handy
Member
I've always been facinated by the Easter Island Moai, those huge, enigmatic stone statues. What were they for? How did the people get them from the quarry to their platforms?
...were aliens involved? :shades
They're intriguing to say the least.
Now the oral tradition of the Rapa Nui people maintained that the Moai walked from the quarries where they were carved to the platforms (called ahu). Naturally, that was impossible...
...or was it?
I watched a program on this subject last night via Netflixs and what I saw was pretty impressive. A team of scientists made a replica of a Moai that was of average height for the over 800 statues and weighted for accuracy. They then tested the theory that, rather than being dragged along by wooden rollers, the Moai did indeed walk.
and here are the results...
[video=youtube;YpNuh-J5IgE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpNuh-J5IgE[/video]
This little experiment doesn't conclusively answer all the questions about the Moai... and the theory that the largest of the Moai could be walked the way this replica was has been challenged, but still, I find it all very fascinating.
And, applicable to some of the assumptions that are often made about biblical history. Modern scholarship tends to be skeptical and dismiss much as impossible... when really what we need to do is keep an open mind.
Good rule of thumb for oral history everywhere, but especially important when it comes to history inspired by the Holy Spirit!
...were aliens involved? :shades
They're intriguing to say the least.
Now the oral tradition of the Rapa Nui people maintained that the Moai walked from the quarries where they were carved to the platforms (called ahu). Naturally, that was impossible...
...or was it?
I watched a program on this subject last night via Netflixs and what I saw was pretty impressive. A team of scientists made a replica of a Moai that was of average height for the over 800 statues and weighted for accuracy. They then tested the theory that, rather than being dragged along by wooden rollers, the Moai did indeed walk.
and here are the results...
[video=youtube;YpNuh-J5IgE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpNuh-J5IgE[/video]
This little experiment doesn't conclusively answer all the questions about the Moai... and the theory that the largest of the Moai could be walked the way this replica was has been challenged, but still, I find it all very fascinating.
And, applicable to some of the assumptions that are often made about biblical history. Modern scholarship tends to be skeptical and dismiss much as impossible... when really what we need to do is keep an open mind.
Good rule of thumb for oral history everywhere, but especially important when it comes to history inspired by the Holy Spirit!
