Easter Island: The Secrets of the Moai and the Decline of the Rapa Nui

[@geographicstravel]

Get started with Curiosity Stream: go.thoughtleaders.io/1650620200114

[@tamasmihaly1]

After watching Business Blaze, I struggle taking you seriously. I prefer this artificial version of you by far. I don't care at all that it's not genuine.

[@christianarroyo6511]

@Dovyeon awa

[@callumgibson9167]

As a New Zealander, I noticed a lot of Easter Islands place names are very similar to Maori names. Tangata means people in Maori, and man in the language of the Rapa Nui. Not too surprising since they probably share common ancestors from Polynesia.

[@bastianpate-uc5hd]

Very similar, i talked once with a guy from Hawaii and I.could understand everything. I am from Rapa Nui.

[@niixx324]

Also both worship Manaia.

[@ReZpawner]

Thank you for providing the metric measurements for those of us who don't have three elephants available.

[@deathproofbum0197]

Clever and funny answer, thanks for the laugh.

[@Red_Lanterns_Rage]

what am I gonna do with these elephants now?? Dumbo is sad and misses mom, Bobo is agitated, and Wendy is smacking a Giraffe around with her trunk.....tsk tsk.....

[@stephjovi]

@@Red_Lanterns_Rage well if it's still a baby you can use it to keep a baby elephants distance

[@Kynk]

Hey, imperial measurements don't use elephants.... It uses much more stupid things, like some old kings foot size and arm length.

[@gandalfthegrey7135]

@@Kynk not to say that they had an independence war against the country this kings foot comes from

[@richg2250]

I did a paper about eight years ago about evidence of Polynesian chicken bones that have been found in Chile. So it's possible that Polynesians came to Easter Island, then South America, then back again. That theory would cover alot of the discrepancies between different theories.

[@stevehill4615]

so they were just a bunch of economic migrants then? shows there's nothing new ---- LOL

[@dshe8637]

@@stevehill4615 That's the normal human way :-)

[@titan133760]

@@stevehill4615 People have always been moving to greener pastures since prehistory

[@DavidCaldicottMedia]

Can you share the paper? Would be great to read it :-D

[@richg2250]

It's been eight years. I don't have that paper anymore. It could possibly be on archive at Western Oregon University but I highly doubt it. I think the only paper I have on archive there is my senior thesis ( Which was in the Tunisian revolution and the Arab Spring) I apologize.

[@YCCCm7]

RIP Lil' Nui. He was among the finest to drop rhymes.

[@Red_Lanterns_Rage]

and now the rise of Thug Nui, soon to be in a beef with x Killa Nui x but then in the span of a year 2 Nui 4 U and Biggie Nui gets gunned down by haytas, it ends the thug era and starts the clubbin scene as tribals go to vacuous clubs to shake their asses shake it shake it shake it baby shaky it the beat drones on......shake shake it..... LOLZ worst joke ever

[@aceofarrows]

When Simon mentioned that more moai heads were basically their answer to everything, all problems can be solved through more moai heads, all it reminded me of was the old StarCraft "you must construct additional pylons" meme, since the Protoss seem to have the same attitude when it comes to *their* problems: anything is possible and any problems you have can be solved if you just have enough pylons.

[@IntrepidFraidyCat]

Daphne: ...he thinks his forehead looks a touch too big. Frasier: A touch? I look like a fugitive from Easter Island! 🗿🗿🗿

[@AtaMarKat]

IntrepidFraidyCat It makes you look smart!

[@IntrepidFraidyCat]

@@AtaMarKat "Check out the big brain on Brad!" -Pulp Fiction 😜

[@spacealienrissley]

Dude...that show

[@kyky8862]

So glad someone else was thinking of that line too 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@kl0wnkiller912]

I thought of the Simpson's as soon as I watched this: Moe Syzlack: "I am thinking of taking a vacation to Easter Island". Larry (I think): "Oh, you're going to check out the giant heads huh"? Moe: "The what? The what now?"

[@bardock11]

For anyone interested in the Rapa Nui in more depth, there's a fantastic podcast called The Fall of Civilizations which has a whole episode dedicated to the topic. Amazing to say the least. And tragic. Give it a listen.

[@maligjokica]

i've just seen the podcast you mensed. its great!! thanks for the link

[@mariakelly1059]

@@maligjokica I'm going to start a Fall of Civilizations Binge this weekend.

