Easter Island’s Moai Statues May Have Walked to Where They Now Stand

Easter Island statue, Traditionally known as moai on the remote island of Rapa Nui in the South Pacific, the most impressive remains of ancient Polynesian civilization. How the statues were transported has long remained a mystery, as they can weigh up to several tons but are scattered across the island. Various theories have been proposed, that they were dragged on wooden sleds or rolled across the ground, but no supporting evidence has supported these claims.

In 2012, a US research team succeeded in building a 4.35 tonne replica of a moai statue and making it “walk”. The technique, where two teams used ropes to pull the statue in opposite directions to tilt it forward while a third team made sure it did not topple over, challenged the conventional theory that the moai moved in a horizontal position.

The question then is how much effort would have been required to move the larger moai. “Once the Moai moves, it’s not difficult at all,” explained Carl Lippo, an anthropologist at Binghamton University.

Lipo and his team systematically surveyed 962 moai statues on Easter Island, focusing primarily on 62 found along ancient roads. They recently published a paper The moai provide strong evidence that they were transported in an upright position.

The team also succeeded in moving an exact replica of a roadside moai 100 meters in 40 minutes with just 18 people, a much more efficient result than previous experiments.

rules of the road

Research has found that moai statues are located along of Rapa Nui Roads have general characteristics. The broad D-shaped base and forward-leaning design of the statues made the moai favorable for “walking”, even though they grew in size. In fact, moai abandoned by the roadside showed signs of center of gravity imbalance and uprooting during transport.

This hypothesis is also supported by ancient roads, which are about 4.5 m wide and have a slightly concave cross-section. Researchers believe these were ideal conditions to help stabilize the moai while walking.

A statistical analysis of the distribution of moai showed that 51.6 percent of the mines were concentrated within 2 km of where they originated, exhibiting an exponential erosion pattern associated with mechanical failure rather than intentional formal placement. Perhaps these idols were damaged or fell during transport and left where they fell.