2024-07-29
22 分钟Hundreds of monumental human shaped statues are motionless, and exposed to the elements, on Rapa Nui - also known as Easter Island. A name that dates back to 1722, when a Dutch explorer first saw it on Easter Sunday. The statues, or Moai, were there centuries before that and are sacred to the Rapa Nui people. They have also become a world famous tourist attraction and can be found in multiple outdoor locations across the small island. They are heavy and huge - sizes range from 1 to 20 metres tall. Some are upright on platforms, others are toppled over and broken. Over the years, global weather has become more extreme and is having a devastating effect. Can the statues of Easter Island survive climate change? Contributors: Sonia Haoa Cardinali, Archaeologist with the Mata Ki Te Rangi Foundation and coordinator of Easter Island's national monuments, Rapa Nui Roberto Rondanelli, Meteorologist and Climate Scientist at the Department of Geophysics, University of Chile Jo Anne Van Tilburg, Archaeologist and the Director of the Easter Island Statue Project Pilar Vicuña, culture programme officer, Unesco (Santiago de Chile), Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producers: Lorna Reader and Jill Collins Production co-ordinators: Liam Morrey and Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermott
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Welcome to the Inquiry.
I'm Charmaine kozier.
Each week, one question, four expert witnesses and an answer.
Its summer 2024.
On one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world, hundreds of monumental human shaped statues are motionless and exposed to the elements on Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island.
That name dates back to 1722 when a Dutch explorer first saw it on Easter Sunday.
The statues or moai, were there hundreds of years before that and are sacred to the Rapanui people.
They've also become a world famous tourist attraction and can be found in multiple outdoor locations across the small island.
They are heavy and huge.
Sizes range from 1 to 20 meters tall.
Some are upright on platforms, others are toppled over and broken.
Over the years global weather has become more extreme.
So this week we're asking can the statues of Easter island survive climate change?
Part 1 A Distant Warning Rapa Nui.
Is very far away from everybody and in Rapanui Rapa is mean a land or earth and Nui is mean big.
But it's still a small island.