Walking statue
In June 2013, researcher Carl Lipo and his colleagues published a paper on their hypothesis that the Easter Island statues were walked into place
Physics of walking
The team argued that the physics of the bases allowed the statues, or moais, to be rocked side to side so that they would tip forward, walking into place.
Placing the moai
In October 2012, they did a demonstration for a NOVA documentary, using a 10-foot-tall, 5-ton replica of a moai on a smooth pathway in Hawaii.
Roped up
The team was able to walk the moai about 328 feet (100 meters) in about 40 minutes. However, not all the experts in the field are convinced that this demonstration proves the moai were all walked into place on Rapa Nui.
Fallen giant
For one, many of the statues on Rapa Nui are much larger than the replica they used, and the roads are hilly and rough, making it unlikely that larger statues could have been moved that way, some experts say.
Broken statue
In addition, Lipo's team created a database of statues found on the island and noticed that statues that fell in transit had bases that were angled for walking into place. Once they were placed on their final platforms, the bases would be modified so they stood upright.
Location of statues
However, another researcher, Jo Anne Van Tilburg of UCLA, has separate data on the fallen statues on the island. Her data suggests that many statues that fell in transit did not have the geometry necessary for "walking."
