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Relocation of moai
Relocation of moai
Relocation of moai
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Since the theft from Easter Island (Rapa Nui) in 1868 of the moai now displayed at the British Museum, a total of 12 moai are known to have been stolen from Easter Island and remain overseas.[1][2] Some of the moai have been further transferred between museums and private collections, for reasons such as the moai's preservation, academic research and for public education.

Objects returned to Easter Island

[edit]

In 2006, one relocated moai was repatriated from the Centro Cultural Recoleta in Argentina after 80 years overseas.[3]

In 2022, one moai held in the Chilean National Museum of Natural History in Santiago was returned to the island after over 150 years abroad.[4]

Objects in museum collections

[edit]

The following table lists the most prominent moai held in museums and collections:

Material Height Current location Country Acquisition Date Reference[5] Notes Image
Basalt 2.42 m The British Museum, London United Kingdom 7 November 1868 1869.10-5.1

Hoa Hakananai'a

Taken from Easter Island (Rapa Nui) in 1868 by the crew of HMS Topaze and is now on display in the British Museum. (Full article: Hoa Hakananai'a)
Basalt 1.56 m The British Museum, London United Kingdom 7 November 1868 1869.10-6.1 Moai Hava In the British Museum's Oceanic collection
Tuff 1.85 m Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, Paris France 1872 71.1930.35.1 Formerly presented in the Musée de l'Homme, then moved to the new Musée du Quai Branly.[6]
Lapilli tuff 2.24 m Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.[7][8] United States December 1886[7] E128368-0 (EISP# SI-WDC-001)[7] Removed from Ahu O'Pepe.[8]
Tuff 1.194 m Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.[9] United States December 1886[9] E128370-0 (EISP# SI-WDC-002)[9] Removed from Ahu O'Pepe.[8]
Tuff 1.70 m Pavillon des Sessions, Musée du Louvre, Paris France 1934-35 MH.35.61.1 Presented to the Chilean government by Henri Lavachery and Alfred Metraux for the Musée de l'Homme after their expedition to Rapa Nui, in 1934-35.
Red scoria 0.42 m Pavillon des Sessions, Musée du Louvre, or the Musée de l'Homme, Paris France 1934-35 MH.35.61.66 Removed by the Lavachery, Metraux and Watelin expedition.
Basalt 3 m Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels Belgium 1934-35 ET.35.5.340 or Pou hakanononga Removed by the Lavachery, Metraux and Watelin expedition. The oldest known statue to date.[10]
Trachyte 1.6 m Otago Museum, Dunedin New Zealand 1929 D29.6066 Moai and pukao were removed from Rapa Nui in 1881 by Alexander Ariʻipaea Salmon and shipped aboard the Nautilus to the Maison Brander plantation in Pape'ete, Tahiti. They were sold to Otago Museum in 1928 by Norman Brander and arrived in Dunedin on 15 April 1929.[11][1]
Tuff 2.81 m Corporacion Museo de Arqueologia e Historia Francisco Fonck, Viña del Mar Chile 1174 (EISP# MF-VDM-001)
Basalt Corporacion Museo de Arqueologia e Historia Francisco Fonck, Viña del Mar Chile 35-001 (EISP# MF-VDM-002)
Tuff 2.94 m Salón de la Polinesia, Museo arqueologico, La Serena Chile Displayed in Europe, then moved to the Salón de la Polinesia in Chile.[12][13]

Issues of authenticity

[edit]

The issue of authenticity of moai heads may never be fully resolved. The fact is that the rocks used to carve the heads are as old as the volcano eruption that formed them, so carbon 14 testing reveals no evidence of authenticity. The age of the moai heads on the island cannot be determined, and off the island, heads can only be determined to be made from Easter Island volcanic rock or not made from Easter Island volcanic rock. Determining the age of an Easter Island moai head is therefore an art, and not a science. Field experts make judgments and express opinions about what tools they feel were used and attempt to tie an age to that opinion. Such a condition means that moai heads cannot be tested with hope of determining authenticity; they may, however, be brought under suspicion of being fakes. As with any object of antiquity, the patrimony, the history and story of the heads, is an important part in determining authenticity.[citation needed]

An unauthenticated moai head entitled "Henry" currently stands in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California. It was obtained in the first half of the 20th century by the founder of the park Dr. Hubert Eaton. Dr. Eaton allegedly received the moai in a legal transaction between Rapanui fishermen at Easter Island who were using the head (approx 1m height) as ballast for a boat.[14] The Memorial Park has no plans for authenticating or testing the moai in the near future.

