All language subtitles for Unearthed.(2016).S03E06.Lost.World.of.Easter.Island.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD+2.0.H.264-Cinefeel_track3_[eng]

Narrator: THE MYSTERIOUS
STONE STATUES OF EASTER ISLAND.

CARVED BY EARLY INHABITANTS

OF ONE OF THE MOST ISOLATED
ISLANDS ON EARTH.

Mulrooney: THE FIRST TIME I SAW
THE STATUES,

I WAS STRUCK BY
HOW BIG THEY ARE.

THEY'RE ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE.

Narrator:
WHY DID THE PEOPLE HERE

RAISE THESE
SOARING STONE GIANTS...

♪♪

...ONLY TO PULL THEM ALL DOWN?

NOW INVESTIGATORS WANT
TO FIND OUT THE TRUTH

ABOUT THIS ISLAND'S PAST

AND WHAT IT TOOK TO
SURVIVE HERE.

Narrator: DID SOME TERRIBLE
EVENT SUDDENLY CAUSE

THE POPULATION TO PLUMMET?

Narrator: TO UNEARTH THE SECRETS
OF EASTER ISLAND,

WE WILL DECONSTRUCT THESE
MASSIVE STATUES STONE BY STONE.

WE'LL DIVE DEEP INTO THE GROUND

TO UNCOVER WHAT
THEY REALLY LOOKED LIKE,

AND REVEAL THE UNTOLD STORY
OF THESE INCREDIBLE MONUMENTS.

--Captions by VITAC--
www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

♪♪

EASTER ISLAND --

A SOLITARY OUTPOST
OF VOLCANIC ROCK

LOST IN THE VAST PACIFIC OCEAN.

♪♪

ACROSS THE ISLAND,
STRANGE STATUES TOWER OVER

A BARREN LANDSCAPE THAT WAS ONCE
COVERED IN DENSE FOREST.

♪♪

THESE IMPOSING STONE GIANTS
ARE THE LASTING LEGACY

OF A CIVILIZATION THAT ARRIVED
HERE ALMOST 1,000 YEARS AGO --

THE RAPA NUI.

THE RAPA NUI WERE ONE OF
THE MOST ISOLATED COMMUNITIES

IN THE WORLD.

Narrator: FOR CENTURIES,

THE ANCESTORS OF TODAY'S
ISLANDERS LIVED HERE,

CUT OFF FROM THE REST
OF HUMANKIND.

BUT ON EASTER SUNDAY, 1722,

THE CREW OF A PASSING DUTCH SHIP
SPOTTED THE ISLAND.

THEY NAMED IT AFTER
THE DAY THEY ARRIVED.

Narrator: THE DUTCH EXPLORERS
SPOKE OF A WELCOMING

AND FERTILE LAND
COVERED WITH CURIOUS STATUES.

THE ISLANDERS CALLED THEM MOAI.

♪♪

BUT 50 YEARS LATER,
WHEN THE EUROPEANS RETURNED,

RAPA NUI SOCIETY WAS IN CHAOS.

ALMOST EVERY MOAI HAD
BEEN TOPPLED.

WITHIN THE FIRST 50 YEARS OR SO,
FOLLOWING THE EUROPEAN CONTACT,

THE COURSE OF HISTORY CHANGED
DRAMATICALLY ON THIS ISLAND.

♪♪

Narrator: NOW EXPERTS HOPE
THAT NEW IN-DEPTH INVESTIGATIONS

WILL UNLOCK THE MYSTERY

OF WHY THESE MOAI STATUES
WERE CREATED

AND WHY THE RAPA NUI
DECIDED TO DESTROY THEM.

♪♪

ALL ALONG THE ISLAND'S COAST,

WEARING SOLEMN EXPRESSIONS

AND TOP KNOTS
OF SHAPED RED STONE...

♪♪

...MOAI STATUES STARE INLAND
FROM DEEP EYE SOCKETS.

ON THEIR BACKS
ARE MYSTERIOUS FADED CARVINGS.

THEY STAND ON A SOLID PLATFORM
MADE OF PRECISELY CUT BLOCKS.

BUT UNDER THEM
LIE GRISLY SECRETS.

WHAT CLUES CAN
THESE MOAI REVEAL

ABOUT THE RISE AND FALL
OF THE MOST ISOLATED CULTURE

THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN?

ARCHEOLOGISTS AREN'T CERTAIN

WHY THE RAPA NUI
TOPPLED THEIR STATUES.

THERE ARE MANY THEORIES.

THEY RANGE FROM CIVIL WAR
TO MAN-MADE CLIMATE CHANGE.

ANTHROPOLOGIST MARA MULROONEY
THINKS THAT THE FIRST STEP

TOWARDS SOLVING THIS MYSTERY
IS TO FIND OUT

JUST HOW IMPORTANT THESE STATUES
WERE TO THE ORIGINAL RAPA NUI.

SHE'S ON HER WAY
TO THE REMAINS OF A VILLAGE

IN THE ISLAND'S NORTH WEST.

♪♪

IT'S ALWAYS EXCITING FOR ME
TO BE ABLE TO SURVEY

AREAS THAT I HAVEN'T
SURVEYED BEFORE.

♪♪

Narrator: THE RAPA NUI LIVED IN
VILLAGES NEAR THE COAST.

EACH TRIBE HAD ITS OWN SET
OF MAGNIFICENT STATUES,

BUT BY CONTRAST, THEIR HOUSES
WERE SIMPLE STRUCTURES.

I DON'T KNOW.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?

I MEAN, MAYBE THOSE WERE
SORT OF LIKE A FRONT TERRACE

OF REUSED PAENGA STONES.

YEAH, WE GOT SOME PAENGA.

YEAH, YEAH.

THIS ISN'T A FOUNDATION OR A...
[ SPEAKS NATIVE LANGUAGE ]

OR A BOAT-SHAPED HOUSE.

WHICH WOULD HAVE
HAD A SUPER STRUCTURE

CONSISTING OF TWIGS AND GRASS.

IT WOULD'VE LOOKED VERY MUCH
LIKE AN OVERTURNED BOAT.

Narrator: SO WHY DID A PEOPLE
WHO LIVED IN MODEST HOUSES

MADE PARTLY OF TWIGS AND GRASS

CARVE SUCH COLOSSAL
STONE MONOLITHS?

♪♪

THE MOAI STAND ON HUGE
CEREMONIAL PLATFORMS,

CALLED AHU, BUILT FROM
PEBBLES AND BASALT SLABS.

BUT BURIED DEEP WITHIN
MANY OF THEM,

INVESTIGATORS HAVE UNEARTHED
MACABRE CLUES

TO THE MAKERS OF THE MOAI --

MYSTERIOUS CHAMBERS
FILLED WITH HUMAN BONES.

AT ONE AHU, ARCHEOLOGISTS
UNCOVERED THE REMAINS

OF OVER 100 INDIVIDUALS.

ALMOST EVERY SKELETON
HAD A DEFORMED KNEECAP.

THIS SUGGESTS THEY WERE
PROBABLY ALL RELATED.

WHY ARE SO MANY MEMBERS
OF THE SAME FAMILY

BURIED BELOW THE STATUES

AND CAN THIS REVEAL THE REASON
THEY WERE BUILT?

MARA EXAMINES THE HOUSES NEXT
TO THIS COLLAPSED PLATFORM.

♪♪

SHE WANTS TO FIND OUT IF
THE HOUSES CLOSEST TO THE AHU

ARE DIFFERENT FROM THOSE
FURTHER INLAND.

THESE HOUSES
ARE ARRANGED SORT OF

IN A SEMICIRCULAR PATTERN

AROUND THE PRINCIPAL
CEREMONIAL SITE,

OR THE AHU, WHICH IS LOCATED
RIGHT OVER THERE.

IT'S ABOUT 200 METERS AWAY.

Narrator: THIS IS THE LARGEST
BOATHOUSE FOUND ANYWHERE

ON EASTER ISLAND.

IT PROBABLY BELONGED TO A CHIEF.

Mulrooney: THIS WAS TRULY
SOMETHING SPECIAL.

WHEN THE HIGH CHIEFS,
OR THE ARIKI,

WOULD HAVE WOKEN UP
AND WALKED OUTSIDE THEIR DOOR,

THEY WOULD HAVE SEEN THE MOAI.

♪♪

Narrator: MARA'S INVESTIGATIONS
REVEAL THAT

THE LARGEST HOUSES
WERE CLUSTERED AT THE BASE

OF THESE MONUMENTS.

THIS SUGGESTS THAT
THE MORE IMPORTANT PEOPLE WERE

IN RAPA NUI SOCIETY, THE CLOSER
THEY LIVED TO THESE MONUMENTS.

THESE BOAT-SHAPED HOUSES
WERE CONCENTRATED AROUND

THE FOCAL POINT OF THE AHU

AND FURTHER INLAND,
WHAT WE SEE ARE SMALLER HOUSES,

HOUSES OF COMMONERS.

Narrator: MARA THINKS
THAT EACH STATUE SYMBOLIZED

A LONG DEAD ANCESTOR,
SUCH AS A CHIEF.

♪♪

Mulrooney: THE MOAI
ARE VERY CLOSELY CONNECTED

WITH THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE

AND THEY'RE SPECIFIC
TO THEIR COMMUNITIES.

Narrator: THE MOAI WERE
A DIRECT LINK TO THESE ANCESTORS

AND WERE CONSIDERED TO BE

AN IMPORTANT PART
OF THE COMMUNITY.

♪♪

THE FIRST PEOPLE WHO ARRIVED
ON THE ISLAND

ALMOST 1,000 YEARS AGO
SPLIT INTO TRIBES

AND DIVIDED THE LAND UP
BETWEEN THEM.

THEY SOON BEGAN
CONSTRUCTING MOAI,

WITH EACH CLAN BUILDING STATUES
TO HONOR THEIR OWN ANCESTORS.

OVER TIME, THE NUMBER
OF STATUES INCREASED,

GROWING WITH THE POPULATION.

♪♪

MOAI BUILDING PROBABLY
BECAME A FORM OF COMPETITION,

AS EACH TRIBE TRIED TO
OUT DO THE OTHER

WITH BIGGER AND BETTER STATUES.

♪♪

Mulrooney: JUST AS YOU WOULD
WANT TO IMPRESS YOUR NEIGHBORS,

SO, TOO, DID THE RAPA NUI,

AND SO THERE WAS A LOT
OF FRIENDLY COMPETITION.

THE MONUMENTAL SIZE
OF A STRUCTURE

REALLY REFLECTS
THE SUCCESS OF ITS COMMUNITY.

♪♪

Narrator: THE MOAI WERE
AT THE HEART OF ISLAND LIFE,

A DIRECT LINK TO THE PAST.

♪♪

BUT HERE ON THIS AHU,

THE STATUES ARE
LYING ON THEIR FACES.

IT'S ONE OF MANY PLACES
WHERE THE RAPA NUI

PULLED DOWN THE MOAI
AND ABANDONED THEM.

BUT WHERE DID THIS IDEA OF
HUGE MONUMENTS FIRST COME FROM?

AND CAN IT EXPLAIN
WHY THEY WERE ABANDONED?

♪♪

[ RUMBLING ]

[ RUMBLING ]

♪♪

Narrator: EASTER ISLAND --

A REMOTE LAND ALMOST THE SIZE

OF WASHINGTON D.C.
IN THE VAST PACIFIC OCEAN.

