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00:00:01,166 --> 00:00:03,200
♪ ♪

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♪ ♪

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NARRATOR:
Rapa Nui.

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00:00:10,366 --> 00:00:13,233
Also known as Easter Island.

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00:00:13,233 --> 00:00:18,000
This tiny little island in the
South Pacific is world-famous

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for one thing.

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The moai.

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00:00:22,633 --> 00:00:24,733
Moais are incredible.

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00:00:24,733 --> 00:00:27,766
The moai is the first part
that people see.

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00:00:27,766 --> 00:00:30,633
NARRATOR:
These enigmatic stone giants

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00:00:30,633 --> 00:00:33,766
stand like sentinels
all around the island.

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00:00:33,766 --> 00:00:35,666
But what was their purpose?

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And why have so many fallen?

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It is easy to imagine
that this is the scene

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of some catastrophe
where things fell apart.

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NARRATOR:
For centuries,

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Western researchers
have studied the moai,

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00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:53,400
trying to answer
these questions,

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00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:56,100
and they've come up
with their own theories.

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But now, new research
that looks beyond the moai

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is challenging those views.

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TERRY HUNT:
In all the evidence that we saw,

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we were seeing signs
of sustainability.

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There was really
no evidence of collapse.

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NARRATOR:
And Rapa Nui experts
are reclaiming their heritage.

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HETEREKI HUKE:
For you, this can be an ancient,
abandoned village.

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For me, it's the place
where my family used to live.

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NARRATOR:
Genetics is
revealing surprising clues

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about the origins of
the island's earliest settlers.

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ALEX IOANNIDIS:
When we first saw this,

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we thought maybe we did
something wrong.

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NARRATOR:
From their incredible
engineering

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to their beautiful
and unique writing...

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HUKE: Some people say
that they contain legends.

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NARRATOR:
...the real story of Rapa Nui

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is finally coming to light.

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"Easter Island Origins."

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Right now, on "NOVA."

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♪ ♪

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♪ ♪

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NARRATOR:
Most visitors come all the way
to Easter Island

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because of these
stone statues: the moai.

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HUKE:
Moais--

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they are amazing
and they're outstanding.

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And they are unique.

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♪ ♪

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NARRATOR:
Constructed between 1300
and some time after the 1700s,

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there are more than 1,000
of these giant carved figures

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scattered across the landscape.

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Cut from volcanic rock,

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some are more than 30 feet high.

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Over time,

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all of the moai
have fallen down.

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The 50 or so that are
upright today

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were put back up
in recent decades.

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With their backs to the sea,

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they stare impassively into
the island, arms held rigidly

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by their sides.

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Some stand on ceremonial
platforms known as ahu.

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Others are sunk into the earth.

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But for the people
who live on Rapa Nui,

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Easter Island's true name,
the moai are just the beginning.

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HETEREKI HUKE:
Moais are incredible.

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But Rapa Nui is so
much more than that.

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And its archaeology is so
much richer than just moais.

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The moai is the first
part that people see,

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but behind the moais
there is a big history.

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(translated):
Everywhere you walk,

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you can find the remains
of the past.

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And that's why for us
everything is always important,

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not just the moai.

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(translated):
Our connection with each of

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the archaeological sites has a
direct connection with family.

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It's not a legend,
it's not a myth,

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it's not a made-up story

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or something discovered
by archaeologists.

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It is something that belongs
to us.

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♪ ♪

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NARRATOR:
One archaeologist who believes
the story of Rapa Nui

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encompasses more than
just the moai

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is Sonia Haoa Cardinali.

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Born on Rapa Nui 70 years ago,

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00:04:17,533 --> 00:04:20,233
she has dedicated her entire
life to the history

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00:04:20,233 --> 00:04:22,933
and anthropology of the island.

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00:04:22,933 --> 00:04:24,900
SONIA HAOA CARDINALI:
I feel sorry

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00:04:24,900 --> 00:04:28,633
when they just
talking about the moai.

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70 percent of the island
is surveyed,

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more than 25,000
archaeological site.

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So that's means not only
the sites,

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it's mean also how people live,

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whats they do,
the family, and everything.

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NARRATOR:
Sonia wants to understand more
about the moai,

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but she
and other Rapanui islanders

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see them as only
part of the puzzle.

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There are
bigger questions to ask.

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Who are the ancestors
of the Rapanui people?

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Where did they come from?

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00:05:05,900 --> 00:05:08,400
And how did they survive
and thrive in this remote

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00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:10,233
and hostile land?

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♪ ♪

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00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:14,266
(birds chirping)

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The island
of Rapa Nui stands alone.

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♪ ♪

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The easternmost inhabited rock
of the Polynesian island chains,

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it lies approximately
2,000 miles

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from the Tuamotu Archipelago
of French Polynesia in the west,

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and Chile in the east,

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4,500 miles from Hawaii.

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Only 14 miles long
by seven miles wide,

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today most of the roughly
8,000 inhabitants live beneath

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an extinct volcano on the
western corner of the island.

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♪ ♪

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First encountered by the Dutch
in 1722,

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it was claimed by the Spanish
nearly 50 years later;

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then annexed by Chile in 1888.

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But when the original Rapanui
people first came to this land,

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and where from,
remains hotly debated.

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The general consensus is that
the first people to settle here

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were sailors from
other Polynesian islands,

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migrating east
sometime around 1200 CE.

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We are Polynesians.

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Our life was the canoe,
and our territory was the ocean.

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Polynesians, we were populating

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and colonizing
islands across the Pacific.

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♪ ♪

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NARRATOR:
That belief forms
the heart of Rapanui identity,

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cherished by
Elders like Carlos Edmunds.

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(translated):
In ancient legends it is said

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that in the month of October,

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the Rapanui went out to sail

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their boats to new lands.

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(translated): I am not surprised
by anything,

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we're great sailors and that is

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how we arrived to the island.

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NARRATOR:
It is the bedrock
of Rapanui oral tradition.

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HUKE:
There's knowledge in the
old people, in the oral history.

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Behind every legend,
there's knowledge there.

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NARRATOR:
Legends handed down
from generation to generation

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00:07:15,833 --> 00:07:18,966
tell how and why their ancestors
came to this land.

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00:07:18,966 --> 00:07:23,133
They are retold even
today by Rapanui performers

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dedicated to keeping
the old traditions alive.

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00:07:26,633 --> 00:07:29,066
(man speaking Rapanui)

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STORYTELLER (translated):
Haumaka went into a spirit dream

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looking for a new land
for the king,

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till he found the navel
of the world.

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(speaking Rapanui)

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(translated):
He tells the dream to the king,
who summons seven scouts

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and sends them in the direction
of the dream.

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To find and explore the island.

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00:07:49,266 --> 00:07:53,600
(man speaking Rapanui)

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(translated):
Hotu Matu'a and his wife follow
in a ship called Haua Iki Nui.

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(speaking Rapanui)

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00:08:00,333 --> 00:08:03,066
(translated):
The scouts call down to him
saying, "Turn back!

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00:08:03,066 --> 00:08:05,466
"Turn back! This is a bad land.

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00:08:05,466 --> 00:08:10,066
The weather changes all the time
and our crops cannot grow here."

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00:08:10,066 --> 00:08:12,466
Hotu Matu'a replies,

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00:08:12,466 --> 00:08:14,866
"We came from a bad land

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00:08:14,866 --> 00:08:18,133
"where the ocean kills
the people with great waves.

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Let's make this
a good land for our people."

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00:08:22,366 --> 00:08:24,733
(speaking Rapanui)

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That is the base
of all our history.

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Fortunately today,

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science and scientists
are helping us

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to show how
oral tradition was the first,

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the most, and the real history.

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NARRATOR:
That oral tradition reflects
a deep and fundamental truth.

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For settlers migrating
from the warm, tropical islands

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of Western Polynesia,

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00:08:50,166 --> 00:08:52,566
this windswept lump
of inactive volcanoes

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00:08:52,566 --> 00:08:54,933
in the southeastern Pacific
was a "bad land"

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00:08:54,933 --> 00:08:57,500
where their crops
could not grow.

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00:09:00,466 --> 00:09:02,933
Rapa Nui is a subtropical
island.

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00:09:02,933 --> 00:09:06,233
So there's a big
difference in climate

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00:09:06,233 --> 00:09:08,800
to the tropical islands,
for example,

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of French Polynesia.

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The problem was that some
of those tropical species

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00:09:15,433 --> 00:09:17,666
just didn't grow
and didn't take.

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NARRATOR:
Because it's colder here,
the first settlers of Rapa Nui,

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00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:22,800
traveling from
the Polynesian tropics,

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00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:27,333
would have struggled to grow any
plants they'd brought with them.

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♪ ♪

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One man who is fascinated
by how those settlers survived

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00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:35,533
on this "bad land" is
Hetereki Huke.

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You know what, there's not that
much material...

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NARRATOR:
An architect by trade,
Hete started an office

186
00:09:41,133 --> 00:09:44,566
in 2014 to record
Rapa Nui's heritage

187
00:09:44,566 --> 00:09:46,700
through the archaeological
record.

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00:09:46,700 --> 00:09:48,433
At that moment,
there were not many

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00:09:48,433 --> 00:09:50,133
young researchers in Rapa Nui.

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00:09:50,133 --> 00:09:51,800
They're releasing the...
(indistinct chatter)

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00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:55,666
NARRATOR:
So Hete turned to Terry Hunt

192
00:09:55,666 --> 00:09:58,066
and Carl Lipo from the U.S.A.

193
00:09:58,066 --> 00:10:00,500
HUKE:
We have been collaborating

194
00:10:00,500 --> 00:10:02,466
with Carl and Terry
for a long time,

195
00:10:02,466 --> 00:10:04,433
and we have done
so many things together.

196
00:10:04,433 --> 00:10:05,933
They were a great support

197
00:10:05,933 --> 00:10:08,600
during these fieldworks.

198
00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:11,300
And that was amazing,
because with Carl and Terry

199
00:10:11,300 --> 00:10:14,433
we could map the rocks
and at the same time,

200
00:10:14,433 --> 00:10:16,366
we could have the legend
behind them.

201
00:10:16,366 --> 00:10:18,966
And that, that is just
beautiful.

202
00:10:18,966 --> 00:10:22,766
NARRATOR:
One of the sites they studied
was Ahu Tepeu,

203
00:10:22,766 --> 00:10:26,366
which lies on the northwestern
coast of the island

204
00:10:26,366 --> 00:10:30,600
and was a typical ancient
Rapanui settlement.

205
00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:32,666
Central to its layout
is the ahu,

206
00:10:32,666 --> 00:10:35,733
a raised stone platform.

207
00:10:35,733 --> 00:10:39,000
At Ahu Tepeu,
there are five of these.

208
00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:42,533
HUKE:
Some of them with moais,
and some others without.

209
00:10:42,533 --> 00:10:46,533
NARRATOR:
Fanning out from the ahu
are the houses, chicken coops

210
00:10:46,533 --> 00:10:50,133
and walled gardens
known as manavai.

211
00:10:50,133 --> 00:10:54,500
And behind the houses lie the
fields that fed the community.

