Customer Reviews

Secrets of the Lost Empires II: Easter Island [VHS]

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The story of Easter Island is a fascinating case study in poor environmental resource management. Think "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss. There are two NOVA specials on Easter Island, one that is very comprehensive and deals with the entire history of the island focusing on the arrival, rise, and fall of it's people. Then there is this one where they spend the entire hour speculating on how they moved the statues (Moai) from the quarry to their final locations around the island. Booooringgg! This video gives scant attention to the fascinating history of the island. Recommendation: Buy the book A New Green History of the World: The Environment and the Collapse of Great Civilizations by Clive Ponting for an excellent chapter on the story of Easter island.

As there isn't much but oral tradition left to tell us about Easter Island, people have often wondered: how did they move those big statues around? This program attempts to explain this oft-asked question.

Several engineers and scientists who have studied how other cultures have transported heavy items convene on Easter Island to test their theories; some work, and some don't. Tempers flare and conversation gets heated as each seems to think of his or her own theory as best. In the end, they settle on a few workable but time-consuming methods. Was this how the island natives moved the stone? We may never know, but it was interesting to see nonetheless.

Three stars.