Episode
NOVA: Easter Island Origins
Overview
How were the giant stone heads of Rapa Nui–also known as Easter Island–carved and raised, and why? Since Europeans arrived on this remote Pacific island over 300 years ago, controversy has swirled around the iconic ancient statues and the history of the people who created them. Now, a new generation of researchers is overturning old theories, revealing the rich history, innovation, and resilience of the Rapanui people, and uncovering intriguing new evidence about where they–and their practice of monumental stone building–came from.
Details
- Series
- NOVA
- Season
- Season 51
- Episode
- Episode 2
- Air date
- 2024-02-07
- Runtime
- 53 min
Episode context
Easter Island Origins is Episode 2 in Season 51 of NOVA. It aired on 2024-02-07. The runtime is 53 min.
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Episode 1: When Whales Could Walk
In Egypt’s Sahara Desert, massive skeletons with strange skulls and gigantic teeth jut out from the sandy ground. This fossil graveyard, millions of years old, is known as the “Valley of the Whales.” Now, paleontologists have unearthed a whole new species of ancient whale dating to 43 million years ago, and this predator wasn’t just able to swim – it also had four legs and could walk. Follow scientists as they search for new clues to the winding evolutionary path of mammals that moved from the land into the sea to become the largest animals on Earth.
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