Rock heads of Easter Island have bodies, too

For years, the 887 massive sculpted heads of Easter Island have been considered an enigma. The mystery has literally deepened ever since an excavation started in October 2011 revealed the ancient heads that dot the island are actually full-figured statues, buried up to their necks in soil. Photographs on Thinkbox of the excavation reveal unique carvings hidden on the huge underground bodies and have opened up a fresh discussion of the monoliths online. The layered petroglyph writings, carved into the backs of the massive figures, are composed in a design thought to represent the sun and rainbow. Tuna vertebrae found in the soil at the base of the statues hints that sculptors were paid in food as their descendants, the Rapa Nui, have always claimed. (Starving artists today can empathize.)