Until recently, an international study provided new insights into what the Moai might represent to the islanders, who mined to mine and carve these colossal statues.
More than 90% of the Moai statues are produced in a quarry called Rano Raraku – a crater where it occupies less than 1% of the island’s total area, but that is the only source of stone used. to create the giant stones of the island used for sculpture.
However, Rano Raraku is more than just rock, based on analysis of soil samples taken in the area.
More than 90% of the Moai statues are produced in a quarry called Rano Raraku.
“There are real things that I never thought would be there, such as calcium and phosphorus,” explains geographer Sarah Sherwood from Tennessee.
According to the team, the quarry site is an industrial area used to produce and temporarily store Moai before being transported to other locations on the island.
However, nearly 400 monoliths remain in the quarry, and some are buried in the ground with support from solid rock structures indicating that the location is not temporary.
“Everywhere else on the island, the soil has been rapidly eroded, eroded, eroded by the growing of vegetation. But in the quarry, with a constant stream of small fragments of bedrock is produced. by the extraction process, there is a perfect feedback system for water, natural fertilizers and nutrients,” says Sherwood.
In addition to evidence of soil fertility, the researchers also found traces of ancient crops in the samples, including bananas, taro, sweet potatoes and mulberries.
The researchers think that in addition to using the quarry to produce Moai, the Easter Islanders used the space as a place to grow the food they needed, taking advantage of Rano Raraku’s rich arable land. , which will produce higher productivity with lower labor costs.
“We make a new proposal based on these data, and based on the rite of Rano Raraku and resources such as megaliths, Rano Raraku sediments are a valuable and protected commodity. Soil can be were transported from Rano Raraku to enrich areas where increased productivity was needed,” the authors further explain.
“This study completely changes the idea that all the statues at Rano Raraku are simply waiting to be transported out of the quarry. The Moai in Rano Raraku has been kept to ensure the sacred nature of the quarry itself. Moai are central to the idea of fertility, and in Rapa Nui it is believed that their presence here stimulated agri-food production,” says archaeologist Jo Anne Van Tilburg from UCLA.