IT'S HOME TO NEARLY
900 MYSTERIOUS STATUES --

THE MOAI.

CARVED FROM SOLID ROCK,
EACH ONE BEARS THE FACE

OF A LONG DEAD
RAPA NUI CHIEFTAIN.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: IN 1774, ONLY
52 YEARS AFTER THE ISLANDERS

FIRST MADE CONTACT
WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD,

EUROPEAN VISITORS
DISCOVERED THAT THE RAPA NUI

HAD TORN DOWN
MANY OF THEIR STATUES.

♪♪

BUT WHERE DID THIS IDEA OF HUGE
STATUES ORIGINALLY COME FROM,

AND WHY DID THEY TAKE THIS FORM?

CLUES ARE BURIED UNDERGROUND.

♪♪

AMONG THE ROCKS
BENEATH THE STATUES

LIE SMALL, CAREFULLY CARVED
PIECES OF WHITE CORAL

THAT ONCE FIT PERFECTLY INTO
THE STATUES EYE SOCKETS.

PIECE OF RED SCORIA,
VOLCANIC ROCK,

FORMED THE IRISES.

RAPA NUI LEGEND SAYS THAT
THE FINISHED EYES

BROUGHT THE ANCESTOR'S SPIRIT
BACK TO LIFE.

IN THEIR DAY,
THE MOAI WERE SPECTACULAR,

WITH ELABORATE TOP KNOTS
MADE OF RED STONE.

STRIPPING AWAY
CENTURIES OF WEATHERING

REVEALS THE STATUES' TRUE COLOR
AND VOLCANIC ORIGINS.

BUT WHAT FIRST INSPIRED
THE RAPA NUI TO BUILD THEM?

♪♪

ANTHROPOLOGIST
FRANCISCO TORRES-HOCHSTETTER

IS DETERMINED TO FIND OUT

WHERE THE IDEA FOR THESE
GIANT MOAI FIRST ORIGINATED.

TODAY, HE'S INVESTIGATING
THE MOST INTACT ONES

AT ANAKENA BEACH.

HE THINKS THEIR LOCATION
MIGHT PROVIDE VITAL CLUES

TO THE BIRTHPLACE
OF THE RAPA NUI'S

STATUE BUILDING TRADITION.

Narrator: HIS MAPPING SHOWS
THAT MOST STAND BETWEEN

RAPA NUI VILLAGES
AND THE PACIFIC OCEAN.

FRANCISCO THINKS
THIS COSTAL POSITION

SERVED TWO PURPOSES.

NOT ONLY DO THE STATUES
WATCH OVER THE PEOPLE,

THEY ALSO PROVIDE A LINK
TO WHERE

THE RAPA NUI'S ANCESTORS
CAME FROM.

THE FIRST ISLANDERS
WERE POLYNESIAN ADVENTURERS

WHO WERE EXPLORING
THE UNKNOWN REGIONS

OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN
IN THE 11th CENTURY.

♪♪

THEY SAILED EAST
IN DOUBLE-HULLED CANOES,

NAVIGATING BY THE STARS.

D.N.A. EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT

A SMALL GROUP
OF THESE POLYNESIAN EXPLORERS

WERE THE FIRST HUMANS
EVER TO SET FOOT ON THE ISLAND.

♪♪

BUT ONCE THEY ARRIVED,
THEY WERE CUT OFF

FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD,

AND NO OUTSIDERS
WOULD FIND EASTER ISLAND

FOR CENTURIES TO COME.

♪♪

LEGEND SAYS THAT THIS BEACH
WAS WHERE THE RAPA NUI

FIRST ARRIVED AND SETTLED

BEFORE THEY SPREAD OUT
ACROSS THE ISLAND.

THEIR DESCENDANTS RAISED
THE FIRST MOAI

RIGHT NEXT TO THE OCEAN
TO HONOR THESE PIONEERS.

FRANCISCO THINKS
THAT THE OCEAN PROVIDED

A SPIRITUAL CONNECTION
TO THEIR HOMELAND.

♪♪

Narrator:
FRANCISCO HAS COME

TO THE ISLAND'S
ARCHEOLOGICAL ARCHIVES.

HE EXAMINES
THESE SMALLER WOODEN FIGURES.

COULD THEY HELP EXPLAIN
THE ORIGINS OF THE MOAI?

Narrator: FRANCISCO THINKS
THE RAPA NUI BROUGHT

THIS TRADITION
OF WOODEN STATUES WITH THEM,

BUT IN ISOLATION,
THE STYLE BECAME UNIQUE.

♪♪

Narrator:
UNLIKE ELSEWHERE IN POLYNESIA,

FRANCISCO BELIEVES EASTER ISLAND
DID NOT HAVE PALM TREES

SUITABLE FOR CARVING STATUES.

INSTEAD, THE RAPA NUI
TURNED TO SOMETHING

THEY HAD PLENTY OF --

SOFT VOLCANIC ROCK CALLED TUFF.

THESE SMALLER STONE STATUES
ARE THE MISSING LINK

BETWEEN THE WOODEN FIGURES
OF POLYNESIA

AND THE COLOSSAL MOAI.

Narrator:
THE RAPA NUI TOOK THE TRADITION

OF POLYNESIAN WOOD CARVING
AND SUPER SIZED IT.

OVER TIME, THE STONE MONUMENTS
GOT BIGGER AND BIGGER.

THE MOAI WE SEE TODAY
ARE THE PINNACLE

OF CENTURIES
OF STATUE-BUILDING EVOLUTION.

