The colossal hats (pukao) of monumental statues: an analysis of shape variability among the pukao of Rapa Nui

Summary

As part of monumental statue (moai) construction during the prehistory of Rapa Nui, islanders quarried bodies of red scoria, carved them into hats (pukao), and placed them atop statues measuring up to 10 meters tall. Despite overall great interest in moai and the improbable magnitude of pukao that were raised to reach their positions on the heads of statues, few studies have investigated pukao production and transport. This study seeks to analyze three-dimensional variability of pukao using 15,000 photos of 50 pukao found near statues and 13 red scoria cylinders located in quarries. These models are used to evaluate which surface features are stylistic with related temporal and spatial variability and which are functional and relate to construction and transport of these multi-ton objects. The functional detail has the potential to shed light on how prehistoric islanders designed pukao to be placed atop moai. To this end, additional three dimensional models of statue platforms (ahu) and moai are combined with the models of pukao to test the feasibility of the conventional hypothesis that the pukao were placed atop moai using stone ramps.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage