>> WELCOME TO "JOSEPH ROSENDO'S TRAVELSCOPE," WHERE YOU JOIN US AS WE ACCEPT THE WORLD'S INVITATION TO VISIT.

[GRUNTS] [CAPTIONING MADE POSSIBLE BY FRIENDS OF NCI] >> TODAY ON "TRAVELSCOPE," I JOURNEY OUT INTO THE PACIFIC TO MEET THE PEOPLE AND DISCOVER THE MYSTERIES OF ONE OF THE MOST REMOTE INHABITED PLACES ON EARTH--EASTER ISLAND.

>> "TRAVELSCOPE" IS MADE POSSIBLE BY VOLVO'S OVERSEAS DELIVERY PROGRAM, WHERE BUYERS CAN PICK UP A NEW VOLVO IN SWEDEN, USE IT IN EUROPE, AND THEN HAVE IT JOIN THEM AT HOME.

AND NO-JET-LAG JET LAG PREVENTION.

>> ONCE UPON A TIME, MORE THAN 1,500 YEARS AGO, A CIVILIZATION ABANDONED THEIR ISLAND HOME AND SAILED EAST MORE THAN 2,000 MILES IN SEARCH OF NEW LANDS WHERE THEY AND THEIR CHILDREN COULD ONCE AGAIN PROSPER.

WHERE THEY COME FROM, WHAT THEIR LIVES WERE LIKE, HOW THEY AND THEIR CULTURE ALMOST VANISHED, AND WHY THEY DEVOTED THEIR ENERGIES AND RESOURCES TO THE CARVING, CARING, AND RAISING OF HUNDREDS OF STONE FIGURES CALLED MOAI ARE ONLY A FEW OF THE QUESTIONS ENCOUNTERED BY VISITORS TO RAPA NUI, ALSO KNOWN AS EASTER ISLAND.

AND YET, THE STORY OF EASTER ISLAND IS ABOUT MORE THAN ITS ANCIENT HISTORY AND MONUMENTS.

IT'S ABOUT THE STRUGGLES AND ULTIMATE SURVIVAL OF THE RAPA NUI PEOPLE, AND IT IS WITH THEM THAT I BEGIN MY EASTER ISLAND ADVENTURE.

IT'S ABOUT 9:00 IN THE MORNING IN HANGA ROA, WHICH IS THE ONLY TOWN ON RAPA NUI EASTER ISLAND, AND EVERY MORNING, THERE'S A FARMER'S MARKET, AND THEY BRING THEIR GOODS TO TOWN ON THE BACK OF THEIR PICK-UP, AND THERE'S ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT THINGS HERE AVAILABLE FOR THE LOCALS, SO LET'S GO TAKE A LOOK.

iVAMANOS, ROBERTO!

>> OK. [SPEAKING SPANISH] >> ESTE--THOSE ARE GIGANTIC.

RAPA NUI... RAPA NUI TIENE MANA, WHICH IS POWER AND STRENGTH.

GRACIAS, SEÑORA.

WELL, RAPA NUI EASTER ISLAND, OF COURSE, IT IS JUST THAT-- AN ISLAND, SO YOU WOULD EXPECT THAT THEY WOULD HAVE A WIDE ASSORTMENT OF FISH [SPEAKS SPANISH] WHEN THEY FIRST START THE FISH MARKET HERE, THAT'S WHEN THEY SELL THE BIG ONES.

GRACIAS, SEÑORA.

GRACIAS.

THE TIP OF A 9,000-FOOT SUBMERGED MOUNTAIN, EASTER ISLAND HAS NO CORAL REEFS WITH THEIR ATTENDANT SCHOOLS OF FISH, YET THE SURROUNDING WATERS CONTINUE TO BE AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF FOOD.

I LOVE GOING FISHING WITH THE PEOPLE ON ALL THE DIFFERENT ISLANDS, 'CAUSE THE FISHERMEN, THEY'RE CONNECTED TO THE LAND, AND THERE'S SUCH A THING AS FISHING FOR FUN AND FISHING FOR FOOD, AND THESE PEOPLE HAVE LONG FISHED FOR FOOD.

THIS IS SERIOUS BUSINESS, EXCEPT TODAY, WHERE HE'S JUST GIVING US A DEMONSTRATION OF THE ANCIENT WAY THAT THEY USED TO FISH IN THESE WATERS.

