Who built these heads so curiously peeking out of the ground? How did they do it? And why? Plus, what happened to Easter Island’s trees?

The carvers were the Rapa Nui people. They got the rock from Rano Raraku, an extinct volcano. According to National Geographic, the builders of the moai kept their carving strategies secret. People guess the carvers started on the front and sides of a moai. Then they separated the carving from the giant rock piece. Carvers may have put the statues into holes to finish the back sides. They rested some of the moais on stone platforms.

When it comes to the early Rapa Nui people, there’s a lot we don’t know. But we do know some things. We know they likely believed these giant stone statues held the spirits of their ancestors.

The statues remind experts of ones found around Polynesia. They think the statues were built by people in different parts of the world who followed the same made-up religion.

We know the Rapa Nui grew food such as taro and sweet potato. They cleared lots of land, probably for farms. Europeans arrived on Easter Island in the 1700s. By then, the forests were gone.

Around 2,000 native people live on Easter Island today.

Aren’t you glad your spirit won’t have to hang around in a rock statue after you die? Those who know Jesus go to be with Him as soon as they leave their bodies. Do you remember what Jesus said to the thief on the cross?

And He said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” — Luke 23:43