Easter Island statues, traditionally known as moai on the remote island of Rapa Nui in the South Pacific, are some of the most impressive artifacts of ancient Polynesian civilization. How the statues were transported has long remained a conundrum, because they can weigh up to several tons yet are scattered throughout the island. Various theories have been proposed, including that they were dragged on wooden sleds or rolled along the ground, but no supportive evidence has backed those claims.
In 2012, a US research team succeeded in propping up a 4.35-ton replica of a moai statue and making it “walk.” The technique, in which two teams using ropes tugged the