of Orongo and swimming out to a small island， fetching an egg and returning with it intact.

The result of so many bygone customs， cultures and traditions is that you can hardly take a step on Easter Island without coming across an archaeological site. There are 20，000 across the island， and of the 1，000 moai， only 30 have been reerected.

This is only the tip of the iceberg—but part of the 15）intrigue of Easter Island lies in not knowing exactly what its history held.

Many people report strange feelings when they set foot on this almost mythical island （my dreams were peculiar to say the least）. And although we can only touch the surface， what better way to do so than under the eye of the very people who brushed， 16）troweled and uncovered the moai.

在后來(lái)的一百年間，沒(méi)有一座石像幸存下來(lái)，取而代之的是另一種崇拜——對(duì)身強(qiáng)力壯的崇拜比宗派孝道更盛行，被稱為鳥(niǎo)人崇拜。島上居民每年通過(guò)競(jìng)賽選出首領(lǐng)。參賽者必須要從奧朗戈山崖頂端爬下，游至一座小島上，拿到一枚雞蛋并將它完整無(wú)缺地帶回才能當(dāng)選為首領(lǐng)。

在這里，久遠(yuǎn)的習(xí)俗、文化和傳統(tǒng)如此豐富，你在島上幾乎每走一步就會(huì)看到一個(gè)考古點(diǎn)。目前島上共有兩萬(wàn)個(gè)考古點(diǎn)，在1000座石像中，只有30座是重新豎立的。

這只是冰山一角——神秘的復(fù)活節(jié)島到底擁有怎樣的歷史，仍有很多疑點(diǎn)無(wú)法解釋。

很多人都描述過(guò)踏足這個(gè)神秘之島的奇妙感覺(jué)（毫不夸張地說(shuō)，我做的夢(mèng)也是奇異的）。然而，即使只能觸及皮毛，除了借由這些開(kāi)掘摩艾的考古學(xué)家之眼，我們還有什么更好的辦法來(lái)揭秘歷史呢？