In 2003, the Chilean government began an investigation into two moai heads within a set of 15 other Easter Island artefacts[15] — the possessions of Hernan Garcia de Gonzalo Vidal — which were put on sale at The Cronos Gallery in Miami. After a photographic inspection by Patricia Vargas, an archaeologist at the University of Chile's Easter Island institute, she commented that ""They might be nice art pieces, but I doubt any one is 500 years old. It appears that the cuts have been made with modern machinery and not with stone tools." A meeting arranged between the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio which first reported the sale, and Hernan Garcia Gonzalo de Vidal, later failed to take place when Gonzalo de Vidal became unavailable due to a "family emergency".[16]

Replicas

[edit]

In 1968, a moai (possibly Moai 35-001) was taken from Rapa Nui and displayed in New York City as a publicity stunt to oppose the building of a jet refueling facility on Easter Island.[17][18][19] Around the time of the campaign and the following tour to Washington D.C. and Chicago, the moai was received by the Lippincott company of North Haven, Connecticut, which since its inception in 1966 had provided a "place for artists to create large sculptures and receive help in transportation and installation of their work".[20] In co-operation with the International Fund for Monuments Inc, Lippincott produced a copy from the original moai (before it was confiscated by the Chilean government) and claimed the rights to execute the work on 100 further replicas.

Moai replicas are displayed, among others, outside the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County; at the Auckland War Memorial Museum in New Zealand;[21] and at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.[22]

A group of seven replica moai arranged in an Ahu exist in the city of Nichinan, Miyazaki Prefecture on the Japanese island of Kyushu. The statues were built and installed in 1996 for the opening of the seaside park Sun Messe Nichinan, of which the statues are the park's centrepiece.[23]

In 2000, the Embassy of Chile in the United States presented a moai replica, with a pair of reconstructed eyes, to the American University.[24][25]

See also

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Notes and references

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Relocation of moai

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from Grokipedia
The relocation of involves the removal and transport of ancient monolithic basalt statues, carved by the of between approximately 1250 and 1500 CE, from their island homeland to museums and private collections abroad, with around 20 full-scale examples known to exist outside Rapa Nui today. These relocations, occurring mainly from the mid-19th to early 20th centuries amid European and American expeditions, facilitated global study of Polynesian artistry but also led to the depletion of cultural artifacts from their originating context. The most prominent early relocation took place in November 1868, when the crew of the British survey ship HMS Topaze, under Captain Richard Powell, excavated and transported two —Hoa ("stolen friend") and Moai Hava—from ceremonial sites on Rapa Nui, with local assistance and compensation provided for the former. , featuring intricate petroglyphs on its back indicative of birdman symbolism, was presented to and subsequently donated to the , where it remains a focal exhibit despite featuring detailed carvings linking it to Rapa Nui spiritual practices. Subsequent removals included efforts by French anthropologists like Henri Lavachery in the 1930s and American expeditions, contributing to dispersed holdings in institutions such as the , the Smithsonian, and the . These actions have fueled persistent controversies, including Rapa Nui demands for on grounds of cultural , with successes such as the 2022 return of a from Chile's after 152 years, contrasted by refusals from major holders citing preservation, research access, and legal acquisition under historical norms. While museums assert that off-island endure better against and educate broader audiences, indigenous advocates argue the removals severed vital ancestral connections, highlighting tensions between universal heritage claims and local restitution rights.

