Watch Easter Island: Mysteries of a Lost World

Easter Island: Mysteries of a Lost World is a fascinating documentary film from 2014 exploring the enigma of Easter Island - one of the most remote and isolated places on earth – located over 2,000 miles off the coast of Chile. The history and culture of the mysterious Polynesian island have fascinated people for centuries and the film takes viewers on an incredible journey of discovery, revealing the secrets behind the island's incredible geological formations as well as the story of how the island's ancient people built and then mysteriously abandoned their seemingly indefensible stone statues.

The film is presented by Jago Cooper, a prominent archaeologist, and anthropologist, who looks at the current scientific discoveries and myths surrounding the island's past and offers his insights into the enigma it presents. Cooper is an affable host whose enthusiasm for Easter Island and its people is infectious, and whose presentation is both engaging and accessible.

The island of Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is famous for its extraordinary stone statues called moai, which seem to bear mute witness to an elaborate and sophisticated culture that was once dominant on the island. These huge statues, weighing several tons, are scattered across the island and were created around the 13th century AD. The mystery of their creation - and then the decline and disappearance of the civilization that produced them – has long captured the public imagination.

Cooper guides us through the stunning landscapes of Easter Island, from the incredible craggy coastline, to the volcanic craters and lush interior valleys, as he explains the geological processes that shaped the island over millions of years. Throughout, the film uses beautiful photography to illustrate the story of this unique place.

But the real story of the film is the mystery of Easter Island's ancient culture. Cooper takes us back to the arrival of the first Polynesian settlers on the island and shows how they adapted to the island's unique environment. We learn how, over time, the islanders developed an intricate society based on an advanced agricultural system and a complex mythology that revered their ancestors. But it is the story of the island's most famous legacy - the moai - that forms the heart of the film.

The film looks at the history of these mysterious statues, exploring what they represented to the island's inhabitants, and how they were created with a technology that was equally impressive and mystifying. Cooper shows how the statues were carved using simple tools from volcanic tuff, and then transported across the island to the platforms on which they still stand, some weighing as much as 80 tons. The making of the statues was a colossal feat requiring decades of labor by an organized society. The statues appear to have been part of an ancestor worship culture and may have been intended to represent the islands original inhabitants, thus signifying an essential link to the past.

The decline of the island's civilization is one of the most striking aspects of the film, and is the focus of much of Cooper's research. We learn how the collapse of the island's ecology led to a series of catastrophic events: deforestation, soil erosion, and the loss of the island's biodiversity. Eventually, environmental changes led to the abandonment of the great construction projects, including the carving of the massive moai. The precise causes of this 'ecocide' remain a topic of scientific and historical debate, and Easter Island remains a cautionary tale about the limits of human exploitation of resources in isolated environments.

Easter Island: Mysteries of a Lost World is highly recommended for its educational value and its stunning visuals. The film tells the story of a complex ancient society, with its mythologies and cultural practices, but also reminds us of the importance of preserving ecological systems for future generations. This documentary is for anyone interested in anthropology, archeology or environmentalism as it presents a fascinating, well-researched story about one of the world's most intriguing and mysterious cultures.