Moai (or mo‘ai) are monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Polynesian island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), mostly between 1250 and 1500 CE. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on Ahu (platforms) which were mostly at the island's perimeter. Almost all have overly large heads three fifths the size of their body. The Moai are the 'living faces' (aringa ora) and representations of chiefly, deified ancestors. Sitting on their Ahus with their backs to the sea, these statues were still gazing across their clan lands when Europeans first visited the island, but most were then cast down during conflict between different clans on the island-wikiWednesday, April 30, 2008
Moai Papercraft
Moai (or mo‘ai) are monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Polynesian island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), mostly between 1250 and 1500 CE. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on Ahu (platforms) which were mostly at the island's perimeter. Almost all have overly large heads three fifths the size of their body. The Moai are the 'living faces' (aringa ora) and representations of chiefly, deified ancestors. Sitting on their Ahus with their backs to the sea, these statues were still gazing across their clan lands when Europeans first visited the island, but most were then cast down during conflict between different clans on the island-wiki