"Weighing between 12 and 80 tonnes, scientists have long wondered how the island's ancient civilisation could have moved the huge stone statues into place. Using a combination of 3D modelling and real-life experiments, scientists have confirmed that the statues actually 'walked' to their final destinations. After studying nearly 1,000 of the heads - known as moai - anthropologists found that the people of Rapa Nui likely used ropes to rock the statues in a zig-zag pattern."
"This technique would have allowed small teams of people to move the enormous moai over long distances with relatively little effort. Co-author of the study Professor Carl Lipo, of Binghamton University, says: 'Once you get it moving, it isn't hard at all-people are pulling with one arm. 'It conserves energy, and it moves really quickly, the hard part is getting it rocking in the first place.'"
The origin of Easter Island's moai statues long posed an archaeological puzzle. Scientists used 3D modelling and real-life experiments to test mobility hypotheses and studied nearly 1,000 moai. The people of Rapa Nui likely moved the statues by attaching ropes to either side and rocking them in a zig-zag pattern, producing a 'walking' motion. This technique allowed small teams to transport moai weighing 12 to 80 tonnes over long distances with relatively little effort and conserved energy. Previous theories proposed dragging statues laid flat, which would have required far larger labor forces and would have been nearly impossible for the largest moai. Moai shapes appear to facilitate rocking and walking.
Read at Mail Online
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