Tuesday, December 3, 2024
Contact    |    RSS icon Twitter icon Facebook icon  
Unexplained Mysteries
You are viewing: Home > News > Archaeology & History > News story
Welcome Guest ( Login or Register )  
All ▾
Search Submit

Archaeology & History

Did Easter Island statues 'walk' ?

By T.K. Randall
June 22, 2012 · Comment icon 30 comments

Image Credit: Wikipedia
A new theory suggests that the giant stone heads might have been 'walked' upright along the roads.
Until now it was believed that the islanders would have rolled the giant moai statues in to position using logs, but now a new theory is taking hold suggesting that the statues could have been moved along the island's roads in an upright position. In a practical demonstration of the technique, a group of 18 people were able to move a stone head weighing 5 tons along a road using nothing more than a few pieces of rope.

The method may help explain why there are so many broken heads left at the roadside on Easter Island, it also helps to add some credence to the legendary tales of 'walking heads' on the island.
The startling claim comes from archaeologists Terry Hunt of the University of Hawaii and Carl Lipo of California State University Long Beach, who showed how as few as 18 people could move a 5-ton statue with just some ropes and hopes.


Source: Fox News | Comments (30)

Tags:


Other news and articles

Recent stories:

Klein UFO Veteran police officer films mystery object over Connecticut
12-3-2024
Could Trump be about to pull the plug on NASA's SLS Moon rocket ?
12-2-2024
Early humans Newly identified species of human may have been more intelligent than us
12-2-2024
Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro had terrifying encounter while watching 'The Wire'
12-1-2024
Treasure chest Millionaire hides treasure caches worth $2M across the United States
12-1-2024
Accidental bridge death India Three die after sat nav sends them off the end of an unfinished bridge
11-30-2024
<< Previous story
Revellers mark solstice at Stonehenge
Next story >>
New Zealand 'night parrot' numbers increase
Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #21 Posted by Elq 13 years ago
Researchers Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo test a new theory that suggests how ancient Easter Islanders may have used ropes to “walk” the moai to their platforms. “The statues walked,” Easter Islanders say. Archaeologists are still trying to figure out how—and whether their story is a cautionary tale of environmental disaster or a celebration of human ingenuity. http://quasi-mundo.com/2012/07/scientists-make-easter-island-statue-walk-video/
Comment icon #22 Posted by blackdogsun 13 years ago
Heyerdahl tried the same thing back in 1986 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M2zXPR9h3w
Comment icon #23 Posted by CRIPTIC CHAMELEON 13 years ago
Researchers Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo test a new theory that suggests how ancient Easter Islanders may have used ropes to “walk” the moai to their platforms. “The statues walked,” Easter Islanders say. Archaeologists are still trying to figure out how—and whether their story is a cautionary tale of environmental disaster or a celebration of human ingenuity. http://quasi-mundo.c...tue-walk-video/ Good theory, but if this is true they would be able to find that the ground would have been flattened and/or leveled to be able to walk these statues. A good GPR [ground penertrating radar] wo... [More]
Comment icon #24 Posted by Earl.Of.Trumps 13 years ago
pretty interesting on flat ground it seems like an Ok way to go. But Ireally wonder about getting said stone out of the quarry
Comment icon #25 Posted by Magiclass 12 years ago
What is it about the puppet archeologists? They can't get their heads around the fact that even with all of our tech, we couldn't move the damn things either! They are really grasping at straws with this theory, and they won't come out with what they really think!
Comment icon #26 Posted by taniwha.nz 12 years ago
moving a stone isnt rocket science...
Comment icon #27 Posted by Parsec 12 years ago
moving a stone isnt rocket science... Indeed, it's rock science. I'd like to see you moving a statue (not a simple "stone") so heavy, for so long distances, without our technology and without damaging it. As for the theory exposed, I agree with DieChecker, if I were in them, I wouldn't have risked to damage or destroy one of the Moai with such an unstable technique. We don't know what they represented, but surely they were very important to the islanders: would you risk the most precious thing you have trying to make it "walk" to the point where it has to stay? Further, it's not the same tryin... [More]
Comment icon #28 Posted by Earl.Of.Trumps 12 years ago
What is it about the puppet archeologists? They can't get their heads around the fact that even with all of our tech, we couldn't move the damn things either! They are really grasping at straws with this theory, and they won't come out with what they really think! it is when said stone is 72' high and 145 tons. that was the largets ever made. no wonder why they left it in the quary! LOL just as an aside, I wonder what method of moving that one the 9 miles they had in mind when they cut it, anyway? it surely wasn't to walk or "daddy" it.
Comment icon #29 Posted by Idano 12 years ago
What you fail to realize is over the years the statues have been buried by buildup of dirt and sand. If you took the island coast down to the level it was when they were placed there, you might find remnants of roads. Central American Temples were just hills until the dirt and vines were removed. Maybe there could be roads. But hey good luck walking 5 tons..I don't believe it.
Comment icon #30 Posted by Abramelin 12 years ago
Here it is: The Mysteries of Easter Island - Jean Michel Schwartz / 1975, chapter 6: "Transporting the Statues". . The -L- sort of resurrected this thread by starting a new one about the same topic in another forum here. And that's how I remembered I once forgot to add a copy of 2 pages of the book:
 Click here to view all 30 comments on this story    


Please Login or Register to post a comment.


Our new book is out now!
Book cover

The Unexplained Mysteries
Book of Weird News

 AVAILABLE NOW 

Take a walk on the weird side with this compilation of some of the weirdest stories ever to grace the pages of a newspaper.

Click here to learn more

We need your help!
Patreon logo

Support us on Patreon

 BONUS CONTENT 

For less than the cost of a cup of coffee, you can gain access to a wide range of exclusive perks including our popular 'Lost Ghost Stories' series.

Click here to learn more

Recent news and articles
Klein UFO
The UFO Phenomenon

Veteran police officer films mystery object over Connecticut

 VIDEO  12-3-2024 | 5
Space & Astronomy

Could Trump be about to pull the plug on NASA's SLS Moon rocket ?

12-2-2024 | 3
Early humans
Palaeontology

Newly identified species of human may have been more intelligent than us

12-2-2024 | 17
Guillermo del Toro
Ghosts & Hauntings

Guillermo del Toro had terrifying encounter while watching 'The Wire'

12-1-2024 | 8
Treasure chest
Modern Mysteries

Millionaire hides treasure caches worth $2M across the United States

12-1-2024 | 2
Accidental bridge death India
World of the Bizarre

Three die after sat nav sends them off the end of an unfinished bridge

11-30-2024 | 12
View More News