Easter Island Statues Have Bodies

This story was first published on June 28th, 2012

Outline

Circulating message claims that the famous stone statues of Easter Island are not just heads but also have bodies buried beneath the surface. 

Brief Analysis

The claims in the message are true and the photos are genuine. The statues do indeed have bodies as well as heads. In fact, this has been well known for many years. Recent excavations of the statues by the Easter Island Statue Project has revealed even more information about the statue bodies and is the source of the circulating photographs. 

Example

Detailed Analysis

This message, which circulates via email and social media posts since 2012, claims that the iconic stone statues of Easter Island are not just giant heads but actually have large bodies buried beneath the surface.

To back up the claim, the message features a series of photographs showing excavated statues complete with giant subsurface bodies. 



The claims in the message are true and the photographs are genuine. The famous Moai do indeed have bodies. A May 15, 2012, Yahoo news report about the status notes:

When most people think of the renowned monolithic statues, they think of the heads only. But in October 2011, the Easter Island Statue Project began its Season V expedition, revealing remarkable photos showing that the bodies of the statues go far deeper underground than just about anyone had imagined. 

The excavations have also revealed new petroglyph writings on the bodies of the statues.

However, while Easter Island Statue Project excavations have certainly revealed much more about the statues and their bodies, the fact that they were not just heads has been known for centuries. In fact, many photographs of the statues show both heads and bodies above ground.

Image courtesy Arian Zwegers – Creative Commons Licence