[@rachelann9362]

Great podcast! Highly recommended for folks that want to dive in much deeper. Ancient Americas is another great history channel with the focus obviously being on North/South American cultures. The style is similar to ‘the fall of civilizations’ podcast.

[@LukeRocks81]

Very emotional episode.

[@spectreagent00]

We need a new poltical party devoted to solving problems by building bigger and bigger heads.

[@sarasmr4278]

But if your walking giant head falls over it's gonna be a problem

[@lefthandedrightminded3087]

this would still be more efficient that the current system

[@Red_Lanterns_Rage]

then the first head would have the be one for Ruin "Roundhead" Johnson cus his head is large already and quite round.....lolz

[@bjornodin]

Oh I think politicians heads are big enough already!!!

[@Red_Lanterns_Rage]

@@bjornodin agreed, time to relieve them of their baggage right?? LMAO just kidding, but politicians do have inflated and thick heads....

[@joeg5414]

I just realized something....I've spent a lot of my life watching a bearded bald man talk about things in front of a green screen.

[@siddharthsharma3955]

Wait, that's a green screen?!!

[@steveholland1163]

@@siddharthsharma3955 no hes said before this is his office and not a green screen

[@warspitehms5334]

It would be cool with a Tristan da Cunha (a.k.a the most isolated settlement inte the world)episode. Perhaps it could be combined with Bouvet Island (the world's most isolated island.

[@barrywerdell2614]

@15:00, thank you Simon, I'm so sick of Giorgio A. Tsoukalos and others attributing everything our ancestors did that was smart or creative to aliens. Instead of thinking maybe they were smarter then we thought. As if ancient man was sitting around sitting around with a microwave in their hands going "Where do we plug it in?"

[@Stettafire]

A good look at the textile industry history will show how inventive our ancestors were and how much skill has been lost in the day of the button click.

[@Strider91]

As a Historian (mostly of ancient history) its has always enraged me that the small minded men of today attribute the great works of our ancestors to aliens or magic. Simply because the can not fathom how to do it themselves without modern technology. We were once capable of such great deeds and creative thinking. . . . .

[@barrywerdell2614]

@@Strider91 I find it so strange that these "Ancient Alien Believers " don't have the imagination to believe that our ancestors were smarter than we first thought but do have the imagination to believe aliens from other planets came here and formed our world. They have all failed the Zebra test! (The Zebra test is if you hear hoofbeats behind you it's probably a horse and not a Zebra.)

[@moodook4040]

Great content as always. Thank you Simon and team for all you do.

[@ChrisCVW]

They have one in the British museum. The little plaque is freaking amazing. I’ll have to paraphrase a little because my memory is less that photographic. “This artefact was acquired from Easter Island by Captain Tarquin Thievington-B’stard in the Reign of Queen Victoria. The event of the acquisition was witnessed by native Oi’dats M’sta’choo, who arrived to see the relic being rowed off from the beach back to the 48-gun HMS Fuq-u-gunna-do. It was presented to the queen, who dumped it on the British museum where it has been displayed ever since. In 2018 a deputation of Rapanui islanders arrived to politely ask for it back, but we feel it really brings the room together. Negotiations continue, but no.”

[@HexenProzess]

48 gun HMS fuq u gonna do? Thats great

[@damenwhelan3236]

The royal British museum. Aka. Vickys believe it or not.

[@MrDryqula]

I... can't... breathe... after reading this... XD

[@brownlab8898]

Comment too good for KZbin

[@MrDryqula]

@@HexenProzess I lost it at "native Oi'dats M'sta'choo"

[@richardbidinger2577]

I think you guys have done a better job of explaining all this than the scholars have. Well done.

[@Ula-I-Recka]

Well.....what the video does is cite the explanation of scholars, so....

[@frenchys_prospecting]

Simon, we need to see you doing a biographic on these places while actually being there.

[@Jack-nn6gn]

when he gets his own netflix show we'll have that

[@frenchys_prospecting]

@@Jack-nn6gn not netflix. That's too mainstream. Simon is a KZbin celebrity and we need to see him doing KZbin stuff.

[@DuchessDelphine]

Wow! That would be amazing!!!

[@michaelgiblin1410]

I'm a Nigerian prince instead of me placing money in your account, how about you send me some money and I'll travel and send you photos! Good deal? 😂

[@terrialdrich9477]

Thst would be AMAZING

[@Manbarrican]

Thanks to liking Bionicle as a kid the names of everything in this video really rolls off the tongue for me.

