Geology textbooks describe the Earth's mantle beneath its plates as a well-mixed viscous rock that moves along with those plates like a conveyor belt. But that idea, first set out some 100 years ago, ...

Easter Island is named for the Sunday in 1722 when Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen landed his crew on the distant Pacific island. It’s been misunderstood by outsiders ever since. In recent decades, ...

Radiocarbon dating of ancient scripts suggests a groundbreaking origin story.

A mysterious find on Easter Island, investigated by a team of geologists, suggests that the Earth's mantle seems to behave differently than once thought. Geography textbooks describe the Earth's ...

Finding out what actually happened in the deep past can be a slog, so when ancient history is packaged as mystery—spine-tingling but solvable—it’s hard to resist. Who doesn’t want to know how a lost ...

See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Scientists have debunked a popular myth surrounding Easter Island. An ...

There is no place in the world like Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui. It feels like it is not even of this world. Located more than 2,000 miles from South America's mainland, it is one of the ...

See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. A genetic study has revealed that a self-inflicted population collapse ...

The giant statues on Easter Island have been a subject of theorising down the centuries ...

In his “Island at the Edge of the World,” the British archaeologist Mike Pitts delves into the misconceptions and legends surrounding a complex ancient culture. By Joshua Hammer Joshua Hammer is the ...