UCLA research on Easter Island finds meaning

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Scientists believe they’ve uncovered the meaning of some of the Moai stone monoliths found on Rapa Nui, better known to Westerners as "Easter Island." Here’s the truth [so far].

Here’s what readers will learn when reading this story: Scientists believe they’ve uncovered the meaning of some of the Moai (giant stone statues) stone monoliths found on Rapa Nui (Easter Island).

• The scientists analyzed soil in the vicinity of two of the Moai statues and found traces of banana, taro, and sweet potato, according to research published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
• These traces indicate the statues could have been used to celebrate the crop fertility of soils in the region.
• The famed stone monoliths that tower over the island of Rapa Nui—colloquially known as Easter Island—have puzzled scientists for centuries.
• But archeologists and soil scientists studying the ancient Moai now believe they’ve uncovered the meaning of the famous statues.
• Clues in nearby soils suggest the statues may have been placed there to celebrate the fertility of crops in the area.

Remote island research is the best kind of work

For more than three decades, Jo Ann Van Tilburg of UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) has studied the origins of the Moai along with Rapanui artist Cristián Arévalo Pakarati and other members of the local community.

They recruited soil scientist Sarah Sherwood, of the University of the South in Tennessee, to analyze the soil the base of two statues found peculiarly perched upright in the Rano Raraku quarry on the eastern part of the island, where most of the more than 1,000 Moai statues originated.

(The scientists suspect that work in the quarry began around A.D. 1455). The team analyzed soils at the foot of two of the structures, which archeologists believe were erected by or before A.D. 1510 to A.D. 1645, and found chemical evidence of common food crops.

The soils revealed traces of foods like taro, banana, and sweet potato, according to research published in the Journal of Archaeological Science. More

• Archaeologists found Ramesses II statue in part