Study shows that Easter Island statues really “walked”

For many years, archaeologists have tried to understand how the 887 Moai statues came from the quarries and ended up on ceremonial platforms scattered throughout Easter Island.

The works were carved into megalithic rocks between the years 1250 and 1500 by the Rapa Nui people. The period is marked by pre-industrial engineering, making transporting the statues a challenge, even if animals or wheels were used.

However, a study led by archaeologists Carl Lipo and Terry Hunt, from Binghamton University and the State University of New York, appears to have uncovered concrete answers about how indigenous people transported statues from Easter Island.

The research was published in the scientific journal Journal of Archaeological Science. The experimental archeology work shows in practice how the indigenous people of Rapa Nui were capable of transporting statues weighing up to 80 tons – without modern technology.

How the statues from Easter Island were transported

To test the hypothesis, the researchers built a replica of the Moai, weighing around five tons. They were based on original measurements of the island’s sculptures. The model received three transport ropes, one on each side and one at the rear, and was positioned on terrain similar to Easter Island.

Alternating groups of volunteers pulled the side ropes from side to side, while others controlled the balance from behind. With each swing, the Moai “walked” forward on its own, using its own gravity to propel the movement.

“With the right weight and shape, the Moai moves practically on its own. It’s a question of physics, not brute force”, explains Carl Lipo, in an interview with Binghamton University.

In less than an hour, the team managed to move the replica more than 100 meters, with less than 20 people, without pulleys, wheels or wooden logs. In larger Moai statues – such as those over 8 meters, which are on Easter Island – 45 to 60 people would be needed.

“Only 18 people managed to move a five-ton sculpture without damaging it. This shows that transportation could be done safely, efficiently and cooperatively,” the authors state in the study.

Archaeological observations reinforce the experimental result. The study identified wear marks on the bases of the original Moai compatible with the type of friction generated by controlled swinging.

Furthermore, the researchers found that the tilt of the trunk and the rounded base of the statues were not mere artistic styles.

“The morphology of the statues — especially the forward tilt and curved base — indicates that they were designed with how they would be transported,” say Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo in the article.

Discovery explains myth of Rapa Nui culture

This discovery also gives new meaning to an ancient Rapa Nui myth. “Local oral traditions describe the statues as having ‘walked’ to their final locations. Our findings suggest that these accounts may reflect actual mechanical practices,” the study says.

In addition to the archeology of mobility, the results alter repeated ideas about Easter Island. For decades, it was believed that the inhabitants had devastated the forests by using wooden logs to transport the Moai.

The action would have caused an environmental collapse, food shortages and brought the Rapa Nui civilization to ruin. This hypothesis, popularized by historian Jared Diamond, is directly contested by Lipo and Hunt in their studies.

“The evidence indicates that the inhabitants of Rapa Nui managed their resources sustainably and maintained complex social cooperation during the construction of the statues,” says the study. “More than a story of ecological disaster, Rapa Nui represents a remarkable case of human ingenuity.”

Using transport ropes requires sophistication

Transporting the statues required coordination, knowledge of balance and mastery of movement. Something that reveals a degree of sophistication rarely attributed to pre-industrial societies.

“The Rapa Nui achieved monumental feats through cooperation, not coercion. Their mastery of balance and movement reflects an advanced understanding of physics,” the authors state.

The study also suggests that Moai “walking” technique could help reinterpret other megalithic monuments around the worldsuch as Stonehenge in England and the Olmec heads in Mexico.

“Understanding the Moai ‘walking’ mechanism could transform our interpretation of the mobility of monuments in other prehistoric contexts,” the article concludes.

Still in an interview with Binghamton University, Lipo praised the Rapa Nui culture. “The mystery was never about strength, but about intelligence. The Rapa Nui discovered a way to make the impossible seem simple,” said the archaeologist.