Ethnohistorical and recent archaeological evidence suggests that Easter Island (Rapa Nui) was a politically decentralized society organized into small, relatively autonomous kinship communities throughout the island. Thus, the more than 1,000 monumental statues (moai) raise a critical question: is production at Rano Raraku – the main moai quarry – centrally controlled or does it reflect the decentralized model seen elsewhere on the island? Using a collection of more than 11,000 UAV images, archaeologists created the first comprehensive 3D model of a quarry to test these competing hypotheses.
monumental moai of Easter Island represent one of Polynesia's most striking archaeological phenomena, with more than 1,000 megalithic figures scattered across a small volcanic island measuring just 163.6 km.2.
This remarkable investment in monumentality appears paradoxical when considered alongside ethnohistorical accounts, which consistently describe Rapa Nui society as organized into relatively small, competing kin groups rather than as a single state.
Early ethnographers documented a sociopolitical landscape characterized by multiple mata (clans or tribes) that maintained clear territorial divisions, separate ceremonial centers, and autonomous leadership structures.
This raises the question of whether moai construction was similarly decentralized.
In a new study, Binghamton University professor Carl Lipo and his colleagues collected more than 11,000 images of the main moai quarry, Rano Raraku, to create a comprehensive 3D model of the quarry, including hundreds of moai preserved in various stages of completion.
“To an archaeologist, the quarry is like an archaeological Disneyland,” Professor Lipo said.
“It has everything you could imagine about building a moai, because that’s where they built most of it.”
“It has always been a treasure of information and cultural heritage, but it is woefully under-documented.”
“It’s amazing how far and how quickly technology has come,” said Dr. Thomas Pingel of Binghamton University.
“The quality of this model is far superior to what could have been done just a couple of years ago, and being able to share such a detailed model so that it can be accessed from any desktop computer is remarkable.”
Detailed analysis of the model revealed 30 different mining centers using different carving techniques, suggesting multiple independent work areas.
There is also evidence of moai being transported from the quarry in different directions.
These patterns suggest that the construction of the moai, like the wider society of Rapa Nui, was not organized by a central leadership.
“We're seeing individual workshops that really correspond to different clan groups that are working intensively in their specific areas,” Professor Lipo said.
“You can clearly see from the design that a series of statues are being made here, and another series of statues is being made here, and that they are built next to each other. These are different workshops.”
The results challenge the common assumption that this scale of monument production requires a hierarchical organization.
The similarities that do exist between moai seem to reflect cultural exchanges rather than communities actually working together to carve the figures.
“Much of the so-called ‘Rapa Nui mystery’ stems from the lack of publicly available, detailed evidence that would allow researchers to evaluate hypotheses and construct explanations,” the researchers say.
“We present the first high-resolution 3D model of the moai quarry at Rano Raraku, the central quarry housing approximately 1,000 statues, offering new insight into the organizational and production processes of these giant megalithic figures.”
conclusions were published online on November 26, 2025 in the journal PLOS ONE.
_____
KP Lipo etc.. 2025. Making a megalithic statue (moai) on Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile). PLOS One 20 (11): e0336251; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0336251
