(Car traffic)
>> JUST EAST OF EL PASO...
(Car traffic)
PAST THE CARS AND SOUNDS OF
THE CITY, LIES SACRED GROUND.
(Wind)
HUECO TANKS.
A SMALL STATE PARK WITH THE
HISTORY OF HUMANKIND HERE
FOR ALL TO SEE.
(Music)
THESE ROCKS WERE THE CANVAS FOR
HUMANS DATING BACK PERHAPS AS
EARLY AS SIX THOUSAND YEARS AGO.
HERE THERE ARE MORE PAINTED
MASKS THAN ANYWHERE ELSE
IN NORTH AMERICA.
>> THERE REALLY IS NO OTHER
PLACE LIKE HUECO TANKS,
IN TERMS OF THE NATURE AND THE
NUMBER OF THE PICTOGRAPH IMAGES.
AND FOR A TINY PLACE
OF ONLY 860 ACRES,
THERE'S JUST AN AMAZING NUMBER
OF SEPARATE PICTOGRAPH SITES.
(Music)
>> HUECO TANKS IS A SACRED PLACE
FOR NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES
INCLUDING THE TIGUA,
MESCALERO APACHE, AND KIOWA.
AND BEFORE THAT THE PEOPLE OF
THE JORNADA MOGOLLON CULTURE.
(Music)
>> THIS IS ONE OF SEVERAL
REALLY SPECIAL PICTOGRAPHS
AT HUECO TANKS.
AND IF YOU LOOK IN THE INTERIOR
OF THE BODY OF THE FIGURE YOU
CAN SEE WHAT LOOK LIKE LIGHTNING
BOLTS, AND THE EYES, THEY'RE
KIND OF ROUND GOOGLY EYES.
THIS MASK THAT WE SOMETIMES CALL
STARRY EYED MAN HAS BEEN
STARING OUT OF HIS LITTLE NICHE
IN THE ROCKS FOR BETWEEN
600 AND 1,800 YEARS.
UM, IT'S AMAZING THAT IT'S IN
SUCH GOOD CONDITION.
(Wind)
>> UNFORTUNATELY OVER TIME
VANDALS DAMAGED SEVERAL
PICTOGRAPHS WITH GRAFFITI.
THE THOUGHT WAS THEY COULD NEVER
BE RESTORED BACK TO THEIR
ORIGINAL GLORY...
(Footsteps)
>> Yep, I'm ok!
>> THAT IS UNTIL NOW.
SCIENTISTS HAVE BROUGHT THEIR
STATE OF THE ART LAB
TO THIS SIGHT.
H.C...
AND THEY'RE HERE TO LOOK AT
THE GRAFFITI PAINT.
>> OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE HAS
BEEN HERE IS WE CAN'T TAKE A
SAMPLE WHICH IS TYPICAL FOR EVEN
WORKS OF ART LIKE REMBRANDTS'
AND LEONARDO'S.
WE CAN'T TAKE A SAMPLE OFF OF
THE SACRED PAINTINGS AT ALL.
>> WITH THIS RAMAN SPECTROMETER
AND TWO OTHER HIGH TECH
INSTRUMENTS THEY CAN ANALYZE
THE EXACT MAKEUP OF THE PAINT.
>> SO MOVE JUST A FRACTION TO
THE RIGHT, JUST A VERY, VERY
SMALL AMOUNT TO THE RIGHT.
>> THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAS
NEVER BEEN TRIED BEFORE.
>> VERY NICE, AH GOOD.
REALLY GOOD. OK!
YOU CAPTURE THAT DANIEL?
>> YEP!
>> IF THE CONSERVATION IS NOT
DONE PROPERLY AT THIS TIME,
THE AGING AND DEGRADATION
PROCESS COULD ACTUALLY
ACCELERATE.
LITTLE MORE.
IT'S CRITICAL TO BE ABLE TO MAKE
THE IDENTIFICATION AS TO WHAT
CURRENT STATE OF WHAT THE
OBJECTS ARE AND BE CAREFUL TO
CONSERVE THEM AS BEST WE CAN.
