Amazing The Easter Island heads are impressive, but they hide a big secret

The Easter Island heads are impressive, but they hide a big secret -

When you picture the massive stone heads on Easter Island (a way tiny dot in the Pacific) you probably imagine that & mdash; heads. Yet these incredible sculptures are so much more.

The statues, called moai , were built between the 1250s and 1500 EC by the Rapa Nui people, who originally came from Polynesia. There are 887 of them in total on the island, the largest of which is 30 feet high and weighs 82 tons. Despite their large size, there is evidence that many have been moved around the island.

The sculptures represent the deified ancestors, and were originally placed to contemplate on their ancestral lands.

The carvings represent deified ancestors, and were originally positioned to gaze out over their ancestral lands.

Wikimedia Commons / Aurbina

This field is full of moai heads, who have been here for hundreds of years.

This field is studded with moai heads, which have been here for hundreds of years.

Wikimedia Commons / Dropus

But the statues are not only the heads. Metro, the researchers found that they actually complete bodies. Over the centuries, the elements were simply buried up to their necks in the ground. The bodies extend several meters into the ground, and while many were excavated, others are still buried. The agencies are also covered in petroglyphs that can not be deciphered.

statues at Ahu Tongariki excavated.

Wikimedia Commons / Bjorn Christian Torrissen

Some of the more recently built moai have these buns, called pukao , representing the topknot worn by chefs.

Some of the more recently built moai have these buns, called <em> pukao </em>, representing the topknot worn by chefs. /> <p class="caption"> Wikimedia Commons / Bjarte Sorensen </p> </div> </div> <p> <p> The statues have also been decorated with eyes like this, made of white coral. The eyes of the statue were rebuilt. It is believed that when the moai were new, their decorations have explained that they were supposed to represent. </p> </p> </p> <!-- /B272567 --> <div class="cust-block intra"> <!-- AT9704--> <!-- /37886402/VN_PG_DCI1_BTF --> <div id=

Most of the moai are on the coasts, and excavated group is the innermost of all moai.

Most moai are on the coasts, and this excavated group is the most inland of all the moai.

Wikimedia Commons / Ian Sewell

several excavations have revealed the body below the surface.

Several digs have revealed the bodies below the surface.

Easter project Statue Island

excavations have also exposed sculptures the back of the statue. We do not know yet what they mean.

The digs have also exposed the carvings on the statue's backs. We don't know what they mean yet.

Easter Island Statue Project

It is possible that they represent the traditional Rapa Nui tattoos people had, or maybe they communicate a story about the particular ancestor. They are currently under review.

Easter Project Statue Island

Sometimes, around 1500, construction of the moai stopped. The religion of displaced people, too, of ancestor worship in a religion that worshiped a half-man, half bird face.

Sometime around 1500, construction of the moai stopped. The people's religion shifted, too, from ancestor worship to a religion that worshipped a half-man, half-bird figure.

Easter Island Statue Project

by the 1700s because of the clans of the island and struggling to compete power, most of the moai were toppled, while others have fallen during earthquakes. After that, the island, which has been facing food shortages due to deforestation, was colonized by Christian missionaries, who began to repress the indigenous traditions. Because of all this, the real stories of the moai are still shrouded in mystery.

Today, more than 50 moai were rebuilt, excavated and replaced on their original stone platforms. Some were shipped off to museums in other parts of the world.

Today, more than 50 moai have been re-erected, excavated, and placed back on their original stone platforms. Some have been shipped off to museums in other areas of the world.

Wikimedia Commons / Jerrye and Roy Klotz MD