The Statues That Walked: Unraveling the Mystery of Easter Island

Before listening to this quite enjoyable book, I knew nothing about Easter Island (except there are big statues there), so I cannot really comment on this as opposed to other scholarly approaches to the history and archeology of the area. I can say that I found this to be very informative and well-narrated.

The authors take on not only the mysteries of the island, but also the preconceptions about the inhabitants and the ecology that other scientists have brought to the study. It makes perfect sense to me that a society may not have to develop in the same way Europeans did to be considered "enlightened" cultures.

Glad I bought this during a recent sale!

Is a tiny island in the South Pacific and when I mentioned I was reading this book at lunch one of my co-workers said; "oh that is the island they clear cut the trees so they could farm." I said the authors have another theory and that theory makes more sense than man kills his environment on purpose.

I was surprised at the theory about the cost of war. I was interested in how the different explorers went about their expeditions hundreds of years ago. I was shocked to learn the islanders where thief's stealing any thing and everything including the hat off your head.

It was insightful to learn how the South Pacific people viewed what we would consider normal morality. Meaning that happily traded sex much to the delight of the earlier explorers. Of course one of the trades we made was VD.

Learning about the different ways the Islanders farmed by breaking up rocks to fertilize the ground and prevent erosion from the trade winds was another tidbit that adds to the whole.

Last but not least the architecture of the statues and how they moved the really big ones (some up to and over 75 tons) is still got people scratching their heads. The walked part is a catchy title for a book that encompasses much more than statues and the enigma they hold.

This book summarizes recent archeological and anthropological research, some of it quite surprising, into the history of Easter Island or Rapa Nui. The large majority of the book is dedicated to explaining on how the Polynesians who settled Rapa Nui managed to survive in a very precarious ecosystem; a major emphasis is given to persuasively discrediting Jared Diamond's assertion that the behavior of the Rapa Nui is emblematic of the willful self-destructive patterns of a population whose behavior causes its own economic and cultural collapse.

Only a few chapters are dedicated to the statues themselves, relating mostly to how the statues could have been carved and moved by the islanders, and these are quite interesting. However, explanations as to WHY the islanders carved such an abundance of the statues, what they were supposed to represent, why they were placed where they were, etc., were unsatisfying, to put it mildly.

The authors' discussion on the reason for the statues almost exclusively revolves around a theory relating to status accumulation and population control in a limited environment, seeming to suggest, as far as I understand it, that the men were kept busy building and moving statues in order to limit their opportunities to father children and keep them from fighting with each other (not consciously, mind you, but as a function of population dynamics). I can't help but find this argument patronizing in the extreme and totally inadequate in explaining the astonishing creativity and energy of these island people.

Hunt and Lipo presents a compelling new theory about the history of Easter Island.

The available historical sources clearly summarised and the conclusions drawn are clear and logical.

A must for everyone with a more than passing interest in Easter Island and Polynesia.

always needed to know how the ancients moved and erected monumental structures and sculptures- simply and convincingly explained here. The history of the Easter Island people gave me a fresh view of our western history, harsh reality.

Academic AND Interesting!

I learned a lot of different things: it was well well-read, and easy to come back to in the car.

This book was written and narrated very well. Not only did I learn new things (like lithic mulching), but was entertained while doing so. the book builds a case for the author's findings, so more than one mystery gets solved.

Since this is a documentary presenting research on an ancient culture, it is what it is somewhat dry and definitely not a page turner. I don't think the presentation could be improved, due to the type of book that this is. Audio was certainly the best way for me to get this information, because I never would have stuck with it in written form! The book was a great companion to gardening in 90+ degree heat, and that is why I do audio books--to keep me focused on physical and menial tasks...

I would recommend it with the stipulation that it is NOT fiction, and is NOT exciting...but the explanation of that culture, and the marvelous insights into an uneducated people who were able to develop effective farming and engineering practices amazed me!

Presentation was clear and understandable--given the material being read, it was a good performance.

Super educational value, and the only way I would have learned about these mysterious statues.

xxx

Intriguing, Insightful, Illuminating

Jared Diamond's Collapse, and Guns, Germs and Steel. Both these books are referenced in The Statues That Walked, and like them, this book discusses cutting edge information pertaining to one of the world's most intriguing mysteries. Beyond that, this book actually clarifies and updates some of Diamond's information in Collapse by revealing new discoveries that were not known at the time of his writings.

Joe Barret brings a sense of relaxed, personal, first-hand familiarity with the subject. He translates a highly-technical topic into a very accessible listen for laymen and armchair archaeologists alike.

The haze of mystery and speculation to dispelled by scientific pragmatism.

One of the strengths of this book is that it shows how scientific and anthropological fallacies are often constructed out of incomplete data, untested hypotheses and romanticized speculations.

Authors use science and archaeology to challenge traditional and popular beliefs regarding the ancient Rapanui people and how the Maori were created and moved, as presented in books such as Jared Diamond's book "Collapse"'. Authors argue against ecological suicide and the need for massive use of people and resources to create statues. Interesting listen.