Oof easter island heads. 11001680 rectified radio carbon dates. The large stone statues or moai for which easter island is famous were carved in the period ad. Oct 31 2018 ian harvey. The easter island heads were first discovered by explorers in the 1700s.
Easter island is home to 887 monolithic carvings called moai statues. The mystery of the easter island heads may finally be solved. The moai were built by the rapa nui who were native to the island somewhere between the years 1400 1650. The largest of the moai weigh up to 86 tons and can be as much as 30 feet tall although the average size is about half that big according to easter island travel.
The easter island heads are known as moai by the rapa nui people who carved the figures in the tropical south pacific directly west of chile. The moai monoliths carved from stone found on the. Though often eyeless they still gaze along the shores of the island. A total of 887 monolithic stone statues have been inventoried on the island and in museum collections.
However no one was ever able to figure out how anyone built the statues let alone moved them around the land. What were they built for and who were the artisans of these mysterious creations. Almost 1000 stone carvings of heads are littered throughout easter island in the pacific ocean but researchers have been unsure of their purpose.