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The So-Called Mystery of Rapa Nui (AKA Easter Island)
Podcast |
Outside/In
Publisher |
NHPR
Media Type |
audio
Categories Via RSS |
Natural Sciences
News
Science
Society & Culture
Publication Date |
Apr 14, 2022
Episode Duration |
00:51:00

Three hundred years ago on Easter Sunday, 1722, European explorers landed on a South Pacific island that they called “Easter Island.” And they were shocked to see nearly one-thousand giant statues of stoic faces, called “moai”, placed all over the island.

Who moved them? And how did they do it?

The most popular theory was that this remote civilization destroyed itself – cutting down all the trees to make contraptions for moving statues.

But according to the Indigenous people of Rapa Nui, their ancestors didn’t need to cut down any trees to transport the statues. In fact, their oral history has always been clear about how the moai were transported. The real mystery is, why hasn’t anyone been listening?

This story originally ran in  October 2021, and was updated for the 300th anniversary of first contact between Rapanui and European peoples.

Featuring: Sergio Rapu Haoa, Carl Lipo, Terry Hunt, Sergio Mata’u Rapu, and Gina Pakarati

 

SUPPORT

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Subscribe to our newsletter.

 

LINKS

A profile of Sergio Rapu Haoa for the 2002 Rotary World Peace Scholars program at Berkeley

Eating Up Easter -- a documentary film produced by Sergio Mata’u Rapu, about how the people of Rapa Nui are grappling with environmental and social changes brought on by tourism and economic development.

The NOVA-National Geographic Documentary

Lectures by Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo

 

CREDITS

Reported and produced by Felix Poon

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Executive Producer: Rebecca Lavoie

Mixed by Felix Poon

Additional Editing: Justine Paradis, Jessica Hunt, Rebecca Lavoie, and Erika Janik

Special thanks to Effie Kong, and Daniela Allee for her Spanish and Rapanui voiceovers.

Theme: Breakmaster Cylinder

Additional Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Three hundred years ago this Easter, Europeans landed on what they called “Easter Island.” Countless stories have been told of the island and its statues since. But what if they’re all wrong?

Three hundred years ago on Easter Sunday, 1722, European explorers landed on a South Pacific island that they called “Easter Island.” And they were shocked to see nearly one-thousand giant statues of stoic faces, called “moai”, placed all over the island.

Who moved them? And how did they do it?

The most popular theory was that this remote civilization destroyed itself – cutting down all the trees to make contraptions for moving statues.

But according to the Indigenous people of Rapa Nui, their ancestors didn’t need to cut down any trees to transport the statues. In fact, their oral history has always been clear about how the moai were transported. The real mystery is, why hasn’t anyone been listening?

This story originally ran in  October 2021, and was updated for the 300th anniversary of first contact between Rapanui and European peoples.

Featuring: Sergio Rapu Haoa, Carl Lipo, Terry Hunt, Sergio Mata’u Rapu, and Gina Pakarati

 

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In

Subscribe to our newsletter.

 

LINKS

A profile of Sergio Rapu Haoa for the 2002 Rotary World Peace Scholars program at Berkeley

Eating Up Easter -- a documentary film produced by Sergio Mata’u Rapu, about how the people of Rapa Nui are grappling with environmental and social changes brought on by tourism and economic development.

The NOVA-National Geographic Documentary

Lectures by Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo

 

CREDITS

Reported and produced by Felix Poon

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Executive Producer: Rebecca Lavoie

Mixed by Felix Poon

Additional Editing: Justine Paradis, Jessica Hunt, Rebecca Lavoie, and Erika Janik

Special thanks to Effie Kong, and Daniela Allee for her Spanish and Rapanui voiceovers.

Theme: Breakmaster Cylinder

Additional Music by Blue Dot Sessions

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