Mystery of Easter Island's haunting statues 'solved'

Researchers from New York’s Binghamton University say they have cracked one of the mysteries surrounding Easter Island’s ominous statues known as moai.

Said to have been carved from volcanic rock by the lost civilisation of Rapa Nui, there are almost 900 humanoid moai dotted around the Pacific island.

It is now thought that the statues with the distinctive, oversized heads are markers of where potable ground water bubbles to the surface on the otherwise barren island, which has a low yearly rainfall and high evaporation rate.

The university’s Professor Carl Lipo said Easter Island’s porous volcanic soil quickly absorbs rain, resulting in a lack of rivers and streams.

“Fortunately, water beneath the ground flows downhill and ultimately exits the ground directly at the point at which the porous subterranean rock meets the ocean,” he said. “When tides are low, this results in the flow of freshwater directly into the sea.

“Humans can thus take advantage of these sources of freshwater by capturing the water at these points.

“Now that we know more about the location of freshwater the location of these monuments and other features makes tremendous sense: they are positioned where fresh water is immediately available,” Prof. Lipo said.

The research is published in the Hydrogeology Journal.

6 comments

Interesting always wondered what these carvings meant. 

Now we know - water - something we now pay dearly for. 

Yes Warrior, there was a time when civilisation paid respect to water. 

Raises more questions than answers. Why are most of the moai buried? Is it to prevent them falling? Why do they all face away from the ocean except for one? Why is there one only which is kneeling? How did the Rapa Nui manage to move the rock? Considering the average weight was 20 tonne? 

Interesting but seems those statues would have been a hell of a lot of work to show where water was -- I would have thought they could have had something with a LOT less effort?

Island life can have that effect after a while. I lived on an island for a couple of years and found myself doing that sort of thing. Thats why I'd like to know how they moved them.

Looked at them last year, drank some local beer (rather tasty, too) and thought of the late Malcolm Fraser, exPM

Thanks for that Cowboy Jim, I enjoy a good laugh.

My goodness, How do these people come up with these silly ideas? So they spent huge amounts of energy, time and resources just to indicate a well. Nonsense. I say. And what of the statues that are not spread out but all placed in one line in a certain location and many fitted with "tophats". Is that where the water for the island elite came out of the ground?

I suggest the illustrious professor has been partaking of too much wacky weed or what ever passes for such recreational material where he comes from..

Well, pedro the swift, one reason for the illustrious professor's ponifications could well be that he was able to get a grant to undertake the study. With a grant he would have been able to visit Easter Island at no cost to himself. I recall a grant being given to a professor at Newcastle university of $35,000 to study the best way to chill beers with emphasis on speed of chilling at minimal cost. He bought refrigerators, Eskies of different sizes and materials and ice and dry ice, Oh, and lots and lots of beer. His paper concluded that beer placed in an Esky and covered with ice was the quickest and cheapest. I don't have a university degree and I knew that but he is smarter than me because he got more free beer than I did.

 

I am very skeptical of this research for the simple reason Rapa Nui is some 63 square miles..not a large area and there are 887 statues..why would they need so many to mark the location of water? No..my fantasy mind tells me there is more..much more and we shall never know the real reason.

Besides..I like it that way!



I agree Sophie.  It's impossible to understand the minds of the people at that time.   Water may or may not have been part of the reason for the statues, but the mystery of how and why, similarly the pyramids, will remain a mystery.   It is certainly fascinating to contemplate the reasoning behind them.

6 comments



To make a comment, please register or login

Preview your comment