The moai of one of the most remote inhabited islands on Earth.
Polynesian voyagers settled Rapa Nui and carved the moai — monumental figures representing ancestors — mostly from the volcanic tuff of the Rano Raraku quarry. Many stood on stone platforms (ahu) facing inland, watching over their communities.
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Ethiopia · late 12th – early 13th c. CE
Medieval churches cut from the living rock, still used for worship today.
Zimbabwe · c. 11th–15th c. CE
Massive mortar-free stone enclosures at the heart of a trading kingdom linked to the Indian Ocean.
Cambodia · early 12th c. CE
The largest religious monument on Earth, built as a map of the Hindu cosmos.
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