A new theory about who built the iconic human-like figures on Easter Island has sent shockwaves through the archaeological community.
Most historians agree that the stone structures were constructed by Polynesians around 900 years ago. However, Graham Hancock, a British writer and explorer, claims they are more than 11,000 years old.
Easter Island is home to approximately 1,000 large stone heads, known as Moai, scattered across the island.
Hancock argues that the island was settled, and the statues were built about 12,000 years ago, with a population remaining on the island to eventually meet the Polynesians.
His theory is based on a study suggesting banana plants were present on Easter Island at least 3,000 years ago. He uses this to argue that the plants—and a pre-existing population—arrived 12,000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age.
‘What I am suggesting is that the Polynesians encountered a pre-existing population on that island, evidenced by those banana [remains]… present there at least 3,000 years ago,’ he told DailyMail.com.
‘And that from that pre-existing population, they inherited the older traditions and songs that we see today.’
Hancock also proposes that the statues on Easter Island are likely much older than the platforms—called Ahu Vinapu—on which many of them sit, pointing out that the two feature different construction techniques.
What IS the origin of the Easter Island statues?: Graham Hancock is pictured in front of the statues which, he argues in his new Netflix series, were made by an ancient civilization that arrived on the island about 12,000 years ago
The claims are part of Hancock’s ‘Lost Ice Age Civilization’ hypothesis, which suggests that a highly advanced ancient civilization existed before the end of the last Ice Age.
This theory has reached millions through the Netflix series ‘Ancient Apocalypse.’
However, it has made been criticized by many archaeologists who argue there is insufficient evidence to support Hancock’s claims.
According to Hancock, the statues are single, smooth works, while the platforms are much cruder, constructed from shards of stone stacked together.
In one instance, a platform even reuses the head of a Moai statue.
Dr. Dale F. Simpson Jr., an archaeologist who has studied the Moai, refuted Hancock’s claims. He pointed out that similar stone statues are found on multiple other islands, including Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands and the Raivavae Islands.
These statues are also positioned similarly to those on Easter Island, with their hands clasped around their bellies and featuring the same elongated figures—suggesting a potential connection between their builders.
‘[Easter Island] is one of the most amazing places on planet Earth that I have been to. It is riddled with mystery,’ said Dr. Simpson. ‘But sometimes, people take micro bits of data and turn them into macro-interpretations to support claims that are not entirely substantiated.’
Easter Island is one of the most remote islands on Earth, located about 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) from the nearest landmass, the Pitcairn Islands, and more than 2,100 miles (3,500 kilometers) from the coast of Chile.
Mr Hancock pointed to the positioning of the heads on the island, saying some were on platforms while others appeared to be scattered at random. He used this to suggest some may have been moved at a later date
The above is a map of the positions of the stone heads on Rapa Nui. Mr Hancock pointed out how some were on stone platforms while others were spread seemingly at random
Both Hancock and archaeologists agree that how anyone ever reached Easter Island is nothing short of a ‘miracle.’
However, unlike the academics, Hancock suggests that the island was settled much earlier.
He cites a 2013 study on a soil core from the crater of the island’s long-extinct volcano, which indicates that banana plants—a species that could not have crossed the ocean without human intervention—were present on the island 3,000 years ago.
A second study, published in 2008, showed that the island was populated with various shrubs and herbs—plants potentially consistent with human habitation—around 14,000 to 10,000 years ago.
Speaking to DailyMail.com, archaeologists raised concerns about the 2013 study, noting that sediments, particularly in waterlogged areas like craters, can shift over time.
This movement could cause remains, such as those of banana plants, to settle into much older layers, creating an inaccurate impression of the island’s flora and fauna during a specific period.
Dr Simpson added that evidence shows six species of large, flightless landbirds existed on the island more than 1,000 years ago—a finding not typically consistent with human habitation.
Famously, the Dodo—a large, flightless bird—survived on Mauritius for thousands of years but went extinct within 80 years of Dutch sailors’ arrival.
Additionally, there is no evidence of pigs, dogs, cattle, or other large animals typically associated with human habitation on Easter Island several thousand years ago.
Easter Island vs Marquessa Islands: The statue on the left is on Easter Island and on the right is from the Marquessa Island, about 3,600 kilometers away. Archaeologists said the two were similar. The statue on the right is dated to about 1,000 years ago, and archaeologists say the one on the left is around 600 years old
The above shows a stone figure in Raivavae, Polynesia. The picture was taken between 1913 and 1915
The above shows the side of the main volcano from which the Easter Island heads were carved
In the Netflix series, Hancock highlights oral traditions on Easter Island that describe people arriving from an island called Hiva, which was flooded and forced its inhabitants to relocate.
Hancock interprets this as a reference to massive floods at the end of the last Ice Age, when global sea levels rose by 400 feet, submerging low-lying and fertile areas where humans likely lived.
He suggests that when the first settlers arrived, Easter Island was likely larger due to lower sea levels and tectonic plate movements. He theorizes that most of the population lived in the now-submerged low-lying areas.
Dr. Simpson countered that extensive research has been conducted in the waters surrounding Easter Island, including diving expeditions in the 1970s and 1980s and scans by the Chilean Navy.
The above shows the stone altar with tight-fitting blocks, that Mr Hancock suggests was built by a different culture
But around the sides and back of the sculpture, it is revealed that the altar is filled in with rubble, not too dissimilar to the other altars on the island. An Easter Island head also lies on its side
These investigations have revealed little evidence of human activity, except for one site used to extract obsidian—a glass-like substance—likely after the area was submerged.
No evidence of additional statues or platforms, which might be expected if the island had been inhabited before sea levels rose, has been found.
When DailyMail.com presented the archaeologists’ response to Hancock, he said: ‘I see nothing in the ecology of the island to rule out a human presence that far back, and I doubt if anyone has looked specifically for evidence of such early settlement.
‘I’m not surprised that this legacy iconography turns up in other parts of Polynesia as well as Easter Island.’
However, the Easter Island Moai are so different from the anthropomorphic figures in the Marquesas and Raivavae that I believe they are best understood as having evolved entirely independently from those figures,” Hancock said.
“Nonetheless, they share a key element of the iconographic ‘DNA’ found scattered across the world and throughout history—namely, the hands positioned close to the navel.”
Hancock is now preparing for a third season of Ancient Apocalypse, which he hopes will focus on Ancient Egypt.
