Strand of human hair found inside the figure known as A'a

This strand of hair was found inside the cavity of the figure known as A'a. When viewed using a scanning electron microscope, the distinctive scale patterns seen revealed it to be a human hair.

Polynesians considered the head to be the most sacred part of the body and used human hair to create objects associated with gods and chiefs. This hair may have been incorporated into one of the 24 small gods found inside A'a when he was presented to missionaries in 1821.