A groundbreaking experiment has potentially solved one of archaeology's most enduring mysteries: how the ancient inhabitants of Easter Island transported their massive Moai statues to their final locations. According to new research, the multi-ton stone figures literally "rocked" their way forward through a coordinated swaying motion that allowed them to move upright along specially constructed pathways.
The innovative transportation method involved using ropes and alternating pulling motions to create a rocking movement that propelled the statues forward in a zigzag pattern. This discovery also explains the existence of the meter-wide roads that were specifically built for this transportation technique, extending outward from the ancient quarries where the statues were carved.
The residents of Easter Island, known as the Rapa Nui people, and their colossal Moai statues continue to puzzle researchers today. Approximately 960 of these archaic-looking figures, characterized by their oversized heads and ears, dot the remote Pacific island, yet their exact purpose and who they were meant to represent remains unclear. For centuries, scholars have debated how the Rapa Nui people managed to move these tonnage-heavy statues hundreds of years ago, with many theories suggesting they dragged and rolled the stones on greased tree trunks to reach their destinations, similar to how the builders of Stonehenge transported their megalithic stones.
Carl Lipo from Binghamton University and Terry Hunt from the University of Arizona may have found a compelling answer to this transportation puzzle. Their comprehensive study focused specifically on 62 Moai statues that are positioned on or lie along 4.5-meter-wide, road-like pathways. These particular stone figures share distinctive characteristics: they typically display a forward-leaning posture and feature a broadened, bottom-rounded D-shaped base.
The researchers' hypothesis suggests that these Moai statues could have been rocked and pushed forward along these pathways without requiring transportation sleds or tree trunk rollers. The Rapa Nui people may have employed a sophisticated technique where the forward-tilted stone figures themselves provided the necessary momentum for movement. To test this theory in practice, the research team conducted experiments using a 4.35-ton replica of one of these roadway Moai statues, demonstrating how this ancient transportation method could have actually worked.
