Chilean island in the S Pacific Ocean, part
of the Polynesian group, about 3,500 km/2,200
mi W of Chile; area about 166 sq km/64 sq mi;
population (1985) 2,000. It was first reached
by Europeans on Easter Sunday 1722. On it
stand huge carved statues and stone houses,
the work of neolithic peoples of unknown
origin. The chief centre is Hanga-Roa.