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No. 120

Taputapuatea

On land Oceania
Taputapuatea marae, an ancient marae (place of worship) on the island of Raiatea, French Polynesia.
Michel-georges bernard, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Where
Ra'iatea, French Polynesia
Built by
Polynesian navigators
Era
1000 CE onward
Known for
The sacred hub of Polynesian ocean voyaging.
How it ended
Its use was suppressed by missionaries in the 1800s.
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Background

Marae Taputapuatea is a large marae complex at Opoa in Taputapuatea, on the eastern coast of Raiatea. The site features a number of marae and other stone structures and was once considered the central temple and religious center of Eastern Polynesia. In 2017, the Taputapuatea area and the marae complex were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List because of its political and religious significance and its testimony to traditional eastern Polynesian culture.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.