For generations, the massive moai of Easter Island, called Rapa Nui by the locals, have stood in quiet testimony to one of archaeology’s longest-standing mysteries. How did an island society, remote ...

The indigenous people of Easter Island, the Rapa Nui, experienced a societal collapse after the 17th century because they stripped the island clean of its natural resources. Or at least, that’s the ...

Moai statues near Rano Raraku volcano, Rapa-Nui National Park, Chile. Easter Island's famous moai, monumental human figures carved from the local quarried volcanic rocks, have long puzzled visitors ...

A researcher has offered a new theory for the mystery of Easter Island’s stone heads, arguing in a recent study that carvers believed they helped the growth of crops. Soil tests of the Rano Raraku ...

The hillside of Rano Raraku volcano on Rapa Nui feels like a place that froze in time. Embedded in grass and volcanic rock, almost 400 moai – the monolithic human figures carved centuries ago by this ...

Unless you count the heat, the streets of Tullahoma, Tenn., have very little in common with Easter Island, a tiny spit of land off the coast of Chile. But local artist Steve Smith is doing his part to ...

Easter Island, famous for its imposing moai statues, is often presented as a case of sudden societal collapse. However, a recent scientific analysis offers a renewed vision of its history, based on ...

James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, space, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary.View full profile James is a ...