The Statues that Walked is a brand new popular science book by Easter Island researchers Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo. For the last decade or so, the two scholars have been steadily redefining the meaning of the history of Rapa Nui.
The Statues that Walked cover art. Free Press: New York
Easter Island, if you don't recognize the name, is famous for the hundreds of moai: enormous statues carved out of stone and set on platforms. These statues, up to 32 feet high and 80 some tons in weight, were carved out of a quarry and moved without wheels or large animals to locations around the island. The statues, the platforms on which they were placed and the roads constructed to move them into locations, all are monumental architecture built by the Rapanui between 1200 and 1600 AD.
Hunt and Lipo's new book overturns many of the prevailing notions of Easter Island: arguing that their history is not one of suicidal eco-destruction, but truly one of survival, overcoming many environmental and social obstacles set in their path. The book is quite engaging, and full of fascinating detail, and I highly recommend it.
- Read the full review of The Statues that Walked: Unraveling the Mystery of Easter Island
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Comments
I enjoyed your review. It cultivated enough interest in me to want to read about the attempts to colonize other islands, and to understand why some colonies managed to last longer than others.
This is truely a great book, and a fascinating location. How did it get there? One of life’s great mysteries!