The Statues on Easter Island

"Two of the many issues surrounding the island's past are striking: We have seen how in the past humans moved such solid statues (Moai) and how they turned such solid rock caps (Pukao) upside down," says Carl Lipo, Associate Professor of Humanities at Binghamton University.

Pucao are scaria barrels, some of which weight up to 12 tonnes. They' ve been spread all over the island, over long stretches, with few men and few natural-ressources. "We learnt that they were moving the statues with basic physics-based techniques in a way that was sleek and remarkable effective," says Lipo.

"In our latest survey, we look at the question of the hat (Pukao). Those multi-tone stones were cut in a seperate mine, moved across the island and somehow lifted to the top of the statuehead. "They photographed various pukaos and created three-dimensional mock-ups that documented detail that is important for the identification of the most likely transportation methods.

"Sean Hixon, principal writer and present PhD candidate at Penn State University, says, "The number of possible storage techniques for pukaos is inexhaustible. "Previous projects for transporting pukaos are pushing the pukaos over a wood platform or slowly constructing a stone heap under the top of the pip.

It is a challenging task to go beyond possible transportation methodologies and find a transportation environment that is compatible with the variations in archeological data. "We anticipate that some forms of Pukago will mirror the limitations of transportation," Hixon states. "Various possible transportation techniques restrict aspect of pupao versatility in different ways.

" Lippo continues: "The response, like our results with the motivation, shows that Rapid Nui humans were remarkable geniuses and found ways that needed the least resource and the least amount of efforts to reach their objectives. "Your analyses showed that the pukaos were most likely wheeled from the stone pit to the site of the mai and large platforms were furled using a parbucking technology.

"When parbocking, a line would have been wound around the Pukão ram, and then they would have drawn the line from the top of the platform," Lipo said. "Reduce the amount of work needed to move the sculpture up the dock. Just like the way the statues were moved, the parabolic was a straightforward and stylish way that demanded a minimal amount of resource and time.

He also said that this use of natural resource shows how efficient the Easter Islanders have used their natural resource, which is contrary to what they used to think. "The Easter Island is often regarded as a place where an irrational attitude of prehistory has resulted in a disastrous environmental collapse," Lipo said.

"However, the archeological proofs show us that this image is profoundly erroneous and erroneous as to what the island's inhabitants have done and how they have managed to be successful in a small and isolated place for over 500 years. "Lippo said he intends to pursue research into the human beings of Rape Nui and their relation to their surroundings and population.

"and our research on Pukau contributes significantly to this new conception of the island: The inventiveness of the people of Rapid Nui has been remarkable," says Lipo. "This effort was part of a sustained welfare system in which the building of monuments (such as Pukao) was an important part. Whilst Rafa Nui's welfare system is not quite the way our modern day world works, it was quite cultured individuals who were well adapted to the needs of life on this island and used their natural resource prudently to maximise their performance and ensure long-term sustainability.

" This is the story "The Colossal Hats (Pukao) of the Monumental Statues on Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile): The" Variability, Transport, and Emplacement of Pukao " was recently released in the Journal of Archaeological Sciences.