BECAUSE NORMALLY, HE WOULD BE MUCH FURTHER OUT TO GET THE BIG TUNA AND THE OTHER FISH THAT THEY NEED IN ORDER TO SUPPLY THE POPULATION ON THE ISLAND.

IN FACT, THAT WAS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL PROBLEMS THAT THE ORIGINAL ISLANDERS HAD.

ONCE THEY DEPLETED THE ISLAND OF ALL THE PALM TREES, THEY WERE UNABLE TO MAKE THE CANOES THAT THEY NEEDED IN ORDER TO GET FURTHER OUT AND GET THE BIG FISH.

SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT WAS ONE OF THE CAUSES OF THE STARVATION WHICH ULTIMATELY LED TO THE COLLAPSE, IF YOU WILL, OF THE SOCIETY.

THAT'S AT LEAST ONE OPINION.

AH.

OK, WE GOT ONE.

IT'S FUN FISHING BY HAND.

YOU'RE REALLY CONNECTED TO THE FISH.

[SPEAKS SPANISH] LOOK.

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL FISH.

[MAN SPEAKS SPANISH] [JOSEPH SPEAKS SPANISH] OK. ADIOS, AMIGO.

>> ADIOS, AMIGO.

ONE THING ABOUT THE WEATHER HERE ON RAPA NUI, IT'S VERY CHANGEABLE.

WE ARE ON AN ISLAND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACIFIC.

THE WHOLE THING IS LESS THAN A HUNDRED SQUARE MILES.

THE LENGTH OF IT IS ONLY 10 MILES LONG, AND THIS IS A WONDERFUL WAY TO GET TO SEE THE ISLAND, AND WE CAN IMAGINE THE ISLANDERS COMING FROM THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF MILES AND SEEING THIS ROCK HERE GOING ALL AROUND THE ISLAND LOOKING FOR SOME SAFE HARBOR.

THERE'S ONLY ONE BIG, LONG BEACH HERE, AND THAT'S WHERE THEY SET ASHORE.

DANIEL, THIS IS PRETTY MOMENTOUS, ACTUALLY, TO BE HERE ON ANAKENA BEACH WALKING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE FIRST KING OF RAPA NUI, WHO WAS FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF HIS 7 EXPLORERS.

>> RIGHT, THE GROUP THAT HE SENT IN ADVANCE TO SEEK FOR THE NEW LAND.

>> AND THEY LANDED HERE.

THIS IS THE ONLY REALLY BIG BEACH LIKE THIS ON THE ISLAND, AND ALSO A GREAT PLACE FOR US TO LAND ON A NICE SUNNY DAY, TOO.

NOW, OF COURSE, THESE MOAI WEREN'T THERE TO GREET THEM.

>> OF COURSE NOT, BUT THEIR TRADITION ACTUALLY SPEAKS ABOUT HOW THE 7 EXPLORERS ACTUALLY BROUGHT A MOAI WITH THEM.

>> THAT'S BASED ON THE FACT THAT THEY HAD THE ANCESTOR CULT BACK IN POLYNESIA.

>> JUST TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, THE GOD TANGAROA, WHICH IS THE GOD OF THE SEA, IF WE TRACK HIM BACK IN POLYNESIA, WE WOULD REALIZE HE WAS AN ANCESTOR AS WELL.

>> THEY WERE REALLY PEOPLE.

>> EXACTLY.

>> FROM WHERE CHIEF HOTU MATU'A LANDED, WE CROSS THE ISLAND TO AHU AKIVI, WHERE THE MOAI, THE 7 NAVIGATORS, STAND.

DANIEL, WHAT I'VE LEARNED HERE IN RAPA NUI ALREADY IS THAT EVERYTHING HAS AT LEAST 2 STORIES ATTACHED TO IT.

WHAT'S THE STORY BEHIND THIS SITE?

>> THEIR TRADITION SAYS THAT THESE 7 MOAI REPRESENT THE 7 EXPLORERS THAT WERE SENT BY THE KING HOTU MATU'A.

THEIR HOMELAND, HIVA, WAS ABOUT TO GO THROUGH A MAJOR CATASTROPHE, CATACLYSM, SO THAT'S WHY HE SENT THIS GROUP IN ADVANCE TO LOOK FOR A NEW LAND.

