Expedition Unknown: Hunt For ExtraTerrestrials takes a look at the mysteries of Easter Island as Josh Gates looks for evidence of alien life.

This week Josh Gates and the Expedition Unknown: Hunt For ExtraTerrestrials team head to Easter Island which some ancient alien theorists think aliens could have visited in the distant past.

Easter Island or Rapa Nui (in Polynesian) lies in the southeastern part of the Pacific Ocean and is most famous for the 887 statues that gaze out across the landscape.

Known as moai, they were created by the Rapa Nui civilization over hundreds of years, with initial settlement of the world’s most remote island taking place between 700 and 1100 CE.

However, as the population increased and invasive species like the Polynesian rat upset the ecosystem the civilisation began to decline.

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Easter Island, also called Rapa Nui, is a small island located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean and is considered a special territory of Chile. Easter Island is most famous for its large moai statues that were carved by native peoples between 1250 and 1500. The island is also considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site and much of the island’s land belongs to the Rapa Nui National Park.

Easter Island has recently been in the news because many scientists and writers have used it as a metaphor for our planet.

Easter Island’s native population is believed to have overused its natural resources and collapsed. Some scientists and writers claim that global climate change and resource exploitation may lead to the planet collapsing as did the population on Easter Island. These claims, however, are highly disputed.

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