Carl Lipo, Binghamton University (detail)

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Were the Moai, weighing tonnes, swung into place?

18.10.2025

Translation: machine translated

Two researchers claimed that the inhabitants of Easter Island transported the famous colossi by rocking them. Now they have confirmed their theory.

The two archaeologists Carl Lipo and Terry Hunt caused a stir in 2013 when they moved a replica moai from Rapa Nui forwards in an upright position - using only ropes. Could the colossi from Easter Island have got to where they were by the inhabitants rocking them back and forth? Many people were enthusiastic about this theory, but it was also criticised. It contradicted the previous assumption that the statues, which weighed up to 74 tonnes, were placed on tree trunks and rolled forward - gradually destroying the environment through the immense consumption of wood. Lipo from the American Binghamton University and Hunt from the University of Arizona have now followed up and confirmed their thesis in a study in the «Journal of Archaeological Science» with further findings.

In experiments, the researchers had tested the possible method of transport: three ropes, each pulled by a group of people, hold the statue in position. The rear rope fixes the moai at a slight angle. The two remaining groups then take turns pulling on the side ropes to move the colossus wobble by wobble. This is how «» the 4.35 tonne replica walked on flat, sloping and ascending paths back in 2012.

Moai in the shape of a bowling pin

Lipo and Hunt examined 962 moai that had been made since the island was colonised around 800 to 1000 years ago. They examined 62 pieces lying on the ground along the old transport routes back in 2013. Fractures on the figures suggested that they had fallen over on their way out of the quarry. But there are other reasons why these statues differ from the figures placed on platforms: their bases had been moulded in such a way that they tipped slightly forwards. In addition, the lower end and shoulder area are roughly the same width. And: «The wide base acts like the rounded underside of a bowling pin and allows the statue to rock strongly without tipping over to the side», according to the study. The moai standing on platforms, on the other hand, taper downwards. Apparently, the end was flattened when the statue was erected. The «street moai» would also lack the eyes of the placed colossi, as they had not yet been completed.

Lipo and Hunt see the shape of the transport routes as further proof of their thesis. The roads were curved like a channel. This would have made it easier to keep the wobbly Moai on track. In contrast, the roads would have been less suitable for rolling logs.

However, transport was not always successful. The «Street Moai» were apparently the result of transport accidents. However, the position of the figures underpins their upright mode of transport. The figures were lying on their stomachs on sloping paths; if they were travelling uphill, they fell on their backs. The course of fractures also shows that the moai were tipped over from an upright position.

They rocked it!

Hunt and Lipo now wanted to know how much time and labour was needed to transport the moai. Was the rocking method possibly far too time-consuming? The two archaeologists calculated that 15 to 60 people could set the statues in motion, depending on their size. Once the colossi were in motion, fewer people were needed to move them, and they only had to make a moderate effort. In their experiment, 18 helpers swung the replica 100 metres, which took them 40 minutes. According to the researchers, 40 people were able to transport a 20-tonne moai ten kilometres within 15 to 22 days. This clearly corresponded «to the capacities of the Rapa Nui groups», they write in the «Journal of Archaeological Science».

The main witnesses to their thesis, however, are the people of Rapa Nui themselves. They have been telling each other for generations that the moai from the quarry «were left running». The indigenous population also know traditional chants that are supposed to set the beat for the moai shaking. When the statues were moved over several days, «a rhythmic, almost meditative process was created, which probably had a ceremonial meaning», according to the two researchers.

Early experiments that failed

Even before Lipo and Hunt, researchers had already attempted to send an imitation moai on a wobbly journey. In the 1980s, oral tradition inspired Czech engineer Pavel Pavel and Norwegian researcher Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002) to conduct an experiment. However, their model could only be moved with great effort, travelled short distances everywhere and then suffered severe damage. «Our research has shown why Pavel's experiments were conceptually on the right track, but caused problems in practice», Lipo and Hunt write. «He used the wrong moai mould.» Pavel copied moai as they stand ready-made on platforms, not those with a rounded base.

The problem with these theories, however, is that experimental archaeology can make the former transport method probable, but cannot prove it. The same applies to the idea that the statues were rolled forwards on timbers.

However, research continues to move away from the assumption that the people of Rapa Nui would have overexploited their environment, turning the island into an uninhabitable wasteland. Lipo and Hunt have long disagreed with this theory. Recent studies suggest that there was never a population collapse. At least not before the first Europeans landed in 1722 and Peruvian slave traders in the 1860s, who displaced a third of the population.

Spectrum of science

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Original article on Spektrum.de

Header image: Carl Lipo, Binghamton University (detail)

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Were the Moai, weighing tonnes, swung into place?

Moai in the shape of a bowling pin

They rocked it!

Early experiments that failed

Spectrum of science

These articles might also interest you

Is MSG bad for you? Not at all

On the trail of the Elfstedentocht by water bike

Matcha’s booming: one in eight teas is green powder

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