The moai statues cover the coast of Easter Island.
Situated between Chile and Pitcairn, Easter Island is a Polynesian island of nearly 4,000 people. It is famous for its 887 massive human-shaped stone statues that are known as moai, some of which weigh more than 100 tons. Despite the number of statues, they all feature the same characteristics.
Background
The statues were discovered by European explorers in 1722 when a Dutch seaman, by the name of Jacob Roggeveen, came across the island on Easter Day. According to carbon dating, the statues were erected sometime between the years 1000 and 1500 and were moved from their quarries with the use of timber. Archaeologists such as Jo Anne Van Tilburg have suggested the statues were standardized representations of powerful people, or that they may have been used in ceremonies as a way of communicating with deities.
Stats
The average height of the moai comes in at 13.29 feet, with an average width at the base of 5.25 feet and a weight of 13.78 tons. The largest moai recorded, suitably named "El Gigante," weighs an incredible 145 to 165 tons, although it never managed to make it out of the quarry where it was sculpted. The largest erected moai, named "Paro," weighs 82 tons and is located at Ahu Te Pito Kura. At the other end of the scale, the smallest moai on the island stands at only 3.76 feet tall.
Description
The moai are minimalist in appearance with oversized heads that have very strong features. They are often referred to as just heads, which is a result of their disproportionately small bodies. Faces are carved with huge brows extending over long noses, which in turn extend over tight pouting lips. When it comes to the bodies, they are normally squat with the arms resting in various positions and without legs.
Toppling
By the end of the 1700s, the inhabitants of Easter Island began to topple the moai until by 1868 there were no standing moai left. According to the oral history of the island, the toppling took place because of tribal violence that gripped the island, with different clans trying to destroy each other's moai. Today, 50 of the statues have been re-erected, while the others remain where they fell.
Location
When arriving at the island, the first European explorers discovered many of the statues situated on the southwest of the island, all of which were facing inward. Moai were later found to be located all over the edges of the island and left abandoned in the quarry. Of the 887 statues that were found, 398 were discovered in quarries at Rano Raraku where the statues were carved. Forty-seven were found to be lying in transit on roads that had been prepared outside of the quarry area.