[@theNickRYG]

"Bionicle: Each sold separately."

[@TheKML777]

I never forgave Lego for discontinuing that line.

[@kathleenking3955]

When you mentioned the term for the crown of the statue: Pukao {sp?) - what comes to mind are the 'Pukel' statues in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. And I am confident that these 'Pukel-men' statues leading up the Mountain of Starkhorn are inspired by the Easter Island statues. And these statues resemble the image of Ghan buri Ghani, the leader of the primitive tribe escorting the Rohirrim via secret ways to Gondor. It makes sense given the history: coercion and slavery of those people. [refer to the chapters: 'The Muster of Rohan'; and 'The Ride of the Rohirrim' in Book 3 - The Return of the King.

[@planetdisco4821]

The work by Jarrod Diamond you referred to is in his novel “Collapse” in the section that deals with the greater Polynesian Pacific Diaspora. It’s actually a fantastic read and I’d recommend it to anyone that’s interested in the rise and fall of civilisations as well as its causative factors. Personally I think it makes for a compelling argument for what happened on Rapa Nui, but the simple truth is, we may never know. Nevertheless, I do believe that the story of Easter Island does serve as a macroscopic cautionary tale for what’s actually happening right now to planet earth, which is after all, an island all alone in the vastness of space...

[@normanhumphrey9695]

That was excellent, I could accept either of the options you pointed out as being a reasonable means of evolution on the island. Not sure we will ever know for sure but it was a place on my bucket list to visit before I die. Regrettably I have terminal cancer and little money so travel is out of the question for me right now, maybe in a second life if that happens? All the best to you in this life and keep up the great work you do.

[@joseffthomas10]

Personally, I think that ecocide was the start of their decline, while the rats came and fuelled said ecocide. The slavery I think was the final nail in the coffin that doomed them, forcing the Rapa Nui into near-extinction.

[@camiloiribarren1450]

Yes!! Chile is half of my heritage! Especially Santiago and i want to get there before I die. Thank you for mentioning

[@flamencoprof]

As a New Zealander of European descent, even I have learned enough of the language of my fellow NZ residents, the Maori people, to immediately recognise words from the Rapa Nui language quoted in this item. In my mind, there can be no question that they were Polynesians. Chicken bones, kumara and yams have proven there must have been some two-way exchanges with S. America, but it seems with no great cultural influences either way. Genetically, there is the problem of distinguishing the Asians who went North via Alaska and South, from the Asians who sailed South from Taiwan via Indonesia and East. Maori word Ika, and Indonesian word ikan both mean "fish". Maori and Rapanui both say "Manu" for bird.

[@uonadtehrrocks]

I think some of them did at some time travel to South America and back due to the sweet potatoes, but how extensive this was and if there was and interbreeding I have no idea.

[@variaxi935]

That was very informed, thank you for this. I wish there were a faster way to share and absorb knowledge lol

[@flamencoprof]

@@variaxi935 WDYM? it only took 2 years for you to see it. LOL I'm old, I think the Net is pretty fast ATM. :-)

[@jamesbain8167]

I liked this one so much that I have watched it a couple more times since it first came out. It's a topic I have researched in the past and you have done a very good job here.

[@sisaktamas]

In 2009 after our wedding we thought of travelling to a potentially once-in-a-lifetime destination. Easter Island was a strong contender, my favorite but my wife didn't want to wait long into the year just to go to the southern hemisphere. So we went to Nepal, which was absolutely fantastic, however I still miss at least the idea of going to Easter Island. I hope this video to be a good substitute. Let's see!

[@Marco_Onyxheart]

I'm a late 90s/early 2000s kid. I keep hearing Lego Bionicle terms.

[@claudiobizama5603]

Yeah, they took a lot of Polynesian inspiration, mostly Maori

[@Tiberon098]

And Lego got a lot of flak for using the Polynesian and Maori sounding terms.

[@mayro4803]

Damn bro you assaulted me with that nostalgia.

[@Woedans]

Im an early 90’s kid and I felt exactly the same! My inner child has been awoken and is screaming for his lego bionicle!

[@kingfuzzy2]

Thank you for that sweet nostalgia ( :

[@princessmarlena1359]

🗿”Hello, dum-dum! You got gum-gum?”

[@standdownrobots_ihaveoldglory]

1) thank you for doing proper close captions and 2) thank you for sending in your script, it's fun to see what Simon skips or changes.

