Wooden Slats or Rollers Didn't Transport Easter Island's Moai — The Statues Walked
Researchers showed only 18 people were needed to move moai statues by rocking them along curved ancient roads, confirming the Rapa Nui people’s innovative transport method.
- A team led by Carl Lipo and Terry Hunt demonstrated on Oct. 9 that physics, 3D modeling, and field tests show Easter Island's moai `walked` upright.
- The Rapa Nui people's methods have long puzzled tourists and researchers as the moai statues, carved between 500 and 800 years ago, weigh more than 80 tons without machine aid.
- Using a 4.35-ton moai replica, researchers moved it 109 yards in about 40 minutes with only 18 people walking it 100 meters on 15-feet wide ancient roads.
- Researchers say the results honor Rapa Nui ingenuity, and Carl Lipo, professor of anthropology at Binghamton University, said, `It conserves energy, and it moves really quickly,` adding that `the physics makes sense.`
- Lipo and Hunt are pursuing further tests of the walking motion, and researchers say the findings solidify what Rapa Nui legends long claimed about moai movement.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Mystery Behind How the Massive, Centuries-Old Statues Were Transported Across Easter Island May Finally Be Solved
Scientists believe the statues may have "walked"Getty Easter Island moai statuesNEED TO KNOWResearchers say they may have discovered the secret behind the centuries-old statues on Easter IslandScientists 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 populationThe researchers now believe the statues were likely “walked” upright via a system of ropesS…
Dick Van Dyke Is Still Funny, Easter Island Mystery Solved, And The Demon On The Mend
It's Saturday, which means it's time to catch up on all the news you missed (or ignored; no judgment) from this past week with a little help from The Punch-Up!And what a week it was.We've got Dick Van Dyke still cracking jokes as he closes in on triple digits, an ancient Easter Island mystery has been solved, and KISS Gene Simmons is on the mend.Nothing a few KISS-branded bandages can't fix.There's plenty more where these came from, so let's jum…
Thousands of kilometres from every continent, an isolated people carved one of the greatest mysteries of the archaeological world. On Easter Island, these enigmatic stone giants have long challenged researchers, nourishing legends and speculations. But recent advances in science reveal an unknown part of their history. Behind the apparent immobility of the statues of Easter Island, a subtle mechanics, patiently recreated by researchers, changes …
This finding brings experts closer to solving the mystery of the move of the iconic Moai, which weighs about 80 tons.


For centuries, the way in which the ancient inhabitants of Easter Island managed to move and lift the monumental Moai statues was one of the greatest archaeological riddles in the world. Now, a new study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science claims to have found the answer to how the most iconic statues arrived. The finding, driven by an international team of researchers led by Carl Lipo, professor of Anthropology at the University …
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