Quarrying and positioning of moai. (A) On the upper slopes of Rano Raraku, an extinct volcanic vent, bedrock hyalotuff is carved into a moai. The figure is usually shaped from the top down leaving a narrow 'keel' connecting it to the bedrock. (B) To move the statue from its quarried location, carvers broke the keel and slid the moai downhill. Moai were then placed into standing positions in pits excavated near or at the base of the slope. Here, carvers finished removing material from the back of the moai and prepared statues for movement. (C) Statues were 'walked' out of the pit through excavated openings to moai roads. (D) Not all statues were removed from pits; many were left and following sedimentation only the heads and shoulders of these are now visible on the quarry slopes. Statues were moved along road features (E) that were prepared in advance. These roads often have a concave shape that matched the arc of the front edge of the moai base. The concavity of the roads provides constraints to keep the statue moving in the intended direction. Occasionally, the roads have stretches of "curbstones" (F) that line their edges. These stones may serve to keep sediment from filling in the concave roadbed. Along the roads are found examples of statues that failed in transport (G). These are often on the sides of roads demonstrating that the roads are realigned for statue transport as needed. Roads are kept relatively flat through the infilling of low areas and (H) and carving through hills and ridges. Once at their destination statues are walked up temporary ramps made of stone (I). The remains of these stone ramps were often used to form "wings" on the lateral edges of the platform. Upon reaching the top of the platform, the moai then are turned 180 (J) to face the ceremonial area that lay in front of the ahu. The moai are complete once they are reshaped to make them stand upright and their eye sockets are carved for coral insets.

Contexts in source publication

Context 1

... three additional observations of the road moai inform on their transport. Thirty-seven percent of road moai are broken into two or more fragments consistent with breakage that resulted from falling from a vertical position (e.g., Fig. S3). In addition, on the south coast road are two examples of moai that did not break and were partially buried at their base and can be explained by ancient workers who attempted to re-erect them by excavating a pit to restore them to an upright position to be 'walked' out on a ramp (e.g., Figs. S4 and S5). Second, 70% of road moai ...

Context 2

... observations. Moreover, the field evidence clearly shows that statues were lowered down into trenches from their quarry bedrock sources above to the base of Rano Raraku where their backs were completed and other details carved, and then moved upright out of these trenches remaining in a vertical position, including their final placement on ahu (Fig. 3). Otherwise, the logistics of lowering and later raising tall multi-ton moai make little sense and imply they remained vertical. Not all statues were removed from pits; many were left and following sedi- mentation only the heads and shoulders of these are now visible on the quarry slopes. Statues were moved along road features (E) that ...