[@eldorado1244]

A great place for deep sea fishing, been there twice

[@michelle4688]

I love that no matter what utterly random rabbit hole I'm down, I can count on Simon to give me the TL;DR. Years later! Thanks!!

[@mitchellneu]

Never clicked faster. Always wanted to know more about Easter Island aside from the famous head sculptures. Thanks!

[@deathproofbum0197]

I don't want to put a downer on his shows as they are very professionally edited and to a degree researched, if you want to find the original 1986 documentary please look for yourself as it may still well be on here, I watched the documentary originally in 1986 (yes I'm that old) and on here. It was a complete failure as they attempted to move certain weights with eight people while rocking (walking) the final weight they used not far, and not the success as was referred to. If you want the truth even unfortunately from KZbin these days you have to look for it, as they fear getting de-monietised if they don't present a mainstream narrative, which i can understand as these cost a lot to produce and they have to eat. Never think that what you are being told is truthful, quarrying twenty ton stones then moving them many miles would be very difficult with a massive undertaking today with modern equipment, if the exact same procedure could be filmed completely from start to finish using the same methods the original people used and completed, i would stand corrected with a large dunce hat on my head, however, the original show from 86' was a complete disaster hardly moving a one ton stone equally cut ten metres over several hours exhausting the participants moving it, and they hailed this as a success and proof of how they made and moved these gigantic sculptures, please search for yourself on here.

[@vernicethompson4825]

That could be considered a success. They were only aiming to move it a short distance. The original islanders had plenty of time for moving the statues and probably moved them only short distances each day until they got where they wanted them.

[@deathproofbum0197]

@@vernicethompson4825 Moving a square one ton weight ten metres in several hours is considered as successful? Do the math, if it took a crew of eight people several hours to move this small weight in comparison to the average twenty ton blocks fifteen miles from the quarry, however, first having to cut it out using what tools? Also sculpture it when they arrived at their destination, and there are about two hundred of them, by my reckoning they would be still there just starting on their third one. Do you understand the forces needed to move a fifty ton weight? Which many of them was, at this extreme steel cables are required as rope would just snap like string, even with a pulley system or counter weights, that is why I find it very hard to wrap my head around this just like Egypt, the tooling needed to create perfect circular holes through granite would at least have to be tungsten or diamond as obviously it has to be harder than the material your boring through. They say that it was sandpapered out on the end of a stick? There would be about a thousand skeletons emassed around the hole having only achieved about an inch. If a method of working takes to long it will after not much time be given upon, only if it can be achieved in good time for the labour put in will people keep at it, even a slave owner wouldn't let a slave waste a lot of time on one project as it's not financially worth it to the owner while they could be put to better use, or to pay a crew, even for the love of it, so what we're being told is nonsense, another form of technology even more advanced than present day was used, I would like a credible explanation otherwise.

[@LeRoy-t4e]

Quite comprehensive and unbiased. Excellent work, Sir 😊

[@theofficialken1755]

I love that the Moai are made of compressed ash and improve the soil around them from nutrients leaching out. You carve a Moai, move it, and then the soil improves and crop yield improves. Thank the ancestors, rinse and repeat.

[@adolfgaming1761]

That egg search sounds like an awesome quest

[@frjcmaximilian]

You mentioned near the beginning of this video that Easter Island is one of the most remote islands in the world. May I suggest that you do an episode on THE most isolated island in the world, Tristan da Cunha.

[@thanrose]

That was my first thought, too. So many interesting places, and so many yet to discover.

[@vernicethompson4825]

That would be a good one for him to do the history of. There are KZbin videos made by people who visited the island. They provide a lot of good information.

[@MarloSoBalJr]

@@thanrose It's probably best to leave it that way. We've already destroyed enough societies as it is

[@joemackey8859]

Thoroughly enjoy the videos and found this one especially informative. Kon-tiki was my second historical book only preceded by the bowmen of Crecy. Perhaps you could do a video detailing the battle from that book.

[@negativeindustrial]

Not sure why this hasn’t occurred to your graphics crew but each episode really ought to start with a moon’s eye view of the Earth rotating as we pull in to the location to be discussed so that anyone unfamiliar will get an idea of at least approximately where we are talking about.

[@bjornodin]

I like this idea! Let's make it happen!!!

[@benjaminturner7897]

I have been binging this channel for the past two days. I have learned more from Geographics than my online classes

[@gandhithegreat328]

Simon: Possibly the most remote island in the world Bouvet Island: Am I a joke to you?

