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The Statues That Walked
- Unraveling the Mystery of Easter Island
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
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Publisher's summary
The monumental statues of Easter Island, both so magisterial and so forlorn, gazing out in their imposing rows over the island’s barren landscape, have been the source of great mystery ever since the island was first discovered by Europeans on Easter Sunday 1722. How could the ancient people who inhabited this tiny speck of land, the most remote in the vast expanse of the Pacific islands, have built such monumental works?
No such astonishing numbers of massive statues are found anywhere else in the Pacific. How could the islanders possibly have moved so many multi-ton monoliths from the quarry inland, where they were carved, to their posts along the coastline? And most intriguing and vexing of all, if the island once boasted a culture developed and sophisticated enough to have produced such marvelous edifices, what happened to that culture? Why was the island the Europeans encountered a sparsely populated wasteland?
The prevailing accounts of the island’s history tell a story of self-inflicted devastation: a glaring case of eco-suicide. The island was dominated by a powerful chiefdom that promulgated a cult of statue making, exercising a ruthless hold on the island’s people and rapaciously destroying the environment, cutting down a lush palm forest that once blanketed the island in order to construct contraptions for moving more and more statues, which grew larger and larger. As the population swelled in order to sustain the statue cult, growing well beyond the island’s agricultural capacity, a vicious cycle of warfare broke out between opposing groups, and the culture ultimately suffered a dramatic collapse.
When Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo began carrying out archaeological studies on the island in 2001, they fully expected to find evidence supporting these accounts. Instead, revelation after revelation uncovered a very different truth.
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Interesting topic , uninteresting listen.
- By Daniel Pisegna on 04-28-18
By: Dr. Lynne Kelly
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The First Signs
- Unlocking the Mysteries of the World's Oldest Symbols
- By: Genevieve von Petzinger
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the most significant works on our evolutionary ancestry since Richard Leakey's Origins, The First Signs is the first-ever exploration of the geometric images that accompany most cave art around the world—the first indications of symbolic meaning, intelligence, and language.
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Crawling through caves-a memoir
- By GraceAgnes on 01-27-21
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Remarkable Creatures
- Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species
- By: Sean B. Carroll
- Narrated by: Jim Bond
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Just 150 years ago, most of our world was an unexplored wilderness. Our sense of its age was vastly off the mark. And what we believed to be the history of our own species consisted of fantastic myths and fairy tales; fossils, known for millennia, were seen as the bones of dragons and other imagined creatures. How did we learn so much so quickly? Remarkable Creatures celebrates the pioneers who replaced our fancies with the even more remarkable real story of how our world evolved.
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A Remarkable Journey
- By Michael Dowd on 03-22-09
By: Sean B. Carroll
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Underworld
- The Mysterious Origins of Civilization
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Dennis Kleinman
- Length: 31 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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From Graham Hancock, best-selling author of Fingerprints of the Gods, comes a mesmerizing book that takes us on a captivating underwater voyage to find the ruins of a lost civilization that's been hidden for thousands of years beneath the world's oceans. While Graham Hancock is no stranger to stirring up heated controversy among scientific experts, his books and television documentaries have intrigued millions of people around the world and influenced many to rethink their views about the origins of human civilization.
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Fascinating
- By Michael Beeson on 05-13-19
By: Graham Hancock
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River Kings
- A New History of the Vikings from Scandinavia to the Silk Roads
- By: Cat Jarman
- Narrated by: Christine Rendel
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Three years ago, a Carnelian bead came into Catrine Jarman's temporary possession. River Kings sees her trace the path of this ancient piece of jewelry back to eighth-century Baghdad and India, discovering along the way that the Vikings' route was far more varied than we might think—that with them came people from the Middle East, and that the reason for this unexpected integration between the Eastern and Western worlds may well have been a slave trade running through the Silk Road, all the way to Britain.
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Like school
- By Amazon Customer on 09-08-24
By: Cat Jarman
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Across Atlantic Ice
- The Origin of America's Clovis Culture
- By: Bruce A. Bruce A. Bradley, Denis J. Stanford
- Narrated by: Christopher Prince
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Who were the first humans to inhabit North America? According to the now familiar story, mammal hunters entered the continent some 12,000 years ago via a land bridge that spanned the Bering Sea. The presence of these early New World people was established by distinctive stone tools belonging to the Clovis culture. But are the Clovis tools Asian in origin? Drawing from original archaeological analysis, paleoclimatic research, and genetic studies, noted archaeologists Dennis J. Stanford and Bruce A. Bradley challenge the old narrative.
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Ice Cold story
- By S. Wells on 06-17-12
By: Bruce A. Bruce A. Bradley, and others
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Guns, Germs and Steel
- The Fate of Human Societies
- By: Jared Diamond
- Narrated by: Doug Ordunio
- Length: 16 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Having done field work in New Guinea for more than 30 years, Jared Diamond presents the geographical and ecological factors that have shaped the modern world. From the viewpoint of an evolutionary biologist, he highlights the broadest movements both literal and conceptual on every continent since the Ice Age, and examines societal advances such as writing, religion, government, and technology.
