The Moai of Easter Island

The Moai of Easter Island are huge stone statues. They were carved out of volcanic rock from a volcano on Easter Island, and then they were transported all over the island. A great many of them are under water, which suggests that the water levels were different when they were constructed. The Moai vary in size, with the biggest ones weighing 85 tons. Again, they are huge. Archaeologists discovered that most of them are at least half buried, so they have been digging them up for years. Easter Island is in the Pacific Ocean, and it is owned by Chile. The local population, the Rapa Nui people, claim that the Moai were constructed by their ancestors around the years 1250 and 1500. It may be partially true, in the sense that somebody local was probably involved in some way with their construction. The dates cannot be even remotely correct, since water levels must have been much different at that time. And the Rapa Nui people were Polynesians who did not have advanced technology. But someone obviously did construct the Moai. And now we know exactly what happened to make and place those megalithic stone structures.

Target: The original construction and installation of the Moai of Easter Island

Target Goal: To determine the method used to construct, move, and install the Moai of Easter Island when they were first created

Objects A: The Moai of Ester Island

Time Period E: Time of construction of the largest Moai on Easter Island

Location V: Location where the rock for the largest Moai on Easter Island is quarried

Time F: Moment of quarrying the rock for the largest Moai on Easter Island

Subject U: Subject controlling the highest level of technology in constructing and moving A.