How did Easter Island statues get moved?
In the oral history of the Rapa Nui people, the Moai were not “moved” but “walked”. They also indicated that the deep groove of the eyes of the statues can be tied around with ropes, which probably was how the Rapa Nui ancestors pull the statues to turn and twist on the ground to “walk”.
What theories exist for how the moai were moved around Easter Island?
One of the most popular theories is that the Easter Island statues were tied up with rope and then moved by a group of people working together. Another theory claims that they were moved by laying them down on top of a wooden platform, which was then used to push them around.
How did the Rapa Nui Easter Islanders actually move the stone statues from the quarries in the middle of the island to the platforms on the coast?
The production and transportation of the more than 900 statues is considered a remarkable creative and physical feat. The tallest moai erected, called Paro, was almost 10 metres (33 ft) high and weighed 82 tonnes (80.7 tons).
Can you touch the moai?
Touching a Moai is not only forbidden but will land you in major trouble. Visitors are forbidden from touching the Moai and breaking the law carries a hefty fine.
How Rapa Nui moved moai?
Over the last sixty years, scientists have theorized that the Rapanui moved the moai — some of which are as tall as 33 feet and weigh more than 80 tons — using various methods, from strapping the statues to tree trunks and dragging them on the ground to rolling them on sleds over felled trees.
Why was moai built?
Moai statues were built to honor chieftain or other important people who had passed away. They were placed on rectangular stone platforms called ahu, which are tombs for the people that the statues represented.
How did people move the moai?
With one rope around the head of the statue and another around the base, they “walked” the moai replica forward by swiveling and rocking it from side to side. Using this method, Pavel Pavel estimated that an experienced crew could move a statue approximately 650 feet each day.
How were the moai moved?
Do Easter Island statues move?
Some ancient statues on Easter Island wear multi-ton stone “hats” known as pukao. “The people not only moved the statues, but they actually went to a different quarry and moved multi-ton rocks, and then lifted them up on top of the statues.
Can I live on Easter Island?
Despite being located at the eastern edge of the Polynesian Triangle and a whopping 3,526 km from the nearest continental mass (the coast of Chile)—making it one of the most isolated human settlements in the world—people do live on Easter Island these days.
Did Easter Island statues walk?
Easter Island’s gargantuan stone statues walked. Archaeologists have proposed that the Polynesians who settled Easter Island 800 years ago or more laid the statues (called moai) prone and rolled them along on logs.
How did the people of Easter Island move the moai?
One of the chief mysteries that surrounds them is the question of how the inhabitants of the island moved the massive Moai. There are two primary theories that attempt to answer this question: the wooden sledge theory and the “walking” theory.
How big are the Easter Island Moai statues?
The Easter Island is located at the southeastern Pacific Ocean, 3512 kilometers away from the nearest continental point in Chile. It is inhabited by the Rapa Nui people, whose ancestors in around 1250-1500 AD built the famous Easter Island Moai–large stone statues averagely weighed 14 tons and measured 4 meters high.
How did the Rapa Nui move the moai?
In the oral history of the Rapa Nui people, the Moai were not “moved” but “walked”. Hunt and Lipo took this into concern. They also indicated that the deep groove of the eyes of the statues can be tied around with ropes, which probably was how the Rapa Nui ancestors pull the statues to turn and twist on the ground to “walk”.
How did the statues on Easter Island move?
Scientists have tested many ideas in the past, figuring that the islanders must have used a combination of log rollers, ropes, and wooden sledges. Now a pair of archaeologists have come up with a new theory: Perhaps the statues, known as moai, were “engineered to move” upright in a rocking motion, using only manpower and rope.