Easter Island statues may have 'walked' to present locations, scientists say
Built centuries ago, each moai is a tribute to important members of the Easter Island community who became defied in the afterlife, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
Easter Island statues may have ‘walked’ to present locations, scientists say
Scientists may have solved the mystery of how the giant statues of Easter Island moved to their present locations.
HANGA ROA, Easter Island – Scientists may have solved the mystery of how the giant statues of Easter Island moved to their present locations.
Located in the South Pacific, Easter Island is home to hundreds of its iconic stone statues, or "moai." How the gargantuan moai – with the largest still standing measuring over 35 feet tall, according to Encyclopedia Britannica – were moved from the quarries where they were carved had puzzled scientists for years.
Researchers Carl Lipo at Binghamton University and Terry Hunt at the University of Arizona recently published a study stating that the giant stone moai were likely moved by locals using rope to "walk" them from the quarry in a zig-zag fashion, officials said.
A research team including Binghamton University archaeologist Carl Lipo has confirmed via 3D modeling and field experiments that the ancient people of Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, "walked" the iconic moai statues.
(Carl Lipo / Binghamton University)
Building upon earlier evidence they found in which the moai were moved standing upright and moved in a rocking motion, rather than lying down as previously thought, their team decided to test how one would rock a moai.
The team first produced high-resolution 3D models of the moai and then built a more than 4-ton replica of one of the statues. Officials said they then had 18 people move the statue more than 300 feet, or the length of a football field from end zone to end zone, in only 40 minutes.
NEW MOAI STATUE FOUND AMID HISTORIC EASTER ISLAND DROUGHT
Footage of the experiment shows how this "walking" motion involved ropes tethered around the statue's eyes, creating a bit of a blindfold on the statue. The ropes then extend to the left, right and behind the statue, where they are held by researchers.
Looped video of researchers having the replica "walk" down a path.
(Binghamton University / FOX Weather)
The researchers then pull the statue side-to-side, causing it to tip left-to-right repeatedly. Each time it tips, the statue moves a step forward.
"The physics makes sense," Lipo said. "What we saw experimentally actually works. And as it gets bigger, it still works. All the attributes that we see about moving gigantic ones only get more and more consistent the bigger and bigger they get, because it becomes the only way you could move it."
Officials noted that this movement led to the creation of the roads on Easter Island. At nearly 15 feet wide and carved into the Earth in a concave – rather than flat – shape, the roads were made for stabilizing the statues as the locals moved them to their resting place.
Diagram showing how the statue was "walked" down the path.
(Carl Lipo / Binghamton University / FOX Weather)
In addition to solving a mystery that had plagued the science community, Lipo noted that this study also honors the people of Easter Island and their ability to defy limitations and produce monuments of gargantuan proportions.
"It shows that the Rapa Nui people were incredibly smart. They figured this out," he said. "They’re doing it the way that’s consistent with the resources they have. So it really gives honor to those people, saying, look at what they were able to achieve, and we have a lot to learn from them in these principles."
Built centuries ago, each moai is a tribute to important members of the Easter Island community who became defied in the afterlife, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
Easter Island is one of the most remote islands on the planet, set over 2,000 miles west of Chile, comparable to the distance between Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.