Hundreds of stone giants, one tiny island, and centuries of arguments over how they got where they stand.
Easter Island's giant stone faces once stared back with gleaming eyes. What ocean material were those eyes made of?
White coral Archaeologists only figured this out by gluing together broken coral fragments found at the statue sites, and the pupils were black obsidian or red stone.
On a tiny island surrounded by ocean, which way did almost all the giant statues face?
Inland, toward the villages The statues were believed to hold the spirits of honored ancestors, so they stood with their backs to the sea to watch over their people.
Everyone calls them "Easter Island heads." What did diggers find hidden underground beneath some of them?
Their full bodies Many statues on the quarry slopes are buried up to their shoulders, and the dirt even protected carvings on their bodies from wearing away.
With no trees left for rollers, how do researchers think islanders moved these massive statues across the island?
Walked them with ropes Teams tugged ropes on both sides to rock each statue back and forth so it shuffled forward, which matches island legends of statues that walked on command.
One painted statue was shipped off the island long ago. Which famous London museum still holds it, despite calls to send it home?
The British Museum The statue, named Hoa Hakananai'a, once wore maroon and white paint, and the Rapa Nui people have demanded its return.
