Tag Archive for 'Rano Raraku'

Easter Island is located some 3,512 km from Chile’s west coast and its nearest inhabited neighbor, Pitcairn Island, located some 2,075 km to the west. For reasons still unknown early Rapa Nui people began carving giant statues out of volcanic rock. Image credit: Marlene Hanssen.

Easter Islanders Likely Believed Megalithic Statues Helped Maintain Soil Fertility

Dec 16, 2019 by News Staff

Ancient inhabitants of Easter Island (also known as Rapa Nui) likely believed their megalithic statues called moai stimulated agricultural food production,...

Rapanui people. Image credit: © Santiago Caruso.

Tools of Ancient Easter Islanders Hint at Sophisticated Society

Aug 21, 2018 by News Staff

By analyzing the chemical makeup of toki, tools that were used by Easter Island’s inhabitants to create the giant moai statues, Field Museum researcher...