One of the most
isolated islands on earth, yet hold one of the most fascinating
creations of man. The people who once lived there are known to have
carved over a thousand statues that they believe held the spirits of
their ancestors.The myth around these statues, as said by the locals, is
that after the statues were carved, they simply "walked into place",
onto the sacred platforms called ahou.
This was believed to be true since there were no other way that people had at that time to move statues that weighed up to 32 tons. There were no proper carving tools and no wheels. The statues were carved out of rocks that had formed over centuries by compressed volcanic ash. The statues were carved on the mountain itself and moved after it was complete.
The mystery around them circles around the transportation of these giant statues. Archaeologists have tried several methods to try understand how the ancestors did it. Since the statues coming to life and walking into place was out of the question.In the process they discovered a few key differences in the Moai that were on the platforms and those that got damaged along the way.
The ones that were damaged and fell on the way to the transportation did not have the eyes carved in, the shape was heavier at the bottom so it looked like the statues were leaning forward, There was a slant at the bottom which changed the center of gravity of the statues. The completed statues at the platforms did not lean forward, they had been reshaped at the bottom so they now stood straight and the eyes had been carved in.
After extensive experimentation it was figured out how the ancestors must have transported the statues so it looked like they were walking. It needed 3 teams of manpower who would be controlling the movement of the statues with ropes. A group was at the back holding the statue upright, and a group on each side of the statue holding ropes and alternatively tugging on the rope so the statue would sway from left to right, and moving forward.
It was like this that the people made roads through the island and "walked" the Moai from one side of the island to another.Here is a link of the methods tried and the one that finally made sense.
Source Credit : www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4CGTDFEJh4
This was believed to be true since there were no other way that people had at that time to move statues that weighed up to 32 tons. There were no proper carving tools and no wheels. The statues were carved out of rocks that had formed over centuries by compressed volcanic ash. The statues were carved on the mountain itself and moved after it was complete.
The mystery around them circles around the transportation of these giant statues. Archaeologists have tried several methods to try understand how the ancestors did it. Since the statues coming to life and walking into place was out of the question.In the process they discovered a few key differences in the Moai that were on the platforms and those that got damaged along the way.
The ones that were damaged and fell on the way to the transportation did not have the eyes carved in, the shape was heavier at the bottom so it looked like the statues were leaning forward, There was a slant at the bottom which changed the center of gravity of the statues. The completed statues at the platforms did not lean forward, they had been reshaped at the bottom so they now stood straight and the eyes had been carved in.
After extensive experimentation it was figured out how the ancestors must have transported the statues so it looked like they were walking. It needed 3 teams of manpower who would be controlling the movement of the statues with ropes. A group was at the back holding the statue upright, and a group on each side of the statue holding ropes and alternatively tugging on the rope so the statue would sway from left to right, and moving forward.
It was like this that the people made roads through the island and "walked" the Moai from one side of the island to another.Here is a link of the methods tried and the one that finally made sense.
Source Credit : www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4CGTDFEJh4
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