This week’s One Word Sunday theme is “Lost.” The photos below relate to the current challenge and “Found” the challenge for next week.

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is known as “The Lost City of the Inka.” It was built in the 15th century and was occupied for only about 80 years before being abandoned during the fall of the Inka Empire.

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The Lost City of the Inka – Machu Picchu, Peru

The city’s existence was unknown to outsiders for centuries. Hiram Bingham III (1875 – 1956), an American historian, explorer, and politician, is generally credited with rediscovering and publicizing Mach Picchu in 1911. I visited in 2016.

Moai

Moai are monolithic human figures carved by the Polynesian Rapa Nui people on Easter Island (Isla de Pascua) between the 1250 and 1500. Hundreds were quarried and erected on stone platforms called ahu around the island’s perimeter. 

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Restored Ahu Akivi – Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

Lost to history is the purpose the moai served, the methods used to transport the heavy stone blocks, and the cause of their destruction.

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The tallest moai, Paro, 10m (33ft) in height and weighing 80 tons.

The mysteries of Easter Island and possible parallels to modern society captured my attention on a visit in 2017.

Check out Debbie’s Lost post and other responses to the challenge here.