The moai were more than art; they were memorials to important figures. They showed the beliefs and spirit of Rapa Nui society ...

"We think we know all the moai, but then a new one turns up." Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui, is famous for the 1,000 ...

Why Trust Us? For decades, archeologists have debated whether the writing system of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), known as Rongorongo, was invented independently or influenced by Europeans.

Several moai in that area suffered charring in an October forest fire on the island, which is also known as Rapa Nui and lies some 2,200 miles off the west coast of Chile. "This moai is in the ...

The blaze broke out Monday and swept through at least 247 acres of the Rapa Nui National Park, which covers a little less than half of the island, officials there said. "The damage to some of ...

Researchers have unearthed a new 5-foot-tall moai statue created by Indigenous Rapa Nui people on Easter Island. Volunteers from three Chilean universities made the discovery on Feb. 21 in a dry ...

Few places on Earth are as well known for their so-called mysteries as Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui. For a tiny island of 64 square miles, with its nearest neighbors some 1,300 miles away ...

Rapa Nui mayor said moai statues were left "totally charred." When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. A suspected arson attack on ...

Little Sophora toromiro, is far from home, no longer present on Rapa Nui, the Pacific island where it evolved. Also known as Easter Island, or Isla de Pascua in Spanish, Rapa Nui is a speck of ...

A newly identified drought on the Pacific island of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, could have spurred islanders to invest fewer resources in building their legendary stone monuments.

By Johnny Diaz Some of the ancient monolithic statues in Rapa Nui National Park on Easter Island have been damaged beyond repair in a wildfire, the authorities said. The fire has burned more than ...

Robert DiNapoli, co-author of a new study about population dynamics on Rapa Nui, stands in front of a rock garden on the island. People used rocks to make the volcanic land more suitable for farming.