[@corrienotcorey]

thank u Geo and Bio graphics for keeping me fed during the KZbin Jan/Feb drought

[@IntegrityRC]

There is actually footage on youtube of someone recreating the Moai walking with ropes. Pretty interesting.

[@janpetersen750]

I’ve been fascinated by the statues since I read Aku Aku when I was about 10.

[@TheGreatMoonFrog]

Another famous "ecoside" tale is the Viking settlements on Greenland. Any chance you guys want to go over that one? Very cool and mysterious.

[@Transilvanian90]

Nothing to do with ecocide, since the Norse Greenlanders didn't destroy their environment but suffered due to the Little Ice Age making the planet colder.

[@GK_with_PK_India]

A video on the Aztec Civilization would be great

[@skidaddlej6786]

Hi Simon hope your well and I love your channel’s, have you done a Stonehenge video?

[@davidmayers8981]

I’ve watched many videos on Easter Island but this was the most informative by far.

[@davidjames4890]

DUM DUM; ME WANT GUM GUM.

[@moler646445]

i see u a man of culture

[@titan133760]

MY DUM DUM WANT TO SPEAK

[@UnchainedAmerica]

ARe you comparing the Rapa Nui language to be simplistic as Jar Jar Binks? How ignorant of you.

[@taninsam7893]

@@UnchainedAmerica It comes from a kids movie fam.

[@zacharythompson6395]

YOU NEW DUM DUM, YOU BRING ME GUM GUM

[@sallycostello8379]

Haha! I love the 'Easter' egg at 4.02 in the closed captions about Navel of the World, "I could have created something like this in my back yard " edited out of the audio 😂

[@Th3Su8]

"I'm not saying it was aliens, but it was Aliens!"

[@terrialdrich9477]

Excellent presentation! I knew a little about this culture, but you've filled in a whole lot of details unknown to me. Thank you!

[@h.z5067]

Amazing content! Keep it up🔥

[@billd2635]

On the Eco-cide question: There is a method to cut stone by heating it and then pouring water on it, creating cracks. This could have been used to rough shape the statues. This method uses alot of firewood. Also, they would have needed alot of wooden wedges to open the cracks further. You'd be surprised what a skilled worker can do with a big hammer and some wedges.

[@flashgordon3715]

Hello, Hanga Roa airport, this is space shuttle Atlantis, well be landing oh let's say about 36 seconds from now. You'll have the runway clear right?

[@jonathanzytkoskee9740]

I learn soooo much through these videos. Thanks!

[@baronvonjo1929]

What did they use to carve the Moai. It's amazing how it seems so far fetched now to build them. I mean if you told me to carve one. Now that I think about it. Can you see a progression in the detail and quality of the statues?

[@sophroniel]

Other harder rocks, I assume. Look up what they had there and the mohrs scale

[@bastianpate-uc5hd]

They used tools called toki, volcanic basalt harder stone than the moai stone.

[@ZA-mb5di]

2:05 there's an Alien Weaponry song called Kai Tangata and I love it

[@SuperWorkingJoe]

Out of all the places you've covered and all the people you covered Simon - a meal in one location with one person, who and where?

[@cease4349]

would love for him to answer this

[@variaxi935]

The rongorongo tablets depict primarily what appears to be a variety of marine life... I personally believe some of em may just be elaborate receipts used in the fishing trade on the island lol receipts which compound days worth of work until the tablet is filled up rather than creating a new receipt each day

[@ARIXANDRE]

"SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT"

[@stevehill4615]

time to get schwifty

[@EX7RUD1CON]

“I LIKE WHAT YOU GOT”

[@sulla175]

"THERE'S ONE EVERY YEAR!"

[@Red_Lanterns_Rage]

pulls out a revolver, a flintlock, 3 derringers, a Colt 1911, a suppressed chopped stock AK, an uzi, 3 butterfly knives, a sword, a Scottish dirk, a machete, a mini chainsaw, a folding pocket knife a switchblade, an axe, pair of push daggers and a whistle people watching the scene [eyes wide, jaws dropped] well, you said show me what you got...here's what I got......don't touch that!

[@ordinaryJeff]

"I guess I better 'crunch the numbers'!"

[@BichinAround]

Both explanations make more sense to me. Both at the same time, a sum of factors

[@pipersall6761]

Good show. Very interesting. Thank you and stay safe.