BUT DESPITE
THE HUGE SUPPLIES OF ROCK,

ARCHEOLOGISTS THINK
MOAI CONSTRUCTION STOPPED

DECADES BEFORE
THE RAPA NUI DESERTED THEM.

WHY WERE THESE STONE GIANTS

AND THE TRADITIONS OF
THEIR ANCESTORS ABANDONED?

AND DID AN ECOLOGICAL DISASTER

BRING THIS GREAT SOCIETY
TO IT'S KNEES?

♪♪

[ RUMBLING ]

[ RUMBLING ]

Narrator: THE STATUES
OF EASTER ISLAND ARE UNIQUE.

OVER SEVEN CENTURIES,

THE ISLAND'S SETTLERS,
THE RAPA NUI,

SUPERSIZED
AN ANCIENT POLYNESIAN TRADITION.

♪♪

BUT UNSOLVED MYSTERIES REMAIN

AT THE QUARRY,
WHERE ARCHEOLOGISTS BELIEVE

MOST OF THE MOAI WERE MADE,

MANY STATUES LIE ABANDONED.

WHY ARE THEY STILL HERE,

AND CAN THEY REVEAL
WHY THE RAPA NUI GAVE UP

ON THE STATUES THAT WERE
ONCE THEIR LIFE BLOOD?

THESE SCULPTURES IN THE QUARRY
AREN'T JUST CARVED HEADS.

THEY'RE FULLY FORMED MOAI.

BURIED UP TO THEIR SHOULDERS,

THEIR BODIES STRETCH NEARLY
15 FEET BELOW THE SURFACE.

ONCE UNEARTHED,
THEIR TRUE SIZE IS REVEALED --

COLOSSAL STONE GIANTS AS TALL
AS THREE FULLY GROWN MEN,

WEIGHING MORE THAN 80 TONS.

BUT THESE BURIED MOAI
SEEM TO BE UNFINISHED.

MANY OF THEIR BASES ARE
WIDER AND ROUNDER THAN THOSE

INSTALLED ON
THE COASTAL PLATFORMS,

AND THEIR EYE SOCKETS SHALLOWER.

SO DID THE RAPA NUI
STOP BUILDING STATUES

LONG BEFORE THEY TOPPLED THEM?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: ARCHEOLOGIST
PATRICIA VARGAS BELIEVES

THAT A SUDDEN CHANGE
IN RAPA NUI SOCIETY

FORCED THEM TO ABANDON
MOAI CONSTRUCTION.

SHE WORKS WITH HER HUSBAND,
CLAUDIO CRISTINO,

TO INVESTIGATE
THIS PUZZLING QUARRY.

Narrator:
AT THE HEART OF EASTER ISLAND

IS AN EXTINCT VOLCANO.

THE RAPA NUI CARVED
ALMOST EVERY STATUE

FROM ITS SOLIDIFIED ASH.

♪♪

PATRICIA EXAMINES
TWO UNUSUAL EXAMPLES OF MOAI.

THEY WERE BEING CARVED
AT THE SAME TIME,

BUT NEITHER WAS EVER FINISHED.

Narrator: EACH STATUE
TOOK UP TO A YEAR TO CARVE,

USING SIMPLE STONE TOOLS
TO CHIP AWAY

AT THE SOFTER VOLCANIC ROCK.

Narrator: BUT PATRICIA ALSO
BELIEVES THAT THESE STONE TOOLS

POINT TO A SUDDEN END
IN THE PRODUCTION OF THE MOAI.

HUGE NUMBERS OF THEM
LIE DISCARDED ON THE GROUND.

IT'S AS IF THE STONE CARVERS
HAD FINISHED WORKING FOR THE DAY

AND NEVER RETURNED.

WHAT HAPPENED HERE?

♪♪

Narrator: CLUES AS TO WHY

THE RAPA NUI
STOPPED MAKING STATUES

LIE DEEPER INSIDE THE QUARRY.

ONCE FREED FROM THE MOTHER ROCK,
THE HUGE STATUES NEEDED

TO BE LOWERED GRADUALLY
FROM THE FACE OF THE MOUNTAIN.

♪♪

Narrator: THE STATUES WERE
THEN MANEUVERED

INTO AN UPRIGHT POSITION
AND PLACED IN TRENCHES.

THIS ALLOWED THE ISLANDERS
TO COMPLETE THE BACKS

BEFORE TRANSPORTING THEM
ACROSS THE ISLAND.

BUT THESE MOAI WERE NEVER MOVED.

OVER THE CENTURIES, THEY HAVE
BEEN COVERED BY DEBRIS

THAT HAS BEEN WASHED DOWN
FROM THE QUARRY ABOVE.

Narrator: WHY DID THE RAPA NUI
ABANDON SO MANY STATUES

THAT WERE NEARLY FINISHED?

COULD THE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
HAVE BEEN

AT THE HEART OF THE PROBLEM?

MOVING THESE STATUES WOULD HAVE
BEEN A HUGE OPERATION.

IT WOULD HAVE INVOLVED
TAKING THEM ACROSS LAND

BELONGING TO OTHER TRIBES.

RAPA NUI LEGEND
SAYS THAT THE MOAI

WALKED TO THEIR PLATFORMS.

ONE NEW THEORY SHOWS HOW THIS
MIGHT REALLY HAVE HAPPENED,

WITH ROPES PULLING
THE STATUES SIDE TO SIDE.

THESE STRUCTURES WERE CARVED
TO HAVE A FORWARD LEAN

SO THEY'D SHUFFLE FORWARD
WITH EACH SWING.

BUT MANY BELIEVE THAT WALKING
IS JUST A LEGEND.

♪♪

MOST ARCHEOLOGISTS AGREE
THAT THEY WERE PROBABLY LASHED

TO A WOODEN SLEDGE
AND ROLLED ALONG LOG RAILS.

