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The moai They are famous stone sculptures that became popular after the movie A night at the museum. However, these have been present on Easter Island for several centuries and their existence is due to the Polynesians, who conquered that solitary and isolated land 600 years ago, known as Rapa Nui. After different speculations about why these cultural and religious manifestations were built, a group of archaeologists presumes that they have found the definitive answer to why they were erected.
In different parts of the world there are sites that keep an uncertain past, which speaks of past civilizations that left a mark in their wake and that mysteriously disappeared. Along with other archaeological enigmas and ancient discoveries that are revealed daily around the globe, scientists from a New York university indicated what caused the emergence of the moai.
The island territory depends on Chile and getting there is quite a feat, something that the Polynesians experienced and with fewer resources, when they arrived 600 years ago in search of territorial expansion. This community settled there and established a daily lifestyle that ended up depleting its most valuable resource, wood, which generated desertification of the soil and the impossibility of biodiversity developing. This brought a serious environmental problem for them.which worsened their stay after political and social rules that divided the population.
However, the Rapa Nui [así los identificaron los europeos al divisarlos] They left a considerable mark on that land. Thousands of stone sculptures of humans with small bodies and giant heads. These survived the inclement weather and became a local identity symbol.
Researchers of the Binghamton University from New York headed to the island to closely study some parameters that were overlooked in previous analyses. This is detailed in the article that was published on the official site of the academic unit. It should be noted that to date, speculated that these statues were erected for a religious purposeor rather, to worship the chief of the tribe.
The explanation they gave was linked to the lack of drinking water, since it depends entirely on the aquifers. When it gushed from the earth, the Polynesians drank it, however, with the growing population, they demanded more and more, which would have forced them to extract the stones in search of this essential liquid.
When rainwater falls to the ground, it absorbs it and accumulates in underground reservoirs. When it fills, it springs naturally to the surface thanks to the porous volcanic terrain of the island. That is why, during low tide, Small water courses usually form near the beach that go towards the sea. The natives took advantage of this during their stay there and it was a source of surprise for the Dutch settlers who arrived on the island for the first time and believed that the indigenous people drank salt water.
“Porous volcanic soils quickly absorb rain.”, resulting in a lack of streams and rivers. Fortunately, underground water flows downhill and eventually leaves the ground directly at the point where the porous underground rock meets the ocean,” said Carl Lipo, an anthropologist at Binghamton University.
Finally, he described why were they located moai Along the coast. This would be a thank you or request for a miracle so that the water sprouts. “Now that we know more about the location of fresh water […] the location of these monuments and other features makes a lot of sense (…) “They are located where there is immediate availability of fresh water.”Lipo added.
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