Moai is the name commonly given to the giant stone statues of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island.
The Rapa Nui people carved most moai between about 1250 and 1500 CE. The statues were made mainly from volcanic tuff quarried at Rano Raraku, a volcanic crater on the island. They represented important ancestors and were generally placed on ceremonial platforms called ahu.
Many moai have oversized heads, reflecting a Polynesian artistic tradition in which the head was associated with spiritual power. Some statues also had red-stone topknots called pukao. The figures varied greatly in size, and the largest unfinished statue at Rano Raraku would have been far larger than those successfully moved.
Rapa Nui lies in the southeastern Pacific Ocean and is part of Chile. The statues are not usually called Easter Island heads: many have bodies buried or partly obscured by accumulated soil.