The Mysteries of the Moai on Easter Island | National Geographic

less than 1m read

·Nov 11, 2024

[Music] Imposing stone sentinels stand guard on Rapanui, a volcanic island that anchors the western point of the Polynesian triangle in the South Pacific. You might know it as Easter Island.

[Music] About 42% of the island is Rapa Nui National Park, a world heritage property established in 1995 to preserve the natural and cultural wonders of this Chilean territory. This Polynesian outpost blossomed in isolation, developing a distinct architectural and artistic culture. Moai, the enormous heads that dot the landscape, are the lasting legacy of this ancient society. The effort to construct these monuments and move them around the island must have been considerable, but no one knows exactly why the Rapa Nui people undertook such a task.

The hundreds of moai standing on Easter Island today were restored by historians, anthropologists, and archeologists in the 20th century. To get the best view of the moai, trek to Rano Raraku, where the volcanic rock used in their construction was quarried. Of the 887 remaining statues on the island, roughly 400 are strewn in and around the volcanic crater.

While most people visit Rapa Nui to explore its cultural history, the island is also home to some excellent diving, surfing, and enticing beaches. It's miraculous that Polynesian people ever reached Rapa Nui in the first place. Getting there today is much easier, but the island is still very far afield. Long flights service Rapa Nui from Chile and Tahiti.

[Music]

Compound interest: How to turn $1 into $10

Behind the Scenes of TEKOI

View All

The Riddle That Seems Impossible Even If You Know The Answer

There is a riddle that is so counterintuitive, it still seems wrong even if you know the answer. You’d think it’s an almost impossible number. I feel like you probably hit me with some truth bomb. I mean, if you’re trying to create controversy and you’…

Don’t Chase Happiness - Become Antifragile | Marcus Aurelius | Stoicism

We often think of strength as the ability to withstand enormous force without breaking. But true strength, as the Stoics taught us, isn’t just about enduring. It’s about thriving because of adversity, not in spite of it. This idea, known as anti-fragility…

The Compound Effect: How Small Decisions Lead to Massive Growth

Have you ever felt helpless when you work on your business every day and see little to no return? Then one day, suddenly you make a huge profit, and your business skyrockets from that point? That’s The Compound Effect in action, one of the most powerful f…

Bitcoin Is About To Snap

What’s up Grandma! It’s guys here, so we gotta bring attention to a topic that, in my opinion, is not getting enough recognition. Which I think is surprising because this has the potential to completely change the trajectory in terms of how we transact mo…

Everything We Don't Know

This is green. This is red. And this is blue. But how can you tell that what you’re seeing as blue is the exact same thing as what I see as blue? We’ve named the colors to give us a way to communicate and reference them, but in reality, there’s no way of …

Reasons Not to Worry What Others Think

You have no responsibility to live up to what other people think you ought to accomplish. I have no responsibility to be like they expect me to be. It’s their mistake, not my failing. It’s generally a good idea to care about other people’s opinions to som…

The Mysteries of the Moai on Easter Island | National Geographic

More Articles