The meaning of Easter Island's mysterious Moai, which have stood on the remote Polynesian island for hundreds of years, has long been a source of interest for researchers. Jo Anne Van Tilburg and her colleagues believe they've found evidence of this previously hypothesized meaning by studying two Moai that were excavated over five years ago in the Rano Raraku quarry on the island's eastern side. I think our new analysis humanizes the production process of the Moai," Van Tilburg, who has been working on the island for 30 years, said in a statement. “This study radically alters the idea that all standing statues in Rano Raraku were simply awaiting transport out of the quarry,” Van Tilburg said. “That is, these and probably other upright Moai in Rano Raraku were retained in place to ensure the sacred nature of the quarry itself.

Source: Fox News December 16, 2019 18:56 UTC