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Moai , or ''mo‘ai'', are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on the Chilean Polynesian island of Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500 CE.〔〔''The island at the end of the world.'' Reaktion Books 2005 ISBN 1-86189-282-9〕 Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the island's perimeter. Almost all moai have overly large heads three-eighths the size of the whole statue. The moai are chiefly the living faces (''aringa ora'') of deified ancestors (''aringa ora ata tepuna''). The statues still gazed inland across their clan lands when Europeans first visited the island, but most were cast down during later conflicts between clans. The production and transportation of the 887 statues〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Easter Island Statue Project )〕 are considered remarkable creative and physical feats. The tallest moai erected, called ''Paro'', was almost high and weighed 82 tons;〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=New Scientist, 29 July, 2006, pp. 30-34 )〕 the heaviest erected was a shorter but squatter moai at Ahu Tongariki, weighing 86 tons; and one unfinished sculpture, if completed, would have been approximately tall with a weight of about 270 tons. The islanders themselves tore down the standing moai after their civilization broke down. ==Description== The moai are monolithic statues, their minimalist style related to forms found throughout Polynesia. Moai are carved in relatively flat planes, the faces bearing proud but enigmatic expressions. The human figures would be outlined in the rock wall first, then chipped away until only the image was left.〔. N.p.. Web. 29 Oct 2013. Though moai are whole-body statues, they are commonly referred to as "Easter Island heads". This is partly because of the disproportionate size of most moai heads and partly because, from the invention of photography until the 1950s, the only moai standing on the island were the statues on the slopes of Rano Raraku, many of which are buried to their shoulders. Some of the "heads" at Rano Raraku have been excavated and their bodies seen, and observed to have markings that had been protected from erosion by their burial. The average height of the moai is about high, with the average width at the base around across. These massive creations usually weigh in at around 12.5 tonnes (13.8 tons) each. All but 53 of the 887 moai known to date were carved from tuff (a compressed volcanic ash) from Rano Raraku, where 394 moai and incomplete moai are still visible today. There are also 13 moai carved from basalt, 22 from trachyte and 17 from fragile red scoria. At the end of carving, the builders would rub the statue with pumice. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Moai」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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