Moai statues on Easter Island, Chile
© Karine Aigner/Tandem Stills + Motio
Big rocks, big heads. 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 mostly volcanic ash by the Rapa Nui people, between the years 1250 and 1500, and there are nearly 1,000 of the on the island. Archeologists 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 towards the villages, as if positioned to watch protectively over the Rapa Nui.
Related Images
Republic Day parade in Delhi
Louis Armstrong performs with bandmates in Vienna, Austria, on February 22, 1959
At the top of Mount Fuji in Japan. Happy New Year!
Street art from the Pasadena Chalk Festival 2013, Pasadena, California
The installation 'Waldplastik' during Blue Night in Nuremberg, German
Nizamuddin Dargah embraces yellow to celebrate Basant Panchami.
The Garden of Silence, Chandigarh
Policewomen from the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti attend a ceremony to mark International Women's Day in 2016
Bing Today Images
Sheep grazing in snow, Iceland
Jan 23, 2026
Deer Valley at dusk, Park City, Utah, USA
Jan 23, 2025
Atolls in Indian Ocean, Maldives
Jan 23, 2024
Chu Dang Ya near Pleiku in Gia Lai Province, Vietnam
Jan 23, 2021
On Pie Day, an apple tree in winter
Jan 23, 2019