212
00:10:56,333 --> 00:10:59,500
HUKE:
For you, this this can be an
ancient, abandoned village.

213
00:10:59,500 --> 00:11:01,900
For me, it's the place
where my family used to live,

214
00:11:01,900 --> 00:11:04,100
and they still are here.

215
00:11:04,100 --> 00:11:06,100
This place is quite alive
for us.

216
00:11:06,100 --> 00:11:08,500
So the approach
of a Rapanui researcher,

217
00:11:08,500 --> 00:11:10,400
or any Pacific researcher,

218
00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:16,000
would be dramatically different
from a Western researcher.

219
00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:18,600
NARRATOR:
Rapanui and Western researchers
agree

220
00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:21,800
that the ancient
settlers were Polynesian--

221
00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:24,333
but where did those
Pacific Islanders come from?

222
00:11:24,333 --> 00:11:27,133
Some previous research
suggested that they came

223
00:11:27,133 --> 00:11:29,233
from the islands of East Asia.

224
00:11:29,233 --> 00:11:31,833
But in 1947,

225
00:11:31,833 --> 00:11:34,533
a Norwegian explorer named
Thor Heyerdahl

226
00:11:34,533 --> 00:11:37,733
launched an expedition called
Kon-Tiki,

227
00:11:37,733 --> 00:11:39,633
intended to prove a drastically
different view

228
00:11:39,633 --> 00:11:41,966
of where
the Polynesians originated.

229
00:11:41,966 --> 00:11:43,700
(man speaking French)

230
00:11:43,700 --> 00:11:46,100
(translated):
Thor Heyerdahl proposed the idea

231
00:11:46,100 --> 00:11:47,600
that the Polynesians actually

232
00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:50,166
originated in South America.

233
00:11:50,166 --> 00:11:52,966
To demonstrate this,
he managed to build a boat,

234
00:11:52,966 --> 00:11:55,500
or raft, made of balsa,

235
00:11:55,500 --> 00:11:57,100
a South American wood.

236
00:11:57,100 --> 00:11:59,466
He made the crossing
on this raft in a few weeks,

237
00:11:59,466 --> 00:12:01,866
landing on
the Tuamotu Archipelago,

238
00:12:01,866 --> 00:12:05,033
which is now
in French Polynesia.

239
00:12:06,866 --> 00:12:09,633
NARRATOR:
His theory on South American
origins

240
00:12:09,633 --> 00:12:12,566
flew in the face of
known linguistic evidence.

241
00:12:12,566 --> 00:12:15,066
So Heyerdahl followed
this up with a series

242
00:12:15,066 --> 00:12:17,966
of archaeological
expeditions to Rapa Nui.

243
00:12:17,966 --> 00:12:21,233
But despite years
of investigating the island,

244
00:12:21,233 --> 00:12:25,033
he could never prove a definite
link to South America.

245
00:12:25,033 --> 00:12:27,200
One Rapa Nui archaeologist
who worked with him

246
00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:30,200
was Sonia Haoa Cardinali.

247
00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:32,233
CARDINALI:
I worked with Thor Heyerdahl

248
00:12:32,233 --> 00:12:35,166
for almost ten years

249
00:12:35,166 --> 00:12:39,866
and for me it's an honor
to work with him.

250
00:12:39,866 --> 00:12:45,166
No matter how we think
about his theory,

251
00:12:45,166 --> 00:12:50,900
never forget that
he's the one of the person

252
00:12:50,900 --> 00:12:53,566
put Rapa Nui in the map.

253
00:12:53,566 --> 00:12:55,500
NARRATOR:
In Heyerdahl's day,

254
00:12:55,500 --> 00:12:58,200
experimental archaeology seemed
the only way

255
00:12:58,200 --> 00:12:59,833
to explore possible links

256
00:12:59,833 --> 00:13:03,033
between Polynesia
and South America.

257
00:13:03,033 --> 00:13:06,500
But today we can use DNA--
which is a powerful tool

258
00:13:06,500 --> 00:13:09,833
for tracing human ancestry.

259
00:13:09,833 --> 00:13:12,033
So did the original
settlers of Rapa Nui

260
00:13:12,033 --> 00:13:14,200
have links with South America?

261
00:13:15,366 --> 00:13:18,033
One geneticist who set
out to answer that question

262
00:13:18,033 --> 00:13:20,833
was Andrés Moreno Estrada.

263
00:13:20,833 --> 00:13:23,066
ANDRES MORENO ESTRADA:
Genetics can be a powerful tool

264
00:13:23,066 --> 00:13:27,066
to answer this big question
about whether

265
00:13:27,066 --> 00:13:29,400
the Rapanui people made contact
or not

266
00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:31,566
with Native Americans in
pre-history,

267
00:13:31,566 --> 00:13:35,233
which has been a debate
that has been on for decades.

268
00:13:36,900 --> 00:13:40,366
NARRATOR:
Andres put together
an international team,

269
00:13:40,366 --> 00:13:43,033
including researchers
from Hawaii and Rapa Nui,

270
00:13:43,033 --> 00:13:46,433
to study the DNA of
the people of Polynesia.

271
00:13:47,533 --> 00:13:49,100
And they reached out
to the community

272
00:13:49,100 --> 00:13:52,033
to gain the support
of Rapa Nui's elders.

273
00:13:53,766 --> 00:13:55,233
ESTRADA:
Community engagement
is really

274
00:13:55,233 --> 00:13:57,900
the essence of all
these approaches.

275
00:13:57,900 --> 00:13:59,566
When you study
human genetic diversity,

276
00:13:59,566 --> 00:14:01,200
it's all about humans, really.

277
00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:04,266
It's a voluntary participation,
so it's really key

278
00:14:04,266 --> 00:14:06,366
to talk
with the community beforehand.

279
00:14:06,366 --> 00:14:08,700
And as we carry out
the research as well,

280
00:14:08,700 --> 00:14:11,600
keep them informed
about the results of the study.

281
00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:14,366
NARRATOR:
Collaborating with Andrés

282
00:14:14,366 --> 00:14:17,900
is genetic data analyst
Alex Ioannidis.

283
00:14:17,900 --> 00:14:21,633
IOANNIDIS:
What I really love about
genetics is it's essentially

284
00:14:21,633 --> 00:14:24,433
about participation
with the people

285
00:14:24,433 --> 00:14:25,966
whose story you're telling.

286
00:14:25,966 --> 00:14:28,700
It's their sample
that's telling the story.

287
00:14:28,700 --> 00:14:32,800
NARRATOR:
Stories like Bianca's-- the
daughter of a Chilean father--

288
00:14:32,800 --> 00:14:35,200
who moved back
from mainland Chile

289
00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:39,366
and wanted to know if what her
mother had told her was true.

290
00:14:39,366 --> 00:14:43,400
(translated): When I arrived
here on the island,

291
00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:45,766
everyone told me I was Chilean.

292
00:14:45,766 --> 00:14:47,966
I was a mongrel.

293
00:14:47,966 --> 00:14:50,300
So that's why I did the study,

294
00:14:50,300 --> 00:14:53,233
because my mother
taught us our genealogy.

295
00:14:54,300 --> 00:14:56,800
CARLOS EDMUNDS:
(speaking Rapanui)

296
00:14:56,800 --> 00:14:58,133
(translated): I am happy that

297
00:14:58,133 --> 00:14:59,366
Andrés came to do this work

298
00:14:59,366 --> 00:15:01,100
about the blood of the Rapanui,

299
00:15:01,100 --> 00:15:03,533
where we descend from,

300
00:15:03,533 --> 00:15:05,633
so that the Rapanui know

301
00:15:05,633 --> 00:15:08,266
where their current
ancestors are from.

302
00:15:10,433 --> 00:15:15,333
TUKI (translated):
Andrés suggested we do the study
to know

303
00:15:15,333 --> 00:15:20,866
if we really have ancestry
from Polynesia.

304
00:15:20,866 --> 00:15:23,700
PONT IKA (translated):
It's absolutely important,

305
00:15:23,700 --> 00:15:26,233
since our ancestors know

306
00:15:26,233 --> 00:15:28,266
they are Polynesian,

307
00:15:28,266 --> 00:15:30,700
but if there is a study
that confirms it,

308
00:15:30,700 --> 00:15:33,700
it's even more important.

309
00:15:35,733 --> 00:15:38,466
♪ ♪

310
00:15:38,466 --> 00:15:41,266
NARRATOR: An individual's DNA
is contained within

311
00:15:41,266 --> 00:15:45,233
23 pairs of chromosomes,
known as a genome.

312
00:15:45,233 --> 00:15:47,766
IOANNIDIS:
And that's your genetic
fingerprint.

313
00:15:47,766 --> 00:15:50,466
NARRATOR:
When they began their research,
Andres and his colleagues

314
00:15:50,466 --> 00:15:52,033
were expecting the Rapanui
fingerprint

315
00:15:52,033 --> 00:15:53,766
to contain markers showing

316
00:15:53,766 --> 00:15:58,066
mostly Polynesian,
Spanish, and Chilean ancestry,

317
00:15:58,066 --> 00:15:59,900
since these were the main
colonists of the island

318
00:15:59,900 --> 00:16:02,133
in the last 250 years.

319
00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:04,966
To extract the DNA,

320
00:16:04,966 --> 00:16:06,766
they take swabs from their
volunteers in the field,

321
00:16:06,766 --> 00:16:09,033
then take it back to the lab

322
00:16:09,033 --> 00:16:12,366
in cold storage, for analysis.

323
00:16:12,366 --> 00:16:16,633
MORENO-ESTRADA:
DNA samples are loaded into a
sequencer so that we can get

324
00:16:16,633 --> 00:16:19,300
the pieces of DNA that make up

325
00:16:19,300 --> 00:16:21,233
the whole genome
of that individual.

326
00:16:21,233 --> 00:16:23,566
NARRATOR:
This allows the researchers

327
00:16:23,566 --> 00:16:25,700
to identify specific chains
of DNA

328
00:16:25,700 --> 00:16:28,800
that can be attributed
to certain groups.

329
00:16:31,133 --> 00:16:32,866
Red denotes Spanish ancestry;

330
00:16:32,866 --> 00:16:37,433
blue, Polynesian;
green, Chilean...

331
00:16:37,433 --> 00:16:41,633
and yellow, other European.

332
00:16:41,633 --> 00:16:43,166
MORENO-ESTRADA:
The process is very rewarding

333
00:16:43,166 --> 00:16:45,600
because participants are very
interested in knowing about

334
00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:47,400
their own genetic origins.

335
00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:48,866
And when they see
they actually they have

336
00:16:48,866 --> 00:16:51,100
retained a lot of
the Polynesian roots

337
00:16:51,100 --> 00:16:53,233
in their DNA,
it's something that helps them

338
00:16:53,233 --> 00:16:56,666
to basically value
and identify their own lineages.

339
00:16:57,833 --> 00:16:59,200
NARRATOR:
Most of the results

340
00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:01,033
helped confirm the islanders'
beliefs

341
00:17:01,033 --> 00:17:03,733
about their Polynesian origins

342
00:17:03,733 --> 00:17:06,200
mixed with
more recent colonists.

