Question: why were the statues of easter island built

title: Moai
text: The statues were carved by the Polynesian colonizers of the island , mostly between circa 1250 A.D. and 1500 A.D. In addition to representing deceased ancestors , the moai , once they were erected on ahu , may also have been regarded as the embodiment of powerful living or former chiefs and important lineage status symbols . Each moai presented a status : `` The larger the statue placed upon an ahu , the more mana the chief who commissioned it had . '' The competition for grandest statue was ever prevalent in the culture of the Easter Islanders . The proof stems from the varying sizes of moai . 

Answer: answer: In addition to representing deceased ancestors, the moai may also have been regarded as the embodiment of powerful living or former chiefs and important lineage status symbols. The competition for grandest statue was ever prevalent in the culture of the Easter Islanders.