Ancient site · Monument
Rapa Nui moai
Also known as Easter Island statues, Rano Raraku
The moai are giant stone figures carved by the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island, mostly between 1250 and 1500 CE, after Polynesians settled the island around 1200. Almost all of the more than 900 known statues were cut from volcanic tuff at the Rano Raraku quarry, where nearly 400 remain, many buried to the shoulders.
Hundreds were moved across the island and set on stone platforms called ahu, facing inland. By the 1860s all standing moai had been toppled. Rapa Nui National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Dates
- carved mostly c. 1250–1500 CE (later than this atlas's ancient period)
- Still standing
- Yes
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Yes
- Location
- 27.12° S, 109.29° W
How we know
The Rapa Nui had no writing when the statues were made (the rongorongo script is later and unread); dates come from radiocarbon.
Nearby sites
- Monte Verde c. 12,500 BCE (about 14,500 years ago) — date now challenged
- Paracas cemeteries (Cerro Colorado) c. 800–100 BCE
- Caral (Sacred City of Caral-Supe) c. 2600–2000 BCE
- Cahuachi c. 1–500 CE
- Nazca Lines c. 500 BCE – 500 CE
- Sechín Bajo c. 3500–1300 BCE