>> AND THEY'RE LOOKING OUT TO SEA, AND ALL THE OTHER MOAI SEEM TO BE TURNING INLAND.

>> THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE LOOKING AT THEIR HOMELAND, HIVA, WHICH IS--WE KNOW THAT THE FRENCH POLYNESIA'S THAT WAY, AND ON THE MARQUESAS ISLANDS, 3 OUT OF THE 7 ISLANDS HAVE GOT THE HIVA NAME ON THEM, SO THERE'S A REALLY, REALLY HIGH CHANCE THAT THE HIVA, THEIR HOMELAND, IS ACTUALLY THE MARQUESAS ISLANDS.

>> WHAT'S THE OTHER STORY?

>> WELL, BASICALLY, IF YOU WALK AROUND THIS PLACE, WE'RE GONNA FIND REMAINS OF A HUMAN SETTLEMENT, SO THIS PLATFORM JUST FOLLOWED THE SAME PATTERN THAT THE REST OF THE PLATFORMS HAVE.

WE'VE GOT THE CEREMONIAL SITE AND THE VILLAGE THAT'S NEXT TO IT.

>> SO THE FACT THAT THEY'RE A LITTLE MORE INLAND, THEY MAYBE JUST HAPPEN TO BE LOOKING OUT.

>> EXACTLY.

>> I THINK I LIKE THE OTHER STORY BETTER.

>> ME TOO.

>> IT IS SPECULATED THAT AT ITS HEIGHT, THERE WERE CLOSE TO 20,000 PEOPLE ON EASTER ISLAND LIVING IN VILLAGES ASSOCIATED WITH EACH OF THE 300 AHUS OR CEREMONIAL PLATFORMS.

THESE DAYS, HANGA ROA, WITH A POPULATION OF 5,000, ONLY HALF RAPA NUI DESCENDANTS, IS EASTER ISLAND'S LONE TOWN.

WHEN THE FIRST TOURISTS ARRIVED ON EASTER ISLAND RAPA NUI ABOARD THE FIRST COMMERCIAL FLIGHT IN 1967, THERE WEREN'T MANY FACILITIES TO GREET THEM.

THINGS HAVE CHANGED QUITE A BIT SINCE THEN HERE IN HANGA ROA.

TODAY, THERE'S 5,000 PEOPLE, THERE'S HOTELS, THERE'S RESTAURANTS, THERE'S ARTS AND CRAFTS SHOPS, BARS, CAFES, A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING YOU'D EXPECT TO FIND IN A TYPICAL TOURIST TOWN.

[SINGING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE] SINCE THE EARLY DAYS, TOURISM AND TOURISM FACILITIES ON EASTER ISLAND HAVE GROWN SIGNIFICANTLY.

ACCOMMODATIONS NOW RANGE FROM CAMPING AND GUEST HOUSES TO MODEST HOTELS AND LUXURY RESORTS.

EXPLORA RAPA NUI IS AN ECO-FRIENDLY ESTABLISHMENT THAT OFFERS GUIDED ISLAND TOURS, COMFORTABLE ROOMS, SPA PAMPERING, AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR CULINARY ADVENTURES IN THE HOTEL OR ON THE BEACH.

ANAKENA BEACH MAKES A PLEASANT PICNIC SPOT, BUT THE REAL VALUE OF THE ISLAND'S WORLD HERITAGE SITES ARE THE INSIGHTS THEY OFFER INTO THE ANCIENT RAPA NUI.

>> ANIKO, THERE ARE SO MANY MAJOR ATTRACTIONS HERE THAT SOMETIMES, IN A FIELD LIKE THIS, WHICH LOOKS LIKE JUST A FIELD SHREWN WITH BOULDERS, WE MIGHT MISS SOMETHING THAT'S IMPORTANT.

>> WELL, JOSEPH, THE PLACE IS CALLED... [SPEAKS NATIVE LANGUAGE] "STONE THAT COUNT CHILDRENS."

SO WE HAVE A LINE OF POINTS HERE THAT IS A SYSTEM OF COUNTING CHILDRENS.

WHEN THEY BORN, THEY PUT A POINTS.

>> THIS LOOKS LIKE A HUGE FISH.

>> WHAT KIND OF FISH DO YOU THINK THAT IS?

