Evidence is now stronger than ever that the mysterious population collapse of Rapa Nui never actually happened. Recent ...

Researchers were confused about how the ancient people of Rapa Nui moved the iconic Moai statues, and physics might have confirmed this.

The researchers employed high-resolution 3D modeling alongside field experiments, where they moved a 4.35-ton replica Moai statue 328 feet in 40 minutes, using only 18 people.

“Sea level rise is real,” said Noah Paoa, lead author of the study and a doctoral student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. “It’s not a distant ...