♪♪

WHATEVER THE METHOD, MOVING
THE STATUES MEANT TAKING THEM

OVER LAND THAT BELONGED
TO OTHER TRIBES.

COULD THIS HAVE BEEN
A KEY FACTOR

IN THE DECLINE IN MOAI BUILDING?

CLAUDIO AND PATRICIA
FIRST HUNT FOR EVIDENCE

OF A NETWORK OF ROADS

THAT WERE USED
TO TRANSPORT THE STATUES.

♪♪

TODAY, THEY ARE SEARCHING
FOR A TRACK THAT WOULD HAVE LED

TO THE BIGGEST STATUE PLATFORM
ON THE ISLAND, AHU TONGARIKI.

♪♪

THEY THINK IT COULD HELP EXPLAIN

HOW MOAI BUILDING CAME
TO AN END.

♪♪

GO RIGHT.

STOP, STOP, RIGHT THERE.

A LITTLE BIT HERE. THERE.

Narrator: CLAUDIO AND PATRICIA
THINK THAT IT TOOK

ISLAND-WIDE ORGANIZATION TO HAUL
THE GIGANTIC MOAI STATUES HERE.

Narrator:
ALONG THE ROUTE OF THIS ROAD,

PATRICIA AND CLAUDIO MAP
MORE STATUES

THAT NEVER MADE IT
TO THE PLATFORM.

THEY THINK THAT AS
THE STATUE BUILDING FRENZY

REACHED ITS PEAK, THERE WAS
A DISPUTE IN RAPA NUI SOCIETY,

AND THE TRIBAL COOPERATION
REQUIRED TO MOVE THE STATUES

SIMPLY BROKE DOWN.

THE MOAI WERE LEFT
WHERE THEY WERE.

Narrator: SOME BELIEVE
THAT CIVIL WAR ON EASTER ISLAND

WAS TO BLAME.

♪♪

BUT EXPERTS DON'T AGREE
ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED HERE.

SOME AREN'T SURE THAT TRIBES
TURNED AGAINST EACH OTHER.

IF IT WASN'T WAR,

WHAT WAS THE REAL REASON
THE STATUES WERE ABANDONED?

AND WHY DID THE RAPA NUI TOPPLE

ALL OF THEIR SACRED MOAI?

[ RUMBLING ]

[ RUMBLING ]

Narrator: EASTER ISLAND --

HOME TO HUNDREDS
OF GIGANTIC STONE STATUES

THAT TOWER OVER
A TREELESS ISLAND LANDSCAPE.

BUT WHEN HUMANS
FIRST SET FOOT HERE

AROUND 1,000 YEARS AGO,

IT WAS COVERED WITH
DENSE FOREST.

COULD THIS CHANGE
IN THE ISLAND'S ENVIRONMENT

BE THE CAUSE OF
THE STATUE BUILDERS' DOWNFALL?

Mulrooney:
WHEN THE RAPA NUI ARRIVED,

THE ISLAND WAS COVERED
IN PALM TREES.

THEY TRANSFORMED THIS ISLAND
MORE RADICALLY

THAN ANY OTHER
POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

Narrator:
SOME ARCHEOLOGISTS THINK THAT

AS RAPA NUI NUMBERS GREW
AND THEY BUILT MORE STATUES,

THEY CUT DOWN HUGE NUMBERS
OF TREES TO HELP MOVE THEM.

WITH THEIR FRAGILE ECOSYSTEM
DESTROYED,

THE RAPA NUI'S FOOD SUPPLIES
BEGAN TO DWINDLE

AND THEY WERE PLUNGED
INTO VIOLENCE.

BUT OTHERS, LIKE MARA MULROONEY,
ARE NOT CONVINCED.

THE TOPPLING OF THE STATUES IS
ONE OF THE MOST DEBATED ASPECTS

OF RAPA NUI HISTORY.

Narrator: SO WAS THE DESTRUCTION
OF THE MOAI

REALLY THE RESULT OF CIVIL WAR?

♪♪

BENEATH AHU NAU NAU,
ARCHEOLOGISTS HAVE DISCOVERED

SOME UNUSUAL ARTIFACTS...

...OVER 1,000 PIECES
OF OBSIDIAN,

MINED ON THE OTHER SIDE
OF THE ISLAND

AND BROUGHT TO THE AHU.

AMONG THE FLAKES,
SPECIALLY FASHIONED PIECES...

...SHAPED LIKE WEAPONS
WITH SHARP CUTTING EDGES.

HUNDREDS OF THESE BLADES
HAVE BEEN FOUND

ALL OVER THE ISLAND,

SOME LEFT LYING ON THE SURFACE.

WHY DID THE PEOPLE HERE
MAKE SO MANY OF THEM?

WERE THESE WEAPONS OF CIVIL WAR?

♪♪

WHY ARE THESE STONE OBJECTS
FOUND IN VAST NUMBERS

FROM AROUND THE TIME
THE STATUES WERE TOPPLED?

THESE ARE MATAA.

AND THEY'RE ONE OF
THE MOST COMMON ARTIFACTS

THAT WE ENCOUNTER
WHILE WE'RE EXCAVATING.

Narrator: SOME ARCHEOLOGISTS

BELIEVE THAT WHEN
RAPA NUI SOCIETY COLLAPSED,

THEY STARTED MAKING
THE MATAA AS WEAPONS.

BUT RECENT EVIDENCE
CHALLENGES THE THEORY.

PREVIOUSLY, THESE WERE
INTERPRETED AS SPEAR POINTS.

BUT ARCHEOLOGISTS HAVE
LOOKED AT THE SHAPE

OF THESE CUTTING EDGES, AND WHAT
THE SHAPE ACTUALLY SUGGESTS

IS THAT THESE TOOLS
WERE PRIMARILY USED
TO CUT WOODY PLANTS.