343
00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:08,033
ALVARO ATON:
I just found out the results.

344
00:17:08,033 --> 00:17:12,600
I'm so mixed;
my mom is from Chile

345
00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:15,933
and from England, and Scotland.

346
00:17:15,933 --> 00:17:18,500
And my father is an islander,

347
00:17:18,500 --> 00:17:23,000
but he's also mixed
with French and other people.

348
00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,833
So it's very interesting
to know where you come from.

349
00:17:26,833 --> 00:17:30,200
(speaking Spanish)

350
00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:33,200
(translated):
I'm very, very, very happy.

351
00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:35,966
Because this is my
mother's story,

352
00:17:35,966 --> 00:17:39,733
and this study from Andrés
proved it scientifically.

353
00:17:39,733 --> 00:17:43,033
But my mother already said it
a long, long, long time ago,

354
00:17:43,033 --> 00:17:45,466
since I was born.

355
00:17:48,700 --> 00:17:51,900
NARRATOR:
They did, however,
find some pieces of DNA

356
00:17:51,900 --> 00:17:53,466
that they didn't expect.

357
00:17:53,466 --> 00:17:55,633
IOANNIDIS:
When we first saw this,

358
00:17:55,633 --> 00:17:58,433
we were really surprised,
and so we thought

359
00:17:58,433 --> 00:18:00,533
maybe we did something wrong.

360
00:18:00,533 --> 00:18:02,600
MORENO-ESTRADA:
We thought, "Well,
let's double check this."

361
00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:05,400
NARRATOR:
These pieces of DNA
seemed to have their origins

362
00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:07,066
in South America.

363
00:18:07,066 --> 00:18:11,233
But when they tried to pinpoint
the source, they got a surprise.

364
00:18:11,233 --> 00:18:13,466
They were quite different
from the more modern

365
00:18:13,466 --> 00:18:15,900
Chilean ancestry found
in some volunteers.

366
00:18:15,900 --> 00:18:18,466
We compared it to a panel
of indigenous groups

367
00:18:18,466 --> 00:18:21,200
from across the entire Pacific
coast of South America

368
00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:23,300
and the closest
match was the Zenú group.

369
00:18:23,300 --> 00:18:25,800
♪ ♪

370
00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:27,900
NARRATOR:
The Zenú are a Native American
people

371
00:18:27,900 --> 00:18:29,833
who occupied the coast of
Colombia,

372
00:18:29,833 --> 00:18:34,733
long before Chile
annexed Rapa Nui in 1888.

373
00:18:34,733 --> 00:18:37,233
How could their genetic markers
wind up

374
00:18:37,233 --> 00:18:39,900
in the DNA of modern
Polynesians?

375
00:18:39,900 --> 00:18:43,066
And how many
generations back did they go?

376
00:18:43,066 --> 00:18:46,233
Because each parent
only hands down

377
00:18:46,233 --> 00:18:48,066
half of its DNA to the next,

378
00:18:48,066 --> 00:18:51,200
Alex was able to figure out
when that piece

379
00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:52,800
of pre-Colombian DNA
had been incorporated

380
00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:54,066
into Polynesian chromosomes,

381
00:18:54,066 --> 00:18:56,000
by measuring its length.

382
00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:57,200
IOANNIDIS:
We can actually look

383
00:18:57,200 --> 00:18:59,000
at the length of those
individual pieces

384
00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:01,333
and figure out how many
generations ago

385
00:19:01,333 --> 00:19:02,833
this combination
of Native Americans

386
00:19:02,833 --> 00:19:04,600
and Polynesians took place.

387
00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:09,100
NARRATOR:
The date they came up with was
much earlier than they expected.

388
00:19:09,100 --> 00:19:12,066
IOANNIDIS:
We saw very small pieces
indicating

389
00:19:12,066 --> 00:19:14,266
that this ancestry
from the coast of Colombia

390
00:19:14,266 --> 00:19:16,100
entered Rapa Nui
a long time ago,

391
00:19:16,100 --> 00:19:18,266
actually in a period
around what we would call

392
00:19:18,266 --> 00:19:22,333
the European Middle Ages,
around 1200 A.D.

393
00:19:22,333 --> 00:19:25,366
NARRATOR:
What's more,
the same identical DNA segments

394
00:19:25,366 --> 00:19:28,866
were often seen in volunteers
from different islands.

395
00:19:28,866 --> 00:19:32,100
IOANNIDIS:
Which means that these segments
came from the same ancestors.

396
00:19:32,100 --> 00:19:34,566
And since they came from
the same ancestors,

397
00:19:34,566 --> 00:19:37,300
we think that this means there
was a single contact event

398
00:19:37,300 --> 00:19:39,900
between indigenous Americans
from the coast of Colombia

399
00:19:39,900 --> 00:19:41,766
and Polynesians.

400
00:19:41,766 --> 00:19:45,133
MORENO-ESTRADA:
This means that a group
of Polynesians met, somewhere,

401
00:19:45,133 --> 00:19:47,066
with Native Americans,
had descendants,

402
00:19:47,066 --> 00:19:49,633
and more likely,
this never happened again.

403
00:19:50,700 --> 00:19:54,166
NARRATOR:
By looking at the DNA of people
on other Polynesian islands,

404
00:19:54,166 --> 00:19:56,633
the team traced the tell-tale
genetic markers

405
00:19:56,633 --> 00:20:00,066
back to the Marquesas
and Tuamotu Isles.

406
00:20:00,066 --> 00:20:03,133
And were also able to plot
a timeline of migration

407
00:20:03,133 --> 00:20:07,366
across Eastern Polynesia
to Rapa Nui from around 1100.

408
00:20:07,366 --> 00:20:09,366
IOANNIDIS:
Polynesian migrations spread
east

409
00:20:09,366 --> 00:20:12,900
into Tuamotu Archipelago
up to the Marquesas

410
00:20:12,900 --> 00:20:15,200
and all the way down
to Mangareva,

411
00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:19,933
and from there all the way out
to Rapa Nui around 1200.

412
00:20:22,900 --> 00:20:24,766
NARRATOR:
Looking closely at
these particular islands,

413
00:20:24,766 --> 00:20:27,566
there's something else they all
have in common--

414
00:20:27,566 --> 00:20:30,300
something much bigger than DNA.

415
00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:34,400
IOANNIDIS:
Most of these islands--
the Marquesas,

416
00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:36,266
Rapa Nui, and Raivavae,

417
00:20:36,266 --> 00:20:40,266
have these very large stone
statues on them.

418
00:20:40,266 --> 00:20:43,133
Where the idea of creating
large stone statues comes from,

419
00:20:43,133 --> 00:20:44,133
we can't say,

420
00:20:44,133 --> 00:20:46,200
and we can't say for sure

421
00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:48,533
if these islands developed
the idea independently,

422
00:20:48,533 --> 00:20:51,166
but the fact that they're all
existing together

423
00:20:51,166 --> 00:20:53,133
in the same genetic cluster
suggested to us

424
00:20:53,133 --> 00:20:55,266
that this culture
was developed once

425
00:20:55,266 --> 00:20:57,566
and spread to all these islands.

426
00:20:59,266 --> 00:21:02,000
NARRATOR:
Sonia believes
that even if this culture

427
00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:03,733
developed within
the Polynesian islands,

428
00:21:03,733 --> 00:21:06,033
there was also some
influence from South America.

429
00:21:06,033 --> 00:21:10,133
And behind the spectacular
Ahu of Tongariki,

430
00:21:10,133 --> 00:21:14,000
she believes she has the
evidence to back up her hunch.

431
00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:17,933
We see there
very good evidence

432
00:21:17,933 --> 00:21:20,300
of influence of South America.

433
00:21:20,300 --> 00:21:22,833
NARRATOR:
This single broken moai

434
00:21:22,833 --> 00:21:26,533
has its hands across its body
in a style that can be found

435
00:21:26,533 --> 00:21:29,533
in ancient Colombia.

436
00:21:29,533 --> 00:21:31,233
♪ ♪

437
00:21:31,233 --> 00:21:33,433
CARDINALI:
If you compare
with the South America,

438
00:21:33,433 --> 00:21:35,366
it's the same.

439
00:21:35,366 --> 00:21:41,400
The hands and the description
of the arms, the body.

440
00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:43,600
it's completely the same.

441
00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:47,133
There is no doubt
the influence of South America.

442
00:21:47,133 --> 00:21:51,100
In here, we have
the structural evidence.

443
00:21:51,100 --> 00:21:56,133
I cannot lie you, that is,
that is look like a moai normal.

444
00:21:56,133 --> 00:21:58,500
No. (chuckles)

445
00:21:58,500 --> 00:22:01,200
No, maybe if I am blind, yes.

446
00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:03,700
But, it's there.

447
00:22:03,700 --> 00:22:06,900
NARRATOR:
But this is the only
moai on the island

448
00:22:06,900 --> 00:22:08,866
with arms across its body.

449
00:22:08,866 --> 00:22:11,233
All others have
their arms by their sides.

450
00:22:13,533 --> 00:22:15,433
So it cannot prove
that the template

451
00:22:15,433 --> 00:22:17,166
for carving statues

452
00:22:17,166 --> 00:22:20,733
in stone came
from ancient Colombia,

453
00:22:20,733 --> 00:22:23,700
though the DNA suggests some
ancient, albeit isolated, link.

454
00:22:26,033 --> 00:22:30,733
What is provable is
where the moai were created.

455
00:22:30,733 --> 00:22:33,366
Almost all of the statues
scattered around the island

456
00:22:33,366 --> 00:22:36,566
were carved from the volcanic
rock of Rano Raraku.

457
00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:40,266
And on the slopes
of its massive crater,

458
00:22:40,266 --> 00:22:44,033
about 400 statues can still
be found

459
00:22:44,033 --> 00:22:46,266
in various states of completion.

460
00:22:48,666 --> 00:22:50,766
High up on these slopes,

461
00:22:50,766 --> 00:22:53,133
Carl and Terry can see evidence
of the skill

462
00:22:53,133 --> 00:22:56,366
and ingenuity
of the Rapanui stonemasons.

463
00:22:57,366 --> 00:22:59,733
TERRY HUNT:
It's amazing being up
this high in the quarry

464
00:22:59,733 --> 00:23:01,133
and all the work and quarrying

465
00:23:01,133 --> 00:23:03,766
out of the bedrock
and statues this big

466
00:23:03,766 --> 00:23:05,666
that way up here
had to be taken down the slope.

467
00:23:05,666 --> 00:23:08,600
You can see
several moai being carved.

468
00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:10,800
The large moai here,

469
00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:12,933
and there you can see
the beginnings of moai

470
00:23:12,933 --> 00:23:16,033
up on the side as well,
high up here in the quarry.

471
00:23:16,033 --> 00:23:17,300
CARL LIPO:
Yeah, what we're seeing
is the aggregate of events

472
00:23:17,300 --> 00:23:18,466
that occurred...
HUNT: Yeah.

473
00:23:18,466 --> 00:23:19,700
LIPO:
...over 500 years of activity

474
00:23:19,700 --> 00:23:21,600
here at the quarry,
not a final product.

