Easter Island's giant statues may have 'walked'

Could the moai —the giant stone statues at Easter Island in Polynesia— been walked out of a quarry?

 

This is the gist of a new theory on how the huge human figures could have been transported to every corner of the island, according to a report on Discovery News.

 

Researchers led by Carl Lipo, an archaeologist at California State University, Long Beach, arrived at the theory by constructing 3-D, 4.35-ton replicas of the statues.

 

The team used an experimental type of archaeology in showing a small number of people can move the moai from side to side, like moving a refrigerator.  

 

"We constructed a precise three-dimensional 4.35 metric ton replica of an actual statue and demonstrated how positioning the center of mass allowed it to fall forward and rock from side to side causing it to 'walk,'" Discovery News quoted them as saying in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

 

"In contrast to popular notions of sledges, rollers or sliders of trees, the evidence shows that moai were specifically engineered to 'walk' in an upright position achieved using only ropes, human labor and simple cleared pathways," they added.

 

Discovery News noted there are presently about 1,000 moai on Easter Island, locally known as Rapa Nui. about six to 33 feet tall. Each effigy has human-like features including large heads, long ears and pursed lips.

 

Topic of debate

 

How the heavy lumbering statues were moved from the quarry in the extinct volcano Rano Rarku to various areas in the island had been a topic of debate among scholars.

 

Theories had included extra-terrestrial intervention and molding in situ, though most archaeologists believe the statues were rolled on logs.

 

But Lipo's team noted the last theory would have depleted the logs in the area - something new evidence might contradict.

 

Findings

 

Lipo said they found signs some of the moai fell over from upright positions, thus contradicting the theory that they were horizontally rolled on logs.

 

"The majority of statues are found face down when the road slopes downhill, and often on their backs when going uphill," he said.

 

Walking theory

 

Test the walking hypothesis, Lipo's team built a 4.35-ton concrete statue, which they say is a "precise proportionally scaled replica of an actual road moai shaped appropriately for transport."

 

They then tested its upright movement at Kualoa Ranch in Hawaii by having an 18-member team chant "heave-ho" and get the statue walking using three hemp ropes.

 

"Each roll caused the statue to take a step," Lipo said.

 

Discovery News said the statue traveled 100 meters in less than an hour.

 

Also, the researchers found an abundance of the material for the ropes.

 

"Multiple lines of evidence, including the ingenious engineering to 'walk' statues, point to Easter Island as a remarkable history of success in a most unlikely place," they said.— TJD, GMA News