Historical Relocations

Pre-Contact Transportation by Rapa Nui

The indigenous Rapa Nui transported statues upright from the quarry to coastal ahu platforms using a rope-assisted "walking" technique, in which teams applied lateral pulls to rock the statues forward in a zig-zag motion while maintaining vertical orientation. This method leveraged the statues' D-shaped bases and forward lean, which lowered the center of mass and stabilized side-to-side teetering, as confirmed by of statue morphology and path alignments. Experimental replication in 2012 demonstrated feasibility: a 4.35-ton moai replica was advanced 100 meters in 40 minutes by 18 people using ropes configured for alternating pulls, without toppling or sliding. Recent 2025 analyses, incorporating physics-based simulations and field data, further validated this by matching simulated wear patterns on transport roads—approximately 4.5 meters wide with concave profiles—to archaeological traces near , indicating iterative, upright movement over distances up to 25 kilometers. Archaeological surveys reveal no substantive evidence for alternative mechanisms like sleds or rollers, such as consistent base abrasion or wooden artifacts along paths, nor widespread toppling, as most fallen moai were discovered upright or near-final positions. Instead, overlapping statue tracks and unfinished figures clustered within 2 kilometers of the quarry suggest phased, incremental tied to resource availability, with oral traditions recounting statues "walking" under human guidance, aligning with empirical . This approach minimized compared to dragging, preserving limited timber for ropes and other uses, though larger specimens show morphological adaptations for enhanced stability during transit. The scale of operations reflected Rapa Nui societal structure, with transport labor estimates scaling by mass: smaller (under 5 tons) required teams of 15-20, while the largest erected example, Paro at Ahu Te Pito Kura—9.89 meters tall and approximately 82 tons—likely demanded coordinated groups of hundreds, organized through chiefly hierarchies and communal efforts to affirm status and ancestry. Such undertakings, spanning the 13th to 17th centuries based on of associated sites, integrated transport with placement, as evidenced by statue orientations toward inland territories rather than seaward views. This method's efficiency, requiring part-time labor rather than exhaustive drafts, challenges narratives of leading to collapse, emphasizing adaptive engineering within ecological constraints.

19th-Century European Removals

In November 1868, the crew of the British Royal Navy ship HMS Topaze, commanded by Captain Richard Powell, excavated and removed the from its semi-buried position in the ceremonial village on the slopes of volcano. Weighing approximately 4 tonnes and standing 2.5 meters tall, the statue was dragged downslope using a sledge constructed on-site before being floated out to the vessel on a . A smaller , also extracted during the expedition, accompanied it as one of the earliest documented removals of such statues to . This extraction took place against the backdrop of acute societal disruption on Rapa Nui, where the population had plummeted from several thousand in the early to roughly 110 survivors by 1877, driven by Peruvian slave raids between 1862 and 1863 that abducted over 1,500 islanders—nearly half the inhabitants—and ensuing outbreaks of introduced diseases like and . The raids, conducted by Peruvian vessels targeting labor for mining, returned few captives alive, exacerbating the demographic collapse that left limited opposition to foreign activities. Upon HMS Topaze's return to in 1869, Hoa Hakananai'a was presented to by the Admiralty and subsequently transferred to the , where it remains on display. The accompanying smaller met a similar fate in British naval holdings before museum allocation. Transport involved inherent risks, with historical accounts noting abrasions and fractures to stone surfaces from rigging and sea exposure during such voyages. These 1868 removals preceded broader 19th-century European acquisitions, setting a amid the island's vulnerability.

Moai in External Collections

Major Museum Holdings

The British Museum in London holds two moai statues from Rapa Nui: Hoa Hakananai'a, a basalt figure 2.5 meters tall and weighing about 4.2 metric tons, removed from Orongo ceremonial village in 1868 by the crew of HMS Topaze and acquired by the museum in 1869 after presentation to Queen Victoria; and a smaller tuff moai known as Hava, also obtained via the same expedition. Hoa Hakananai'a, carved around 1200 CE, features detailed petroglyphs on its reverse depicting birdman motifs, with the statue supported on a modern base following conservation to stabilize its structure. The Musée du Louvre in displays a statue estimated to have originally stood about 5 meters tall, carved from volcanic , as part of its Pavillon des Sessions collection of extra-European arts; this piece traces to 19th-century French naval acquisitions from Rapa Nui, with the elongated head comprising roughly two-fifths of the figure's proportion. Similarly, the Musée du quai Branly – in houses fragments and heads from , including items collected during early 20th-century expeditions, preserved in controlled environments to mitigate and degradation. Other significant holdings include the Otago Museum in Dunedin, New Zealand, which possesses a 2.5-meter tuff moai acquired in the early 20th century through private donation, standing at 2.5 meters with typical oversized head and torso details; and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., displaying a moai head fragment in its anthropology collections, sourced from 19th-century explorations. Approximately 10 to 12 complete or near-complete moai, primarily 2 to 4 meters in height and fashioned from Rano Raraku tuff or basalt, reside in museums globally outside Rapa Nui, often undergoing periodic conservation such as surface cleaning and structural reinforcement to preserve against environmental wear.

