Welcome back, everybody!  I’m Rick Pettigrew with the latest batch of four fascinating news stories from this past week of Archaeologica.  Send us feedback on The Archaeology Channel Facebook page or post a message on our social networking site, ArchaeoSeek!

A new study demonstrates how Easter Islanders actually walked their huge moai statues from the quarry to the ceremonial platforms.  Researchers in Egypt have finally dated the construction of the huge Karnak temple using a chronology based on the shifting channels of the Nile River.  Ritual platforms at an ancient Chinese religious center suggest that ceremonies helped create a shared cultural narrative that assisted the rulers in uniting the country.  And some archaeologists have proposed that psychedelic beer helped rulers in Peru to consolidate power in the ancient Wari Empire.

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And now, here’s Zayne Clayton with the Audio News from Archaeologica!  We hope you find this to be a valuable part of your day!

Welcome to the Audio News from Archaeologica!  I’m Zayne Clayton, in for Laura Kennedy, and these are the headlines in archaeological and historical news for the week of October 5th through the 11th, 2025.

Our first story this week comes from Rapa Nui [RAH-pah NOO-ee], also known as Easter Island, where a new study has used physics and experimental archaeology to confirm that the island’s famous statues actually walked.

As reported by Phys.org, researchers have long debated over how the inhabitants of Rapa Nui moved their enormous moai [MO-eye] statues.  The new study, led by Binghamton University Professor of Anthropology Carl Lipo and Terry Hunt from the University of Arizona, analyzed almost 1,000 statues.  They concluded that people would use rope to walk the statues in a zig-zag fashion along carefully designed roads.

Previously, Lipo and his colleagues have challenged the opposing theory that the moai were moved using wooden devices.  They used experimental evidence to prove that the statues were walked from the quarry to their ceremonial platforms.

The team used an experimental and a physics perspective to prove their hypothesis.  They created 3D models of the moai and identified features that would make it easy for them to use a rocking motion, such as a forward lean and wide, D-shaped bases.  Then, the researchers replicated a 4.35-ton moai.  A team of 18 people was able to move the massive statue 100 meters in only 40 minutes.

The researchers also looked at the roads in Rapa Nui.  They found that the roads were 4.5 meters wide with a concave cross section, making them well-suited to stabilize the rocking motion of the statues.  Inhabitants likely built the roads as they moved statues, working alternately on clearing a path and moving the statue forward. 

According to Lipo, it’s hard to start rocking a statue, but once it’s going, it’s an easy process that conserves energy and moves quickly.  In his estimation, no other compelling explanation exists for moving the moai, and the challenge is on other archaeologists to prove them wrong.  

This study demonstrates how the inhabitants of Rapa Nui were able to achieve monumental feats of engineering with limited resources.  It is published in the Journal of Archaeological Science. 

Next, we go to Egypt, where a new study has dated the famous ancient Karnak Temple to the Old Kingdom Era.  Researchers found that the temple was built around the changing channels of the Nile River.

As reported by Popular Science, researchers have excavated Karnak Temple for decades.  While they have learned plenty about history, religion, politics, and culture, they have not yet been able to confirm the temple’s age.

The new study, led by a team of international researchers, has used analysis of ceramic fragments and geological samples to date the temple.  The proposed date is between 2591 and 2152 BC, during the Old Kingdom period.

Today, Karnak is around 1,700 meters east of the Nile.  However, as centuries pass, rivers change their courses due to large amounts of flowing water, floods, rainfall, and changes in climate.  The researchers investigated how the Nile impacted the landscape and the construction of Karnak.

The team analyzed and dated 61 core samples of sediment, in addition to tens of thousands of ceramic fragments.  They also analyzed the chemical makeup of the core samples. 

According to study co-author Dominic Barker, the river channels around the site of the temple shaped its location, as the edifice was built on silted-up old rivers.  Egyptians began to build Karnak on a high island between channels on the east and west banks of the Nile.  Prior to around 2520 BC, the fast speed and regular flooding of the Nile made construction impossible.  As the landscape changed, more of the temple could be built. 

Based on the course of the Nile, the researchers dated Karnak to the Old Kingdom.  The ceramic shards show a contemporary date between 2305 and 1980 BC.  Other evidence hints that designers would dump sand into the river to create more land.

According to study co-author and geoarchaeologist Ben Pennington, this construction technique might match a creation myth about a god emerging from a lake as higher ground.  The elites might have specifically chosen the location for a new manifestation of the creator god Ra-Amun.

