The statues were carved by different clans/families. This was likely a show of wealth and prestige. Dating of the statues indicates that they became more elaborate with time as if the clans were competing with each other.
The statues are known as Moai and were carved between 1100 and 1680
Stone carved statues
The statues on Easter Island are called moai. They are large stone figures that were built by the Rapa Nui people between the 13th and 16th centuries.
The most widely-accepted theory is that the statues were carved by the Polynesian colonizers of the island beginning by about A.D. 1000-1100. Source: Crystallinks
The statues are from Easter Island. They are called Moai and are carved from a rock made of compressed volanic ash known as Tuff. They were carved in the quarries of Rano Raraku along the coast and transported to various areas across the Island.
The Island is called "Rapanui". The statues are called "Moai".
Polynesian colonizers of the island first carved the head statues in between circa 1250 and 1500 AD (CE).
In Egypt carved into the walls of tombs, pyramids and on obelisks and statues.
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Carved stone.
The stone statues, called moai, were carved centuries ago by the earliest inhabitants of Rapa Nui. It is believed that the massive statues were rolled across the island on logs and stood up on mounds of dirt.
Moai are from Easter Island which is more than 2,000 miles west of Chile.