Preservation Outcomes in Museums

Moai statues in museum collections have exhibited minimal physical deterioration due to controlled environmental conditions that mitigate exposure to humidity, salt spray, and direct sunlight, key causal factors in stone degradation. For instance, the statue, acquired by the in 1869, remains well-preserved, with a 2015 digital survey using and reflectance transformation imaging revealing intricate surface details and no evidence of significant over the intervening 146 years. In contrast, island-based moai experience accelerated weathering from Pacific humidity and sea spray, leading to salt crystallization that causes flaking and spalling of the porous volcanic . growth, described locally as "leprosy" for its white spotting, affects approximately 70% of the over 1,000 standing statues, biologically eroding the outer layers by 5-10 centimeters in some cases. Museum conservation practices further enhance preservation through stable temperature and humidity regulation, preventing the moisture-induced recrystallization that plagues exposed island sculptures. Non-invasive monitoring techniques, such as periodic , allow for early detection of micro-changes without physical intervention, while public display cases limit direct human contact. On , tourism exacerbates damage via physical interactions, including climbing and touching incidents reported in 2019, alongside natural events like the 2022 that caused irreparable cracking in multiple due to . Seismic activity has historically toppled statues from ahu platforms, with ongoing vulnerability from island tectonics compounding environmental stressors. Over spans exceeding 150 years, museum-held demonstrate structural integrity without reported major deteriorations, facilitating global scholarly access and analysis via replicas or digital models rather than risking on-site exposure to , fires, or extremes. This controlled setting contrasts sharply with island ahu collapses and progressive lichen-induced decay, underscoring the role of environmental isolation in long-term material stability.

Repatriations to Easter Island

Completed Returns

In February 2022, Chile's in Santiago repatriated Tau, a monolithic originally quarried on Rapa Nui ([Easter Island](/page/Easter Island)) and removed by the Chilean Chacabuco in 1870. The approximately 2-meter-tall, 715-kilogram figure had been accessioned by the museum in 1878 and displayed indoors thereafter. Following technical assessments to ensure structural integrity during transit, the statue was secured for overland transport by truck to the port of , followed by a five-day sea voyage on a Chilean naval vessel. The statue arrived on Rapa Nui on March 8, 2022, and was immediately transferred to the Father Sebastián Englert Anthropological Museum in for quarantine, cleaning, and ceremonial reintegration. Rapa Nui community leaders conducted traditional rituals to honor the moai's return, emphasizing its ancestral significance to indigenous heritage under Chilean administration of the territory. Post-return, the statue was placed on public display within the museum, where initial conditions included monitoring for tufa accretions and salt exposure from the island's marine climate, though protected from direct weathering unlike its original outdoor placement. No other full moai statues have been verifiably repatriated to Rapa Nui, though smaller artifacts and human remains from 19th- and 20th-century expeditions have been returned in separate agreements, such as Norway's 2019 transfer of items collected by . The Tau repatriation, facilitated by bilateral Chilean-Rapa Nui negotiations, marked the first such return of a complete in over a century, with logistics prioritizing minimal handling to preserve surface and structural stability.

Proposed or Partial Repatriations

In October 2018, the Ma'u Henua community of Rapa Nui, with support from the Chilean government, proposed exchanging a replica of the moai—carved from island basalt—for the original statue held by the . This offer accompanied a formal written request from the Rapa Nui Council of Elders in July 2018 and a delegation visit to in November 2018 to advocate for repatriation. The declined the proposal, citing legal constraints under the , and no transfer has occurred as of 2025. Repatriations of Rapa Nui human remains serve as procedural analogs for potential returns, highlighting momentum in international cooperation despite limitations to non-statue items. In November 2024, Norway's returned ancestral remains (ivi tupuna) collected by in the late 1940s during a involving Rapa Nui representatives. In March 2025, repatriated human remains to the , marking its first such international effort under protocols akin to the U.S. Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. These cases underscore feasibility for artifact returns but exclude due to their size and cultural designation as monumental heritage. Ongoing logistical planning includes a under construction on as of July 2025, designed to host repatriated and enhance preservation capabilities. Negotiations for statue returns emphasize infrastructure readiness, though no partial repatriations—such as long-term loans—have materialized for major holdings like .