475
00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:23,366
This is all the things
that happened here.

476
00:23:23,366 --> 00:23:24,833
It's interesting
because the quarry,

477
00:23:24,833 --> 00:23:26,700
it's kind of
a common area that's shared.

478
00:23:26,700 --> 00:23:28,266
And so there's an understanding

479
00:23:28,266 --> 00:23:30,600
that everyone on the island,
every community on the island

480
00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:33,800
has access to the resource here.

481
00:23:34,900 --> 00:23:38,133
NARRATOR:
But rock isn't just
confined to the quarry.

482
00:23:38,133 --> 00:23:42,266
All over Rapa Nui,
rock is spread across the land.

483
00:23:43,466 --> 00:23:46,533
To Western explorers
like Captain James Cook,

484
00:23:46,533 --> 00:23:48,666
who visited the island in 1774,

485
00:23:48,666 --> 00:23:51,633
this looked like a wilderness.

486
00:23:51,633 --> 00:23:54,200
JAMES COOK (re-enactment):
"The ground had but a barren
appearance,

487
00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:59,700
being a dry hard clay, and
everywhere covered with stones."

488
00:23:59,700 --> 00:24:02,466
HUNT:
The early European visitors saw

489
00:24:02,466 --> 00:24:04,766
crops being grown in stones,

490
00:24:04,766 --> 00:24:06,133
and they thought this was

491
00:24:06,133 --> 00:24:07,500
somehow pathetic because

492
00:24:07,500 --> 00:24:08,666
they're expecting to see

493
00:24:08,666 --> 00:24:09,966
ploughed fields

494
00:24:09,966 --> 00:24:12,700
and the agriculture of Europe.

495
00:24:12,700 --> 00:24:14,766
NARRATOR:
How could the Rapanui survive

496
00:24:14,766 --> 00:24:18,366
on what appeared to be such
a barren wilderness?

497
00:24:18,366 --> 00:24:20,300
But this wasn't what it seemed.

498
00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:24,800
HUNT:
The soils on
Rapa Nui are nutrient poor.

499
00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:26,900
There is an ingenious solution
to that,

500
00:24:26,900 --> 00:24:28,866
and it's using rock mulch.

501
00:24:30,066 --> 00:24:33,100
NARRATOR:
Volcanic rock is packed full
of nutrients

502
00:24:33,100 --> 00:24:36,300
that bring new life
into the world.

503
00:24:36,300 --> 00:24:38,500
Somehow the ancient Rapanui
had learned

504
00:24:38,500 --> 00:24:41,733
how to make the best of this
austere landscape

505
00:24:41,733 --> 00:24:45,233
by fertilizing their fields
with stones.

506
00:24:45,233 --> 00:24:47,633
HUNT:
And using rocks in cultivation

507
00:24:47,633 --> 00:24:49,533
will release nutrients
into the soil

508
00:24:49,533 --> 00:24:51,466
and make them
available to the plants.

509
00:24:51,466 --> 00:24:55,666
NARRATOR:
Sonia also sees lots of evidence
that the rock-strewn wilderness

510
00:24:55,666 --> 00:25:00,300
described by Captain Cook
was actually fertile fields.

511
00:25:00,300 --> 00:25:03,600
Here you see
a very nice complex.

512
00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:07,500
And that's mean
you have everything here.

513
00:25:07,500 --> 00:25:09,500
In the center part,

514
00:25:09,500 --> 00:25:13,000
you can see they take
all the rocks,

515
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:17,633
and what you see in, in
the landscape around here,

516
00:25:17,633 --> 00:25:20,400
it's like a garden, yeah?

517
00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:22,100
♪ ♪

518
00:25:22,100 --> 00:25:24,966
NARRATOR:
This was not the first
or last time

519
00:25:24,966 --> 00:25:26,633
that Western misconceptions
would color

520
00:25:26,633 --> 00:25:28,466
the history of Rapa Nui.

521
00:25:28,466 --> 00:25:33,400
Right from their very first
encounter on April 5, 1722,

522
00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:36,066
the world-view
of its European visitors

523
00:25:36,066 --> 00:25:38,933
would have
a profound effect on the island.

524
00:25:38,933 --> 00:25:40,933
The name Easter Island
comes from the first Europeans

525
00:25:40,933 --> 00:25:43,566
arriving here on Easter Sunday.

526
00:25:43,566 --> 00:25:46,566
The modern traditional name
is Rapa Nui,

527
00:25:46,566 --> 00:25:50,933
and the older traditional
name is Te Pito o Te Henua,

528
00:25:50,933 --> 00:25:53,033
which really means
"the navel of the world,"

529
00:25:53,033 --> 00:25:56,633
which probably reflects
the island's isolation

530
00:25:56,633 --> 00:25:59,333
and-or its centrality
as the whole world.

531
00:25:59,333 --> 00:26:01,100
♪ ♪

532
00:26:01,100 --> 00:26:03,833
NARRATOR:
The first encounter
between the Dutch explorers

533
00:26:03,833 --> 00:26:04,900
and the local residents

534
00:26:04,900 --> 00:26:07,100
was marked by curiosity

535
00:26:07,100 --> 00:26:09,300
and a tragic misunderstanding.

536
00:26:09,300 --> 00:26:12,733
KÜHLEM:
There was a lot of interest in,
in the landing party.

537
00:26:12,733 --> 00:26:15,733
There was a lot of interest in
the construction of the ships.

538
00:26:15,733 --> 00:26:17,733
People swam out to the ships.

539
00:26:17,733 --> 00:26:19,133
They went aboard.

540
00:26:19,133 --> 00:26:22,100
They measured
every aspect of the ships.

541
00:26:22,100 --> 00:26:24,966
And the landing party
was quite substantial.

542
00:26:24,966 --> 00:26:27,333
(man shouting)

543
00:26:27,333 --> 00:26:29,700
NARRATOR:
The Dutch landing party
found themselves confronted

544
00:26:29,700 --> 00:26:31,766
by a vibrantly painted man.

545
00:26:31,766 --> 00:26:33,500
HUNT:
He performs what they perceive

546
00:26:33,500 --> 00:26:35,400
as a very strange dance.

547
00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:37,066
And this strange dance
was probably

548
00:26:37,066 --> 00:26:38,733
really an important ritual

549
00:26:38,733 --> 00:26:41,333
that the Rapanui
would have perceived as proper

550
00:26:41,333 --> 00:26:44,500
in these people
coming ashore to their land.

551
00:26:44,500 --> 00:26:47,133
He saw the possessions
that the Dutch had--

552
00:26:47,133 --> 00:26:51,033
the clothes,
the hats, and the guns.

553
00:26:51,033 --> 00:26:52,766
And he reached for the gun...

554
00:26:52,766 --> 00:26:54,833
(man speaking Rapanui)

555
00:26:54,833 --> 00:26:58,133
KÜHLEM:
And several crewmen opened fire.

556
00:26:58,133 --> 00:27:00,233
(gunshots firing)

557
00:27:00,233 --> 00:27:02,300
So the very first encounter

558
00:27:02,300 --> 00:27:04,100
on the shores of Rapa Nui

559
00:27:04,100 --> 00:27:10,066
was overshadowed by 12 islanders
dead and many more injured.

560
00:27:10,066 --> 00:27:11,300
CAUWE:
(speaking French)

561
00:27:11,300 --> 00:27:12,633
(translated):
This story is a case

562
00:27:12,633 --> 00:27:14,966
of misunderstanding,
a clash of cultures.

563
00:27:14,966 --> 00:27:16,733
The islander is curious
and wants to know

564
00:27:16,733 --> 00:27:18,300
what the soldier has in his
hands.

565
00:27:18,300 --> 00:27:20,200
He wants to hold it, feel it.

566
00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:22,233
Meanwhile, the soldier is afraid

567
00:27:22,233 --> 00:27:23,366
he is trying to steal the gun

568
00:27:23,366 --> 00:27:25,400
and puts up a fight.

569
00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:29,166
This is a clash of two
completely different worlds.

570
00:27:30,166 --> 00:27:32,533
NARRATOR:
The clash of cultures
that led to this massacre

571
00:27:32,533 --> 00:27:35,466
would profoundly affect the way
that Rapa Nui was perceived

572
00:27:35,466 --> 00:27:38,266
by Western researchers
in the centuries to come.

573
00:27:38,266 --> 00:27:41,333
HUNT:
Western preconceptions
have colored the view

574
00:27:41,333 --> 00:27:42,700
of Rapa Nui in many ways.

575
00:27:42,700 --> 00:27:45,733
Seeing the moai,
seeing the monuments here,

576
00:27:45,733 --> 00:27:49,533
they can't imagine how, uh,
people would move them,

577
00:27:49,533 --> 00:27:53,200
with no wooden carts or wheels.

578
00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:54,700
And because
they don't understand

579
00:27:54,700 --> 00:27:56,100
how it could have been done,

580
00:27:56,100 --> 00:27:59,133
it leads to notions
of the mystery of Easter Island.

581
00:27:59,133 --> 00:28:03,133
And the mystery is really just
what visitors didn't understand.

582
00:28:03,133 --> 00:28:04,966
♪ ♪

583
00:28:04,966 --> 00:28:06,733
NARRATOR:
Just as with Captain Cook,

584
00:28:06,733 --> 00:28:09,533
Western visitors
saw a barren land,

585
00:28:09,533 --> 00:28:12,366
covered in rocks,
and devoid of the trees

586
00:28:12,366 --> 00:28:15,466
needed to make
wooden sleds or wheels.

587
00:28:15,466 --> 00:28:18,733
But it wasn't always like this.

588
00:28:18,733 --> 00:28:20,666
Researchers
found pollen evidence

589
00:28:20,666 --> 00:28:21,733
in the fossil record,

590
00:28:21,733 --> 00:28:23,966
suggesting that 1,000 years ago,

591
00:28:23,966 --> 00:28:27,333
much of this land
was covered in dense forest.

592
00:28:27,333 --> 00:28:30,966
(translated):
One millennium later,
the forests have vanished.

593
00:28:30,966 --> 00:28:33,400
So, we have to ask the question:
what happened?

594
00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:36,600
(bird chirping)

595
00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:39,866
♪ ♪

596
00:28:39,866 --> 00:28:41,733
NARRATOR:
For many Western researchers,

597
00:28:41,733 --> 00:28:44,033
the answer lay strewn
across the island

598
00:28:44,033 --> 00:28:47,800
at sites like Ahu Tepeu.

599
00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:49,366
LIPO:
These are pieces of moai,

600
00:28:49,366 --> 00:28:52,300
the large statues that once
stood on top of the ahu.

601
00:28:52,300 --> 00:28:53,866
I don't know how many
statues there were here,

602
00:28:53,866 --> 00:28:55,166
maybe four or five.

