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2h ago

3D Map of Easter Island Quarry Points to Clan-Based Moai Production

A drone-built model exposes dozens of distinct workshops that challenge the idea of centralized statue building.

The average statue was 4 meters (13 feet) tall and weighed 12.5 tons.
The model of the quarry revealed 426 moai in various stages of completion.
Moai statues dot a hillside at Rano Raraku stone quarry on Easter Island.
Moai statues at Rano Raraku, Easter Island

Overview

  • A PLOS One paper unveils the first high-resolution 3D model of Rano Raraku assembled from about 11,000 overlapping drone images.
  • The survey identifies roughly 30 separate quarrying zones and records 426 unfinished moai, 341 trenches, 133 voids and five bollards, indicating self-contained workshop areas.
  • Study authors argue moai were produced by independent family or clan groups in a heterarchical system rather than by a single island-wide authority.
  • The model shows variability in extraction and finishing techniques across zones and evidence that statues were routed out of the quarry in multiple directions.
  • External archaeologists praise the innovative dataset but say the decentralization hypothesis needs more corroboration, and an interactive version of the model is publicly accessible.