SO THEY PROBABLY HAD
AN AGRICULTURAL FUNCTION.

Narrator: MARA WANTS
TO ASCERTAIN IF THESE OBJECTS

REALLY ARE FARMING TOOLS

AND NOT WEAPONS
OF A RAPA NUI CIVIL WAR.

THE FIRST STEP IS TO WORK OUT
WHERE THE OBJECTS CAME FROM.

SHE USES A SPECIAL INSTRUMENT
THAT FIRES

A CONCENTRATED BEAM OF X-RAYS
AT THE ROCK SAMPLE

AND INSTANTLY ANALYZES
ITS CHEMICAL MAKEUP.

Mulrooney: WITH THIS INSTRUMENT,
WE CAN MEASURE THE GEOCHEMISTRY

OF THIS ARTIFACT, AND WE CAN
COMPARE IT TO KNOWN QUARRIES.

Narrator: THEY'RE MADE
OF OBSIDIAN, A RARE MATERIAL

THAT'S ONLY FOUND
IN A FEW PLACES ON THE ISLAND.

MARA COMPARES THE CHEMICAL
SIGNATURES OF HER MATAA

TO THOSE OF THE ISLAND'S
OBSIDIAN QUARRIES.

SHE PINPOINTS EXACTLY WHERE
IT CAME FROM.

WITH THIS SAMPLE, WE HAVE
A HIGH CONCENTRATION OF IRON

VERSUS A LOWER CONCENTRATION
OF ZIRCONIUM

AND WHAT THAT TELLS US
IS THAT THIS MATCHES

THE ORITO OBSIDIAN QUARRY.

Narrator:
ALMOST ALL OF THE MATAA

THAT HAVE BEEN TESTED IN THIS
WAY COME FROM A SINGLE QUARRY.

IT'S LOCATED IN THE TERRITORY
OF A SINGLE TRIBE.

MARA FINDS THESE TOOLS
RIGHT ACROSS THE ISLAND,

SO SHE THINKS ALL TRIBES MUST'VE
HAD ACCESS TO THE QUARRY.

Mulrooney: PEOPLE WERE SHARING
THIS RESOURCE JUST AS THEY WERE

SHARING OTHER RESOURCES
ON THE ISLAND,

LIKE THE TUFF FROM WHICH
THE MOAI WERE MADE.

Narrator:
MARA'S RESULTS SUGGEST

THAT FAR FROM
FIGHTING EACH OTHER,

THE RAPA NUI
WERE WORKING TOGETHER.

SHE BELIEVES THAT THE RAPA NUI
WERE USING THE MATAA

ON NEWLY CLEARED FARMLAND

TO GROW MORE FOOD
AS THEIR POPULATION EXPANDED.

♪♪

FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS
BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF HUMANS,

EASTER ISLAND WAS COVERED IN
A DENSE FOREST OF PALM TREES.

[ BIRDS CALL ]

AS SOON AS THE RAPA NUI ARRIVED,
THEY BEGAN CUTTING DOWN TREES

TO CLEAR LAND FOR FARMS,
TO BUILD BOATS,

AND TO MOVE STATUES.

THEY ALSO INTRODUCED RATS,

WHICH MULTIPLIED
IN THE MILLIONS.

THESE RATS ATE THE PALM SEEDS,

PREVENTING THE TREES
FROM REGROWING.

AS THE DEMAND
FOR FARMLAND INCREASED,

TREES WERE CUT DOWN
FASTER AND FASTER,

AND WITHIN ONLY A FEW CENTURIES,

THE ISLAND WAS ALMOST
COMPLETELY DEFORESTED.

ARCHEOLOGISTS ONCE
BELIEVED THIS LOSS OF TRESS

WAS A CATASTROPHE THAT
PROVOKED CIVIL WAR.

BUT MARA THINKS
THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE.

SHE BELIEVES THE RAPA NUI
HAD A CLEAR PLAN.

THEY WERE CUTTING DOWN TREES
TO BE ABLE TO GROW MORE FOOD.

THEY DEVELOPED
A NEW KIND OF AGRICULTURE.

THE FIRST STEP IS USUALLY
CLEARING YOUR LAND

OF ANY ROCKS
OR ANYTHING ON THE SURFACE.

BUT WHAT THE RAPA NUI
REALIZED IS THAT THESE ROCKS

WERE REALLY VALUABLE FOR
INCREASING THE PRODUCTIVITY

OF THEIR SOILS.

Narrator: THEY COVERED THEIR
FIELDS WITH LARGE AMOUNTS

OF VOLCANIC ROCK SMASHED
INTO BASEBALL-SIZED CHUNKS.

THESE ROCKS PROVIDED SHADE,
PROTECTION, AND NUTRIENTS

TO THE PLANTS.

AS THE RAIN FALLS, PHOSPHORUS
LEECHES OUT OF THE ROCKS.

THAT IS NUTRIENT-RICH ELEMENTS
WHICH HEIGHTEN

THE NUTRIENT VALUES
OF THE SOILS UNDERNEATH.

IT REALLY IS
AN INNOVATIVE PRACTICE

THAT IS SOMEWHAT UNIQUE
TO RAPA NUI.

WE DO SEE SOME FORMS
OF ROCK GARDENS ELSEWHERE,

ESPECIALLY IN HAWAII,

BUT NOWHERE ELSE DO WE SEE
ROCK GARDENS ON THIS LEVEL.

Narrator: MARA THINKS THAT
THE DESTRUCTION OF TREES

WAS PART OF
THE RAPA NUI'S EFFORTS

TO COPE WITH
A GROWING POPULATION.

