Easter Island, Chile – New research confirms what has long puzzled archaeologists: the massive moai statues of Rapa Nui could “walk” using ropes and a rocking motion.

Binghamton University Professor Carl Lipo and University of Arizona’s Terry Hunt studied nearly 1,000 moai and determined villagers moved them in a zig-zag pattern along carefully designed roads.

“Once you get it moving, it isn’t hard at all – people are pulling with one arm. It conserves energy, and it moves really quickly,” said Lipo. “The hard part is getting it rocking in the first place.”

To test the theory, the team built a 4.35-ton replica moai with a forward-leaning design. Eighteen people transported it 100 meters in 40 minutes, demonstrating the method worked even for large statues.

“The physics makes sense,” Lipo said. “All the attributes we see about moving gigantic ones only get more consistent as they get bigger, because it becomes the only way you could move it.”

Rapa Nui’s roads, 4.5 meters wide with a concave cross-section, were ideal for stabilizing the statues during transport. “Every time they’re moving a statue, it looks like they’re making a road. The road is part of moving the statue,” Lipo explained.

The study highlights the ingenuity of the Rapa Nui people and challenges earlier theories that the statues were moved lying down. “It shows that the Rapa Nui people were incredibly smart. They figured this out,” Lipo said.

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