The Mystery of Easter Island

Record summary

Katherine Routledge’s Mana Expedition conducted early systematic archaeological and ethnographic work on Rapa Nui during 1914–1915, recording monuments, oral traditions, rongorongo-related traditions, and community histories. The expedition became foundational for later discussions of moai construction, social organization, and alleged population collapse. Its records are especially useful for comparing local testimony with archaeological observation, but the expedition operated within colonial assumptions and preserved only a partial record of Rapa Nui knowledge. Later chronology and interpretation have revised several of its conclusions.