Tag Archive for 'Moai'

Ahu Nau Nau, a cultural and religious site built by Rapa Nui society on Easter Island’s Anakena beach, was among 11 sites where previously gathered data were examined as part of the new study. The site is located on the north shore of the Easter Island. Image credit: Robert DiNapoli.

Study: Easter Island’s Monument-Building Society Did Not Collapse Prior to European Contact

Feb 6, 2020 by News Staff

Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui, is famous for its numerous statues (moai) and the monumental platforms that supported them (ahu). A widely-held...

Easter Island is located some 3,512 km from Chile’s west coast and its nearest inhabited neighbor, Pitcairn Island, located some 2,075 km to the west. For reasons still unknown early Rapa Nui people began carving giant statues out of volcanic rock. Image credit: Marlene Hanssen.

Easter Islanders Likely Believed Megalithic Statues Helped Maintain Soil Fertility

Dec 16, 2019 by News Staff

Ancient inhabitants of Easter Island (also known as Rapa Nui) likely believed their megalithic statues called moai stimulated agricultural food production,...

Easter Island, known as Rapa Nui to its earliest inhabitants, is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world. Image credit: Yerson Retamal.

Easter Islanders Built Their Monuments Close to Coastal Freshwater Sources, Researchers Say

Jan 11, 2019 by News Staff

Ancient inhabitants of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) built their famous statues (moai) and megalithic platforms (ahu) that supported them near the island’s...

Rapanui people. Image credit: © Santiago Caruso.

Tools of Ancient Easter Islanders Hint at Sophisticated Society

Aug 21, 2018 by News Staff

By analyzing the chemical makeup of toki, tools that were used by Easter Island’s inhabitants to create the giant moai statues, Field Museum researcher...

Fifteen moais of Ahu Tongariki. Image credit: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Ancient Easter Islanders Used Rope and Ramps to Put Massive Stone Hats on Moai

Jun 11, 2018 by News Staff

The ancient people of Easter Island, Chile, were able to move so-called pukao — massive stone hats of the island’s famed monumental statues (moai)...

Study: Easter Island Had Supportive and Inclusive Community

Jan 8, 2018 by News Staff

An analysis of so-called pukao — colossal stone hats of monumental statues (moai) on Easter Island — provides evidence contrary to the widely...

Left: Easter Island statue Hoa Hakananai’a. Right: RTI view of carvings on the statue (University of Southampton Press)

Archaeologists Analyze Carvings on Easter Island Statue

Apr 12, 2013 by News Staff

Researchers at the University of Southampton have used the latest in digital imaging technology to analyze carvings on Hoa Hakananai’a, a moai (Easter...