February 09, 2012@Biomechanic Images posted are colossal heads designed and carved by the Olmecs, an ancient culture that lived in what is now Mexico (covering the southeastern state of Veracruz and western Tabasco). They were built with basalt brought from great distances. Weigh several tons and are up to three and four meters high.
There are various hypotheses of what the heads mean:
1-A Tribute to the Gods.
2-Tribute to the Warriors (for helmets)
3-Some inter-oceanic contact, by their African features
4-Tribute to ancient astronauts, although such speculation Obviously is totally rejected by the scientific community.
And the others that were initially posted by @Engr101 are Moai of the Island of Pascua (Rapa Nui), a Polynesian island located off the coast of Chile.
The meaning of the moai is still uncertain, and there are several theories about these statues. The most common of these is that the statues were carved by the Polynesian inhabitants of the islands, between the twelfth and seventeenth centuries, as representing deceased ancestors, so that would project their mana (supernatural power) over their descendants. Although it also has thought about the ancient astronaut hypothesis.
They were placed on the ahu (ceremonial platforms) with their faces toward the interior of the island and after encajarles eyes of red coral or volcanic rock became the aringa ora (living face) of an ancestor.
It is believed that whole mountains were removed for their creation. The volcanic rock could be cut with relative ease with basalt and obsidian tools, giving them their basic shape in the quarry itself. Were subsequently extracted and partially buried in the vicinity to be carved details.
Even more controversial is the way they were transported to the island to its final location. No one knows exactly how they were taken, but it is almost certain that this process required the use of sleds or wooden rollers. A second theory suggests that balancing them with cords were moved: in 1986 Pavel Pavel, Thor Heyerdahl and Kon Tiki Museum showed that a dozen people and some ropes were sufficient to carry a statue of 9 tons.
During the summer of 2000, an American archaeological team found evidence suggesting the use of complex machines on the island for centuries. The geologist Charles M. Love and a team of 17 students excavated sections of the three main routes used to transport the giant statues. Some of these roads was originally excavated in the bedrock of the island, consisting mainly of volcanic rock of a type known as pahoehoe.
Interestingly, the roads are not flat but its section shows a characteristic form "V" or "U". Its average width is 3.5 meters and requires a high level of engineering knowledge. In some stretches, the roads are flanked by lines of rocks.
But perhaps most surprising is that these rocks are not just placed there, but embedded in holes carved into the bedrock that forms the floor of the island. An important detail is that these holes are given in the sections where the road goes uphill. Dr. Love speculated that these holes were placed there to accommodate some kind of mechanism designed to help move the giant stone heads and save slopes that otherwise would require a significant effort.
These holes, and the curious way in "V" of the road indicate that there are still considerable uncertainties about the system employed by the natives of Easter Island to erect its mysterious Moai.
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