The Enigma of the Moai Statues

I arrived on Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui, after a long journey. As I scanned the landscape, I was struck by the hundreds of enormous statues, called moai, that were scattered across the island. They dotted the hills and plains, all facing inland. I learned that these statues were carved by the Rapa Nui people from volcanic rock and erected on stone platforms called ahu. The moai were built to represent ancestors, and many of them had once been topped with red stone hats known as pukao. But what I found most puzzling was that no one knows for sure how these massive statues were moved from quarries to their assigned locations. It was an unsolved mystery that added to the intrigue of this fascinating place.