<P> Easter Island statues are known for their large, broad noses and strong chins, along with rectangle - shaped ears and deep eye slits . Their bodies are normally squatting, with their arms resting in different positions and are without legs . The majority of the ahu are found along the coast and face inland towards the community . There are some inland ahu such as Ahu Akivi . These moai face the community but given the small size of the island, also appear to face the coast . </P> <P> In 1979, Sergio Rapu Haoa and a team of archaeologists discovered that the hemispherical or deep elliptical eye sockets were designed to hold coral eyes with either black obsidian or red scoria pupils . The discovery was made by collecting and reassembling broken fragments of white coral that were found at the various sites . Subsequently, previously uncategorized finds in the Easter Island museum were re-examined and recategorized as eye fragments . It is thought that the moai with carved eye sockets were probably allocated to the ahu and ceremonial sites, suggesting that a selective Rapa Nui hierarchy was attributed to the moai design until its demise with the advent of the Birdman religion, Tangata Manu . </P> <P> Many archaeologists suggest that "(the) statues were thus symbols of authority and power, both religious and political . But they were not only symbols . To the people who erected and used them, they were actual repositories of sacred spirit . Carved stone and wooden objects in ancient Polynesian religions, when properly fashioned and ritually prepared, were believed to be charged by a magical spiritual essence called mana ." Archaeologists believe that the statues were a representation of the ancient Polynesians' ancestors . The moai statues face away from the ocean and towards the villages as if to watch over the people . The exception is the seven Ahu Akivi which face out to sea to help travelers find the island . There is a legend that says there were seven men who waited for their king to arrive . </P> <P> The more recent moai had pukao on their heads, which represent the topknot of the chieftains . According to local tradition, the mana was preserved in the hair . The pukao were carved out of red scoria, a very light rock from a quarry at Puna Pau . Red itself is considered a sacred color in Polynesia . The added pukao suggest a further status to the moai . </P>

What was the purpose of the easter island statues