THEY WERE CONVERTING
THEIR ISLAND

TO ALLOW FARMING
ON AN INDUSTRIAL SCALE,

AND THEY WERE DOING IT TOGETHER.

SO IF THE RAPA NUI HAD
A CLEAR PLAN FOR THEIR ISLAND,

WERE THEY ALSO DEVELOPING
OTHER WAYS

TO TRY AND AVERT
ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER?

AND IF THERE WAS NO CIVIL WAR,

WHAT REALLY CAUSED THEM
TO TOPPLE THE MOAI?

[ RUMBLING ]

[ RUMBLING ]

♪♪

Narrator: AFTER CENTURIES OF
LIVING ON EASTER ISLAND,

RAPA NUI SOCIETY WAS
AT ITS PEAK.

AS THE POPULATION EXPLODED,

THEY CONVERTED
THEIR LAND INTO FARMS,

CUTTING DOWN THEIR FOREST
TO GROW MORE FOOD.

Narrator: NOW ARCHEOLOGISTS
ARE UNCOVERING

SURPRISING NEW EVIDENCE
THAT THE RAPA NUI

WEREN'T BLINDLY DESTROYING
THEIR ECOSYSTEM.

THEY WERE ACTUALLY VERY AWARE
OF MANAGING THEIR RESOURCES.

THEY HAD THEIR OWN WAY
OF DOING THIS,

AND THEIR GIANT MOAI
WERE AT THE HEART OF IT.

♪♪

THIS FALLEN MOAI
ONCE STOOD UPRIGHT

ON ITS OWN STONE PLATFORM.

BENEATH THE TOPSOIL NEARBY,
INSTEAD OF A VILLAGE,

ARCHEOLOGISTS HAVE DISCOVERED
WHAT WAS ONCE

A VAST CEREMONIAL PLAZA.

AT THE TOP SAT AN INTRICATELY
CARVED STONE BACK REST...

...SURROUNDED BY CIRCULAR PITS.

DEEPER IN THE GROUND,
PRECISION ENGINEERED CHANNELS

CARRIED WATER THROUGHOUT
THE PLAZA.

THIS SCALE
OF RITUAL CONSTRUCTION

ISN'T SEEN ANYWHERE ELSE
ON THE ISLAND.

WHAT IS THIS SITE?

AND WHY DID THE RAPA NUI
NEED TO BUILD

SUCH COMPLEX STRUCTURES?

TODAY, A GROUP OF
INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATORS

IS CONDUCTING
THE LARGEST EXCAVATION

EVER UNDERTAKEN
IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC.

ARCHEOLOGIST BURKHARD VOGT
HEADS UP THE TEAM.

HE UNCOVERS EVIDENCE
THAT THE RAPA NUI

WENT TO EXTRAORDINARY LENGTHS

TO PROTECT THEIR LIMITED
NATURAL RESOURCES.

Narrator: EASTER ISLAND
HAS VERY LITTLE FRESH WATER,

BUT THIS STREAM BED
IS ONE OF THE FEW PLACES

WHERE IT OCCASIONALLY FLOWS.

BURKHARD THINKS
THE LIMITED WATER HERE

WAS MADE SACRED
IN ORDER TO PRESERVE IT.

Narrator: THIS WATER WAS
SO IMPORTANT TO THE RAPA NUI

THAT THEY DEVELOPED
A UNIQUE WAY TO PROTECT IT.

THE TEAM UNCOVERS EVIDENCE
THAT THE RAPA NUI

REPEATEDLY BURIED AND DUG UP
THIS SANCTUARY.

Narrator: THIS WOULD LIMIT
ACCESS TO THE STREAM.

Narrator:
EXCAVATIONS REVEAL THAT

THIS SYSTEM
OF RITUAL WATER MANAGEMENT

WAS PRACTICED ON AND OFF
FOR CENTURIES.

BUT WHAT REALLY
SURPRISES BURKHARD

IS WHAT HAPPENED JUST BEFORE
THIS SITE WAS ABANDONED.

Narrator:
BURKHARD THINKS THE RAPA NUI

WERE GROWING PALM TREES
IN THIS SANCTUARY

TO PREVENT THEIR EXTINCTION.

THIS WAS A LAST-DITCH EFFORT
TO REPLACE THE TREES

CLEARED IN THE CREATION
OF THEIR FARMS.

♪♪

Narrator:
NEW FINDINGS REVEAL THAT

THE RAPA NUI TRIBES WERE WORKING
TOGETHER TO SURVIVE HERE.

BUT THERE IS STILL A MYSTERY.

IF ISLANDERS WERE FLOURISHING,
NOT FIGHTING,

WHY DID THEY TOPPLE
ALL OF THEIR STATUES?

ARCHEOLOGIST NICOLAS CAUWE
TAKES A CLOSER LOOK

AT THE SOLITARY FALLEN MOAI THAT
WATCHES OVER THIS SACRED SITE.

THIS COULD BE
ONE OF THE LAST STATUES

TO HAVE BEEN MOVED
ANYWHERE ON THE ISLAND.

AND LIKE THE OTHERS,
IT'S FACEDOWN.

Narrator: NICOLAS THINKS
THAT ALL THE MOAI

ON THE ISLAND'S PLATFORMS
WERE LOWERED

AT AROUND THE SAME TIME.

Narrator:
IF IT WASN'T CIVIL WAR

OR ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER,

WHAT CATASTROPHIC EVENT
COULD HAVE CAUSED

THE RAPA NUI TO FINALLY
TURN THEIR BACKS

ON THEIR MOST SACRED OBJECTS?

THE ANSWER MAY LIE
HIDDEN UNDERGROUND.

