How practise you lot set a 13-ton chapeau on a giant statue? That's what a squad of researchers is trying to figure out amongst their study of Easter Island statues as well as the ruby hats that sit down atop some of them.
 |
| Restored statue platform amongst standing moai on the S coast of Rapa Nui. Note that ane of the moai is adorned amongst a ruby scoria pukao [Credit: Sean Hixon] |
Rapa Nui - Easter Island, Republic of Chile - sits inwards the Southern Pacific Ocean to a greater extent than than 2,000 miles from Republic of Chile inwards South America. The isle is nigh xv miles long as well as 7.6 miles broad at its widest amongst an surface area of nigh 63 foursquare miles. According to the researchers, the isle was showtime inhabited inwards the 13th century past times Polynesian travelers.
The statues, carved from volcanic tuff, came from ane quarry on the island, piece the hats, made of ruby scoria, came from a unlike quarry 7.5 miles away on the other side of the island.
Previous enquiry past times Carl P. Lipo, professor of anthropology, Binghamton University, as well as Terry Hunt, professor of anthropology as well as dean of the Honors College, University of Arizona, determined that the statues, which tin post away endure upwards to 33 feet tall as well as weigh 81 tons, were moved into house along well-prepared roads using a walking/rocking motion, similar to the agency a fridge is moved.
"The statues were moved inwards a fashion using elementary physics-based processes inwards a agency that was elegant as well as remarkably effective," said Lipo. Not all statues made it to their terminal locations, as well as the fallen and/or broken ones showed that, to displace them, the statues were carved therefore they leaned forrad as well as were afterward leveled off for terminal placement.
The hats, amongst diameters upwards to 6.5 feet as well as weighing xiii tons, powerfulness convey been rolled across the island, but in ane trial they arrived at their intended statues, they nevertheless needed to endure lifted onto the statues' heads. The islanders in all likelihood carved the hats cylindrically as well as rolled them to the statues earlier farther carving the hats to achieve the terminal shapes, which vary from cylindrical to conical as well as which normally convey a smaller cylindrical projection on the top. Chips of ruby scoria are constitute inwards the platform of some of the statue chapeau combinations.
"We were interested inwards figuring out the method of chapeau carry as well as placement of the hats that best agrees amongst the archaeological record," said Hixon.
 |
| Diagram of pukao emplacement scenario that is supported past times analysis of pukao shape as well as the physics associated amongst pukao carry [Credit: Sean Hixon] |
"We assumed they were all transported as well as placed inwards the same way," said Hixon. "So nosotros looked for features that were the same on all the hats as well as all the statues."
The alone features they constitute the same were indentations at the bases of the hats, as well as these indentations tally the tops of the statues' heads. If the hats had been slid inwards house on go past times of the statues, therefore the soft stone ridges on the margin of the indentations would convey been destroyed. So the islanders must convey used another method.
Previous researchers suggested that the statues as well as the hats were united earlier they were lifted inwards place, but the remnants of broken or abandoned statues, as well as other prove for walking the statues, indicates this was non the approach used as well as that the hats were most probable raised to the go past times of standing statues. Many of the hats left some the isle are much larger than those placed on statues.
"The best explanation for the carry of the pukao (hats) from the quarry is past times rolling the raw cloth to the location of the moai (statues)," said Lipo. "Once at the moai, the pukao were rolled upwards large ramps to the go past times of a standing statue using a parbuckling technique." Parbuckling is a elementary as well as efficient technique for rolling objects as well as is ofttimes used to correct ships that convey capsized. The middle of a long rope is fixed to the go past times of a ramp as well as the 2 trailing ends are wrapped some the cylinder to endure moved. The rope ends are therefore brought to the go past times where workers line on the ropes to displace the cylinder upwards the ramp.
 |
| Rano Raraku Statue Quarry as well as Puna Pau Pukao Quarry" Location of ruby scoria pukao quarry at Puna Pau (green square) as well as moai quarry at Rano Raraku (black square). Green circles grade locations of pukao [Credit: Sean Hixon] |
Once the chapeau was at the go past times of the ramp, it could non merely endure pushed into house because of the ridges on the margin of the chapeau base of operations indentation. Rather, the researchers believe that the hats were tipped upwards onto the statues.
First the chapeau would endure modified to its terminal form, some including a second, smaller cylindrical slice on top.
The hats could endure rotated xc degrees as well as therefore levered upwards amongst pocket-size wooden levers to sit down on the statue tops, or the ramp could endure slightly to the side, therefore that rotation inwards the pocket-size infinite at the go past times of the ramp would endure unnecessary. Then the chapeau would merely endure levered as well as pivoted on border as well as into place.
The ramps were therefore disassembled as well as became the wings of the platform surrounding the statues.
"This is the showtime fourth dimension anyone has systematically explored the prove for how the giant hats were placed on the go past times of the heads of the massive statues of Easter Island," said Lipo. "Our run combines cutting-edge 3-D modeling amongst artifact analysis as well as models drawn from physics to cash inwards one's chips inwards at the best answer."
Source: Pennsylvania State University [June 04, 2018]
Sumber http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com
Buat lebih berguna, kongsi:
