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What materials formed the eyes of some Easter Island statues?
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Easter Island
Sculptures cut from volcanic rock, Easter Island.
The iconic stone moai statues of Easter Island featured inlaid eyes that were added only after the monuments were erected on their platforms. These eyes were crafted from white coral and featured a dark stone disk to represent the pupil.1
It is important to distinguish these stone figures from the smaller wooden sculptures created by islanders in more recent times. In those wooden carvings, the eyes were typically indicated by tiny disks of obsidian set into rings made of bird or fish bone.2