Scientists believe they’ve uncovered the meaning of some of the Moai stone monoliths found on Rapa Nui, better known as ...

Scientists thought they found them all.

Rapa Nui, 2,200 miles west of the mainland, is as rugged as it is remote — and an exploration offers blustery hikes, volcanic ...

The Polynesian inhabitants of Easter Island were first encountered by European explorers in the 18th century. Disease and emigration soon depopulated the community.

Easter Island — a Chilean territory at the eastern edge of Polynesia, known as Rapa Nui to residents — is known for its iconic volcanic rock statues, or moʻai. In 2023, a previously unknown statue was ...

Easter Island’s massive moai statues were moved across the island without wheels, cranes, or modern machinery, yet many weigh ...

New excavations and high tech scans on one of the world’s most remote islands are forcing archaeologists to redraw the story of how complex societies rise, adapt and endure. On Rapa Nui, better known ...

“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 ...

Just when experts thought they knew every moai on Rapa Nui, otherwise known as Easter Island, a dried-up lakebed kept them on their toes. These statues—largely made of a stone formed from volcanic ash ...