There are hundreds of Moai scattered throughout the island. The best places to admire them are the ahus or the Rano Raraku volcano. Each statue was different from the others and had distinctive features that made it possible to identify it with the ancestor it symbolized. Each one had a name of its own, and sometimes they were painted. It is also possible that they had a defined gender. The size and design of the statues of Easter Island evolved dramatically over time. The smaller and more ancient statues are similar to the Tiki of the Marquesas and are about 1 meter high; the bigger ones are 21.65 m and weigh approximately 180 tons. The biggest moai ever to be finished and taken to their...
