A groundbreaking new study suggests how the ancient inhabitants ofEaster Island they moved the Moaithe gigantic stone statues that make the island famous. The study, published in Journal of Archaeological Science and conducted by a US team led by the archaeologist Carl Lipois the result of a phase of research and experimentation that lasted longer 12 years.
THE Moai of Easter Island, Chile, have always fascinated. These gigantic statues in volcanic stone they were made by the ancient Polynesian inhabitants of the island for ceremonial purposesand to date there are many a thousandalso considering those that are incomplete or destroyed. Over time, several theories have been suggested about them transportconsidering that some of these statues reach even i 10 meters high and they weigh tens of tons. Basically, it is believed that the statues were moved after quarrying rollers or sleds of wood, in position stretched outand subsequently erected on site. In the video below you can see a simulation of how the procedure worked.
Carl Lipo’s theory instead suggests that in fact these statues, in a vertical positionwere done swing through a system of three roped partiesgiving the impression that i Moai “they walked“, exactly as it is described in the ancient myths of Easter Island. The US study took into consideration 962 Moaiwhich were analyzed from the point of view morphological. Subsequently, through the creation of 3D models and the contribution ofexperimental archaeologyLipo demonstrated how it was possible for a group of people equipped with ropes to make a person “walk”. Moai from the quarry to the ahuthe ceremonial stone platforms where the statues were placed, through a system of roads specially created to make vertical transport functional.
The movement would have been based on three teams. The ropes, tied around the head of the statues, would have been held by three groups of people: one, placed behind to the statue, would have prevented the Moai could fall forward. According to Lipo in fact, for encourage movement in a vertical forward position, the statues would be made in such a way as to be unbalanced in this direction, and a roped party was therefore necessary to avoid falling forward. The US study has in fact shown that the majority of Moai fallen and abandoned along the way they actually slipped in this way. The other two teams, placed to the right and left of the statuethey would instead have imprinted a alternating oscillatory movement on the sides, which would have allowed the statue to “walk” one step at a time, taking advantage of the fact that the base of the Moai was shaped convex and roads built for transport concaveallowing a glide that is not only functional, but according to Lipo convenient in terms of manpower compared to transport on rollers and sleds.
The three teams, allowing an excellent control of the statue’s center of gravitythey would have allowed the Moai to safely travel its way to the place where it would be fixed. In the experimental phase of 2012-2013, Lipo made use of 18 people (In three groups of six), who demonstrated that in this way the Moai (a reply 4.5 meters high) could travel 100 meters in 40 minutes. The theory would also be supported by other elements, such as distribution of roads which branch off from the volcanic stone quarries in which the statues were made, ei signs of wear on the heads of the Moai, compatible with the friction of the ropes used to apply the oscillating movement and prevent falls. In Lipo’s words:
By systematically evaluating the evidence, the successful transportation of the moai reveals a sophisticated understanding of physics and engineering among the ancient inhabitants of the island of Rapa Nui. Rather than requiring enormous amounts of manpower and environmental destruction, the transportation of the statues employed elegant mechanical principles, achieved through careful observation and innovative problem solving—a testament to Polynesian ingenuity that “walked” through history.