603
00:28:55,166 --> 00:28:57,433
And it's easy to look
at these landscapes--

604
00:28:57,433 --> 00:28:59,500
when you see the ahu,

605
00:28:59,500 --> 00:29:00,733
when they're broken down,

606
00:29:00,733 --> 00:29:03,033
and statues that
are fallen and broken

607
00:29:03,033 --> 00:29:05,633
like this one here, which
has no head and just the body,

608
00:29:05,633 --> 00:29:06,866
the head that's over here--

609
00:29:06,866 --> 00:29:08,400
to imagine that
this is the scene

610
00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:12,433
of some catastrophe
where things fell apart.

611
00:29:12,433 --> 00:29:13,666
NARRATOR:
To Western eyes,

612
00:29:13,666 --> 00:29:16,500
this was evidence
of a collapse of society.

613
00:29:16,500 --> 00:29:20,400
So successive generations
of Western scholars constructed

614
00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:22,966
a narrative.

615
00:29:22,966 --> 00:29:26,000
It explained the barren,
rock-strewn land,

616
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:28,733
the collapse of the moai,

617
00:29:28,733 --> 00:29:31,400
and the disappearance
of the trees.

618
00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:33,866
LIPO:
The collapse story
basically goes

619
00:29:33,866 --> 00:29:37,500
that people got to an island
that was filled with trees,

620
00:29:37,500 --> 00:29:39,700
palm trees,
other kinds of trees as well.

621
00:29:39,700 --> 00:29:40,866
Sort of an earthly paradise

622
00:29:40,866 --> 00:29:42,633
filled with food and
opportunities for,

623
00:29:42,633 --> 00:29:43,833
for the people that were here.

624
00:29:43,833 --> 00:29:47,900
The moai building
has often been portrayed

625
00:29:47,900 --> 00:29:52,566
as some kind of frenzy,
as some kind of competition

626
00:29:52,566 --> 00:29:55,700
between different clan groups,

627
00:29:55,700 --> 00:29:58,733
where lots of trees
were cut down

628
00:29:58,733 --> 00:30:03,066
in order to construct
and to transport the moai.

629
00:30:03,066 --> 00:30:05,400
NARRATOR:
Archaeologists had
long investigated

630
00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:06,966
stone monument building

631
00:30:06,966 --> 00:30:09,066
in places like ancient Egypt.

632
00:30:09,066 --> 00:30:10,600
Westerners thought the moai

633
00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:14,400
were probably moved
on wooden sleds or rollers

634
00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:15,833
pulled by hundreds of men,

635
00:30:15,833 --> 00:30:18,300
which required people and
trees--

636
00:30:18,300 --> 00:30:21,300
lots of people and trees.

637
00:30:21,300 --> 00:30:24,300
And these Westerners
assumed that moai building

638
00:30:24,300 --> 00:30:25,900
had spiraled out of control.

639
00:30:25,900 --> 00:30:29,033
People here kind of
got into a moai mania

640
00:30:29,033 --> 00:30:31,433
that they started to
make bigger and bigger statues.

641
00:30:31,433 --> 00:30:34,900
And at some point,
that overexuberance of

642
00:30:34,900 --> 00:30:36,800
statue construction ultimately

643
00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:38,566
depleted the island
of the resources needed

644
00:30:38,566 --> 00:30:40,966
to make up ahu
in the first place.

645
00:30:41,966 --> 00:30:43,433
NARRATOR:
According to this view,

646
00:30:43,433 --> 00:30:46,266
moai building
deforested the island.

647
00:30:46,266 --> 00:30:48,533
The soil was starved
of nutrients,

648
00:30:48,533 --> 00:30:51,666
leaving a barren,
rock-strewn land.

649
00:30:51,666 --> 00:30:53,966
Then, this theory goes,

650
00:30:53,966 --> 00:30:56,433
things got worse.

651
00:30:56,433 --> 00:30:58,666
KÜHLEM:
The scarcity of resources

652
00:30:58,666 --> 00:31:02,066
resulted in a societal collapse.

653
00:31:02,066 --> 00:31:06,700
The island erupted
into inter-tribal warfare

654
00:31:06,700 --> 00:31:10,833
and led to
a very impoverished population

655
00:31:10,833 --> 00:31:13,266
living on a barren island.

656
00:31:13,266 --> 00:31:16,300
(translated):
And the best evidence
to prove this

657
00:31:16,300 --> 00:31:19,200
was that all the statues
had been thrown to the ground.

658
00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:22,100
So something violent
must have happened.

659
00:31:22,100 --> 00:31:24,800
And the one visible proof
we have today

660
00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:29,300
is all the statues that were
toppled during these "wars."

661
00:31:29,300 --> 00:31:31,600
♪ ♪

662
00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:33,633
NARRATOR:
This so-called
collapse theory posited

663
00:31:33,633 --> 00:31:36,433
that the island once had
more than 10,000 inhabitants,

664
00:31:36,433 --> 00:31:38,866
whose own folly
triggered a collapse

665
00:31:38,866 --> 00:31:41,500
of the forest ecosystem
and reduced them

666
00:31:41,500 --> 00:31:44,533
to a mere 3,000,
living on the scraps.

667
00:31:45,733 --> 00:31:49,500
For many Western scholars,
it was a compelling narrative,

668
00:31:49,500 --> 00:31:51,900
a morality tale for our times.

669
00:31:51,900 --> 00:31:57,233
But for some researchers,
this idea had one big problem.

670
00:31:57,233 --> 00:31:59,333
LIPO:
When we looked at
the evidence on the ground,

671
00:31:59,333 --> 00:32:01,666
we simply didn't
see evidence of warfare.

672
00:32:01,666 --> 00:32:04,533
It looks like this one
is being dismantled,

673
00:32:04,533 --> 00:32:07,366
because we find some of
these construction elements

674
00:32:07,366 --> 00:32:09,300
in the other
features over there.

675
00:32:09,300 --> 00:32:13,666
NARRATOR:
For Hete, what were once
considered ruins at Ahu Tepeu

676
00:32:13,666 --> 00:32:16,766
turn out to be evidence
of continuous use.

677
00:32:16,766 --> 00:32:18,466
HUKE:
This is the head of a moai

678
00:32:18,466 --> 00:32:21,300
that was part of the second ahu

679
00:32:21,300 --> 00:32:23,800
in this ceremonial complex.

680
00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:26,533
In the second ahu,
all of the moais

681
00:32:26,533 --> 00:32:28,533
lay down
in the back of the platform.

682
00:32:28,533 --> 00:32:30,033
And that is
because that second ahu

683
00:32:30,033 --> 00:32:33,800
was being dismantled
to enlarge the first one.

684
00:32:34,900 --> 00:32:37,466
NARRATOR:
Pieces of earlier moai
were being reused

685
00:32:37,466 --> 00:32:40,533
to create
an even more spectacular ahu.

686
00:32:40,533 --> 00:32:42,700
HUKE:
From this particular ahu,

687
00:32:42,700 --> 00:32:45,466
we couldn't say that
there's evidence of collapse.

688
00:32:45,466 --> 00:32:47,166
There's evidence
of transformation

689
00:32:47,166 --> 00:32:49,100
and human societies changing.

690
00:32:49,100 --> 00:32:50,500
And that's beautiful.

691
00:32:50,500 --> 00:32:53,066
Destruction
is recycling and creation.

692
00:32:53,066 --> 00:32:54,900
It's part of a larger process.

693
00:32:54,900 --> 00:32:57,500
And in a certain way,
this moai reflects that.

694
00:32:57,500 --> 00:32:59,966
♪ ♪

695
00:32:59,966 --> 00:33:03,000
NARRATOR:
Across the island, what some
Western researchers had seen

696
00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:06,366
as evidence of collapse
didn't stand up to scrutiny.

697
00:33:07,466 --> 00:33:09,266
Even the island's caves,

698
00:33:09,266 --> 00:33:12,133
long seen as refuges
against an enemy tribe,

699
00:33:12,133 --> 00:33:15,400
appear to be
something very different.

700
00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:17,900
LIPO:
This is a great example of a
cave that has that construction

701
00:33:17,900 --> 00:33:20,300
where they've taken a cave and
added these features to it.

702
00:33:20,300 --> 00:33:22,766
HUNT:
Yeah. It's not a,
it's not a refuge cave.

703
00:33:22,766 --> 00:33:23,966
It's not a
hiding place.

704
00:33:23,966 --> 00:33:25,133
It's a habitation.

705
00:33:25,133 --> 00:33:26,300
So they made this
nice entrance

706
00:33:26,300 --> 00:33:29,133
with paving stones
and everything.

707
00:33:29,133 --> 00:33:30,233
LIPO:
They've used lots
of different materials

708
00:33:30,233 --> 00:33:32,033
like this paenga stone.

709
00:33:32,033 --> 00:33:36,866
NARRATOR:
Paenga are a kind of foundation
stone found in elite houses.

710
00:33:36,866 --> 00:33:41,666
The holes bored into them acted
as bases for the wooden struts.

711
00:33:41,666 --> 00:33:45,266
The use of these paenga
in cave walls was argued

712
00:33:45,266 --> 00:33:47,166
to be evidence
of some last-ditch defense

713
00:33:47,166 --> 00:33:49,000
against attack.

714
00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:51,033
HUNT:
Some people think
that this is evidence

715
00:33:51,033 --> 00:33:54,366
of tearing down, uh,
elaborate or elite houses,

716
00:33:54,366 --> 00:33:56,833
and, and reusing the stone
out of desperation.

717
00:33:56,833 --> 00:33:58,866
But these stones
are reused everywhere.

718
00:33:58,866 --> 00:34:00,566
LIPO:
We see the reuse
of these paenga stones

719
00:34:00,566 --> 00:34:02,033
not only in things like ahu,

720
00:34:02,033 --> 00:34:04,300
but also in the chicken houses,
the hare moa,

721
00:34:04,300 --> 00:34:05,600
as well as earth ovens.

722
00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:07,433
So they're really used
in all kinds of contexts.

723
00:34:07,433 --> 00:34:09,233
People use the stone
that was available to them,

724
00:34:09,233 --> 00:34:10,766
and some of
that stone were paenga.

725
00:34:10,766 --> 00:34:13,233
Reusing and recycling
stone materials here

726
00:34:13,233 --> 00:34:14,333
is really the norm.

727
00:34:16,066 --> 00:34:18,100
NARRATOR:
At another set of caves nearby,

728
00:34:18,100 --> 00:34:21,166
Hete, Carl, and Terry
find yet more evidence

729
00:34:21,166 --> 00:34:23,466
of a thriving community.

730
00:34:23,466 --> 00:34:26,800
Here, the Rapanui even used
the collapsed lava tubes

731
00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:28,033
as hothouses...

732
00:34:29,266 --> 00:34:30,633
...fed by something rare

733
00:34:30,633 --> 00:34:32,866
on an island
of permeable volcanic rock:

734
00:34:32,866 --> 00:34:35,833
an abundant supply of water

735
00:34:35,833 --> 00:34:37,733
in caverns
deep within the caves.

736
00:34:37,733 --> 00:34:40,900
HUKE:
In those caves,
we can find fresh water.

737
00:34:40,900 --> 00:34:44,733
It was one of
the largest water reservoirs.

738
00:34:44,733 --> 00:34:47,500
So, it's a very rich part
of the island.

