The Mysteries of the Moai on Easter Island

Imposing stone sentinels stand guard on Rapa Nui,
a volcanic island that anchors the western point of the Polynesian Triangle in the South Pacific.
You might know it as Easter Island.
About 42 % of the island is Rapa Nui National Park,
a World Heritage property established in 1995
to preserve the natural and cultural wonders of this Chilean territory.
This Polynesian outpost blossomed in isolation,
developing a distinct architectural and artistic culture.
Moai, the enormous heads that dot the landscape, are the lasting legacy of this ancient society.
The effort to construct these monuments and move them around the island must have been considerable.
But no one knows exactly why the Rapa Nui people undertook such a task.
The hundreds of moai standing on Easter Island today
were restored by historians, anthropologists and archaeologists in the twentieth century.

Imposing stone sentinels stand guard on Rapa Nui,
a volcanic island that anchors the western point of the Polynesian Triangle in the South Pacific.
You might know it as Easter Island.
About 42 % of the island is Rapa Nui National Park,
a World Heritage property established in 1995
to preserve the natural and cultural wonders of this Chilean territory.
This Polynesian outpost blossomed in isolation,
developing a distinct architectural and artistic culture.
Moai, the enormous heads that dot the landscape, are the lasting legacy of this ancient society.
The effort to construct these monuments and move them around the island must have been considerable.
But no one knows exactly why the Rapa Nui people undertook such a task.
The hundreds of moai standing on Easter Island today
were restored by historians, anthropologists and archaeologists in the twentieth century.