[@jayw6034]

I had heard it that it was the construction of their boats that caused the deforestation. Granted I did a lot less research than y'all so I'll defer to you lol.

[@deathproofbum0197]

The story he told was from a 1986 documentary and in it also showed a pitiful example of how eight people moved them which he referred to as 'successful'. The original doc may still be on here as that's where I viewed it, so see for yourself how they had to keep moving the goalposts backwards.

[@bjornodin]

@@deathproofbum0197 I recall seeing either 2 different docs or a single one that was persistent in their quest to walking the statues. In any case I am convinced that it is indeed not only possible but actually relatively simple for experienced people to move the statues. It's been a while though, so sadly I have no links to post and can't be bothered to do a deep dive looking for them. Clearly I would not have cut it as "statue walker" back then 😋

[@JohnC420.]

I think the best theory to what happened to them is from FALL OF CIVILIZATION here on KZbin he goes into great detail and has a great selection of other videos also in great detail on other ancient civilizations

[@hightea2546]

Simon , I really like everything you offer , so interesting, yet I’m wishing I could afford all this neat stuff, alas , I need food to eat, therefore , I must decline these mind filling gems🙄🤣

[@angelitabecerra]

I'm all for you having Sponsors. I just wish you did the sponsorship at the very beginning vs in the middle of what you're trying to teach us about. I've no issues sitting through a beginning sponsorship. But after I've already gotten into the video I just want to continue what I'm learning, and so I normally skip sponsorships that occur midway. Just a suggestion

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:15 - Chapter 1 - Flying to easter island 5:10 - Mid roll ads 6:25 - Chapter 2 - Giant stone heads 7:45 - Chapter 3 - Who lived on easter island 19:10 - Chapter 4 - Decline of an island

[@Jrekt]

5:10 toxic ads

[@spacealienrissley]

Simon could you possibly do a video on aztalan state park Wisconsin? Theres old structures there particularly a pyramid.

[@rockgod6180]

Could you cover Gettysburg?

[@NewbComboz]

Pleaseeeee do a video on The temple of Apollo at Delphi.

[@maggiesheehan3532]

Thank you for this presentation and all geo / bio presentations. I enjoyed the diverse references and particularly non colonialist view points. I'm a big Thor Heyerdahl fan. To answer the last question: Slavery & Disease affected the declining population. Thank you again. Looking forward to more videos of the Pacific.

[@carterlearned8796]

Currently in a Collapse of Civilizations class - this was a topic we covered intensively. One of my favorite quotes was (I believe) from an article by Jarmon, making fun of Diamond’s ecocide “the person who cut down the last tree knew what they were doing” theory with mentioning in reality, rats probably got to the tree. In her words, “how dare those rats eat the last tree?”

[@Friendly_T_Girl]

I learned about this place through the Bionicle movie... Who would have thought?

[@airplanemaster1]

A lot of the language, and as such lore, for Bionicle have a lot of roots to the Maori.

[@Jimblefy]

Hi Simon and team. Are you able to do a doco on Bank Holiday Island please? I hear it's between Easter and Christmas Island.

[@michaelhowell2326]

Hello, all at Geographics. I'm super digging this channel. It would be awesome if you guys could make an episode for the Potola Palace before I die.

[@MatthewSchooley94]

Think you can do a vid on Tokelau? It's a place that I think would be interesting to talk about; not really a place a lot of people know much about.

[@bradyson66]

The whole story around Easter Island and the clans who are opposing each other but united by their beliefs..... This would be a great idea for a video game storyline.. or like an rpg or something

[@AtaMarKat]

Will Allen You mean like Bionicles?

[@alanrogers7090]

I was wondering what was happening around the world at the time they ceased work on "El Gigante"? Wasn't there a "mini-ice age"? Could weird weather patterns have played a role, by causing droughts, or conversely, too much rain, that washed away crops, both causing starvation, disease, etc. Might there have been a bad cyclone, or hurricane, (if they get such at their location)? I don't think that "just" wars among a pretty stable peoples would cause so much damage to the statues.

[@chaosofsugar6283]

Wouldn't it be safe to assume since they're got there on a boat that they would have just used the trees to build boats and leave the island?

[@wtel9536]

Nautical traditions can die off.

[@negativeindustrial]

wtel Just out of curiosity, what nautical traditions are you aware of that have died out?

[@DrowFighterMage]

@@negativeindustrial It's happened with former vikings that stayed in England.

