For centuries, the massive stone statues of Easter Island—known as moai—have inspired awe and mystery.
How did the ancient people of Rapa Nui, with no wheels and limited resources, manage to move these towering figures, some weighing as much as 80 tons, across rugged terrain?
A team of researchers, including Binghamton University anthropologist Carl Lipo and University of Arizona archaeologist Terry Hunt, believe they have found the answer.
Using physics, 3D computer modeling, and hands-on experiments, they confirmed that the statues weren’t dragged or rolled lying down.
Instead, the Rapa Nui people likely used ropes to make the statues “walk” upright in a rocking, zig-zag motion along specially prepared roads. Their findings are published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
The idea that moai could be walked has been around for years, but Lipo’s team has now provided both experimental and physical evidence that supports it.
“Once you get it moving, it isn’t hard at all—people are pulling with one arm,” Lipo explained. “It conserves energy, and it moves really quickly. The tricky part is getting it rocking at the start.”
To test their theory, the researchers studied nearly 1,000 moai statues, examining details of their design. They noticed that many have wide, D-shaped bases and a slight forward tilt—features that would actually make them easier to move upright. To prove it, they built a 4.35-ton replica moai with these characteristics.
With just 18 people and a few ropes, they successfully moved the statue 100 meters in 40 minutes, far more efficiently than earlier attempts using other methods.
“The physics makes sense,” said Lipo. “And the bigger the statue, the more consistent the movement becomes. It really looks like this was the only practical way to move such enormous objects.”
The roads of Rapa Nui provide even more evidence. These ancient paths are about 4.5 meters wide and concave in shape, making them perfect for guiding and stabilizing rocking statues as they moved forward.
Lipo believes the people of Rapa Nui built and expanded these roads as part of the statue-moving process, creating overlapping and parallel paths as they went. “Every time they moved a statue, they made a road,” he said.
While wild theories about Easter Island abound, from alien intervention to supernatural powers, Lipo stresses that the evidence consistently supports the walking method. “Nothing else explains how the moai were moved. Everything we’ve tested keeps strengthening the argument,” he said.
Beyond solving a historical puzzle, the research highlights the ingenuity of the Rapa Nui people. With limited resources, they engineered a method to move colossal statues across miles of island terrain.
“It shows that the Rapa Nui people were incredibly smart,” said Lipo. “They figured out a way that made sense with what they had, and it worked. We have a lot to learn from them.”
By blending modern science with ancient mystery, the study not only solves one of archaeology’s most enduring questions but also pays tribute to the creativity and resilience of the people who built one of the world’s most iconic monuments.
