moai

Also known as moyai, mo'ai, Easter Island heads, moʻai

thumb|330px|Moai facing inland at Ahu Tongariki, restored by Chilean archaeologist Claudio Cristino in the 1990s

AI overview

Moai are massive stone statues carved by the ancient Polynesian people of Easter Island, typically featuring large heads and facing inland toward settlements. They are significant archaeological monuments that reveal important information about Easter Island's pre-contact civilization and its sophisticated stone-working capabilities.

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Wikidata facts

Image: Ahu Tongariki.jpg

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Unicode character: 🗿
Commons category: Moai
Commons gallery: Isla de Pascua

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~26 min read

Article

20 sections

Contents

Description
Characteristics
Eyes
Symbolism
''Pukao'' topknots and headdresses
Markings
History
Craftsmen
Transportation
Birdman cult
Moai Kavakava
1722–1868 toppling of the moai
Removal of moai from Easter Island
Replicas and casts
Preservation and restoration
Unicode character
See also
Notes
References
External links

thumb|330px|Moai facing inland at Ahu Tongariki, restored by Chilean archaeologist Claudio Cristino in the 1990s

Moai or moꞌai ( ; ; ) are monolithic human figures carved from stone by the Rapa Nui people, on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in eastern Polynesia between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the island's perimeter. Almost all moai have overly large heads, which account for three-eighths of the size of the whole statue. They also have no legs. The moai are chiefly the living faces (aringa ora) of deified ancestors (aringa ora ata tepuna). Although the stone moai are the most famous, the Rapa Nui also carved small wooden moai: moꞌai kavakava (male), moꞌai paepae/papa (female), and moꞌai taŋata (male).