Researchers discover how Easter Island statues ‘walked’ to locations
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The mystery of the Moai stone heads has eluded viewers for centuries, and now researchers say they finally know how they got there.
Carved and placed on Easter Island in the South Pacific between the 12th and 17th centuries, the statues have amazed travelers since first European contact in 1722.
Although the structures appear to be just heads, many have full bodies that have been hidden by centuries of sediment.
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According to Rapa Nui legend, the heads “walked” to their spots, and the new study sheds light on this basic story.
In a study recently published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, researchers Carl P. Lipo and Terry L. Hunt argue that the heads were “walked” vertically rather than horizontally from a nearby quarry.
Mysterious Moai statues on Easter Island were moved vertically rather than horizontally using a complex rope system, researchers say. (Andia/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Scientists analyzed 962 statues to reach their conclusion. Using 3D modeling and statistical mapping, Lipo and Hunt found that the D-shaped bases of the heads and their forward tilt enable rope transportation.
Although Lipo and Hunt first demonstrated that Moai could “walk” in 2012, this new study is the first to prove the method with large-scale statistical and archaeological evidence.
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“Our trials have shown that the forward-leaning design enables efficient transport and [328 feet] Within 40 minutes with a team of 18 people; a significant improvement over previous attempts at vertical transport that used incorrect proportions ahu moai forms”, reads the abstract of the study.
Statues were swung and twirled along Easter Island roads by multiple people at a time; This made the process more efficient.
Many of Easter Island’s famous heads are attached to buried bodies that have been hidden for centuries. (Zhu Yubo/Xinhua via Getty Images)
“The walking method required minimal resources and labor compared to horizontal transportation hypotheses, involved complex engineering rather than environmental destruction, and was in keeping with Rapa Nui oral traditions. moai ‘walking’ from the quarry,” the authors wrote.
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The findings come as tourists continue to flock to the Polynesian island to enjoy the privacy it offers as one of the most isolated places on Earth.
New findings show Rapa Nui builders as skilled engineers. (Fabien Pallueau/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
To get to Easter Island, most tourists fly to Santiago, Chile, before taking a six-hour flight to the island’s Mataveri International Airport.
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Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that before the Covid-19 outbreak, the island received 156,000 visitors a year and generated $120 million in annual tourist income.
