复活节岛上的摩艾石像，智利 Moai statues on Easter Island, Chile (© Karine Aigner/Tandem Stills + Motion)

复活节岛上的摩艾石像，智利 Moai statues on Easter Island, Chile (© Karine Aigner/Tandem Stills + Motion)

摩艾石像 Big rocks, big heads

摩艾石像，智利

今天，照片上呈现的是久负盛名的摩艾石像，它位于智利偏远的复活节岛上。这些巨人石像是由拉帕努伊人在1250年到1500年之间用岩石雕刻而成的，全岛共有近1000座石像。考古学家认为，拉帕努伊人用这些石像纪念他们的祖先，并将其视为权力和权威的象征。这些石像里有7座面朝大海，其余石像都是背对着太平洋，面朝内陆看着村庄，仿佛是在保护着拉帕努伊人。

Moai statues on Easter Island, Chile

Today we're looking at something you may have heard about before—the famous Moai statues on Chile's remote Easter Island. These big-headed statues were carved out of solidified volcanic ash by the Rapa Nui people between 1250 and 1500, and there are nearly 1,000 of them on the island. Archaeologists believe they were meant to honor Rapa Nui ancestors and were revered as symbols of power and authority. All but seven of the statues face away from the surrounding Pacific Ocean, and instead look inward toward the villages, as if positioned to watch protectively over the Rapa Nui.