On the second full day, we went north touring the largest group of Moai – 17 huge Moai.  In restoration, they believed that there were probably more than 30 at this site so the “ahu” (base) was designed for the larger number.  These Moai, as always, face inland protecting the people but are often near the beautiful harbors of Easter Island.  The higher-class (ruling) people lived near the ocean and the inland areas were reserved for others – things haven’t changed in 1800 years!

We then visited the volcano where the Moai were carved from the massive walls.  It was interesting that they were carved from the stone leaving a center “spine” along the back to keep the statue on the hill.  The last move was to chip away at this “spine” and once freed, the massive rock would slide down the hill to the first of a series of stops.  I was wondering how many were killed as the spine was chopped away and these 20-80 ton rocks fell on the poor guy chipping away below it.  From a different site, the pukao (aka topknots) were shaped – many of these weighed up to 12 tons and represented the hair wrapped around the head.  They were from another volcano and were transported to the burial site and then placed upon the top of the Moai.  Both of these were transported long distances once they were manufactured.  Some believe that a series of ropes were tied to the Moai and slowly rocked back & forth as they moved forward (this ties back to an ancient song that talks about the Maoi “walking”.  Other theories include the use of large tree trunks that acted as “rollers” as the Moai were moved – this ties into the complete deforestation that Easter Island experienced during this period.