[@aj383]

Great idea... Except there were way more trees than people possibly needing boats...

[@negativeindustrial]

DrowFighterMage Ok, I see what you’re saying. However, the people of Sweden and all of that still have a proud nautical tradition.

[@josephgibbons1195]

It hurts my heart that so many cultures are gone. More than anything that we lost the priests who could have shared the stories, at least.

[@Sanzaru123]

You forgot about the first great warriors of old clans told to wake the great spirit of one of the Island, Tahu, Gali, Lewa, Pohatu, Onua, and Kopaka.

[@matthewb3635]

Dude I love Bionicle one of the islands is literately called Mota Nui

[@Magmafrost13]

@@matthewb3635 *Mata Nui

[@GrandElemental]

@@matthewb3635 Oh so THAT is where I had heard that name before! :D

[@vernicethompson4825]

Motu Nui. Just means "large island."

[@mariakelly1059]

Simon, you are simply awesome.🖖😎👏🏂😆

[@bjornodin]

"incoming message from the big giant head!"

[@bjornodin]

@Maria Kellythey had some brilliant moments

[@helgabluestone2407]

Well researched. Thank you

[@creatingwondersent]

I like your videos but have one gripe. The use of the bell sound effect always makes my dogs think someone is at the door and makes them bark.

[@franl155]

There's a vid that successfully recreates making the moai "walk" by using ropes around the head, notched across the eye sockets, which explains he sharp angle of the eyebrow ridges. The moai have tilted rounded bases that makes them unstable when standing, so that they can be rocked side to side to make it lurch forward.

[@RBEO22]

This is just the prequel to Gradius.

[@bananonymouslastname5693]

This is correct. The statues shot ring-shaped lasers and defended the Bacterion empire.

[@dambrooks7578]

Jarad Diamond's Blood, Germs & Steel is not only a depressing book, it is also incredibly hard to read, it does however work really well if you are having trouble sleeping. Well it worked on me.

[@jessaguilar4747]

I want to go here sooo bad!!! The statues have feet!!

[@sarasmr4278]

Have you seen that video where they walk? It's amazing

[@matios83]

Send them some cash, with an invitation from your. It worked for me

[@jessaguilar4747]

sarasmr 42 lol haven’t seen that one....

[@jessaguilar4747]

Iricanado trend are you being serious? Have you actually been?

[@Noox_n_Crannees]

Hate to break it to you Jess, but no Moai discovered so far has feet.

[@kobalt77]

Excellent presentation, thank you.

[@TheBorderRyker]

11:13 So a bit like Britain in 2020 😂😂😂😂

[@PaddyOutback]

😂😂😂

[@sherifsaad745]

The fact that the Moai has an emoji and neither the Great Pyramid or the The Sphinx have is crazy 🥴

[@recentlydeleted]

18:00 Six hundred feet is NOT twenty meters

[@MrDryqula]

Lol nope, off by about 1 zero, give or take...

[@9-11wasthecoolestthingever9]

This video reminds me about my childhood and my obsession with bionicle

[@ianfoster9955]

thank you so much for saying mana correctly XD made me smile.

[@cease4349]

me too! so good to hear

[@danharvey3096]

As a NZer i would love to know when or where the timelines of the Maori and the timelines of the Easter Islanders intertwined. The version of Polynesian language is exactly the same, much more so than Maori and Samoan or Tongan for eg. Mana is a commonly used term throughout Polynesia I believe but it is common language among Maori in NZ and has been adopted by non-Maori also, and means Respect, dignity or strength. Rapa Nui sounds just like the Tainui tribe from the Auckland region. The medium of carving may be different but the act of carving is similar. The Easter Islanders clearly traded with the Incans because the Incans cultivated the tuber that became the modern potato. The original name for the potato was the Kumar. The 4 types of sweet potato in NZ cultivated by the Maori are called Kumara. So I believe either the Maori had contact with the Rapa Nui directly from Aotearoa NZ despite the vast distance, or somewhere in their timeline soon before Aotearoa was discovered. Btw you should do a segment on the Maori, how they traded industrially with the British settlers, understood the power of money & guns, acquired guns. Had a 60 year war between tribes for the competition of resources, building ever more advanced defenses. Then collectively engaged in war with the British army, at one point 20,000 British/New South Wales soldiers fighting the Maori in NZ. With the Maori actually winning 6 battles and even taking some British soldiers as slaves. With the war won by both sides conceding after a drawn-out battle of attrition and the threats to the British of the Bank of England cutting off their funding if they didn't wrap it up soon. Not only did the Maori invent trench warfare as it came to be later used in WW1. But also a pacifist grouping of the Te Ati Awa tribe in Taranaki, at Parihaka, staged a long peaceful protest against takeover by the British colonials that lasted almost a year. With Parihaka being the inspiration for many global peaceful protests to come, with even Mahatama Gandhi himself being inspired by the story of Parihaka. In amongst the bloody history of the NZ wars between Maori & against British colonialism, it's a beautiful story and a beautiful piece of history. There is a lot of support to make Parihaka day a new public holiday which I totally support. So anyway. The potential linkages between Maori & Easter Island has always fascinated me. And i think there's a lot of material from Maori/NZ history for at least 2 segments in Geographics. Keep up your good work. Chur (NZ for Cheers haha) Peace :)

