Researchers may have solved a mystery of the Easter Island statues

Researchers say they've solved one of the mysteries behind the statues on Easter Island.

A study published in the peer-reviewed journal PLoS One found the Rapa Nui, the ancient people who lived on Easter Island, built the location's iconic monuments near freshwater sources along the coast.

Researchers used quantitative spatial modeling to study the monuments, called moai, and the ahu, the platforms supporting the statues. The study explored how the statues' location related to resources the island's inhabitants might require, such as agricultural gardens.

The results of the study showed access to freshwater and the location of the monuments were "tightly linked together," Carl Lipo, an archaeologist with Binghamton University and one of the study's authors, said in a statement.

"It wasn’t obvious when walking around – with the water emerging at the coast during low tide, one doesn’t necessarily see obvious indications of water," Lipo said in a statement. "But as we started to look at areas around ahu, we found that those locations were exactly tied to spots where the fresh groundwater emerges."

Researchers say they only have freshwater data for the western side of the island, which sits off the coast of Chile. Additional surveying is planned to explore the connection between the statues and the location of fresh water sources.

Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23