Quarry Reveals How Polynesians Made Enigmatic Stone Statues

Archaeologists have used a 3D model of an Easter Island quarry to uncover new insights into the construction of the island's iconic stone statues, known as moai. The study, published in PLOS One, suggests that individual clans, rather than a centralized workforce, likely organized the construction of these statues. The 3D model, created from 11,000 drone images, revealed multiple independent work areas and indicated that the production of the statues was decentralized. The research challenges the traditional view that Easter Island's society was politically unified and instead supports the idea of a resilient, adaptive community that thrived in isolation.