About 890 monumental stone sculptures of various sizes are located on Easter Island.
The Rano Raraku volcano was their sacred place of origin. How old the Moai's are cannot be determined with certainty. Archaeologists agree that Easter Island was settled around the 4th or 5th century AD and that the natives started to finish altars and first statues relatively quickly after that. The Moai's with round or angular heads and eye sockets are said to have been created from about the 12th to 13th century AD, the more modern Moai's (mainly at Rano Raraku) from about the 15th/16th century AD.
The Moai sculptures were made of high-quality stone castings in a hollow casting process to save weight. Originals made from the full stone serve as models. In an elaborate working process, each sculpture is given a finishing touch by hand at the end. The colouring may vary and fade due to weathering.
Deutsch
English