The Mysteries of Easter Island
For centuries, the iconic stone statues of Easter Island have puzzled visitors to this remote outpost in the South Pacific. Who carved them? Why did they carve them? And what cataclysmic event later caused them all to be knocked down?
Ever since its discovery by European explorers on Easter Sunday 1722, the island has intrigued travellers with its colossal statues and unexplained archaeology. Found nowhere else in the world, these stone monoliths have even been attributed to the work of aliens and extraterrestrials.
Join James Grant-Peterkin as he discusses what might have actually happened on Easter Island and what the famous ‘heads’ really mean; and why the island’s history also serves as a cautionary lesson to humankind regarding overpopulation and the management of finite resources on our one island – planet Earth.
Speaker Bio
James Grant-Peterkin first visited Easter Island in 1996 almost by chance and was immediately captivated by life on one of the world’s most isolated inhabited islands. He read Modern Languages at Cambridge University which lead to a year’s fieldwork studying Rapa Nui, the unique language spoken only on Easter Island. He went on to live on the island for over 20 years, running his own travel company there and serving as the British Honorary Consul. He is the author of A Companion to Easter Island (2023) as well as South Pacific (2025) in the Travel Enrichment Series.
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