The Astronomical and Ethnological Components of the Cult of Bird-Man on Easter Island

TL;DR

This paper explores the ethnological and archaeoastronomical aspects of Easter Island's bird-man cult, revealing native star observations and decoded astronomical records that deepen understanding of its cultural and scientific significance.

Contribution

It provides new ethnological data and insights into the archaeoastronomy of the bird-man cult, including decoded astronomical and calendar records from rock art and scripts.

Findings

Natives observed stars Canopus and Aldebaran.

Astronomical records in rock art have been decoded.

Evidence suggests interest in Sun, Moon, and Centauri stars.

Abstract

The bird-man cult remains the main secret of Easter Island (Rapa Nui), a remote plot of land in the Pacific. This paper includes not only necessary ethnological data, but also some results on the archaeoastronomy. The research of some lines marked on a stone calendar from the Mataveri area, an archaic zone of the bird-man cult, allows to insist that the natives watched at least the stars Canopus and Aldebaran. There are strong grounds for believing that, among others, the Sun, the Moon as well as Beta and Alpha Centauri were the matter for quasi-scientific enquiry. Several astronomical and calendar records in the rock art and in the script have been decoded.