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Easter Island Moai
Nearly 900 massive stone statues on a remote Pacific island. The heaviest weighs 82 tons. How did the Rapa Nui people move them without wheels or beasts of burden? The statues face inland, watching over the villages.
1250 - 1500 CE
Easter Island, Chile
10000+ witnesses
The Easter Island Moai are among the most mysterious monuments on Earth.
The Statues
According to documented accounts:
The moai:
- 887 stone statues
- Average height 13 feet
- Average weight 14 tons
- Largest is 33 feet, 82 tons
- Carved from volcanic rock
The Mystery
Questions include:
- How were they moved?
- Miles from quarry to platform
- No wheels, no draft animals
- How were they erected?
- Why were they made?
The People
The Rapa Nui:
- Settled around 400-1200 CE
- Polynesian origin
- Built incredible monuments
- Then civilization collapsed
- By European contact
Moving Theories
How they “walked”:
- Log rollers
- Wooden sledges
- Rocking motion (proven possible)
- “Walking” by ropes
- Combination methods
Spiritual Meaning
The moai represent:
- Ancestor spirits
- Face inland to protect villages
- Contain mana (spiritual power)
- Eyes once had coral/obsidian
- When activated, they “saw”
The Collapse
The island’s society:
- Overexploited resources
- Deforestation
- Population crashed
- Statues toppled in wars
- Contact brought disease