82-Ton Giant Moai Sculptures

 

Moai statues are the name given to huge statues made of solid stone found on Easter Island.

Easter Island is an island in the south-east of the Great Ocean, Chile. It is located 3,600 kilometers off the coast of Chile, with this feature it has the title of the farthest point on land in the world.

The island is called Easter because of the Dutch sailor Jacob Roggeveen setting foot on the island on 5 May 1722, coinciding with the eve of Easter holiday. Giant statues on Easter Island are called” Moai". In 1935, a German linguist who went to the island recorded 638 Moai statues as a result of his examination of the island, classifying them according to their type and size.

In the Easter Island sculptures Project research conducted between 1969 and 1976, 887 sculptures were recorded. However, it is estimated that there are also more than 1000 statues in total on the island.

Moai statues locations Map Easter Island Moai sculptures are majestic sculptures that impress man with their long ears, strong protruding jaws, large heads and armless bodies. They are all in the same shape with carefully defined eye holes and flat noses.

The longest of the moai sculptures is called 'Paro'. Paro is about 10 meters long, weighs 82 tons.

The heaviest Moai statue weighs 86 tons but is not completed. It is estimated that if it could be completed it would have a length of 21 meters and a weight of 270 tons.

In general, male sculptures are called “Moai Kavakava“ and female sculptures are called “Moai Pæpæ”. The Moai statues are estimated to have been made by island natives between 1000-1600.

Although their religious meaning is not fully known, they are presumed to represent ancestors believed to have lived. The locals called it” the land of the Birdmen." In many places on the island, symbols belonging to an unknown written language were found, similar to tattoos, in many of the various and Moai sculptures embroidered on the rocks. This article has not been resolved to date. The Moai statues are made of soft volcanic tuffs taken from the Rano Raraku volcano on the eastern coast of Paklaya Island. Giant sculptures are made of rocks in one piece. Also on the head of the Moai are giant red hats called Pukao. Pukao was made of a red rifle called scoria, taken from the punapau volcano in the southwest of the island, and was later placed in meters of Moai. These 10-ton hats were placed on the heads of the statues after they were erected and most likely similar to the image below.. About 200 statues remain in Rano Raraku, many of which are believed to be under the quarry. Most of the sculptures are unfinished, and most are in the draft stage. Rano Raraku was used as a sculpture workshop, and the giant sculptures that were completed were moved to different parts of the island, usually facing the sea.

Many scientists in the recent past have done research on this issue, copying one of the sculptures one-on-one and experimenting with the technology and human power of the era.

As a result, it has been noticed that the sculptures are made to move forward when they are swung from right to left, connected by ropes from different points. The sculpture is gradually advanced by sliding over the tree tattoos when it swings from right to left, regardless of its weight. Because it has a volcanic structure, the few palm trees on the island, which are already not suitable for plant growth, have also been cut down for the sledge system used to transport statues. According to research by experts, it took 23,000 man-days of work to carve, move and place a Moai statue on the ahun. Considering that there are about 1000 sculptures, the splendor of the event becomes more obvious. In 1994, Moai statues were added to the Unesco World Heritage List.