Why did the inhabitants of Easter Island decide to build huge statues out of stone?

Easter Island is famous for its stone statues of human figures, known as moai (meaning “statue”). The moai were probably carved to commemorate important ancestors and were made from around 1000 C.E. until the second half of the seventeenth century.

What happened to the inhabitants on Easter Island?

Between 1862 and 1888, about 94\% of the population perished or emigrated. The island was victimized by blackbirding from 1862 to 1863, resulting in the abduction or killing of about 1,500, with 1,408 working as indentured servants in Peru.

How did the Easter Island statues get moved?

180 islanders pulled the statue using two parallel ropes tied to each side. Recent tradition supports this theory, as sledge transportation was believed to have been enhanced by the use of lubricants such as sweet potatoes, palm fronds, and taro root.

What caused the downfall of Easter Island?

Around 1200 A.D., their growing numbers and an obsession with building moai led to increased pressure on the environment. By the end of the 17th century, the Rapanui had deforested the island, triggering war, famine and cultural collapse.

What caused the deforestation of Easter Island?

On Easter Island, human determinism has traditionally been the norm, as deforestation and the Rapanui cultural collapse have been attributed to anthropogenic causes such as prehistoric overexploitation, introduction of exotic species, internal conflicts and wars, and post-contact genocide.

How did the moai get on Easter Island?

Easter Island – The Statues and Rock Art of Rapa Nui. Using basalt stone picks, the Easter Island Moai were carved from the solidified volcanic ash of Rano Raraku volcano. Once completed, the statues were then moved from the quarry to their intended site and erected on an ‘ahu’.

What could have caused moai production to start and stop?

Another potential reason the Rapa Nui stopped building moai was a rise in the Birdman cult. Hundreds of years of sun, wind, and rain have battered the moai. Rainwater and airborne seeds seep into the pores of the stone, gradually breaking it apart. Birds and an organism called lichen have damaged the stone further.

Why were the Easter Island statues made?

Moai statues were built to honor chieftain or other important people who had passed away. They were placed on rectangular stone platforms called ahu, which are tombs for the people that the statues represented.