This study shows the importance of the Karnak temple as a representation of ancient Egypt, reflecting both their beliefs and their most important waterway.  The team plans to continue its research by conducting similar floodplain analysis at other archaeological sites, as well as expanding their survey area. 

The study appeared in the journal Antiquity. 

Our third story takes us to Shandong Province in China, where ancient ritual structures indicate that public rituals were essential for creating a shared cultural identity that paved the way to the political unification of China.

As reported by Phys.org, scholars generally trace China’s unification back to the first emperor and founder of the Qin [CHIN] dynasty, Qin Shi Huang [CHIN-shee-HWONG].  After his ascension in 247 BC, he standardized and unified many things, such as measurements.  

According to study co-author and professor Qingzhu Wang [CHING-zhoo WONG] from Shandong University, the emperor’s unification in 221 BC came at the end of a long process of new technologies, investments in infrastructure and the melding of various ideologies.  Unification also came at the end of a process of formulating a shared cultural identity.  Previous research has focused on large-scale developments towards unification, ignoring the impact of public ritual at individual settlements.

To fix this knowledge gap, a team of researchers from Shandong University in China and the Field Museum of Natural History in the US analyzed the excavation at Qianzhongzitou [CHEEAHN-zhong-ZEE-toe] in Shandong Province.  Chinese people developed Qianzhongzitou from a prehistoric village to a sacred ritual center over the course of several centuries. 

The team excavated three platforms of multicolored earth.  One belonged to the Western Zhou [ZHO] period between 1046 and 771 BC, while two dated to the Warring States period from 475 to 221 BC.  The use of earth, combined with multiple inscriptions of the character for earth at one platform, points to likely use for earth worship.

Researchers also discovered food remains and cooking vessels nearby.  This indicates that the platforms served for public ritual gatherings, performances and large feasts.  This would have brought the community together, creating a new identity through shared ritual.

Previous research has found that the Qi [CHEE] State in what i now Shandong Province instituted a state belief system in early China, worshipping the Eight Deities.  It’s likely that the early government incorporated local religious practice, like the platforms, into the state belief system.

This research shows how public ritual spaces were essential for creating a collective cultural identity out of diverse spiritual beliefs.  This shared identity could then help create powerful states. 

The study appeared in the journal Antiquity. 

We end our week in Peru, where a new study indicates that a pre-Inca civilization may have built their empire with the help of parties featuring beer laced with psychedelic drugs.

As reported by Live Science, the Wari [WAHR-ee] thrived from around AD 600 to 1000.  Their power stretched over much of Peru, and some parts of Argentina and Chile.  The Wari built elaborate cities such as Pikillaqta [pee-key-YAK-tah] and Huari [HWAHR-ree].  Scholars recognize them for their human sacrifices, mummified burials and elaborate metallic objects.

Researchers have proposed that Wari rulers used the afterglow effect of psychedelics to consolidate power.  The effects of drinking laced beer would have lasted several weeks, so large community feasts would have tended to bring people together.

According to study co-author Justin Jennings, a curator of South American Archaeology at the Royal Ontario museums, archaeologists have discovered a psychedelic plant known as vilca around Wari sites.  When mixed with beer, it would have had a reduced psychedelic effect that lasted a longer time.

Research into similar psychedelic drugs has determined that it causes more openness and empathy.  These effects would have been valuable for friendly, routine interactions with allies and former enemies.  

Wari officials would use vilca at feasts held in enclosed areas of their homes, where guests were cut off from the rest of the world.  This likely forged strong bonds that would enable empire building.  These bonds were further strengthened by the long-term effects of drinking the beer several times a year and creating a new cognitive normal.

However, many other scholars have expressed doubts about the study conclusions. 

According to Patrick Ryan Williams, director of the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University, the discovery of vilca seeds near where the Wari drank beer does not constitute a conclusive argument.  If researchers had found traces of vilca in cups, that would have made the argument more compelling.  Another archaeologist argues that most Andean societies would use substances like vilca for politics, so the Wari might not be unique. 

The study came out in The Journal of American Archaeology.

That wraps up the news for this week!

For more stories and daily news updates, visit Archaeologica on the World Wide Web at www.archaeologica.org where all the news is history!  Also, be sure to check out our growing subscription platform, Heritage Broadcasting Service, at heritagetac.org!

I’m Zayne Clayton and I’ll see you next week!