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On one of the world’s most isolated islands, hundreds of vast stone statues lie mouldering in the grass.

In this episode, we take a look at one of archaeology’s most enduring puzzles: the mystery of Easter Island. Find out how this unique community grew up in complete isolation, severed from the rest of the world by a vast expanse of ocean. Discover the incredible story of how it survived for so many centuries, and examine the evidence about what happened to finally bring this society, and its statues, crashing down.

This episode, we're joined by children from the Toki School of Music and Arts on Rapa Nui, who were kind enough to record some traditional ancestral chants especially for the podcast.

Since 2012, Toki has offered children & adolescents free classes in classical and traditional music, with the aim of keeping the traditions of the island alive.

It's an incredible project, and if you want to help keep it running, you can donate here: https://tokirapanui.org/en/

** Fall of Civilizations the book is now available to pre-order: linktr.ee/fallofcivilizations **

Support Fall of Civilizations on Patreon:   / fallofcivilizations_podcast  

Credits:

Sound engineering by Thomas Ntinas

Voice Actors:

Jake Barrett-Mills
Jacob Rollinson
Annie Kelly
Shem Jacobs

Footage of Rapa Iti by Normand Schafer of Far and Away Adventures: FarAndAwayAdventures.com

Music by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Artist: incompetech.com/

Title theme: Home At Last by John Bartmann. https://johnbartmann.com/

SOURCES:

Bahn, Paul, and John Flenley. Easter Island, Earth Island. United Kingdom, Thames and Hudson, 1992.
Barthel, Thomas S. The Eighth Land: The Polynesian Discovery and Settlement of Easter Island. Trans. Trans. Anneliese Martin. Honolulu, University Press of Hawaii, 1978.
Behrens, Carl Friedrich. ‘Another Narrative of Jacob Roggeveen’s Visit.’ In: The Voyage of Captain Don Felipe Gonzalez. Trans. Bolton Glanvill Corney. Cambridge, The Hakluyt Society, 1908, pp. 131–137.
Bendrups, Dan. Singing and Survival: The Music of Easter Island. United States, Oxford University Press, 2019.
Boersema, Jan J. The Survival of Easter Island: Dwindling Resources and Cultural Resilience. United Kingdom, Cambridge University Press, 2015.
Capek, Michael. Easter Island. United States, Twenty-First Century Books, 2008.
Corney, Bolton Glanvill, editor. The Voyage of Captain Don Felipe Gonzalez. Cambridge, The Hakluyt Society, 1908.
Cook, Captain James. The Journals of Captain James Cook on His Voyages of Discovery. Ed. J. C. Beaglehole . United Kingdom, Taylor & Francis, 2017.
Diamond, Jared. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive. United Kingdom, Penguin Books, 2013.
Emory, Kenneth P. ‘Easter Island’s Position in the Prehistory of Polynesia.’ The Journal of the Polynesian Society, vol. 81, no. 1, 1972, pp. 57–69.
Esen-Baur, Heide-Margaret. ‘Towards an Understanding of “Rongorongo.”’ Anthropos, vol. 106, no. 2, 2011, pp. 439–461.
Fischer, Steven Roger. Island at the End of the World: The Turbulent History of Easter Island. United Kingdom, Reaktion Books, 2006.
Gill, George W. and Vincent H. Stefan, editors. Skeletal Biology of the Ancient Rapanui (Easter Islanders). United Kingdom Cambridge University Press, 2016.
Heyerdahl, Thor. Easter Island: The Mystery Solved. New York, Random House, 1989.
—————, and Edwin N. Ferdon Jr, editors. Reports of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island and the East Pacific. United States, Rand McNally & Company, 1961.
Hiatt, Alfred, et al., editors. European Perceptions of Terra Australis. United Kingdom, Taylor & Francis, 2016.
Hunt, Terry and Carl Lipo. The Statues that Walked: Unraveling the Mystery of Easter Island. United Kingdom, Free Press, 2011.
—————. ‘Rethinking the Fall of Easter Island: New Evidence Points to an Alternative Explanation for a Civilization’s Collapse.’ American Scientist, vol. 94, no. 5, 2006, pp. 412–419.
Langdon, Robert, et al. ‘The Settlement of Easter Island.’ The Journal of the Polynesian Society, vol. 110, no. 3, 2001, pp. 329–333.
Middleton, Guy D. Understanding Collapse: Ancient History and Modern Myths. United Kingdom, Cambridge University Press, 2017.
Roggeveen, Jacob. ‘Extract From the Official Log of Mr Jacob Roggeveen, Relating to His Discovery of Easter Island.’ 1722. In: The Voyage of Captain Don Felipe Gonzalez. Trans. Bolton Glanville Corney. Cambridge, The Hakluyt Society, 1908, pp. 1–24.
Routledge, Katherine. The Mystery of Easter Island. United Kingdom, Hazell, Watson, and Viney Ltd, 1919.
Trachtman, Paul. ‘The Secrets of Easter Island.’ Smithsonian, 1 Mar. 2002. Online.
Van Tilburg, Jo Anne and Ted Ralston. ‘Engineers of Easter Island.’ Archaeology, vol. 52, no. 6, 1999, pp. 40–45.