739
00:34:47,500 --> 00:34:50,933
NARRATOR:
So Rapa Nui's caves
weren't just simple refuges.

740
00:34:50,933 --> 00:34:54,200
They were complex,
sun-dappled ecosystems

741
00:34:54,200 --> 00:34:56,133
that had been used
for centuries,

742
00:34:56,133 --> 00:34:58,833
long before the collapse
that was supposed to have driven

743
00:34:58,833 --> 00:35:00,566
people into them.

744
00:35:00,566 --> 00:35:02,400
HUKE:
Nothing here in Te Pahu

745
00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:04,233
or in the area that we worked

746
00:35:04,233 --> 00:35:08,066
shows that people
were struggling.

747
00:35:08,066 --> 00:35:09,800
On the contrary,
they were thriving.

748
00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:12,700
We were seeing signs
of sustainability.

749
00:35:12,700 --> 00:35:14,966
There was really no evidence
of collapse.

750
00:35:14,966 --> 00:35:19,400
♪ ♪

751
00:35:19,400 --> 00:35:23,033
NARRATOR:
Even though Carl and Terry found
no direct evidence for collapse,

752
00:35:23,033 --> 00:35:26,033
they would not dismiss the idea
without more research.

753
00:35:28,566 --> 00:35:31,533
Especially when it came
to the population of the island

754
00:35:31,533 --> 00:35:33,766
over time.

755
00:35:33,766 --> 00:35:35,833
They started by mapping
all the moai

756
00:35:35,833 --> 00:35:37,800
on one side of the island.

757
00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:43,066
Then moved onto the settlement
and resource sites.

758
00:35:43,066 --> 00:35:44,933
LIPO:
Our goal is really
to sort of characterize

759
00:35:44,933 --> 00:35:46,333
the settlement systems

760
00:35:46,333 --> 00:35:48,600
and how people are distributed
across the landscape

761
00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:50,666
and use resources there.

762
00:35:53,033 --> 00:35:54,866
We've got a good sample
of the communities,

763
00:35:54,866 --> 00:35:57,500
but we're continuing to do that
as an ongoing basis.

764
00:35:57,500 --> 00:36:01,266
NARRATOR:
They matched these with
carbon dates from the sites

765
00:36:01,266 --> 00:36:05,533
to build up a pattern showing
when each settlement was in use.

766
00:36:05,533 --> 00:36:07,966
Then they ran them
through a computer model,

767
00:36:07,966 --> 00:36:10,733
which converted the carbon data
into population numbers,

768
00:36:10,733 --> 00:36:12,800
by calculating
the highs and lows

769
00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:15,433
of human activity on the island.

770
00:36:17,900 --> 00:36:20,333
The results
confirmed their hunch.

771
00:36:20,333 --> 00:36:22,300
It showed the population rise

772
00:36:22,300 --> 00:36:24,666
from a small number
of first settlers,

773
00:36:24,666 --> 00:36:26,500
continuing to grow steadily,

774
00:36:26,500 --> 00:36:29,300
with no sign
of collapse at any point.

775
00:36:31,733 --> 00:36:34,533
HUNT:
The population could
fluctuate slightly,

776
00:36:34,533 --> 00:36:38,500
but its average maximum
is probably around 3,000.

777
00:36:38,500 --> 00:36:40,166
Probably what
Europeans encountered

778
00:36:40,166 --> 00:36:42,300
when they first arrived
on the island.

779
00:36:42,300 --> 00:36:45,266
NARRATOR:
A maximum population of 3,000

780
00:36:45,266 --> 00:36:47,166
was much smaller
than the numbers cited

781
00:36:47,166 --> 00:36:49,466
in the Western collapse story.

782
00:36:49,466 --> 00:36:51,033
HUNT:
The collapse theory proposed

783
00:36:51,033 --> 00:36:53,333
all kinds of numbers: 7,000,

784
00:36:53,333 --> 00:36:55,766
10,000, 15,000,
even up to 30,000

785
00:36:55,766 --> 00:36:58,300
population
for this small island.

786
00:36:58,300 --> 00:37:00,666
NARRATOR:
But Carl, Terry,
and their colleagues

787
00:37:00,666 --> 00:37:02,600
found no evidence
that there were ever

788
00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:04,233
that many people
living on Rapa Nui.

789
00:37:05,233 --> 00:37:07,533
LIPO:
The lack of huge populations
being on the island

790
00:37:07,533 --> 00:37:10,033
sort of takes the wind
out of the collapse theory.

791
00:37:10,033 --> 00:37:12,233
Because, in fact, there's
nothing from which to collapse.

792
00:37:12,233 --> 00:37:13,733
There isn't a large population.

793
00:37:15,866 --> 00:37:17,666
NARRATOR:
But if you don't have
tens of thousands

794
00:37:17,666 --> 00:37:19,300
of people living on the island,

795
00:37:19,300 --> 00:37:23,200
how could the Rapanui build
and transport the moai?

796
00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:25,366
For some Western researchers,

797
00:37:25,366 --> 00:37:28,633
Rapanui oral history
suggested an answer.

798
00:37:28,633 --> 00:37:32,200
(man speaking Rapanui)

799
00:37:32,200 --> 00:37:34,866
STORYTELLER (translated):
There are many stories about
Tu'u ko Iho.

800
00:37:34,866 --> 00:37:38,866
Some people say he was
in charge of the second boat

801
00:37:38,866 --> 00:37:41,266
that brought people here.

802
00:37:41,266 --> 00:37:44,200
Others believe
that he was the great king

803
00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:46,233
who founded the island.

804
00:37:48,066 --> 00:37:50,200
But all agree that it was he

805
00:37:50,200 --> 00:37:53,333
who made the moai kavakava walk.

806
00:37:53,333 --> 00:37:56,066
(man speaking Rapanui)

807
00:37:57,800 --> 00:38:00,900
NARRATOR:
This actually referred
to small wooden statues.

808
00:38:00,900 --> 00:38:06,166
But some Westerners thought it
also described the stone moai.

809
00:38:06,166 --> 00:38:07,966
Thor Heyerdahl
and his colleagues

810
00:38:07,966 --> 00:38:10,266
attempted to move
the statues upright,

811
00:38:10,266 --> 00:38:12,600
to effectively make them walk.

812
00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:15,733
But the experiment
hadn't worked,

813
00:38:15,733 --> 00:38:17,766
so most experts still believed

814
00:38:17,766 --> 00:38:19,700
that they were dragged
on their backs.

815
00:38:21,133 --> 00:38:23,466
But when Carl and Terry
analyzed the moai

816
00:38:23,466 --> 00:38:25,700
lying by the roads
that led from the quarry,

817
00:38:25,700 --> 00:38:29,233
they noticed
something significant.

818
00:38:29,233 --> 00:38:31,000
These are impressive
things, aren't they?

819
00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:32,866
HUNT:
We're looking right here

820
00:38:32,866 --> 00:38:36,166
at the reason why they
were not transported

821
00:38:36,166 --> 00:38:38,633
on logs on their backs.
That's true.

822
00:38:38,633 --> 00:38:40,333
How would they be
in this position,

823
00:38:40,333 --> 00:38:42,300
face down and
the neck broken?

824
00:38:42,300 --> 00:38:44,066
Yeah.
It makes no sense.

825
00:38:44,066 --> 00:38:45,433
That just simply
doesn't happen

826
00:38:45,433 --> 00:38:47,900
if they're on
their backs on rollers.

827
00:38:47,900 --> 00:38:49,900
NARRATOR:
They also noticed
a structural difference

828
00:38:49,900 --> 00:38:54,300
between moai lying on the road
and those standing on the ahu.

829
00:38:55,866 --> 00:38:58,766
A moai on the ahu
has a flat base,

830
00:38:58,766 --> 00:39:01,666
so the statue
stands straight up.

831
00:39:01,666 --> 00:39:03,366
But most of the moai
lying on the road

832
00:39:03,366 --> 00:39:04,533
have angled bases.

833
00:39:04,533 --> 00:39:07,266
And Carl and Terry
believe that angle

834
00:39:07,266 --> 00:39:10,600
had a very specific purpose.

835
00:39:10,600 --> 00:39:13,466
LIPO:
Road moai has to be shaped in
a way that can be transported.

836
00:39:13,466 --> 00:39:16,166
They did it by shaping their
base so they leaned forward.

837
00:39:16,166 --> 00:39:18,266
It enabled them to walk.

838
00:39:18,266 --> 00:39:19,600
HUNT:
This is a great example of, of

839
00:39:19,600 --> 00:39:21,100
the forward lean of
these transport moai.

840
00:39:21,100 --> 00:39:23,500
LIPO:
So if you took the statue,
and we could put it back up,

841
00:39:23,500 --> 00:39:25,366
it would be leaning
really far forward.

842
00:39:25,366 --> 00:39:28,200
It means that as you
rock it side to side,

843
00:39:28,200 --> 00:39:30,033
it falls forward
across that front edge...
Yeah.

844
00:39:30,033 --> 00:39:31,300
...and takes a step.
Yeah.

845
00:39:31,300 --> 00:39:32,666
Without that, it would
just rock back and forth

846
00:39:32,666 --> 00:39:33,900
and not really go anywhere.

847
00:39:33,900 --> 00:39:37,400
And walking really describes
what these moai did.

848
00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:39,866
NARRATOR:
To test their theory,

849
00:39:39,866 --> 00:39:44,433
in 2012 Carl and Terry built a
model of a moai out of concrete,

850
00:39:44,433 --> 00:39:47,133
carefully mixed
to match the fragile density

851
00:39:47,133 --> 00:39:49,166
of the ancient statues'
volcanic rock

852
00:39:49,166 --> 00:39:50,700
and made it walk.

853
00:39:50,700 --> 00:39:52,466
(crowd chanting "heave ho")

854
00:39:52,466 --> 00:39:54,900
LIPO:
In our experiments, we found
it took remarkably few people

855
00:39:54,900 --> 00:39:56,000
to move the statue.

856
00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:57,600
And we were terrible
at it, you know?

857
00:39:57,600 --> 00:39:59,300
We were the least expert
of any people

858
00:39:59,300 --> 00:40:00,966
who've ever moved a moai
in the world.

859
00:40:00,966 --> 00:40:04,600
Uh, but we were able to do a
five-ton statue with 18 people.

860
00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:08,700
NARRATOR: Not all are convinced
that the moai walked.

861
00:40:08,700 --> 00:40:11,466
♪ ♪

862
00:40:11,466 --> 00:40:13,333
But if they did,

863
00:40:13,333 --> 00:40:16,433
trees were not needed
to move the moai.

864
00:40:16,433 --> 00:40:18,266
And the Rapanui continued
to erect moai

865
00:40:18,266 --> 00:40:22,166
long after
the trees had died out.

866
00:40:22,166 --> 00:40:25,500
So why did the Rapanui go
to such lengths to build them

867
00:40:25,500 --> 00:40:26,933
in the first place?

868
00:40:26,933 --> 00:40:28,866
What were the moai for?

