Moai, or mo‘ai

thingiverse

Moai figures, carved by the Rapa Nui people between 1250 and 1500, adorn Easter Island in eastern Polynesia. Many still stand at Rano Raraku, the main quarry site, while hundreds were transported to ahu platforms around the island's perimeter. The tallest moai, Paro, nearly reaches 10 meters high and weighs 82 tonnes. A heaviest moai at Ahu Tongariki tips the scales at 86 tonnes. One unfinished sculpture would have towered over 21 meters tall if completed, with a weight of about 270 tonnes. Moai toppled in the late 18th and early 19th centuries may have been due to European contact or tribal conflicts. Follow me on Twitter for more updates @GeoffreyMarchal.