History
Ahu Tongariki was the main centre and capital of the Hotu Iti, the eastern confederation of the Rapanui.
Its moai were toppled during the island's civil wars. In 1960, a tsunami caused by an earthquake off the coast of Chile swept Ahu Tongariki inland.
Ahu Tongariki was substantially restored in the 1990s by a multidisciplinary team headed by archaeologists Claudio Cristino (Director) and Patricia Vargas (Co-director executive team), in a five year project carried out under an official agreement of the Chilean Government with Tadano Limited and the University of Chile.
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“We may pretend that we’re basically moral people who make mistakes, but the whole of history proves otherwise.”
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