Repatriation Controversies

Arguments in Favor of Repatriation

Proponents of repatriation argue that statues embody the mana—spiritual power and essence—of Rapa Nui ancestors, serving as their living representations or aringa ora. For the indigenous Rapa Nui people, the absence of these statues disrupts cultural continuity and ancestral connections, leading to a perceived spiritual disconnection from their heritage. In 2018, Governor Tarita Alarcón Rapu emotionally pleaded for the return of the statue from the , stating that its removal had "stolen our spirit" and noting that her grandmother, who lived to nearly 90 years old, never had the opportunity to see this ancestral figure. Advocates invoke sovereignty principles, contending that moai were acquired during the 19th-century colonial era under conditions of duress or without Rapa Nui consent, rendering long-term foreign retention illegitimate. The 1868 removal of by British Captain Richard Powell exemplifies such extractions, often paralleling cases like the from the or , where repatriation claims cite illicit origins and evolving international norms favoring source-nation rights. These precedents underscore arguments that historical power imbalances invalidate perpetual claims by acquiring institutions, prioritizing indigenous over elapsed time. Repatriation supporters highlight tangible benefits for Rapa Nui identity and , asserting that returns foster heritage pride and stimulate . The 2022 repatriation of the Tau statue from Chile's —after 152 years in Santiago—served as a model, with Rapa Nui communities celebrating its arrival as a step toward cultural and ancestral reconnection. This 1.5-meter, 715 kg figure's return via naval transport to the island was framed as enhancing local guardianship of sacred objects, potentially drawing more visitors to experience in their original context.

Arguments Against Repatriation

Advocates for retaining in museums emphasize the superior preservation conditions compared to Easter Island's vulnerability to environmental threats. A 2025 study projects that rising sea levels will enable seasonal waves to reach the platform, home to 15 , by 2080, accelerating erosion of the statues' soft volcanic construction. events compound this risk; a 2022 inflicted irreparable damage on numerous by charring their surfaces and exposing them to further degradation. Museum settings, with climate-controlled environments and expert conservation, have safeguarded relocated from such perils for over 150 years, as evidenced by the intact condition of specimens like the since its 1868 acquisition. Museum holdings promote broader public access and scholarly engagement than to a remote location would allow. The moai draws roughly 6 million visitors yearly at the , enabling global audiences to study its intricate carving and cultural context without the logistical barriers of traveling to , which receives about 100,000 tourists annually under visitor caps. This visibility supports educational outreach, with the statue serving as a focal point for exhibits on Polynesian history viewed by diverse demographics far exceeding the island's on-site reach. Historical acquisition circumstances and practical precedents argue against blanket repatriation. Numerous moai entered European collections in the during periods of severe Rapa Nui depopulation—such as after the 1862–1863 Peruvian slave raids reduced the population to approximately 111 individuals—leaving sites unattended and acquisitions often unopposed or facilitated by surviving leaders. No contemporary records document outright theft for key pieces like , removed from the ceremonial site in 1868. Repatriation risks a "slippery slope" depleting encyclopedic museums of artifacts essential for comparative historical study, as noted by critics who contend such objects embody shared human heritage rather than exclusive national property. Some Rapa Nui leaders, including Edmunds Paoa, have expressed concerns that returned moai might be neglected amid the island's resource constraints.

Specific Disputes and Public Campaigns

In July 2018, representatives of the submitted a formal written request to the for the repatriation of the moai, taken from [Easter Island](/page/Easter Island) in 1868. The Chilean government endorsed the effort, framing it as a restoration of to the island's indigenous community. The dispute escalated in February 2024 when Chilean users, mobilized by an influencer's , inundated the British Museum's posts with repetitive demands to "return the ." The museum responded by restricting comments on affected posts, labeling the influx as organized spam from trolls rather than genuine dialogue. Campaign participants countered that the effort represented authentic grassroots activism amplifying long-standing grievances. Prior to 2022, Rapa Nui advocates pressed Chilean authorities for of held in mainland institutions, exemplified by the Tau statue exhibited in Santiago's since 1878. These intra-national conflicts, rooted in demands for local control over ancestral artifacts, culminated in the statue's in March 2022 under a centralized Chilean policy prioritizing island returns. Legal commentary in 2019 scrutinized repatriation drives amid Rapa Nui's broader quest for political from Chilean oversight, emphasizing evidentiary hurdles like verification in nationalist claims lacking comprehensive historical documentation. Such analyses underscored stakeholder frictions, where island aspirations clashed with state-level administrative frameworks.

