Aku-Aku

Aku-Aku

Aku-Aku, the Secret of Easter Island is a 1958 book by Thor Heyerdahl that described his research at Rano Raraku and Anakena on the many giant stone statues or moai found on Easter Island and the culture that created them.

The book and a follow-up film of the same name made a major contribution to general public awareness of both the island and the statues, outside the anthropological and archaeological communities. Much of Heyerdahl's evidence has now been refuted by archaeologists, and his methods have been heavily criticised. For example: Paul Bahn wrote: "he relied on the selective use of evidence, which resulted in a misleading conclusion".