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Loading...How the Easter Island Statues Were Moved
- Katie Waldeck
- June 22, 2012
- 2:28 pm
- 97 comments
For years, archaeologists have been stumped about how, exactly, Polynesian natives moved the famed Easter Island statues.
Starting at around the year 1250, the Rapa Nui, as the island’s inhabitants are known, moved the huge stones several miles from a quarry to the coast. These things are behemoths, weighing in at an average of 15 tons each. Yep, you read that right — the typical Easter Island statue, known as Moai, weighs about as much as 7 cars. The largest weighs in at a whopping 82 tons.
Archaeologists from Cal State-Long Beach and the University of Hawaii think they know how this amazing feat of engineering was done, and it’s an astonishingly simple method. Yep, there’s highly convincing evidence that the Rapa Nui “walked” the stones “with ropes by tilting them back and forth on their bases.” The research team even demonstrated how, successfully moving a 5 ton stone with the efforts of 18 people. (You can see video of the successful experiment on the next page.)
Previously, the most prevailing theory held that the Rapa Nui built wooden sleds for the stones and guided them on wooden rails. The logistics of that method, though, were a little off — think of all the manpower and valuable wood that would have required!
Rapa Nui myths tell the story of how the moai, which represent the living faces of deified ancestors, “walked” across the island, adding more credence to this theory.
Next Page: Video of Researchers Moving Statue
Read more: Fun, Inspiration, Life, News & Issues, Spirit, Videos, Easter Island, mysteries
Katie Waldeck
Katie is a freelance writer focused on pets, food and women’s issues. A Chicago native and longtime resident of the Pacific Northwest, Katie now lives in Oakland, California.
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
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Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
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97 comments
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Thanks for sharing.
There you go - we don't need aliens or advanced technology to do amazing things. Just like Wally Wallington, who discovered how they build Stonehange.
very interesting for sure
Fascinating and intriguing but ancient man built the pyramids so this was likely simple enough at the time...the ancients got many things done without modern machinery.
Or...they could have borrowed Scotty's transporter when the Enterprise went back in time during many of its journeys.
I'm wondering if this is how the stones at Stonehenge were moved. I never would have thought of this myself, but now that someone has demonstrated it I wonder about all the great stone monuments that haven't been figured out--as to how the stones were moved into place. The pyramids in Egypt and S. America....
Interesting.
ingenious
How the Easter Island Statues Were Moved
Easter Island Foundation
The Easter Island Foundation was founded in 1989 with the mission of building a library on Easter Island and promoting awareness of the island’s fragile heritage. This 501(c)(3) organization has partnered with the Rapanui people and other groups to achieve the following goals:
■establish the William Mulloy Library at the Museo Antropológico P. Sebastián Englert Museum on Easter Island
■provide scholarships for Rapanui students who wish to continue their education
■provide grants for research and environmental projects on Easter Island
■provide books and materials for the Indigenous Guides Association on the island
■provide books and supplies for the island schools
■sponsor International symposia about Easter Island and Polynesia
■publish books about Easter Island and Polynesia as well as the Rapa Nui Journal
http://islandheritage.org/wordpress/
Interesting. I always find it fascinating to consider how these really impressive monuments were put up by ancient peoples without access to modern technology. It's truly a testament to human ingenuity... and even better when we can figure it out later.
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