Having a human-like appearance was important to the Rapanui, as the moai were used in rituals for the dead and to honour Rapanui chiefs. The Rapanui people believed the world of the living and the dead was continuous, explained Ramirez. "They weren"t content in only symbolically remembering their ancestors – they wanted to have physical images to represent them," she added. "And that"s what the moais statues are. They are the faces of the dead ancestors."