What is moai made of?

What is moai made of?

Most moai are made of tuff. Tuff is a soft volcanic rock native to Easter Island. (A few moai were carved from basalt and scoria, other volcanic rocks.) Because tuff erodes easily, few of the moai’s original designs remain.

Do the moai heads have bodies?

As a part of the Easter Island Statue Project, the team excavated two moai and discovered that each one had a body, proving, as the team excitedly explained in a letter, “that the ‘heads’ on the slope here are, in fact, full but incomplete statues.”

Can you touch the moai?

5. Touching a Moai is not only forbidden but will land you in major trouble. Visitors are forbidden from touching the Moai and breaking the law carries a hefty fine. Most recently a Finnish tourist was fined $17,000 US for touching a Moai and breaking its earlobe as a souvenir.

What was the purpose of the moai?

What do the Moai represent? It’s thought that the Moai were symbols of religious and political power and leadership. Carvings and sculptures in the Polynesian world often have strong spiritual meanings, and followers often believe a carving had magical or spiritual powers of the person or deity depicted.

What is Isla de Pascua?

Easter Island, Spanish Isla de Pascua, also called Rapa Nui, Chilean dependency in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is the easternmost outpost of the Polynesian island world. It is famous for its giant stone statues.

What is the real mystery of Easter Island?

Deforestation, slavery and rats were all factors in the Pacific island’s population decline. Most people have heard of the decimation of the population of Easter Island (also called Rapa Nui) and have seen pictures of the massive stone statues (moai) that line the coastline.

How were the moai moved?

Even specialized priests were known to move moai at the request of those who wanted them on their family land or ahu. Method: Tied statue on its back to a sledge (sled) made from a tree fork. 180 islanders pulled the statue using two parallel ropes tied to each side.

Is there Internet on Easter Island?

In Easter Island almost all hotels offer internet connection, in some cases through computers accessible to customers and in others there is WiFi signal, although it usually covers only the common areas and not the rooms. In both cases the connection is still very slow and is often interrupted.

Why are there no trees on Easter Island?

When it rains on the island, also known as Rapa Nui, the water rapidly drains through the porous volcanic soil, leaving the grass dry again. That’s one reason why the island at the end of the world has stayed almost entirely bare, with no trees or shrubs.

Is there tourism on Easter Island?

(CNN) — Easter Island has long been a bucket list destination for travelers from around the world. But the very thing that keeps the island’s economy going strong may be the thing that ultimately causes its ruin: mass tourism. The native Rapa Nui people call their island Hanga Roa.

What are the moai statues on Easter Island?

Moai statues. Easter Island moai statues with heads visible in quarry Rano Raraku. Moai statues are massive megaliths at Easter Island, and these are what this island is famous for. The moais were built in approximately 1400 – 1650 A.D. by the natives of this island also known as Rapa Nui.

What are some interesting facts about the moai?

One discovery that shocked the world was that the large moai heads actually have large bodies buried beneath the earth. The body and torsos were buried under meters of sediment deposited by massive landslides as the island’s landscape eroded throughout the centuries.

What tools were used to carve the moai statues?

Tools used for carving moai statues. The tools used for carving the moai statues are called toki, and are simple handheld chisels. They have been found in countless numbers in all excavations at Rano Raraku – particularly around the statues. The highest quality toki are made of hawaiite, which is the hardest kind of rock found at Easter Island.

How did they move the moʻai across Easter Island?

It is not known exactly how the moʻai were moved across the island. Earlier researchers assumed that the process almost certainly required human energy, ropes, and possibly wooden sledges (sleds) and/or rollers, as well as leveled tracks across the island (the Easter Island roads).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4U5Y7MSAJc