869
00:40:31,466 --> 00:40:33,600
(birds chirping)

870
00:40:33,600 --> 00:40:36,000
One tradition that might
one day tell us the answer

871
00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:38,300
is being lovingly preserved
by Luis Huki,

872
00:40:38,300 --> 00:40:42,100
a park ranger on Rapa Nui.

873
00:40:42,100 --> 00:40:45,333
LUIS HUKI HINOJOSA:
(speaking Spanish)

874
00:40:45,333 --> 00:40:47,900
(translated):
My name is Luis
of the Huki clan.

875
00:40:47,900 --> 00:40:52,066
At the moment,
I'm carving rongorongo,

876
00:40:52,066 --> 00:40:54,100
which is the tradition of

877
00:40:54,100 --> 00:40:57,366
our forefathers, of my father.

878
00:40:57,366 --> 00:40:58,800
And right now,

879
00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:01,333
I'm following their tradition.

880
00:41:01,333 --> 00:41:04,700
I've been making
rongorongo tablets for 25 years.

881
00:41:08,033 --> 00:41:09,800
I like it
because it's a tradition

882
00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:11,033
that at a certain time,

883
00:41:11,033 --> 00:41:12,900
the translation was lost,

884
00:41:12,900 --> 00:41:16,800
and now we must conserve it and
continue to make the rongorongo.

885
00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:22,533
NARRATOR:
Rongorongo is the traditional
writing system of the Rapanui.

886
00:41:22,533 --> 00:41:26,000
It is inscribed
onto wooden tablets.

887
00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:29,066
HINOJOSA:
(speaking Spanish)

888
00:41:29,066 --> 00:41:31,300
(translated):
The process starts
with preparing the wood

889
00:41:31,300 --> 00:41:32,700
and sanding it.

890
00:41:32,700 --> 00:41:34,366
Once it's sanded,

891
00:41:34,366 --> 00:41:37,500
the wood is traced
so you can start to draw on it.

892
00:41:37,500 --> 00:41:40,966
And then, after that,
you carve the rongorongo.

893
00:41:40,966 --> 00:41:45,733
NARRATOR:
Luis is one of just a handful of
people still carving rongorongo.

894
00:41:45,733 --> 00:41:49,800
He's doing this
to help preserve his culture.

895
00:41:49,800 --> 00:41:52,833
(translated):
It's unique,
and if we lose it,

896
00:41:52,833 --> 00:41:56,533
we lose part of
the history of Rapa Nui.

897
00:41:58,900 --> 00:42:03,666
NARRATOR:
No one knows how old rongorongo
is, or what it actually says.

898
00:42:03,666 --> 00:42:07,066
But in a secluded
monastery in Rome,

899
00:42:07,066 --> 00:42:10,433
Silvia Ferrara is studying
a remarkable wooden artifact

900
00:42:10,433 --> 00:42:12,200
which might help answer
those questions.

901
00:42:13,933 --> 00:42:16,000
This is the Échancrée tablet.

902
00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:19,533
It's made of wood,
and it's one of the 27 tablets

903
00:42:19,533 --> 00:42:22,600
written in this script,
which is still undeciphered.

904
00:42:22,600 --> 00:42:25,800
NARRATOR:
The Échancrée tablet was gifted
to the Bishop of Tahiti

905
00:42:25,800 --> 00:42:30,000
in 1869 by Catholic converts
from Rapa Nui.

906
00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:34,766
It is one of only 27 scattered
across museums around the world.

907
00:42:34,766 --> 00:42:37,400
And the way its figures
are oriented

908
00:42:37,400 --> 00:42:40,366
suggests a very unusual
reading method.

909
00:42:40,366 --> 00:42:43,400
What you need to do
is turn the tablet

910
00:42:43,400 --> 00:42:45,833
from one line to the next

911
00:42:45,833 --> 00:42:47,366
in order to read it.

912
00:42:47,366 --> 00:42:49,333
And this is a unique feature

913
00:42:49,333 --> 00:42:50,700
of this writing system.

914
00:42:50,700 --> 00:42:54,400
No other script
works in the same way

915
00:42:54,400 --> 00:42:55,733
all over the world.

916
00:42:55,733 --> 00:42:57,666
So it's really quite special.

917
00:42:57,666 --> 00:43:00,100
NARRATOR:
Despite this unique system,

918
00:43:00,100 --> 00:43:01,900
it has been said that rongorongo

919
00:43:01,900 --> 00:43:04,300
was inspired
by European writing.

920
00:43:04,300 --> 00:43:07,566
That's kind of a degrading
view of Rapanui ingenuity.

921
00:43:07,566 --> 00:43:10,600
It's not only simplistic,
but it's patronizing.

922
00:43:10,600 --> 00:43:14,633
It's one of
the most unique and beautiful

923
00:43:14,633 --> 00:43:17,833
forms of knowledge
of art in the world.

924
00:43:17,833 --> 00:43:20,766
Nevertheless,
we have to face critics,

925
00:43:20,766 --> 00:43:23,133
or thoughts
that we were copying.

926
00:43:23,133 --> 00:43:26,966
HUNT:
The glyphs in rongorongo
are clearly connected

927
00:43:26,966 --> 00:43:28,933
to the art on the island.

928
00:43:28,933 --> 00:43:31,400
You see the glyph forms
in petroglyphs,

929
00:43:31,400 --> 00:43:34,033
They don't imitate
European writing in any sense.

930
00:43:34,033 --> 00:43:36,833
NARRATOR: To put the debate
to bed once and for all,

931
00:43:36,833 --> 00:43:40,066
Silvia gained permission
to radiocarbon date this tablet.

932
00:43:40,066 --> 00:43:42,000
FERRARA:
The radiocarbon date

933
00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:46,033
points in the direction
of a 15th-century date,

934
00:43:46,033 --> 00:43:48,433
which antecedes the arrival

935
00:43:48,433 --> 00:43:52,033
of the Europeans
by more than 200 years.

936
00:43:52,033 --> 00:43:55,366
NARRATOR:
Silvia believes
this might make rongorongo

937
00:43:55,366 --> 00:43:56,933
one of the few instances

938
00:43:56,933 --> 00:43:59,866
of independently invented
writing in the world.

939
00:43:59,866 --> 00:44:01,733
But what was rongorongo for?

940
00:44:01,733 --> 00:44:06,666
Many believe that it contains
the secrets of Rapanui culture.

941
00:44:06,666 --> 00:44:09,866
HUKE:
Some people say that
they contain legends or rhythms

942
00:44:09,866 --> 00:44:14,033
or encrypted instructions
of how to move moai,

943
00:44:14,033 --> 00:44:15,800
or develop some technologies.

944
00:44:15,800 --> 00:44:19,100
There are many, many
different theories about it.

945
00:44:19,100 --> 00:44:21,800
But what we do know is
that they contain knowledge.

946
00:44:21,800 --> 00:44:23,333
♪ ♪

947
00:44:23,333 --> 00:44:26,633
NARRATOR:
Until rongorongo
surrenders its secrets,

948
00:44:26,633 --> 00:44:30,366
researchers are using tried and
tested scientific methods

949
00:44:30,366 --> 00:44:33,000
to understand why the moai
and the ahu platforms

950
00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:35,600
are located where they are.

951
00:44:35,600 --> 00:44:38,533
HUNT:
When we, we look
at the question of

952
00:44:38,533 --> 00:44:40,300
where ahu are located,

953
00:44:40,300 --> 00:44:41,966
why are they located there?

954
00:44:41,966 --> 00:44:45,933
Why are some of them very large
and some of them smaller?

955
00:44:45,933 --> 00:44:49,033
Why are there some ahu
in the interior,

956
00:44:49,033 --> 00:44:51,200
while most of them
are on the shoreline?

957
00:44:51,200 --> 00:44:53,900
LIPO:
It's easy to describe it
as being religious.

958
00:44:53,900 --> 00:44:55,766
Certainly,
that's part of the story.

959
00:44:55,766 --> 00:44:57,166
But the question is
why would you invest

960
00:44:57,166 --> 00:45:00,433
so much energy in doing these
over and over again?

961
00:45:01,600 --> 00:45:03,766
NARRATOR:
They started with a map.

962
00:45:03,766 --> 00:45:05,200
They marked out the locations

963
00:45:05,200 --> 00:45:08,700
of all the ahu
on the east side of the island.

964
00:45:08,700 --> 00:45:10,533
Then they began to compare them

965
00:45:10,533 --> 00:45:13,200
with the locations
of vital resources.

966
00:45:14,200 --> 00:45:16,366
They chose three
as the key sources

967
00:45:16,366 --> 00:45:21,566
of sustenance: rock mulch,
seafood, and fresh water.

968
00:45:21,566 --> 00:45:24,700
But when they tried to map
the ahu over the rock mulches,

969
00:45:24,700 --> 00:45:28,833
a simple mismatch
became glaringly obvious.

970
00:45:28,833 --> 00:45:30,833
LIPO:
There's rock mulch everywhere
across the island,

971
00:45:30,833 --> 00:45:33,333
but we don't see
ahu and moai everywhere.

972
00:45:33,333 --> 00:45:35,466
What we find is, in fact,
that ahu and moai

973
00:45:35,466 --> 00:45:36,933
are in particular locations,

974
00:45:36,933 --> 00:45:38,900
independent of the,
of the mulch itself.

975
00:45:40,300 --> 00:45:43,433
NARRATOR: Next, they looked
at resources from the sea.

976
00:45:43,433 --> 00:45:45,433
LIPO: When you drive
around the island,

977
00:45:45,433 --> 00:45:47,733
you see one after the other,
an ahu with moai,

978
00:45:47,733 --> 00:45:49,333
all the way along the coast.

979
00:45:49,333 --> 00:45:50,533
And, of course,

980
00:45:50,533 --> 00:45:52,233
the coast has a lot of
resources.

981
00:45:52,233 --> 00:45:54,166
Fish, shellfish, other kinds
of things

982
00:45:54,166 --> 00:45:56,100
that would support populations.

983
00:45:57,300 --> 00:45:59,000
NARRATOR:
But while the ahu on the coast

984
00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:01,333
match sea resources very well,

985
00:46:01,333 --> 00:46:02,700
this cannot explain the ahu

986
00:46:02,700 --> 00:46:05,366
erected in the interior
of the island.

987
00:46:06,366 --> 00:46:08,300
That left one final resource:

988
00:46:08,300 --> 00:46:11,566
fresh water.

989
00:46:11,566 --> 00:46:14,166
Most of the moai
are along the coastline,

990
00:46:14,166 --> 00:46:16,333
with their backs to the sea.

991
00:46:16,333 --> 00:46:19,566
At first glance, that
doesn't seem like a good place

992
00:46:19,566 --> 00:46:20,566
to find fresh water.

993
00:46:20,566 --> 00:46:22,866
But look a little closer.

994
00:46:22,866 --> 00:46:24,800
The water's fresh.

995
00:46:24,800 --> 00:46:27,200
You think this water's salty,
that it's seawater, but in fact,

996
00:46:27,200 --> 00:46:29,100
this is a freshwater seep,
a source of water

997
00:46:29,100 --> 00:46:30,566
that comes from
the interior of the island,

998
00:46:30,566 --> 00:46:32,866
moves to the underground,
and then comes out at the coast.