♪♪

[ RUMBLING ]

[ RUMBLING ]

Narrator: AFTER CENTURIES ALONE
ON THEIR ISLAND,

THE RAPA NUI WERE
ABOUT TO MEET OUTSIDERS

FOR THE FIRST TIME.

Narrator:
ON EASTER SUNDAY, 1722,

THE SAILS OF A DUTCH SHIP
APPEARED ON THE HORIZON,

AND TURNED THE RAPA NUI'S
WHOLE UNIVERSE UPSIDE DOWN.

Narrator:
THE FIRST EUROPEAN VISITORS

DESCRIBED THE MOAI
AS STILL STANDING.

BUT WITHIN THE NEXT FEW DECADES,

MORE AND MORE WERE TOPPLED

UNTIL ALL LAY ON THE GROUND.

IF THIS WAS NOT
THE RESULT OF CIVIL WAR,

WHAT WAS THE CAUSE?

ARCHEOLOGIST MACIEJ SOBCZYK
EXPLORES THE VAST CAVE NETWORKS

THAT SNAKE BENEATH
THE VOLCANIC ISLAND.

HE BELIEVES CLUES
TO THE DEMISE OF THE MOAI

CAN BE FOUND UNDERGROUND.

[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]

♪♪

[ SPEAKS SPANISH ]

Narrator: THE ISLANDERS
USED THESE CAVES

AS NATURAL SHELTERS,
VAULTS, AND TEMPLES

FOR NEARLY 1,000 YEARS.

Narrator: BUT AFTER CENTURIES,
THINGS SUDDENLY CHANGED.

MACIEJ HEADS DEEPER
INTO THE CAVE TO INVESTIGATE.

Narrator: THE RAPA NUI
USED THESE TUNNELS AS TOMBS.

THE AHU WERE THE BURIAL PLACES
FOR THE ELITE,

BUT MANY ORDINARY PEOPLE
WOULD BE INTERRED UNDERGROUND.

MACIEJ HAS DISCOVERED THAT
DURING ITS FINAL CENTURY OF USE,

MORE PEOPLE WERE BEING
BURIED HERE THAN EVER BEFORE.

WHAT COULD HAVE CAUSED
THIS SUDDEN RISE IN DEATHS?

WHEN EUROPEANS
FIRST DISCOVERED THE ISLAND

ON EASTER SUNDAY, 1722...

...THEY DESCRIBED
HEALTHY NATIVES

AND A FERTILE LANDSCAPE.

EUROPEAN VISITS
OVER THE NEXT 100 YEARS

BROUGHT DEADLY DISEASES LIKE
TUBERCULOSIS AND SMALLPOX,

TO WHICH THE ISLANDERS
HAD NO IMMUNITY.

AND IN 1862,
PERUVIAN SLAVERS KIDNAPPED

OVER 1,000 RAPA NUI,

WHO WERE TAKEN TO WORK
IN PLANTATIONS AND MINES.

ONLY 15 RETURNED ALIVE.

AFTER JUST A CENTURY
OF EUROPEAN CONTACT,

THERE WERE ONLY
111 RAPA NUI LEFT.

THEIR CULTURE
WAS ALL BUT WIPED OUT.

EXPLORATION OF THESE CAVES HAS
REVEALED HUNDREDS OF SKELETONS.

MOST BELONGED TO THE FIRST
GENERATION OF ISLANDERS

WHO CAME INTO CONTACT
WITH OUTSIDERS.

THE RAPA NUI WERE BEING
OVERWHELMED BY DISEASE.

Narrator:
AS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE DIED,

RAPA NUI PRACTICES
AND BELIEFS SUFFERED.

Narrator: WITH THE FATEFUL
ARRIVAL OF THE EUROPEANS,

RAPA NUI SOCIETY
WAS FINALLY UNDONE.

SOME EXPERTS SAY THAT
AS THE POPULATION PLUMMETED,

THE ISLANDERS
BELIEVED THEIR MOAI

WERE FAILING TO PROTECT THEM.

THE STATUES HAD LOST
THEIR POWER AND WERE TOPPLED.

EASTER ISLAND WOULD
NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN.

♪♪

THE HUNDREDS OF STONE STATUES
LEFT BEHIND BY THE RAPA NUI

ARE THE LEGACY
OF ONE OF HISTORY'S

MOST ADVANCED
STONE AGE CIVILIZATIONS.

Narrator: EXPERTS ARE DIVIDED

ON EXACTLY WHAT WIPED OUT
THIS ANCIENT SOCIETY.

BUT ONE THING IS CERTAIN --

THIS MYSTERIOUS PLACE
STILL HAS SECRETS TO REVEAL.

Mulrooney:
WHEN YOU'RE HERE ON THE ISLAND,

YOU CAN REALLY FEEL
THE BIGNESS OF THE WORLD

AND THE SMALLNESS OF THE ISLAND.

IT REALLY IS LIKE NOWHERE ELSE.

♪♪

Narrator: WITH THE HELP
OF TODAY'S RAPA NUI PEOPLE,

EXPERTS ARE PIECING TOGETHER

THE CLUES THEIR ANCESTORS
LEFT BEHIND.

THEY'RE UNCOVERING
THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY

OF EASTER ISLAND.

♪♪

THE MOAI OF EASTER ISLAND
ARE AMONG

THE MOST ADVANCED
STONE AGE MEGALITHS ON EARTH.

THEIR REMARKABLE CONSTRUCTION
MARKS CENTURIES

OF STATUE-BUILDING EVOLUTION.

ALMOST OVERNIGHT,
EASTER ISLAND WAS PULLED

INTO THE MODERN WORLD.

AND THOUGH THE MEMORY

OF THEIR TRADITIONAL WAY OF LIFE
HAS FADED,

THE FACES OF THE ANCESTORS
STILL WATCH OVER THE RAPA NUI.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