NEED TO KNOW
- Researchers say they may have discovered the secret behind the centuries-old statues on Easter Island
- Scientists have long been confounded as to how the island’s native people were able to move such massive structures without the aid of machines or a large population
- The researchers now believe the statues were likely “walked” upright via a system of ropes
Scientists believe they may have discovered the mystery behind the giant sacred statues on Easter Island.
The statues, called moai, are believed to have been carved between 500 and 800 years ago. They stand approximately 13 feet tall and weigh around 14 tons, per National Geographic. Tourists and researchers alike have long wondered how the island’s indigenous people — the Rapa Nui — placed the mammoth figures across the landscape without the assistance of machines or a large population.
Now, scholars think the statues may have “walked” — so to speak.
A research team made up of scientists from Binghamton University and the University of Arizona conducted 3D modeling and field tests, according to a news release from Binghamton University published on Oct. 9. The release states that the researchers found that, with a system of ropes, a large stone statue could be moved — or “walked” — across the ground in a zigzagging motion with fewer than 20 people.
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“Once you get it moving, it isn’t hard at all — people are pulling with one arm. It conserves energy, and it moves really quickly,” said Carl Lipo, professor of anthropology at Binghamton and one of the study leads.
“The hard part is getting it rocking in the first place,” he continued, adding, “The question is, if it’s really large, what would it take?”
Lipo and his team theorized that the specific structure of the moai played a large part in their ability to be moved via ropes and zigzagging motions — namely, their wide, D-shaped bases and forward lean.
They tested their theory in real life by creating a 4.35-ton moai replica. The team was able to move the statue 109 yards in approximately 40 minutes, which Lipo said was much speedier than past theories and models.
“The physics makes sense,” he said. “What we saw experimentally actually works. And as it gets bigger, it still works. All the attributes that we see about moving gigantic ones only get more and more consistent the bigger and bigger they get, because it becomes the only way you could move it.”
Lipo also said that the roads carved out across the island are perfectly ideal for transporting the statues in such a way, further supporting the new theory.
Lipo additionally noted that using actual science and modeling to try to understand the truth behind the moai — as opposed to leaning into outlandish theories — is a way to honor the island’s indigenous people.
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“It shows that the Rapa Nui people were incredibly smart. They figured this out,” he explained.
He added: “They’re doing it the way that’s consistent with the resources they have. So it really gives honor to those people, saying, ‘Look at what they were able to achieve,’ and we have a lot to learn from them in these principles.”
Read the full article here