999
00:46:32,866 --> 00:46:35,033
It's a place where
Rapanui people

1000
00:46:35,033 --> 00:46:37,066
access water
for their daily lives.

1001
00:46:37,066 --> 00:46:39,733
HUNT:
On a young volcanic
island like Rapa Nui,

1002
00:46:39,733 --> 00:46:41,100
the rocks are very porous.

1003
00:46:41,100 --> 00:46:44,900
The rainwater will enter
the island and flow through

1004
00:46:44,900 --> 00:46:47,833
the porous island
and into lava tubes, etc.,

1005
00:46:47,833 --> 00:46:49,900
and will come down
to the level

1006
00:46:49,900 --> 00:46:51,800
and float on top of saltwater

1007
00:46:51,800 --> 00:46:53,700
and then enter
the ocean at low tide.

1008
00:46:53,700 --> 00:46:55,566
LIPO:
When Captain Cook arrived
on the island,

1009
00:46:55,566 --> 00:46:57,366
what he saw was people

1010
00:46:57,366 --> 00:46:58,966
drinking straight
from the ocean.

1011
00:46:58,966 --> 00:47:01,233
And he thought, "This is crazy,
why would people do that?"

1012
00:47:01,233 --> 00:47:03,500
What he was actually
seeing is people

1013
00:47:03,500 --> 00:47:06,400
drinking water that comes
from these freshwater seeps

1014
00:47:06,400 --> 00:47:08,266
that emerge right at
the coast of the island.

1015
00:47:08,266 --> 00:47:11,666
NARRATOR:
And when Carl and Terry compared
their map of ahu moai

1016
00:47:11,666 --> 00:47:13,733
with a map
of freshwater sources,

1017
00:47:13,733 --> 00:47:17,033
they got a roughly 90 percent
match.

1018
00:47:17,033 --> 00:47:18,966
HUNT:
In fact,
the locations of freshwater

1019
00:47:18,966 --> 00:47:21,566
are the best predictor
of the locations of ahu

1020
00:47:21,566 --> 00:47:23,166
throughout the island.

1021
00:47:23,166 --> 00:47:26,633
NARRATOR:
For many, this near-perfect
match is not surprising,

1022
00:47:26,633 --> 00:47:30,200
because ahu are usually linked
with settlements.

1023
00:47:30,200 --> 00:47:32,966
KÜHLEM:
Those hamlets or villages

1024
00:47:32,966 --> 00:47:38,000
are located, in many cases,
close to water sources,

1025
00:47:38,000 --> 00:47:42,700
which makes perfect sense that
the essentials for survival,

1026
00:47:42,700 --> 00:47:46,133
like your crops
and your drinking water,

1027
00:47:46,133 --> 00:47:49,000
is close to where
the people actually settle.

1028
00:47:49,000 --> 00:47:51,933
NARRATOR:
Yet for Carl and Terry,
it's the precise location

1029
00:47:51,933 --> 00:47:54,266
of the moai
that is the key to this theory.

1030
00:47:54,266 --> 00:47:57,300
LIPO:
One of the interesting
aspects about Rapanui people

1031
00:47:57,300 --> 00:47:58,966
is that they lived in
a dispersed settlement pattern

1032
00:47:58,966 --> 00:48:02,633
in which people used
the landscape around the ahu

1033
00:48:02,633 --> 00:48:04,100
in sort of a wide area.

1034
00:48:04,100 --> 00:48:07,100
But they're brought together
at the ahu and the moai.

1035
00:48:07,100 --> 00:48:11,033
NARRATOR:
Again and again, the ahu--
not the settlements--

1036
00:48:11,033 --> 00:48:13,500
are closest to the water.

1037
00:48:13,500 --> 00:48:15,233
LIPO:
So we find, in fact,
the ahu and the moai

1038
00:48:15,233 --> 00:48:17,233
right next to the critical
resource because, in fact,

1039
00:48:17,233 --> 00:48:19,600
that is the heart
of the community.

1040
00:48:19,600 --> 00:48:23,633
♪ ♪

1041
00:48:23,633 --> 00:48:26,300
NARRATOR:
It seems the moai
acted as a statement,

1042
00:48:26,300 --> 00:48:29,933
erected close to a community's
most vital resource.

1043
00:48:29,933 --> 00:48:34,666
But Rapanui tradition
would see this differently.

1044
00:48:34,666 --> 00:48:38,033
HUKE:
They represent
the soul of a dead king.

1045
00:48:38,033 --> 00:48:42,233
So moais, their location
and eventual collapse,

1046
00:48:42,233 --> 00:48:44,966
is also related
with an evolution

1047
00:48:44,966 --> 00:48:47,500
of our political
and social structure.

1048
00:48:47,500 --> 00:48:50,933
The statement is
"We're honoring our ancestors."

1049
00:48:50,933 --> 00:48:53,866
And they might even say to us,
if we could time travel,

1050
00:48:53,866 --> 00:48:56,600
"Don't you honor
your ancestors in this way?"

1051
00:48:56,600 --> 00:48:59,266
♪ ♪

1052
00:48:59,266 --> 00:49:01,766
NARRATOR:
Looking at all
the archaeological evidence,

1053
00:49:01,766 --> 00:49:03,166
it seems more likely that,

1054
00:49:03,166 --> 00:49:05,666
rather than
a self-inflicted ecocide,

1055
00:49:05,666 --> 00:49:08,200
the true collapse
of Rapa Nui society

1056
00:49:08,200 --> 00:49:11,766
was caused
by outside influences.

1057
00:49:11,766 --> 00:49:13,533
HUNT:
As time went on,
and the evidence accumulated,

1058
00:49:13,533 --> 00:49:16,600
we realized that a lot of
what people thought

1059
00:49:16,600 --> 00:49:19,266
was collapse was
something that actually happened

1060
00:49:19,266 --> 00:49:21,100
after Europeans arrived.

1061
00:49:21,100 --> 00:49:23,866
And it had an entirely
different cause,

1062
00:49:23,866 --> 00:49:28,000
and that was the introduction
of Old World disease.

1063
00:49:28,000 --> 00:49:29,666
HUKE:
There was the smallpox,

1064
00:49:29,666 --> 00:49:30,966
there was the Spanish Flu,

1065
00:49:30,966 --> 00:49:34,100
leprosy, slave trading.

1066
00:49:34,100 --> 00:49:36,200
It was difficult to live here,

1067
00:49:36,200 --> 00:49:39,733
and it was more difficult
to keep the social structures

1068
00:49:39,733 --> 00:49:42,333
and the life as the way that we
knew it.

1069
00:49:42,333 --> 00:49:46,566
LIPO:
Over time, we see people
sort of abandoning ahu and moai.

1070
00:49:46,566 --> 00:49:47,733
It's a loss of population.

1071
00:49:47,733 --> 00:49:48,800
There's just fewer people

1072
00:49:48,800 --> 00:49:50,433
because of
the effects of diseases.

1073
00:49:50,433 --> 00:49:52,200
So people
are not attending to the ahu

1074
00:49:52,200 --> 00:49:55,900
and rebuilding them in the way
that they did in the past.

1075
00:49:55,900 --> 00:49:58,400
NARRATOR:
Things got even worse
in the 1860s.

1076
00:49:58,400 --> 00:50:02,866
KÜHLEM:
Peruvian slave traders
captured about a third

1077
00:50:02,866 --> 00:50:06,100
of the population on the island

1078
00:50:06,100 --> 00:50:09,833
and forced them onto their ships
to work in Peru.

1079
00:50:09,833 --> 00:50:12,866
(translated): There were
protests.

1080
00:50:12,866 --> 00:50:14,700
Even the Vatican got involved.

1081
00:50:14,700 --> 00:50:17,033
And consequently,
the companies were forced

1082
00:50:17,033 --> 00:50:20,666
to return the inhabitants
to the islands.

1083
00:50:20,666 --> 00:50:24,466
However, these people
had contracted smallpox

1084
00:50:24,466 --> 00:50:26,300
on the American continent.

1085
00:50:26,300 --> 00:50:28,400
Only 15 people made it home,

1086
00:50:28,400 --> 00:50:31,566
and this was enough
for an epidemic of smallpox

1087
00:50:31,566 --> 00:50:33,733
to break out there.

1088
00:50:33,733 --> 00:50:35,500
(speaking French)

1089
00:50:35,500 --> 00:50:37,366
NARRATOR:
By the time it was over,

1090
00:50:37,366 --> 00:50:40,766
there were less than
200 Rapanui left alive.

1091
00:50:40,766 --> 00:50:43,066
♪ ♪

1092
00:50:43,066 --> 00:50:46,166
The true story of Rapa Nui

1093
00:50:46,166 --> 00:50:47,833
is one of survival
against the odds

1094
00:50:47,833 --> 00:50:50,266
by an ingenious
and resilient people

1095
00:50:50,266 --> 00:50:53,966
who came to a "bad land"
and made it good.

1096
00:50:53,966 --> 00:50:56,366
But that story
has been overshadowed

1097
00:50:56,366 --> 00:50:59,333
by a Western fascination
with the moai.

1098
00:50:59,333 --> 00:51:03,466
And for Sonia and Hete,
that is the true tragedy

1099
00:51:03,466 --> 00:51:05,700
and triumph of Rapa Nui.

1100
00:51:05,700 --> 00:51:07,833
CARDINALI:
If we look only the moai,

1101
00:51:07,833 --> 00:51:10,366
we are not making
this place bigger.

1102
00:51:10,366 --> 00:51:13,433
We're making it small.

1103
00:51:13,433 --> 00:51:18,800
This mean you don't believe
in my capacity as a human being.

1104
00:51:18,800 --> 00:51:20,633
HUKE:
If there's one thing

1105
00:51:20,633 --> 00:51:22,600
that I would like people
to take from Rapa Nui,

1106
00:51:22,600 --> 00:51:25,100
it's that the history
has been narrated

1107
00:51:25,100 --> 00:51:27,700
by a very
selected group of people.

1108
00:51:27,700 --> 00:51:29,233
There are different realities.

1109
00:51:29,233 --> 00:51:33,200
The world is full
of beautiful, amazing stories

1110
00:51:33,200 --> 00:51:35,166
that deserve to be told,

1111
00:51:35,166 --> 00:51:37,533
and people deserve to hear.

1112
00:51:37,533 --> 00:51:39,633
Our history is not unique.

1113
00:51:39,633 --> 00:51:41,866
We share with many islands,

1114
00:51:41,866 --> 00:51:44,966
and we share a beautiful past,

1115
00:51:44,966 --> 00:51:47,066
a complex present,

1116
00:51:47,066 --> 00:51:51,233
and many, many tragedies
in the midway.

1117
00:51:51,233 --> 00:51:54,566
♪ ♪

1118
00:52:08,166 --> 00:52:15,700
♪ ♪

1119
00:52:19,533 --> 00:52:27,066
♪ ♪

1120
00:52:28,700 --> 00:52:36,233
♪ ♪

1121
00:52:37,866 --> 00:52:45,400
♪ ♪

1122
00:52:51,133 --> 00:52:58,300
♪ ♪