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Compelling pre-history and emergent history
- By Doug on 08-25-11
By: Jared Diamond
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Cahokia
- Ancient America’s Great City on the Mississippi
- By: Timothy Pauketat
- Narrated by: George Wilson
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Professor Timothy R. Pauketat illuminates the riveting discovery of the largest pre-Columbian city on U.S. soil. Once a flourishing metropolis of 20,000 people in 1050, Cahokia had rotted away by 1400. Its earthen mounds near modern-day St. Louis reveal “woodhenges” and evidence of large-scale human sacrifice.
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probably better in hard copy
- By Mary on 06-05-11
By: Timothy Pauketat
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The Suppressed History of America
- The Murder of Meriwether Lewis and the Mysterious Discoveries of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
- By: Paul Schrag, Xaviant Haze
- Narrated by: Allan Robertson
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Meriwether Lewis discovered far more than the history books tell - ancient civilizations, strange monuments, "nearly white, blue-eyed" Indians, and evidence that the American continent was visited long before the first European settlers arrived. And he was murdered to keep it all secret. Examining the shadows and cracks between America's official version of history, Xaviant Haze and Paul Schrag propose that the America of old taught in schools is not the America that was discovered by Lewis and Clark and other early explorers.
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Don't Bother
- By Georgia Deardoff on 03-31-17
By: Paul Schrag, and others
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The Lost Empire of Atlantis
- History's Greatest Mystery Revealed
- By: Gavin Menzies
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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New York Times bestselling historian Gavin Menzies presents newly uncovered evidence revealing, conclusively, that “the lost city of Atlantis” was not only real but also at the heart of a highly advanced global empire that reached the shores of America before being violently wiped from the earth. For three millennia, the legend of Atlantis has gripped the imaginations of explorers, philosophers, occultists, treasure hunters, historians, and archaeologists. Until now, it has remained shrouded in myth. Yet, like ancient Troy, is it possible that this fabled city actually existed?
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Absolutely abominable!
- By Magdalene on 03-05-18
By: Gavin Menzies
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Unbound
- How Eight Technologies Made Us Human, Transformed Society, and Brought Our World to the Brink
- By: Richard L. Currier
- Narrated by: Noah Michael Levine
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
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Although we usually think of technology as something unique to modern times, our ancestors began to create the first technologies millions of years ago in the form of prehistoric tools and weapons. Over time, eight key technologies gradually freed us from the limitations of our animal origins.
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Good facts, not much else
- By Joel B. Gordon on 10-30-16
What listeners say about The Statues That Walked
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kayla
- 01-31-17
Interesting but Sluggish
Easter Island is fascinating, and this account of its history is no exception. The only downfall is, because it is an in-depth archeological and social study, sometimes the narration gets lost in technical terms and explanation of studies that would serve great purpose in Peer Reviewed Journals, but is too technical for casual reading.
The narration is great, and the story is interesting, overall. If you have any interest in Easter Island and its sometimes fraught history, give this a chance.
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- StarZenia
- 01-04-17
Great listen.
I grew up with a fascination of archaeology and this island in particular and this book provided me with all of the answers to questions I had and even more. I began to lose interest around chapter three where everything told starts feeling redundant but then suddenly I was captivated unable to stop listening as more and more of the research unfolded.
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- zenbeeman
- 03-10-17
interesting
This was way more interesting than I could have imagined. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire story.
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Overall
- Catherine A. Ludwick
- 07-19-18
The Statues That Walked
For someone who is not usually a "nonfiction reader" nor someone who has a particular interest in any of the areas of study herein examined, I enjoyed this. It certainly peaked my curiosity. My initial reason for choosing the title: my dad. He was very interested in the South Pacific islands. Not bad!
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- Lynn A. D.
- 02-11-17
Very interesting
If you were ever curious about the huge rock statues on Easter Island you will find this explanation to be satisfying. It was well performed, clearly read.
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- Dave
- 07-30-12
Now I Know!
What would have made The Statues That Walked better?
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...
Would you recommend The Statues That Walked to your friends? Why or why not?
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!
What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
Presentation was clear and understandable--given the material being read, it was a good performance.
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
Super educational value, and the only way I would have learned about these mysterious statues.
Any additional comments?
xxx
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1 person found this helpful
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- Lotus54
- 09-04-12
Two Words: Boring and Misleading
I wish I didn't spend money on this book. I thought it would be about the statues, call me crazy. It's actually a brief and very dull summary of a small civilization, who whether through ignorance, bad circumstance or stupidity, cut down all their trees, had lousy soil, failed and died out. Oh, and they made some statues, almost a side note in this book. End of story. Seriously. Don't waste your money or time on this. And this is coming from someone who is normally fascinated by ancient cultures, history, stories of earlier civilization, etc. This book is just dull and went NO WHERE.
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