>> WELL, I KNOW THERE'S TUNA CAUGHT OFF HERE, SO THAT LOOKS LIKE A TUNA TO ME.

THAT'S PRETTY CLEAR, BUT WHO TOLD YOU ABOUT THIS?

HOW DID YOU LEARN ABOUT WHAT THESE MARKS ON THE PETROGLYPHS MEANT?

>> WELL, ALL THAT KNOWLEDGE IS IN OUR ORAL TRADITION.

IT PASS GENERATION BY GENERATION FROM MY GRANDFATHERS, UNCLES, GREAT-GRANDMOTHER.

>> SO HERE IN RAPA NUI, THE STONES REALLY DO HOLD A STORY.

THEY DO SPEAK TO YOU.

>> WELL, YES, EVEN THE MOAI.

>> LET'S GO LEARN THAT STORY.

>> THIS MOAI RIGHT HERE IS TALKING ABOUT A DIFFERENT STORY, THAT IS HOW THEY TRANSPORT THE MOAI.

>> THERE'S A LOT OF THEORIES ABOUT HOW THEY DID THAT, 'CAUSE THEY HAD TO COME ALL THE WAY FROM-- >> FROM THE QUARRY UP THERE.

>> THE QUARRY UP THERE.

>> THE MOST POPULAR THEORY SAID THAT THEY MOVED THEM ON ROW OF PALM TREES.

SO IF YOU SEE THIS MOAI THAT IS BROKEN ON HIS NECK, SO IF THEY MOVED THEM LIKE HORIZONTALLY WAY, IT WILL NOT BE BROKEN.

>> NOT LIKE THIS.

>> NOT LIKE THIS, SO IT HAVE TO FALL DOWN BACKWARDS TO BREAK THE NECK.

>> ISN'T THE ORAL TRADITION SAY THAT THEY WALKED?

>> EXACTLY.

AND THE ORAL TRADITION SAID THAT WALKED WITH SOME KIND OF SUPERNATURAL POWER THAT WAS CALLED MANA.

>> MANA.

>> SO THAT WORD IN SOME OF THE POLYNESIAN ISLANDS MEANS ALSO "KNOWLEDGE."

SO WHAT WE THINK HERE IN RAPA NUI IS THAT THE ANCIENT PEOPLE HAVE THE ENGINEER'S PRINCIPLE TO MAKE THEM WALK.

THEY WERE MOVING STEP BY STEP, THE MOAI, UNTIL THEY GET TO THE PLATFORM.

>> SO THIS MOAI NEVER GOT TO THE PLATFORM.

>> NEVER GET TO THE PLATFORM.

WE KNOW THAT BECAUSE HAVE NO EYE SOCKET.

WE SAY THAT THE EYES WERE THE REFLECTION OF THE SOUL.

SO WHEN THE MOAIS GET TO THE PLATFORM, THEY GIVE THEM THE SOUL WITH THE EYES.

>> AND THESE... >> THOSE ALL HAVE EYE SOCKETS.

>> THEY CERTAINLY DO.

ANIKO, THIS LOOKS LIKE THIS WAS FORMED.

THIS IS NOT JUST A RANDOM COLLECTION OF ROCKS.

>> THIS A BIG PAVEMENT THAT THEY SHAPE BEFORE THE BIG AHU TO MAKE A PLAZA IN FRONT OF THE AHU BECAUSE IT'S WHERE THEY MAKE THE CEREMONIES, ALWAYS IN FRONT OF THE PLATFORM.

IT'S WHY THE MOAIS ARE LOOKING INLAND, TO WATCH AND TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE, SO IN A SYMBOLIC MEANING, THE CHIEF IS OVER THE FAMILY THAT IS REPRESENTED BY THIS RECTANGLE PIECE OF STONE, AND THEN ALL THIS MOVE THE STONE THAT YOU CAN SEE IN FRONT REPRESENT THE CHILDREN.

THAT IS THE MEANING THAT HAVE THIS SHAPE THAT WE HAVE HERE.

>> AND THIS IS INFORMATION, ONCE AGAIN, THAT WAS PASSED ON IN YOUR FAMILY AND THE ORAL TRADITION OF THE RAPA NUI.

THIS IS SO IMPRESSIVE.

ALTHOUGH EVERY MOAI WAS DIFFERENT IN SO FAR AS THEY ATTEMPTED TO CAPTURE THE ATTRIBUTES OR CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PARTICULAR CHIEFTAIN OR ANCESTORS THAT THEY WERE HONOR.

