Editing Moai (section)

{{short description|Monolithic human figures on Easter Island}}
{{about|the monolithic statues of Easter Island|other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
[[File:AhuTongariki.JPG|thumb|330px|Moai facing inland at [[Ahu Tongariki]], restored by Chilean archaeologist Claudio Cristino in the 1990s]]
'''Moai''' or '''moʻai''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|oʊ|.|aɪ|audio=Moai_pronunciation.ogg}} {{respell|MOH|eye}}; {{langx|es|moái}}; {{langx|rap|moʻai||statue}}) are [[monolith]]ic human figures carved by the [[Rapa Nui people]] on [[Easter Island|Rapa Nui (Easter Island)]] in eastern [[Polynesia]] between the years 1250 and 1500.<ref name="fischer" /><ref>''The island at the end of the world.'' Reaktion Books 2005 {{ISBN|1-86189-282-9}}</ref> Nearly half are still at [[Rano Raraku]], the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called [[Ahu (Easter Island)|ahu]] around the island's perimeter. Almost all moai have overly large heads, which account for three-eighths of the size of the whole statue. They also have no legs. The moai are chiefly the living faces (''aringa ora'') of deified ancestors (''aringa ora ata tepuna'').<ref>{{Cite web |last=Van Tilburg, Jo Anne |title=Easter Island Statue Project |url=http://www.eisp.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20100707035736/http://www.eisp.org/ |archive-date=7 July 2010 |access-date=10 March 2014 |publisher=Eisp.org}}</ref>

The statues still gazed inland across their clan lands [[History of Easter Island#European contacts|when Europeans first visited the island in 1722]], but all of them had fallen by the latter part of the 19th century.<ref name="The Statues That Walked" /> The moai were toppled in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, possibly as a result of European contact or [[endemic warfare|internecine tribal wars]].<ref>Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond</ref>

The production and transportation of the more than 900 statues<ref>{{Cite web |title=Easter Island Statue Project |url=http://www.eisp.org/category/about/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109011922/http://www.eisp.org/category/about/ |archive-date=9 January 2019 |access-date=9 January 2019}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> is considered a remarkable creative and physical feat.<ref>{{Cite web |last=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |date=29 May 2009 |title=Rapa Nui National Park |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/715 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326134214/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/715 |archive-date=26 March 2014 |access-date=10 March 2014 |publisher=Whc.unesco.org}}</ref> The tallest moai erected, called ''Paro'', was almost {{convert|10|m|ft}} high and weighed {{convert|82|t}}.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Young, Emma |date=26 July 2006 |title=Easter Island: A monumental collapse? |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19125621.100.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029202326/http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19125621.100.html |archive-date=29 October 2013 |access-date=10 March 2014 |publisher=Newscientist.com |pages=30–34}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Van Tilburg, Jo Anne |date=5 May 2009 |title=Moai Paro digital reconstruction |url=http://www.eisp.org/1954/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830195248/http://www.eisp.org/1954/ |archive-date=30 August 2017 |access-date=12 June 2017 |publisher=Easter Island Statue Project (eisp.org)}}</ref> The heaviest moai erected was a shorter but squatter moai at [[Ahu Tongariki]], weighing {{convert|86|t}}. One unfinished sculpture, if completed, would be approximately {{convert|21|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall, with a weight of about {{convert|145|–|165|t}}.<ref name="Pbs.org">{{Cite web |title=NOVA Online &#124; Secrets of Easter Island &#124; Stone Giants |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/easter/civilization/giants.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523042626/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/easter/civilization/giants.html |archive-date=23 May 2013 |access-date=9 June 2013 |publisher=Pbs.org}}</ref> Statues are still being discovered {{as of|2023|lc=yes}}.<ref name="lake">{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/02/new-easter-island-moai-statue-discovered-in-volcano-crater |title=New Easter Island moai statue discovered in volcano crater |date=2023-03-01 |accessdate=2023-03-04 |language=en-GB |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>