Easter Island’s renowned moai figures have for years intrigued people globally, yet recent studies propose an unexpected alteration in their origin narrative, defying established views. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Comments
The puzzling monumental faces that have spellbound tourists to Easter Island may finally have their actual sculptors disclosed, and the findings are poised to astonish the archaeological sphere.
In a pioneering new piece of research, scholars have exposed persuasive proof indicating that the island’s celebrated moai sculptures were not the undertaking of a sole dominion, but instead the consequence of intense contention between competing factions and families.
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The remarkable conclusions, documented in the journal PLOS ONE, contest the age-old belief that the moai were carved by hundreds of laborers under a unified authority during the 13th century.
On the contrary, researchers currently surmise that each of the over 900 figures, reaching up to a staggering 80 tons, was fashioned by as few as four to six individuals from opposing groups.
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3D model unveils 30 separate ‘workshops’
By employing state-of-the-art technology, archaeologists have pinpointed 30 individual “workshops” where the moai were sculpted, each utilizing its own distinctive carving methods and production attributes. The breakthrough occurred after investigators utilized a drone to capture a remarkable 22,000 photographs of the principal moai stone pit, which were then joined together to construct a comprehensive 3D representation of the location.
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Professor Carl Lipo of Binghamton University, a prominent personality in the study, characterized the stone pit as an “archaeological Disneyland,” adding: “We observe distinct workshops that genuinely correspond to different factional communities that are working intensely in their particular zones.”
Article continues below ADVERTISEMENTNo central management: Statues transported in different directions
Further reinforcing the hypothesis of decentralized moai building is the surprising finding that the sculpted figures were conveyed out of the stone pit in multiple diverse routes, instead of along a single primary path. This discovery implies that there was no complete coordination of the moai’s relocation, strengthening the notion of vying clans functioning autonomously.
Notwithstanding these groundbreaking disclosures, the motivations underlying the formation of the moai and the enormous commitment of duration, provisions, and labor in their structure endure as an enticing riddle. The most recent results, however, bring researchers a further stride towards solving the mysteries of these striking figures.
‘Walking’ moai: Scientists confirm incredible transportation method
The unveiling of the moai’s authentic builders comes quickly following another sensational revelation: the statues were “walked” across Easter Island by employing a clever side-to-side swaying movement. Investigators from Binghamton University and the University of Arizona even constructed a 4.35-ton moai reproduction, which a group of 18 individuals effectively “walked” onward 100 meters in just 40 minutes.
As the pieces of the enigma align, it turns increasingly apparent that the inhabitants of Rapa Nui, the native designation for Easter Island, held a refined clan-centered framework for originating and conveying their emblematic statues. Professor Lipo expressed: “(This) genuinely associates all the components between the quantity of individuals it necessitates to shift the statues, the quantity of locations, the magnitude at which the stone quarrying is transpiring and then the scope of the societies.”
With each fresh revelation, the enigma encompassing Easter Island’s massive faces is gradually unveiled, exhibiting an enthralling story of old competition, resourcefulness, and the unfaltering human essence. As the planet observes in admiration, archaeologists persist in exhuming the enigmas of this distant Chilean land, one breathtaking disclosure at a moment.