Many questions about the famous moai statues on Easter Island, Chile, have long eluded scholars—from their cultural significance to how they were made and transported. A recent study in the Journal of Archaeological Science by archaeologists Carl Lipo of Binghamton University and Terry Hunt of the University of Arizona poses the theory that the 92-ton statues were transported in a vertical position, with movers using ropes to “walk” the moai across the island and onto their ahu, or platforms. This theory is supported by the oral traditions of the island’s Indigenous Rapa Nui people, which reference the moai “walking” from...