Van Tilburg concludes, "The moai thus mediates between sky and earth, people and chiefs, and chiefs and gods." The word "ahu" has two meanings in Easter Island culture. First, an ahu is the flat ...

About one mile east of Rano Raraku volcano is Ahu Tongariki, the largest ahu complex on Easter Island with 15 moai statues. We first saw it from above while walking through Rano Raraku.

Among the many secrets buried in Easter Island prehistory is the question of how the Rapanui people transported the multi-ton statues, or moai, from their quarries to their final ceremonial ahu ...

Island has been a source of fascination for historians, researchers, and tourists for centuries. Reaching it is not ...