Moai Statues Research Paper

There is an island in the midst of the Pacific Island called the Easter Island. This mysterious island is filled with statues of heads called Moai statues. The Moai statues are about 13 feet tall and weigh over 14 tons (history.com staff). There are three questions that many archeologists have been trying to answer. Who created them? How were they made and how did they get there? Many archeologists have come up with different theories of what could have happened.They ran trials and experiments with the evidence given. Although there are many theories about the Moai Statues of Easter Island, the creation and transport of these statues can be proven through DNA evidence, track evidence, and historical evidence. The creators of the Moai statues are believed to be a group of Polynesians. Scientists have tested the DNA of some of the

Archeologists have found these tools next to an unfinished statue (Moai Easter Island). This is a clue because the Polynesians may have intended to finish the statue before leaving but, they may have forgotten or left it there because they have made a mistake. According to Khaled Azzam “Near them there were also chisels and axes made of obsidian.” (Moai Easter Island). The actual Moai statues are made of volcanic rocks. Khaled Azzam had also said that “Over 1000 moai statues were carved out of volcanic rock” (Moai Easter Island). This means that the tools that could carve the statues had to be strong and hard. The most common volcanic rock is basalt. The Polynesians would have had to use strong materials in order to carve the statue. Using wood, clay or any other materials that were available on the island would not be able to cut through the rock. Obsidian originates from a volcano and stone is all over the island. This concludes that obsidian and stone were the main tools used to carve the