Moai of Rapa Nui
Moáis de Rapa Nui
- Date
- c. 1250-1650 · confidence medium
- Place
- Rano Raraku, Easter Island, Valparaíso, Chile
- Credited to
- Rapa Nui (Polynesian people of Easter Island)
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Nearly 900 monolithic statues of volcanic tuff, carved in the Rano Raraku quarry and moved to ceremonial platforms (ahu) around the coast. They represent deified ancestors and are the largest group of monumental sculpture in Polynesia.
The chronology is disputed: first settlement is placed around 1200 and moai carving lasted until the 17th century; the cause of their abandonment (ecocide versus rats and European diseases) is strongly debated, and 'walking' as a transport method is an experimental proposal (2012).
What it led to
- moving statues by 'walking' them with ropes, versus wooden sledges
- debates on the island's ecological and demographic collapse
- a symbol of Polynesian culture and Chile