Easter Island Hats Mystery solved

Hope this link works
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8236349.stm

Uh, nice reporting, BBC.

I have personally visited the quarry where the red scorria pukao (hats or topknots) were carved.

If I knew that the British still considered their origins a mystery, I would have reported it to the BBC in 2000 when I first visited, thereby earning myself some academic credentials.

Only reason I didn't is because it is already in every single one of the freaking tourist guide books, from the remedial on up.

"Dr Colin Richards and Dr Sue Hamilton are the first British archaeologists to work on the island since 1914."

...and apparently they haven't read anything published about the island since 1914.

"An axe was found in pristine condition next to the hats. The scientists think it might be an ancient offering."

No, it is an ancient axe.

Here's some scientific investigation for y'all:
Ancient axes were used to carve ancient statues.
Pretty amazing, no?

Beat me to this posting,

I always read the BBC, much more on Africa there than on CNN or other major news sources, and when I saw this I was going to post a thread.

The Easter Island carvings have always been my favorite Tiki. I will visit the island one day.

Good post,

Brad

"Precisely how and why the hats were attached is unknown." I thought maybe the article was going to answer this. Is it thought the "hats" were added much later than the rest of the statues?

I seem to remember reading about this in Aku-Aku didn't I? The volcanic rock, etc. Maybe the reporter didn't quite get his story right. Or maybe it was a slow news day so he just thought he'd make something up.

How many times I gotta tell ya?
They're not hats, they're Energy Domes

:D

The hats are actually the spaceships used to carry the statues to the island.
They just got stucked, is all.
Fossilized over time.
Thot everyone knew that.

damn, and here I thought that they were stone Fezzes.
:roll:

Jeff(btd)

Hats :lol:.

Even Hollyweird knows that it is supposed to be the Long Ears hair/topnot, see the movie Rapa Nui.
Thor talks about it too in the book Kon-Tiki.