Easter Island Moai

Moai are the large stone statues for which Easter Island is famous. A total of 887 statues have been found. They were carved from 1100-1690. Often falsely identified as heads, the statues are actually complete torsos. The figures are kneeling on bent knees with their hangs over their stomachs.

Almost all moai were carved out of solidified volcanic ash (or tuff). The tuff was taken from a single site inside the extinct volcano Rano Raraku. The native islanders who carved them used only stone hand chisels. The volcanic stone the moai were carved from was first wetted to soften it before sculpting began, then again when needed during the process. A single moai would take a team of five or six men about one year to finish. Each statue represented the deceased head of a lineage.

Only a small percentage of the statues were actually installed. About half of them are still in the quarry of Rano Raraku. The rest are somewhere else on the island, probably on their way to their final locations. The heaviest moas ever raised on a platform weighs about 82 tons and is 32 feet long. It is known as Paro.

It is not yet known how the statues were transported, but some have suggested that they required a a Y-shaped sledge with cross pieces (called a miro manga erue), pulled with ropes made from the tough bark of the hau-hau tree, and tied fast around the statue's neck. Anywhere from 180 to 250 men were required for pulling, depending on the size of the moai. Some 50 of the now standing statues have been re-erected in modern times.

How to make walking Moai: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcXt7KYJoCk&feature=player_embedded