Scientists used drones to produce this 3D model of Rano Raraku, the volcanic crater where 95% of Rapa Nui's giant statues were carved. Lipo et al., 2025, PLOS One, CC BY Rapa Nui, also known as Easter ...

The ancient Polynesians who settled the island of Rapa Nui – formerly known as Easter Island – may have worked out an ingenious way to make their iconic moai statues 'walk'. It's not just local legend ...

In his “Island at the Edge of the World,” the British archaeologist Mike Pitts delves into the misconceptions and legends ...

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 ...

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Rising sea levels are now threatening Rapa Nui’s Moai statues. According to a Cultural Heritage study by students at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, by 2080, the rising sea ...

Easter Island has long been misunderstood by the West. A new book by Mike Pitts sets the record straight.

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Carl Lipo, Binghamton University, State University of New York (THE CONVERSATION) Rapa ...