▶ Your Answer :
The Origin of Moai Statues In the reading passage, there is ample support for the author’s explanation about the reason why Moai statues were built. However, the professor gives several reasons as a rebuttal to the author’s point. First, the professor insists the claim that the statues were built as a reward for the winning chief of the annual competition is easy to discount. Since the statues were made over the course of five centuries, there should be five hundred statues. However, Easter Island has nine hundred of these statues. This casts doubt on the reading passage’s claim that a moai is a monument in honor of the winning chief.
Second, the professor contends that it is implausible that the moai statues served as intermediate vehicles between the human community and divine realm. This is because the direction of the statues’ gaze is far from the universal. Some statues look directly forward, others appear to be looking down. Moreover, experts have no reason to believe that the tree hills had any religious significance since they have not found any artifacts used for religious ceremonies. This counters the reading passage’s assertion that the role of the moai statues was intermediary beings that facilitate communication between humans and the gods.
Lastly, the professor argues that it is also a stretched claim that the statues were meant to show reverence for ancestors from a western island. According to him, many statues face north or inland toward the east while a few of them face west. Plus, DNA of the modern residents in Ester Island is related to Polynesians. However, the Polynesians have settlements on not only the east of Easter Island but also the north and south. This refutes the reading passage’s suggestion that the moai were built to honor the ancestors from the west. |