Easter Island is famous for its huge stone statues. There are more than 600 large stone statues on the island, as well as the remains of Ahu (stone pile). The works carved with volcanic rocks on Easter Island facing the land include open-air courtyards, and some courtyards are cleverly built. Archaeological investigations were conducted in 1886, 19 14 and 1934; Archaeological excavation began at 1955. The results show that there are three distinct cultural periods on the island. In the early days, there were large stone platforms in Tahai, Weinapu and Anakna, and the carbon dating method was about 700 AD. 6? In 5800. Colonel Kirk appreciated the first two large stone platforms and described them. The wall of Anakna stone platform has been buried underground until 1987. From the excavation work of Anakna, it is found that many stone statues were carved in the early stage, among which a smaller prototype of the middle bust is the main difference between it and the middle bust is the round head and the thick body. Another style is a realistic statue, which is a full-length portrait of kneeling, with hips sitting on heels and hands on knees. There is a statue with bare ribs, which has all the features of the pre-Inca monuments in Tiwanaku, South America. Medium term (10506? 5 1680), deliberately destroyed and discarded stone statues, and all stone platforms were completely rebuilt, regardless of the sun's direction or the size of the stone structure. It seems that the only wish is to have a solid stone platform that can support a higher and larger bust, which is a typical mid-term "Moai".

In the middle period, a tomb was built in Dashitai. The volume of the stone statue became larger and larger, and later reached an alarming level; On the slender head with a tall bust, there is a large cylindrical "Pukao" (meaning headdress) made of red tuff. The height of the middle stone statues is mostly 3? 6? 56 meters (10? 6? 520 feet), but the largest stone statue standing on the stone platform is about 10 meters (32 feet) high, carved from a stone weighing about 74,500 kilograms (82 tons), and the "Gao Pu" at the top weighs about 1 1 ton. The largest stone statue still standing today is partially buried in the deep mud below the quarry, about 1 1 meter (37 feet) high. The largest unfinished stone statue is about 2 1 m (68 feet) high, with its back against the rock. Some traditions confirmed by archaeology show that these stone statues represent some important figures who are regarded as gods after death.

Are all the mid-term stone statues made by Ranu? 6? 1 is composed of yellow-gray tuff peculiar to the rock wall of the crater lake in Lalaku. There are many unfinished stone carvings and thousands of rough stone picks scattered inside and outside the bowl-shaped area of the crater, which proves that the carving work was suddenly interrupted.

At 1955? 6? 5 1956 experiments on the island's tradition show that many stone picks made of basalt left in the quarry can be used to carve hard tuff. The second experiment shows that 65,438+02 islanders can lift a 25-ton stone statue about 3 meters (65,438+00 feet) off the ground, tilt it vertically and put it on the stone platform: this work takes 65,438+08 days, and no tools are needed except two wooden poles used as levers. Large and small stones are wedged under the stone statue one by one, forming a cone pile that rises slowly, making this behemoth stand upright. Traditionally, these stone statues were "taken" to far places through this place, but in the experiment, 180 people were able to remove a medium-sized stone statue from the ground. An experiment of 1986 once again found that 15 people can pull a medium-sized stone statue forward with a set of ropes and move it upright on the ground.

The bust of the mid-term stone carving is obviously taken from a local prototype, and there are no similar stone carvings elsewhere. There is also a special phenomenon in the middle period, that is, there is a bird god worship ceremony in which bird catchers follow the etiquette, and this phenomenon continues to the third period, that is, the late period. Its ritual center is Ranu? 6? Orongo Village on Keshan 1 is full of stone houses, and the roof looks like a fake arch. These stone houses and connected round brick houses with roof entrances are the characteristics of the island in the early and middle period; Although there are no such houses in other parts of Polynesia, they are common in the neighboring areas of South America.