THERE WERE MANY SIMILARITIES.

ALL THROUGHOUT THE ISLAND, YOU WILL SEE MOAI WITH THEIR ARMS AT THEIR SIDE AND THEIR HANDS ON EITHER SIDE OF THEIR BELLY.

LONG FINGERNAILS SYMBOLIZING THAT THEY WERE ROYAL AND DIDN'T HAVE TO WORK IN THE FIELDS.

AND DESIGNS, SOME OF THEM PAINTED, WHICH ARE REMINISCENT OF THE TATTOOS THAT WE SEE THROUGHOUT POLYNESIAN SOCIETIES TODAY.

WHICH IS WHY DURING THE TRIBAL WAR YEARS, WHICH BEGAN IN THE LATE 17th CENTURY, THAT IN ORDER TO STEAL THE MANA OR POWER OF YOUR ENEMY, THEIR MOAI WAS PULLED DOWN OFF ITS PLATFORM.

THE PRACTICE WAS SO WIDESPREAD THAT WHIN 150 YEARS, THERE WASN'T A MOAI LEFT STANDING ON THE ISLAND.

WARFARE AND CHAOS TOPPLED THE MOAI, AND OUT OF THE VOID THEY LEFT BEHIND, ANOTHER GOD AROSE.

>> WE'RE ACTUALLY IN THE ORONGO VILLAGE.

THIS IS WHERE THE BIRDMAN CODE ACTUALLY WAS DEVELOPED.

>> WHAT WAS THE CAUSES OF THAT?

>> BASICALLY THERE WAS OVERPOPULATION ON THE ISLAND.

THIS BROUGHT A LOT OF INTERTRIBAL FIGHTING AND WARS, SO THERE WAS A MAJOR SHIFT IN THE RELIGIOUS BELIEF.

THE ANCESTOR WERE NOT SOLVING THE PROBLEMS, RIGHT, SO THIS IS THE TIME WHEN JUST A CONCEPT OF ONE SINGLE CREATOR GOD ARISE, AND THAT WAS MAKE-MAKE.

IN ORDER TO STOP THE CHAOS OF THE ISLAND, THE CHAOTIC SITUATION, THE LEADERS OF THE DIFFERENT TRIBES GATHERED TOGETHER AND MADE THE COMPETITION.

THE IDEA BEHIND THE COMPETITION WAS THAT MAKE-MAKE WAS GOING TO BE ABLE TO CHOOSE WHO WAS GOING TO BE IN CHARGE OF THE ISLAND FOR ONE YEAR.

>> THE COMPETITION STARTED HERE.

>> THE COMPETITION STARTED HERE.

>> HOW DID IT WORK?

WHAT DID THEY DO?

>> THEY STARTED--FROM HERE, THEY RUN THROUGH THE RIDGE UNTIL THEY GET TO THE ROADED PLACE, AND THEN THEY HIKE DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE CRATER.

>> THAT RIDGE THERE?

>> EXACTLY.

THAT'S THE ONE.

>> SHOW ME WHERE THEY WENT FROM THERE.

>> SURE.

SO, AS SOON AS THEY GOT TO THE BOTTOM OF THE ALMOST A THOUSAND-FOOT CLIFF, THEY TOOK A 2-KILOMETER SWIM ON THIS TOTORA REED RAFT THROUGH SHARK-INFESTED WATERS, AND AS SOON AS THEY GOT THERE ON THE BIG ISLAND, THEY STAYED ALMOST OVER A WEEK WAITING FOR THAT FIRST LAID EGG OF THE MANU TARA, THE SOOTY TERN.

>> AND WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THEY FOUND THE EGG?

>> TRADITION SAYS THAT THEY ACTUALLY SCREAM AT HIS LEADER THAT WAS ACTUALLY WAITING FOR THEM HERE.

HE BECAME THE TANGA-- >> THE BIRDMAN.

>> ...AND HE WAS THE ONE THAT HAD THE POLITICAL POWER FOR A WHOLE YEAR UNTIL A NEW COMPETITION TOOK PLACE.

>> THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL SPOT HERE.

I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THE PETROGLYPHS.

HERE'S MAKE-MAKE.

THERE'S ALSO THE BIRDMAN COMPETITORS.

