AHU VINAPU

There are two and even three ahu on the south coast site whose moai have been knocked down. One of them is even half-buried in the earth, its face raised to the sky. The most remarkable is undoubtedly the Vinapu Iahu, whose rear wall is as well worked as those of Cusco in Peru, with which it presents strong similarities. It is this similarity that inspired Thor Heyerdahl, a Norwegian anthropologist, to theorize that the island was populated by South Americans, a theory that led to the historical chronology he established (primary, intermediate and late periods). In order to support this theory, Thor Heyerdahl carried out an extraordinary experiment: in 1947, without a compass, he left the Peruvian shores on a traditional raft, accompanied by five men. Letting himself be carried by the winds, he ran aground 100 days later in the Tuamotu Archipelago. Thus he wished to demonstrate that it was possible to reach an island in the Pacific from the South American coast. Other authors, such as Jean Hervé Daude (read: Easter Island: the footprint of the Incas), using the chronicles of the Conquistador Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa (among others), suggest that this ahu was built by the Inca Túpac Yupanqui during an expedition in 1465... The perfection of this ahu suggests that it belonged to a very powerful clan. On the other hand, theahu Vinapu II presents a less good finish, the assembly of the stones being less elaborate.