The Mystery of the Iconic Moai Statues Was Likely Linked to an Episode of ‘Deforestation’ on Easter Island

About 2,000 miles off the coast of Chile, Easter Island sits in the heart of South Pacific, carrying mysteries that have left archaeologists like Carl Lipo riddled. Fascinated by the “moai madness” that lingers in the island’s air, Lipo, hailing from Binghamton University, has been researching the iconic moai statues since decades. More than a thousand of these statues have been standing here for thousands of years, with their heads watching over the surrounding villages, the silent guardians of historic mountains. But the fact that the primitive people lugged along these hulking statues all the way to the mountains is a mystery no one has been able to solve yet. In a recent article published in The Conversation, Lipo documented the insights he gathered from his research and how the idea that the statues were likely connected with the island’s deforestation.

Easter Island's iconic moai statues (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Lindrik)

At one point in time, more than 2,000 people resided on the island, per BBC. Somewhere between 1200 and 1700, the tribe carved out these breathtaking statues, whose weight ranges from 12 tons, going all the way up to 85 tons. Some statues were whipped up from volcanic ash while some were sculpted out of the base rocks of surrounding cliffs. History however failed to record how these people moved the gigantic statues without access to any advanced machinery or technology in the times gone by.

This timeline of the island is punctuated with several dramatic episodes that Lipo studied to find clues. He explored a gamut of ideas. Were the statues dragged on top of tree logs or rollers, or were latched to the sledges and hauled to the meadows. Of all the possible scenarios, Lipo curated three attempts to decipher the mystery. In the first attempt, he used photographs. 1,686 photographs were captured by drones. Using these photos, he created a comprehensive 3D model of Rano Raraku, the volcanic crater where 95% of Rapa Nui’s moai were carved. 

In the second attempt, Lipo explored the infamous “walking hypothesis.” In a study published in the Journal of Archaeological Sciences, he showed that the statues “walked” their way to the "ahus" where they are standing today. Lipo measured 62 statues abandoned along ancient roads. These measurements clearly suggested that the statues couldn’t have been moved “horizontally.” The only plausible explanation was that they were transported vertically, in other words, they “walked.”

The third and the final attempt led Lipo to explore the scenario of “deforestation.” Between 500 and 700 years ago, Polynesian settlers flocked to the island and ended up colonizing it. No one knows it for sure, but scientists believe that these colonists brought rats in their vessels to compensate for the lack of fish food. With the introduction of rats, chaos unleashed. The Smithsonian reports, these rats gnawed up almost 95% of the tree seeds, hindering forest regeneration. The International Business Times revealed an analysis of nutshells and rat skeletons as the proof. Their appetite for the tasty four-legged rodents took a toll on the island’s health. This wasn’t “ecocide.” This was intentional self-destruction.

Majestic moai statues stand watching over the surrounding villages (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | RachelKramer)

Fortunately, the island’s people adapted. They peppered the island with stones. When rains arrived, the minerals seeping from the rocks enriched the soil and the trees sprouted once again. Another significant episode unfolded in 1722 when European settlers arrived and brought an epidemic disease. In 1744, when Captain James Cook visited the island, he discovered skeletons scattered across the island, Lipo and his colleague Terry Hunt explained at The Long Now Foundation. So, while deforestation prevailed in the area at the time statues were created, it is unclear whether people actually cut more trees down to “walk” these statues. If this was true, it is a tantalizing possibility to think how the ancient tribe could have bring about its own destruction.

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