The imposing statues that line the coast of Easter Island have been an ... The volcanic stone figures, called moai in the island’s native Polynesian language, are understood to have been carved ...

Paul Trachtman Local artists are reviving the island's traditions. Master wood-carver and island elder Benedicto Tuki works on a moai kavakava figure ... Named Easter Island by the Dutch explorer ...

On average, they stand 13 feet high and weigh 14 tons, human heads-on-torsos carved in the male form from rough hardened volcanic ash. The islanders call them "moai," and they have puzzled ...