{"id":109132,"date":"2025-10-14T12:28:39","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T12:28:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/explorersweb.com\/?p=109132"},"modified":"2025-10-21T17:54:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T17:54:21","slug":"moai-easter-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/explorersweb.com\/moai-easter-island\/","title":{"rendered":"The Giant Stone Statues of Easter Island Really Did ‘Walk’"},"content":{"rendered":"

For centuries, the giant stone statues on Easter Island, known as moai, have fascinated the world. <\/span>The colossal human figures, some up to 10 meters high and weighing 86 metric tonnes, have <\/span>had<\/span> both scientists and the general public <\/span>asking<\/span> the same question:<\/span> How did the Rapa Nui people move them into position?<\/span><\/p>\n

Crafted between 1250 and 1500 CE, nearly 900 moai were carved and placed across the island. <\/span>How<\/span> they were constructed and transported <\/span>was<\/span> passed down orally through generations.<\/span> When modern researchers asked the Rapa Nui people how <\/span>the statues were moved<\/span>, the answer was astonishingly simple: They said the moai<\/span> \u201c<\/span>walked.<\/span>\u201d <\/span>New research proves that this was, in fact, the case.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Illustration

Illustration showing the ‘walking’ technique used to move the maoi statues. Image: Carl Lipo<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Easter Island has very few trees, so the idea of dragging the statues on wooden sledges or rollers seemed highly unlikely. So researchers began considering that<\/span> \u201c<\/span>walking<\/span>\u201d <\/span>might not be a metaphorical expression. Could the statues really be moved upright, rocking side to side in a forward motion?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A team of researchers led by Carl Lipo from Binghamton University and Terry Hunt from the University of Arizona took a creative approach in their new study<\/a>. They previously showed you could move statues using an upright rocking motion.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"statue

Photo: Carl Lipo<\/p><\/div>\n

First, get it rocking<\/h2>\n

\u201c<\/span>Once you get it moving, it <\/span>isn\u2019t<\/span> hard at all,\u201d explained Lipo. “The hard part is getting it rocking in the first place<\/span>.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Following this success, they sought to determine if the same principles applied to statues as large as the moai.<\/span> Researchers used computer simulations and built a 4.35-ton replica of a moai to get their answer. By looping ropes around the statue and having 18 people rock it side to side in a zigzag motion, they successfully moved it 100 meters in just 40 minutes. The experiment showed that the statues could<\/span> \u201c<\/span>walk<\/span>\u201d <\/span>with surprisingly little effort.<\/span><\/p>\n