Reflections on what this experimental archaeology project has taught us, in human terms
1. The average statue could have been moved and erected with the combined resources of six to eight families.
2. Larger statues required more resources and greater cooperation among larger groups.
3. Pulling a statue involved the largest number of people. The transport task was, therefore, the opportunity for the community to demonstrate its unity, organized effort and dedication to their chiefs and leaders. Pride played an important role in the effort.
4. Smaller numbers of people with more specialized skills were needed for modifying, adjusting and manipulating the statue during turning and lifting after they had reached their ahu destinations.
5. All of the required skills and materials would have been available to the average Polynesian chief. These skills were learned and relearned over generations, and are typical of other construction efforts, including canoe building.
6. Problems such as we encountered during transport would have been solved by modifying and adapting the transport rig; the position of the statue on the rig allowed nicely for problem solving.
7. Pivoting or turning a statue on its transport rig before placing it in position to move up the ramp could have been accomplished with coordinated levering, as Vince Lee demonstrated.
8. Coastal and inland ahu probably required deployment and placement of people in different ways, but the basic means and methods probably didn't change much.
9. The statue acquired a history as it moved across the landscape, and a series of traditions were accumulated as people worked with the moai to reach their destination.
10. People worked on "island time," over cycles that were both natural and ceremonial.
11. The most well-traveled moai transport roads are on the south coast. The largest number and heaviest statues are on these roads, destined for ahu controlled by the more successful and powerful chiefs. Some statues on other, longer roads were probably there for non-transport reasons, i.e. politics, territory or resources.
12. Finally, our projections of time, resources and people required to move the average statue have been largely verified. The successful chief who, in ancient times, accomplished a task such as we have defined, probably accumulated and distributed the necessary resources for several years before undertaking to transport and erect a moai. Many factors could have intervened or interrupted the process before it was complete. The moai look different to me now. They are still artefacts of stone, but are no longer inert. I have a better understanding of the investment needed to make and move them, and a greater appreciation for the way they acquire meaning in the community. I have gained respect for the magnitude of the Rapa Nui accomplishment. Our moai has been christened "tangata anga" by the people who worked on this project. That means "people working," and he is a vital symbol of passionate, cooperative effort. His final home will be in the island school, where he will serve to teach young people the aesthetics of the past. Many thanks to all who sent questions and comments via this Web site. Look for "tangata anga" when next you visit Rapa Nui.
