American scientists may have been able to solve the mystery of the giant statues from Easter Island by unraveling how the creators could move them long distances, according to National Geographic.
According to the new theory, huge monolithic idols were moved 18 kilometers from the quarry where they were carved to sacred sites on the island, where they were housed in groups of seven or eight idols, without the help of carts, cranes, or even large animals.
Previously, scientists assumed that the statues were transported on wooden runners placed on logs: people pulled the ropes attached to the idol's body, the logs rolled over and the "sleigh" went. However, now a team of American researchers led by professors of anthropology and archeology Terry Hunt from the University of Hawaii and Carl Lipo from California State University at Long Beach have managed to develop a new theory and even demonstrate in a concrete way how giant stone sculptures were transported without any special devices.
Scientists noted that the claims of the descendants of the Polynesian tribe, who sailed to the island in about 800 AD, that the stone statues themselves "came" to their present places, are not so incredible. According to their latest assumptions, thanks to the massive belly of the statues, their displaced center of gravity and the rounded base of the statues, they could "move" in an upright position by rocking them from side to side, the so-called "rock 'n' roll" technique.
Last November, the National Geographic's Expeditions Council funded an experiment in which a group of 18 people transported one statue ("moai") weighing 5 tons and 3 meters high in front of television cameras. Moai moved with the help of ropes and kept an upright position all the time. This gave the impression that the huge figure was dancing and moving with the help of only a few people.
Previous attempts to transport idols upright have met with varying success. So, in 1986, the Czech engineer Pavel Pavel, together with the Norwegian explorer and traveler Thor Heyerdahl and a team of 17 assistants, swinging and twisting a huge statue from foot to foot, tried to move it several meters. Soon, however, the base of the nine-ton "moai" was damaged and the experiment had to be terminated.
A year later, another theory was tested in practice by the American archaeologist Charles Love. He and 25 assistants hoisted the nine-ton idol on a wooden sled set on logs, and in just two minutes they were able to transport the statue 45 meters.
Which of the ways the natives used many centuries ago, scientists cannot yet say for sure, however, they note that the stone blocks with which the roads are dotted on Easter Island indicate that, most likely, it was the theory of Hunt and Lipo that was applied in practice many centuries ago …
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