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The fifteen restored moai of Ahu Tongariki, Rapa Nui
The fifteen restored moai of Ahu Tongariki, Rapa Nui. Photo: TravelingOtter · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Ancient worlds · Rapa Nui (Easter Island) · c. 1250–1500 CE

The Moai of Rapa Nui

Established1250 CE – 1500 CERapa Nui, Chile

Nearly a thousand stone ancestors carved on one of the most remote inhabited islands on Earth.

Research draft · editor review pending. Every claim below is linked to a checked source, but this dossier has not yet been reviewed by a human editor. Spot an error? Corrections are logged.

The moai are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people, most from volcanic tuff at the Rano Raraku quarry. Their oversized heads make up about three-eighths of their height. To the Rapa Nui, they were the living faces of deified ancestors, set on stone platforms facing inland over the communities they protected.

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See The Moai of Rapa Nui in the discovery universe →

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How to read the labels

EstablishedSupported by strong, converging evidence.
ContestedEvidence exists but qualified scholars disagree.
UnresolvedThe question is open; evidence does not settle it.
LegendComes from myth, literature or tradition, not physical evidence.
SpeculativeA hypothesis with little direct evidence so far.

Hero image: The fifteen restored moai of Ahu Tongariki, Rapa Nui. Photo: TravelingOtter · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons. Evidence labels describe the written claims, not the image. Version 1 · updated 2026-10-22.