Something Strange May Have Been Discovered By Archaeologists On Easter Island

Marking To Reassert Self

As we mentioned, Van Tilburg speculated that each mark on the Maoi was a designated family group that the carver belonged to and marked. She elaborated on the possible reasoning for the carvings, “Over time, it seems, more of these canoes were etched onto the statue in a constant repetition of identity reasserting who they were. As the community lost a sense of identity over time, perhaps they wanted to mark these statues as their own.”

Marking To Reassert Self