Authenticity and Replication Issues

Verification of Genuine Moai

Verification of moai authenticity relies on empirical scientific testing, including petrographic examination of stone composition and microstructure, rather than solely on historical provenance, which can be incomplete or disputed for relocated artifacts. Petrographic analysis involves preparing thin sections of samples from the statue and comparing them microscopically to known quarry materials, identifying mineral assemblages, grain sizes, and alteration patterns unique to the volcanic tuff exploited by pre-contact Rapa Nui sculptors. The predominant material for is lapilli from the , characterized by sideromelane lapilli altered to in the southern quarry skirt and finer reddish ash in the northwest section, allowing precise sourcing when matched against quarry profiles. Studies of samples from monolithic statues confirm carving from this , with about 95% of the corpus derived exclusively from , establishing a baseline for authenticity absent sourcing from off-island or non- volcanics. Supplementary dating employs radiocarbon analysis on adhering organic residues, such as or plant matter embedded during quarrying or transport, yielding ages consistent with the 1200-1600 CE period of production, as evidenced by tool blades retaining organics from sessions. Stylistic verification cross-references physical attributes like elongated proportions, elongated ear lobes, and basaltic tool marks against comprehensive databases documenting over 887 , enabling pattern matching for variants in height, width, and cranial features typical of the island's corpus. Challenges include the geological antiquity of tuff, which predates human occupation and precludes direct of the stone itself, necessitating indirect evidence from organics or context. Modern replicas may mimic gross form but lack micro-scale evidence of ancient or tool abrasion, as opposed to machine-cut striations detectable via , ensuring tested relocated show no such contemporary fabrication indicators.

Replicas and Forgeries

In 2018, representatives from Rapa Nui's Ma'u Henua community proposed creating an exact replica of a statue, carved from using traditional techniques by local sculptor Bene Tuki, as part of negotiations to exchange it for the statue held by the . This modern carving aimed to replicate ancient forms while employing contemporary methods, but such replicas remain distinguishable from originals due to the absence of centuries-old and . Replicas have practical applications beyond symbolic gestures, including archaeological experimentation and promotion. For instance, full-scale replicas constructed from local materials have been used in field tests to simulate ancient transport techniques, such as upright "walking" via ropes and rocking motion. In , replicas serve as public attractions, including one overlooking Lyall Bay in , fostering cultural interest without relying on rare authentic artifacts. Instances of outright forgeries—intentionally misrepresented as ancient moai—are rare and unconfirmed in major collections, with no documented scandals involving prestigious institutions. Suspected fakes, often smaller " heads" circulating in private markets, have been identified through discrepancies in stone geology, such as sourcing from non-Rapa Nui volcanic materials incompatible with the island's or profiles. In contexts, undisclosed replicas risk undermining authenticity claims, potentially leading to exchanges that prioritize symbolism over verifiable heritage return.

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  48. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/07/easter-island-fire-causes-irreparable-damage-to-famous-moai-statues
  49. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/07/world/americas/easter-island-fire-statues-damaged.html
  50. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-68332824
  51. https://hyperallergic.com/466966/easter-islanders-ask-british-museum-to-return-sacred-statue-offering-replica-in-return/
  52. https://www.shortform.com/blog/repatriating-artifacts/
  53. https://ippr-journal.com/the-need-to-return-hoa-hakananaia-the-repatriation-of-indigenous-artefacts-as-a-human-rights-issue/
  54. https://www.change.org/p/calling-for-the-british-museum-to-return-sacred-moai-hoa-hakananai-a-back-to-his-homeland
  55. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/arts/design/easter-island-british-museum.html
  56. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/feb/18/british-museum-instagram-flooded-calls-return-easter-island-statue
  57. https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/19/style/british-museum-easter-island-statue-scli-intl-gbr
  58. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/43504300_Petrographic_analysis_of_thin-sections_of_samples_from_two_monolithic_statues_MOAI_Rapa_Nui_Easter_Island
  59. https://www.academia.edu/20565389/Petrographic_analysis_of_thin_sections_of_samples_from_two_monolithic_statues_Moai_Rapa_Nui_Easter_Island_
  60. https://moevarua.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Sherwood_et_al_2019_JAS_1-s2.0-S0305440319300809-main.pdf
  61. https://www.reddit.com/r/GrahamHancock/comments/1g61rwd/dating_of_moai_statues/
  62. https://www.eisp.org/489/
  63. https://www.eisp.org/category/archaeology/moai-inventory/
  64. https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/369197/rapa-nui-propose-carving-replica-of-moai-to-swap-with-british-museum
  65. https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/home-news/easter-island-statue-british-museum-return-moai-uk-london-chile-a8636911.html
  66. https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-869877
  67. https://www.anonymousswisscollector.com/2016/01/head-aches-easter-islands-missing-moai.html
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