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NOVA Episode 40.03 Mystery of Easter Island
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NOVA Episode 40.03 Mystery of Easter Island

Episode Premiere
November 7, 2012
Genre
Documentary
Production Company
GBH
Official Site
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/
Episode Premiere
November 7, 2012
Genre
Documentary
Period
1974 -
Production Co
GBH
Distributor
PBS
Official Site
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/
Director
Andy Awes
Additional Cast
  • Lance Lewman

A remote, bleak speck of rock in the middle of the Pacific, Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, has mystified the world ever since the first Europeans arrived in 1722. How and why did the ancient islanders build and move nearly 900 giant statues or moai, weighing up to 86 tons? And how did they transform a presumed paradise into a treeless wasteland, bringing ruin upon their island and themselves? NOVA explores controversial recent claims that challenge decades of previous thinking about the islanders, who have been accused of everything from ecocide to cannibalism. Among the radical new theories is that the islanders used ropes to "walk" the statues upright, like moving a fridge. With the help of an accurate 15-ton replica statue, a NOVA team sets out to test this high-risk, seemingly unlikely theory—serving up plenty of action and surprises in this fresh investigation of one of the ancient world's most intriguing enigmas.