In Rapa Nui mythology and archaeology, pukao are the topknots placed on some moai statues.
Pukao are large, hat-like or hair-bun-shaped additions made for some of Rapa Nui’s monumental moai on Easter Island. They were carved from reddish volcanic scoria, a much lighter stone than the gray tuff used for most moai. Their red color and placement may have signaled rank, prestige, or spiritual power.
The pukao were later additions rather than part of the earliest statue designs. Archaeological evidence places their production mainly in the 15th and 16th centuries. They were quarried at Puna Pau, a volcanic crater and quarry on Rapa Nui, then transported to statue sites. Their cylindrical form and marks on some surfaces support theories involving ramps or rolling, although the exact lifting method remains uncertain.
Pukao are sometimes casually called hats, but researchers commonly interpret them as representations of elite men’s tied hair or topknots. They are not the moai themselves, nor are they ahu: an ahu is the ceremonial platform on which statues were erected. Only some moai received these distinctive red additions.