>> THE REIMIRO, WHICH WAS THE WOODEN NECKLACE, THE SYMBOL OF POWER.

THIS PLACE WAS CONSIDERED TO BE SACRED EVEN BEFORE THE COMPETITION ACTUALLY TOOK PLACE.

>> HOW LONG DID THE COMPETITION LAST?

>> WE DON'T KNOW FOR SURE.

WE KNOW THAT THE LAST COMPETITION WAS IN 1867.

>> 1867.

AND THEN DID ORONGO JUST STAY HERE ABANDONED?

>> PRETTY MUCH, IN FACT, ONE YEAR AFTER THE LAST COMPETITION TOOK PLACE, A BRITISH SHIP CAME HERE AND TOOK A BASALTIC MOAI, WHICH IS NOT A TYPICAL ROCK THAT IS USED FOR THE MOAI CARVING, AND RIGHT NOW, IT'S ACTUALLY IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM IN LONDON.

>> WELL, AT LEAST NOW IT'S A NATIONAL PARK, IT'S PROTECTED, AND PEOPLE CAN COME HERE AND LEARN ABOUT AN IMPORTANT PART OF RAPA NUI HISTORY.

>> THAT'S RIGHT.

>> SINCE THEIR ARRIVAL ON RAPA NUI ISLAND, THE RAPA NUI PEOPLE HAVE LIVED A LIFE THAT BEGAN IDYLLIC AND BECAME A STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE.

THEY HAVE WEATHERED STORMS THAT HAVE INCLUDED NATURAL AND SELF-INFLICTED ECOLOGICAL DISASTERS, A DEPLETION OF RESOURCES, CLAN WARFARE, AND OTHER MISERIES THAT CULMINATED DURING THE TIME OF EUROPEAN CONTACT AND CONTROL WITH OPPRESSION, SLAVERY, DISEASE, AND DEATH SO THAT BY THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY, A CULTURE THAT HAD TRAVERSED THOUSANDS OF MILES TO GET HERE, BUILT AMAZING MONUMENTS, AND REACHED A POPULATION OF BETWEEN 10,000 AND 20,000 HAD BEEN REDUCED TO 111 PEOPLE.

IN FACT, AFTER THE ANNEXATION OF THE ISLAND BY CHILE IN 1888, THE ISLAND WAS LEASED FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS AS A SHEEP FARM.

THE RAPA NUI PEOPLE WERE NOT ALLOWED TO LEAVE THE CONFINES OF HANGA ROA.

A WALL LIKE THIS WOULD'VE BEEN THE BOUNDARY OF THEIR WORLD.

NOT ALL POST-EUROPEAN CONTACT WAS DESTRUCTIVE.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH PROVIDED THE RAPA NUI WITH POLITICAL AND MORAL SUPPORT, PROTESTING THEIR ABDUCTION BY PERUVIAN SLAVERS IN 1862, AND OFFERING A REFUGE AND A SANCTUARY WHERE THEY COULD SYMBOLICALLY CELEBRATE THEIR CULTURE.

LA IGLESIA DE SANTA CRUZ IS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF RELIGIOUS SYNCRETISM.

HERE ON RAPA NUI, THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH HAS BEEN A RATHER POSITIVE INFLUENCE, MANY TIMES ATTEMPTING TO MAKE THE PEOPLE'S LIVES BETTER.

AND HERE IN THE CHURCH, THEY HAVE GIVEN THE PEOPLE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE AN OBVIOUS EXPRESSION OF THEIR ANCIENT BELIEFS.

YOU'LL SEE SYMBOLS OF THEIR FORMER BELIEFS IN THE ICONS, IN THE BAPTISMAL FONT, AND PARTICULARLY IN A STATUE OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS WHERE YOU'LL SEE SYMBOLS OF THE RAPA NUI DEITY MAKE-MAKE.

FOREMOST, YOU'LL SEE IT IN THE REIMIRO, THE WOODEN NECKLACE THAT IS STRUNG ACROSS THE CHEST OF JESUS, WHICH IS ALSO THE SYMBOL OF POWER WORN BY THE RAPA NUI CHIEFTAINS.

IT IS STILL A SYMBOL THAT IS ON THE RAPA NUI FLAG TODAY.

