For centuries, the mystery of how the ancient inhabitants of Rapa Nui—better known as Easter Island—transported the towering moai statues has fascinated researchers and travelers around the world. Today, thanks to new research conducted through physics, three-dimensional modeling and practical field tests, scholars provide the most solid evidence ever recorded: the colossal or rolled moai, but move to a standing position with an oscillating motion similar to a walk.
The new study, published in the journal Journal of Archaeological Scienceis the result of the joint work of the anthropologist Carl Lipo from Binghamton University and colleague Terry Hunt from the University of Arizona. Analyzing almost 1,000 moai statuesincluding 62 located along the ancient streets of the islandresearchers found that the statues feature a unique shapespecially designed to facilitate movement.
The statues found along the ancient streets share distinctive features as one wide “D” shaped base and a forward tilt of the torso. These features allow the statue to swing sideways, thus generating a controlled forward movement—a sort of artificial “walk” achieved with the use of ropes and human strength.
The statues could move by walking, without deforestation or rollers
To test this theory, scholars created a life-size replica of a moai statue, weighing 4.35 tonsreproducing the original proportions exactly. The experiment was surprising: using only strings and a group of 18 peoplethey managed to move the statue for 100 meters in 40 minutes. No rollers, no sleds, no damage to the ground – just a controlled and constant rocking motion, in a zigzag pattern.
This practical demonstration disproves previous theoriesaccording to which the statues would have been transported horizontally on logs, thus contributing to the deforestation of the island. On the contrary, the “walking” method is more efficient, sustainable and consistent with the limited resources available to the ancient inhabitants.
The oral legends of the Rapa Nui are reflected in modern science
Another fascinating element that emerged from the study concerns the correspondence between scientific evidence and oral tradition of the Rapa Nui people. For centuries, in fact, the elders have said that the statues “walked” up to their ceremonial platforms, called ahu. Today, science confirms that these stories were based on refined technical and cultural knowledge.
Analysis of the spatial distribution of statues on the island revealed that over half of the statues unfinished or damaged is within a radius of two kilometers from the Rano Raraku quarrypoint of origin of most moai. This distribution follows a decreasing exponential modelconsistent with the hypothesis of transport interrupted due to breakdowns or falls, rather than with intentional placement.
The streets themselves, wide approx 4.5 meters and the shape concaveseem to have been created to facilitate the stabilization of the statues during their movement. The presence of overlapping and parallel paths suggests that workers widened the paths as they proceeded towards their final destination.
This groundbreaking study also answers past criticisms linked to the difficulty of the terrain, the resistance of the ropes and the real possibility of carrying such heavy objects on uneven surfaces. According to the researchers, none of these factors invalidate the walking hypothesis. Indeed, everything indicates that the very shape of the statues has evolved to adapt to this mode of transportation: a method perfectly compatible with the natural resources and technical knowledge of the Rapa Nui.
The discovery also strengthens the idea that the population of Rapa Nui, as supported by previous theories, but knew manage your environment intelligently and sustainably through an integrated system of statues, streets and social organization.
