
14 Foot Moai Statue |
The enormous stone statues, called moai, are the Polynesian culture's most famous artifacts. At one time, at least 288 moai head statues towered atop massive platforms, known as 'ahu.' Approximately 250 of these ahu platforms actually form a line around the entire coast of Easter Island, and nearly 600 additional
moai head statues scatter the quarries and roads throughout the island.
Carved from stones of the Rano Raraku volcano, the average moai head statue measures approximately 14 1/2 feet high and weighs in at nearly 14 tons. Some moai statues measure 30 feet tall, and the largest recorded moai stone head found on Easter Island would have measured 65 feet tall and weight 80 tons, if unbroken. Around the first and second century, the time when most moai stone statues were erected (AD 500-1650), it is estimated that nearly 100 people were needed to drag the statues on handcrafted wooden sleds and rollers.
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8 Foot Moai Head Statue |
Despite much research, academics and scientists cannot pinpoint exactly the function and usage of moai statues. Some assume that the sculptures were carved and erected out of Polynesian tradition, and that Easter Island was not the first site for moai statues. Archaeological and iconographic analysis indicates that the statues served as symbols of male authority and power, both religious and political, and believed to be charged with an anthropomorphic spirit called 'mana.' to the people who carved them. Many who visit Easter Island's moai head statues today claim to sense the 'mana' or spiritual presence at the ahu sites.
The moai head statues of Easter Island remain one of the world's most mysterious wonders, as conventional archaeologists continue to uncover perplexing research that falls outside the current boundaries of traditional archaeology. Astronomers, religious leaders, scientists and scholars in a range of fields have proposed a number of theories about the moai sculptures, some of which mark them as a key part to an ancient global grid of important geographical locations. Perhaps the entire history of the moai head sculptures of Easter Island are destined to be forever a mystery, however, due to the self-inflicted environmental degradation of the island's own people, followed by the forced social devastation when European settlers arrived.
Today, many stone artists around the world are attempting to revive what could easily become a lost art. Many modern moai head carvers still craft enormous sculptures from a variety of stones and ship them around the world to archaeologists, collectors, and those who appreciate history and culture.
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Artists Daughter with Granite
Moai Statues 48" |
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