IN SPITE OF CENTURIES OF SUPPRESSION, THE SYMBOLS OF RAPA NUI CULTURE HAVE NEVER DIED.

RECENTLY, THEY HAVE TRANSCENDED THE ACTUAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WALLS THAT BOUND THEM AND TOUCHED THE OUTSIDE WORLD THROUGH THE ART OF SCULPTORS LIKE BENE TUKI.

[SPEAKS SPANISH] THERE ARE MORE THAN A THOUSAND MOAI ON RAPA NUI.

SOME OF THEM ARE STANDING, MOST OF THEM ARE TOPPLED, AND 99% OF THEM WERE BORN HERE, QUARRIED FROM THE TUFF, THE COMPRESSED VOLCANIC ASH FROM THE VOLCANO OF RANO RARAKU.

IN FACT, 400 OF THEM ARE STILL HERE.

SOME OF THEM ARE BURIED, SOME OF THEM ARE LYING ON THEIR FACE, OTHERS ARE LYING ON THEIR BACK, SOME ARE STILL BEING CUT FROM THE BEDROCK.

ONE OF THE JOYS OF COMING TO THIS SITE IS AFTER SEEING THE MOAI AT A DISTANCE STANDING ON THEIR PLATFORM, IT'S GREAT TO HAVE AN UP-CLOSE-AND-PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH THEM.

THE RAPA NUI THAT CREATED THE MOAI WERE A STONE-AGED PEOPLE, SO YOU MIGHT BE WONDERING, "HOW DID THEY CUT INTO THAT STONE TO CREATE THOSE HUGE, MAGNIFICENT FIGURES?"

HOW ABOUT USING THE STONE?

THIS IS A TOKI, A TOOL MADE FROM BASALT, WHICH WAS HARDER THAN THE TUFF, THE COMPRESSED VOLCANIC ASH.

IT'S AN INGENIOUS TOOL.

YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO SAY THE MOAIS ARE SO LARGE AND SO HEAVY AND SO MAGNIFICENT, THEY COULDN'T HAVE BEEN CREATED BY HUMAN BEINGS.

THEY MUST'VE BEEN CREATED BY EXTRATERRESTRIALS.

WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS NOT GIVING US CREDIT FOR BEING AS RESOURCEFUL AS WE ARE.

THIS IS A NATIONAL PARK, SO ANYTHING YOU PICK UP, PUT BACK EXACTLY WHERE YOU FOUND IT.

I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE DIGGING HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DECADES.

>> THIS PROJECT IS THE FIRST SINCE THOR HEYERDAHL AND THE NORWEGIAN ARCHEOLOGICAL EXPEDITION TO EASTER ISLAND IN 1954.

>> BUT WHY HERE?

>> BECAUSE THIS SITE INTRIGUED ME FROM THE BEGINNING.

IT WAS FIRST DUG BY THE MANA EXPEDITION FROM THE U.K.

IN 1914, AND KATHERINE ROUTLEDGE RECORDED PETROGLYPHS ON THE BACK OF BOTH STATUES, AND THAT'S FASCINATING, BECAUSE THE ONLY OTHER STATUE WITH SUCH PETROGLYPHS IS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

SO, ACTUALLY, WE CHOSE THESE TWO BECAUSE OF THE DESIGNS ON THE BACKS, AND I THINK, IN THE END, WE'LL BE ABLE TO COME TO SOME CONCLUSION AS TO THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO THE STATUES.

>> HATE TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT-- >> BUT YOU'RE GOING TO.

>> BUT I'M GOING TO.

IT'S MY JOB.

BUT AS A VISITOR TO THE ISLAND, WHAT WOULD YOU HOPE THAT THEY WOULD TAKE AWAY FROM THESE OVERWHELMINGLY MAGNIFICENT SCULPTURES AND THE REST OF THE ISLAND, THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES?

>> I WOULD HOPE THEY WOULD TAKE AWAY 2 THINGS.

I WOULD HOPE THEY WOULD TAKE AWAY A DEEP RESPECT FOR THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE PAST, AND I HOPE THEY WOULD TAKE AWAY AN EQUALLY DEEP CONCERN FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THESE STATUES FOR THE FUTURE.

THOSE ARE THE 2 THINGS THAT I THINK ARE CRUCIAL.

AND CENTRAL TO THAT IS THE INVOLVEMENT OF THE RAPA NUI COMMUNITY IN THEIR OWN HERITAGE.

>> WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO SPEAK WITH US.

>> IT WAS SO MUCH FUN TO SEE YOU.

>> THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME ON MY EASTER ISLAND RAPA NUI ADVENTURE.

IT IS ASSUMED THAT THE MOAI HERE IN THE QUARRY WERE THE LAST CARVED, SO HERE YOU CAN SEE THE EVOLUTION OF THE CARVING ART FROM A TIME WHEN THE MOAI MORE CLOSELY RESEMBLED THE PEOPLE THAT THEY REPRESENTED TO A MORE STYLIZE, ELONGATED FACE.

AND DON'T BE FOOLED.

LIKE THE TIP OF AN ICEBERG, YOU'RE ONLY SEEING 1/3 OF THE MOAI HERE.

STANDING HERE AMONG THESE MOAI, IT STRIKES ME HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE INVOLVED IN THE CUTTING, CARVING, CARING, AND PLACING OF THE MOAI ON THEIR AHU ALL THROUGHOUT THE ISLAND.

SOME SAY IT WAS AN OBSESSION THAT ULTIMATELY LED TO RESOURCES DEPLETION, WIDESPREAD STARVATION, TRIBAL WARFARE, AND THE COLLAPSE OF THE RAPA NUI SOCIETY.

AH, BUT THIS IS EASTER ISLAND, AND OTHER PEOPLE SAY IT WASN'T LIKE THAT AT ALL.

OTHER FACTORS, BOTH NATURAL AND MAN-MADE, LIKE EUROPEAN CONTACT, OPPRESSION, AND SLAVERY THAT LED TO THE NEAR ANNIHILATION OF THE RAPA NUI PEOPLE.

AND SO EVEN MORE AMAZING THAN THE FACT THAT THEY QUARRIED, CARVED, TRANSPORTED, AND PLACED 30-TON MOAI IS THE FACT THAT THE RAPA NUI PEOPLE AND CULTURE IS STILL ALIVE AND FLOURISHING TODAY.

ON EASTER ISLAND, NEITHER THE QUESTIONS OR THE ANSWERS ARE SIMPLE.

AND THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SOMETHING MORE TO DISCOVER.

TILL NEXT TIME, THIS IS JOSEPH ROSENDO REMINDING YOU OF THE WORDS OF MARK TWAIN--"TRAVEL IS FATAL TO PREJUDICE, BIGOTRY, AND NARROW-MINDEDNESS.

HAPPY TRAVELING.

>> "TRAVELSCOPE" IS MADE POSSIBLE BY VOLVO'S OVERSEAS DELIVERY PROGRAM, WHERE BUYERS CAN PICK UP A NEW VOLVO IN SWEDEN, USE IT IN EUROPE, AND THEN HAVE IT JOIN THEM AT HOME.

AND NO-JET-LAG JET LAG PREVENTION.

[CAPTIONING MADE POSSIBLE BY FRIENDS OF NCI] FOR A DVD OF TODAY'S SHOW OR ANY OF JOSEPH'S "TRAVELSCOPE" ADVENTURES, CALL 888-876-3399 OR ORDER ONLINE AT TRAVELSCOPE.NET.

YOU CAN ALSO E-MAIL US AT TV@TRAVELSCOPE.NET OR WRITE US AT THE ADDRESS ON YOUR SCREEN.

>> NOW THAT WE'VE DISCOVERED THE MYSTERIES OF EASTER ISLAND, LEARN MORE AT TRAVELSCOPE.NET WHERE YOU CAN FOLLOW MY ADVENTURES THROUGH MY E-MAGAZINE, BLOG, PODCAST, AND ON FACEBOOK.

KEEP IN TOUCH.

888-876-3399 OR TV@TRAVELSCOPE.NET.

>> BURIAL SITES ALSO AS CEREMONIAL SITES... [SPEAKS SPANISH] >> LOOK AT THIS BEAUTIFUL ARTWORK.

HERE IS THE ARTIST, AND HERE AT THE MUNICIPAL ARTISAN CENTER, YOU CAN MEET THE PEOPLE, AND THE PEOPLE WHO YOU MEET ARE THE PEOPLE WHO DO THE WORK.

IT'S REALLY LOVELY.

[NATIVE MUSIC PLAYING]