纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 070复活节岛雕像（1）

 

070：EPISODE 70 - Hoa Hakananai'a Island Statue 复活节岛雕像

Hoa Hakananai'a statue (made between 1000 and 1200). Stone; from Easter Island (Rapa Nui)

Today we're on an island far out in the Pacific Ocean, it's about half the size of the Isle¹ of Wight, it's 1,200 miles (1,900 km) from the nearest inhabited island, and it's 2,000 (3,200 km) miles from the nearest land-mass. It's Rapa Nui - Easter Island - the most remote inhabited island, not just in the Pacific, but in the world. Not surprisingly, it took human beings a long time to get there. The people of the southern Pacific Ocean, the Polynesians, were without question the greatest open ocean voyagers in the history of the world, and their ability to move in double-hulled canoes over the vast expanses of the Pacific is truly one of the greatest achievements of humanity. They settled both Hawaii and New Zealand, and between 700 and 900, they got to Rapa Nui - and so brought to an end one immense chapter of human history, for Easter Island was possibly the last place on earth to be permanently² settled.

It was another thousand years before European sailors matched the Polynesian feats³ of navigation, and when they reached Rapa Nui on Easter Day 1722, they were astonished to find a large population already established. Even more astonishing were the objects which the inhabitants had made - the great monoliths of Easter Island are like nothing else in the Pacific, or indeed anywhere else, and they've become some of the most famous sculptures in the world. This programme is about one of them. He's called Hoa Hakananai'a - the name has been roughly translated as 'hidden friend'. He came to London in 1869 and he's been one of the most admired inhabitants of the British Museum ever since.

"This marvellous mass, and strength, and power, these are all things that every sculptor⁴ wants to get, but to get naturally without having to strain for it, but to have - and this sculpture has it." (Anthony Caro)

复活节岛雕像

石制雕像，来自智利复活节岛（又称拉帕努伊岛）

公元一千年至公元一千二百年

拉帕努伊岛，即复活节岛，是太平洋上乃至全世界范围内最偏远的人类居住地。它的面积约为怀特岛的一半，距离最近的有人烟的岛屿约两千公里，距离最近的大陆约三千二百公里。因此可以想象，人类是花了多少时间才到达这里的。南太平洋上的波利尼西亚人是举世公认的公海上最强的航海能手，有驾驶双壳体独木舟在无垠的太平洋上穿梭的经验，这一能力是人类历史上最伟大的成就之一。他们居住在夏威夷和新西兰，在公元七百年至九百年间，部分族人来到了拉帕努伊岛，为人类历史的浩瀚篇章画下了一个句点—一复活节岛很可能是最后为人类永久定居的土地之一。

直到一千年之后，欧洲的航海技术才能与波利尼西亚人比肩。一七二二年的复活节，欧洲水手们到达这个小岛时，惊讶地发现这里已居住着大量人口。而更令他们惊诧的是当地人制作的物品—一巨石雕像，从未在太平洋的其他地方发现过，在全世界范围内也不曾出现过。它们已是当今世上最著名的雕像。本节中的文物便是其中一尊，名为何瓦何卡纳奈阿，可以大致译作“隐藏的朋友”。它于一八六九年来到伦敦，此后一直是大英博物馆最受欢迎的藏品之一。

1 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

2 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

3 feats   

功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance. 过去，他表现出来的惊人耐力常让朋友们大吃一惊。
• His heroic feats made him a legend in his own time. 他的英雄业绩使他成了他那个时代的传奇人物。

4 sculptor   

n.雕刻家，雕刻家

参考例句：

• A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。
• The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。