Researchers have unearthed a new 5-foot-tall moai statue created by Indigenous Rapa Nui people on Easter Island.
Volunteers from three Chilean universities made the discovery on Feb. 21 in a dry lake bed, according to The Guardian. Scientific volunteers from three Chilean universities collaborating on a marshland restoration project within the Rano Raruku volcano made the rare find.
The laguna, or lake, within the volcano began to dry up in 2018, a member of the Ma’u Henua community told The Guardian. The community manages the Rapa Nui national park that includes the volcano, told The Guardian.
The statue is just over 5 feet tall and was found lying on its side. Researchers told ABC’s “Good Morning America” it’s a smaller statue, and the team probably will use carbon-14 dating to figure out how old it is.
Called moai, the centuries-old statues are part of a Polynesian tradition to honor ancestors, Terry Hunt, an archaeologist from the University of Arizona, told “GMA.”
“There have been no moai … found in the dry bed or in what was previously a lake, so this is a first,” Hunt said.
The statues have distinct, long faces and no legs; many were made from volcanic ash and are near fresh water on the island.
The island’s…
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