[@whatisbestinlife8112]

You sort of contradict yourself at the very end. "It wasn't ecocide. It was slavery and disease following their population having been already reduced by "other' factors." What exactly do you think those "other" factors were, but the depletion of their forest cover and resulting environmental collapse. Sure they "adapted efficiently" as their forest ecosystem collapsed over time. "Adapted efficiently" until what they adapted to (eating shellfish) ran low too. A dynamic we are well aware of with the previous vast populations of all manner of various wildlife worldwide having been dramatically reduced (or eliminated wholly) through human over-harvesting. There's a reason we have quotas and seasons and rules for harvesting of wildlife nowadays. It's because we have in the past very much tended to overharvest. There's no reason to think the Rapa Nui would be somehow magically immune to this very common human behavior. They're biggest hurdle in overcoming it was likely that they were so remote and had nowhere else to move an overly large population to once the resources to potentially do so were already depleted. And calling it ecocide is silly. Suicide is a weighted term used here that heavily implies deliberate intent. If the Rapa Nui did indeed deforest their landscape through a combination of introduced species (the rats) and their own behavior it was not done to deliberately kill themselves off. It lacked foresight sure. But it wasn't suicide as we typically think of it. It's a poor term to associate with this dynamic. I understand it's woke and fashionable nowadays to blame every single negative aspect of human societies on slavery and colonialism. But it's not remotely the case. And what went down on Easter Island was very likely a combination of human overharvesting of finite resources in a confined space (with an significant assist from the introduced rats, also lack of human foresight and care in environmental husbandry), which induced a population crash, followed by a small amount of colonial slave-taking to essentially grind down what was left to almost nothing.

[@SuperFriendBFG]

Geographics straight up says in this video that experts are still uncertain as to the truth. What we're being presented with are the most commonly cited theories.

[@leroypatrick6731]

He didn't contradict himself as the small population was key to maintaining themselves with limited resources hence being probably best adjusted to feed smaller population densities. A society that has been surviving for most of the common era, fluctuating its populations against the highs and lows of successful farming and fishing practices balances itself well enough with typical behaviours (war n famine included) . Then the truly crushing factor is the taking away of crucial demographics to join the Peruvian mestizo Labour class and exchange of disease. That's a striking blow to the Rapa Nui that can't be understated. Your point that the Rapa Nui population was already dying doesn't make sense since they were so quickly adaptable to environmental challenges and would have continued to do so. The Dutch didn't find 3,000 people starving to death and mass murdering and eating each other. This catastrophic slaving policy to human settlements taught from the Spanish to racialise labour used the modern, mixed Inca people of Peru to satisfy capitalist growth once they achieved independence and saw fit to reshuffle the social order, ultimately leading to the enslavement of the Chinese once it was proved that polynesians and South Americans like the Rapa Nui weren't able to adjust to the hellish working and sanitary conditions well enough.

[@rami_ungar_writer]

How about the Grand Guignol theater as a subject for a video?

[@jamesbuck2378]

I believe that the island may have been in the grips of political turmoil, with one or a collection of clans trying to stamp their dominance over lessening resources and then extinction being greatly projected by slavers, bring small pox and taking large swaths of people into slavery.

[@twilightgryphon]

I don't think it's any one thing, as is usually the case with a societal collapse. If one facet of a society is damaged it can usually recover, but if many or all of them get damaged in rapid succession (I say "rapid succession" but bear in mind I'm talking in terms of decades at bare minimum) that's when you start seeing society fall apart. So it was likely the combination of factors not just any single one that caused them to die out.