Part 7/18:
Easter Island, located in the southeastern Pacific, is renowned for its impressive moai statues—colossal stone figures carved by the indigenous Rapa Nui civilization. These statues reflect the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the island's inhabitants, who constructed and transported them across the island for ceremonial purposes. The decline of the Rapa Nui civilization has been linked to environmental degradation and European contact, which brought disease and social upheaval, reshaping the island's cultural landscape.