The construction of the famous moai of Rapa Nui, on Easter Island, did not result from centralized management, but rather from the work of numerous autonomous groups. The conclusion is presented in a a study published in the journal PLOS One, conducted by Carl Philipp Lipo, from Binghamton University (New York), and by an international team of researchers.
Rapa Nui is known for the hundreds of monumental statues carved by Polynesian communities since the 13th century. Archaeological research has consistently pointed to a society composed of small family clans, politically independent. What was missing, however, was to confirm whether the production of the moai followed the same decentralized logic.
To answer this question, the researchers collected more than 11,000 images from the island’s main quarry, Rano Raraku, and developed a detailed three-dimensional model of the site, where hundreds of moai remain at different stages of construction. The analysis of this model revealed 30 distinct centers of carving activity, with varied techniques, indicating independent work zones. Traces of transport of the statues in multiple directions were also identified, reinforcing the absence of central coordination.
These findings challenge the idea that the production of monuments of this scale requires a hierarchical structure. The similarities among the moai seem to stem primarily from the cultural sharing of knowledge, and not from joint working teams. The quarry model created as part of this study also opens up new possibilities for future investigations and for the heritage management of this UNESCO World Heritage site, and could serve as the basis for analyses at other locations on the island.
“A large part of the so-called ‘mystery’ of Rapa Nui stems from the lack of detailed and accessible data that allow hypotheses to be evaluated and explanations to be built,” say the authors. “The high-resolution 3D model we present for the Rano Raraku quarry—responsible for nearly a thousand statues—offers new insights into the processes of organization and manufacture of these monumental figures.”