(Generator)
>> AND THAT'S WHERE ANDRE
AND BARTEK DAJNOWSKI COME IN.
USING THE INFORMATION COLLECTED
FROM THE RAMAN SPECTROMETER,
THEY'RE GOING TO TRY SOMETHING
THAT HAS NEVER BEEN DONE HERE
AT HUECO TANKS.
>> THERE IT IS!
(Laser machine turns on)
>> THIS IS CASTRO.
>> I WANT TO SEE THE FINAL
RESULT RIGHT OVER HERE!
>> MAYBE RIGHT HERE TOO!
>> THIS IS PRE COLOMBIAN,
AND THE GRAFFITI IS ABOUT
50 YEARS OLD.
>> THE PLAN IS WITH LASER
TECHNOLOGY THEY WILL REMOVE JUST
THE TOP LAYER OF GRAFFITI,
AND LEAVE BEHIND THE
ORIGINAL PICTOGRAPH.
(Laser zaps rock art)
>> WE'RE USING INFRARED LIGHT,
AND IT'S THE SIMILAR TECHNOLOGY
THAT'S USED IN TATTOO REMOVAL TO
TAKE TATTOOS OFF, SO YOU CAN BE
VERY PRECISE WITH THE LASER.
>> THE WORK IS GOING REALLY
WELL, IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT
FOR ME TO STOP BECAUSE
IT'S REALLY EXCITING!
THE WORK IS INSTANTLY
GRATIFYING!
>> HERE FOR EXAMPLE, THIS WAS
GRAFFITI COMING DOWN, AND AS YOU
CAN SEE RIGHT IN THIS PART THIS
WAS ALL COVERED WITH GRAFFITI
WE UNCOVERED PART OF A
PICTOGRAPH HERE.
I THOUGHT THIS WAS JUST PART OF
THE A AND THAT THERE WAS NOTHING
THERE, AND THEN I'M FINDING THAT
THERE IS ACTUALLY AN IMAGE THERE
THAT WE DIDN'T KNOW WAS THERE
BEFORE, IT'S REALLY EXCITING,
IT'S REALLY SATISFYING.
(Canyon Wren)
>> AT FIRST WE JUST CAME HERE IT
WAS ANOTHER PLACE THAT WE
WERE GOING TO WORK.
BUT AFTER JUST A FEW HOURS IT
BECAME NOT JUST ANOTHER PLACE IT
BECAME REALLY IMPORTANT PLACE TO
ME AND IT IS A MAGICAL PLACE.
IT'S TO ME MORE THAN JUST A
PROJECT IT'S SOMETHING I FEEL
REALLY CLOSELY ATTACHED TO.
>> I'M GONNA GO AFTER THIS AREA,
THESE GUYS, AND TRY TO
TAKE THEM OUT.
(Laser pops)
YOU REALLY HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION
VERY CLOSELY TO THE SURFACE
AND YOU LITERALLY SEE IT
COMING OFF.
(Laser pops)
YOU KNOW YOU ARE AWARE OF THE
FACT THAT YOU COULD AT ANY POINT
IF YOU GET CARELESS DESTROY
SOMETHING IRREPARABLY,
AND IT'S LOST TO HISTORY.
IT'S BEEN THERE FOR THOUSANDS OF
YEARS, YOU'RE THERE TO TRY
AND UNCOVER IT, AND IF YOU ARE
NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU
ARE DOING YOU COULD MAKE IT GO
AWAY FOREVER, SO THAT'S
EXTREMELY STRESSFUL!
IN THIS AREA RIGHT HERE, YOU CAN
SEE THAT I HAVE PRETTY MUCH
TAKEN DOWN THE GRAFFITI LAYER
AND WE ARE DOWN TO
THE BARE STONE.
UP HERE THIS SLIGHT MILKYNESS IS
SOME RESIDUE OF THE PAINT
STILL LEFT BEHIND.
AND AGAIN IN THIS AREA WE'RE
ALMOST AT THE STONE BY ITSELF
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THE
CONTINUATION OF THE COLOR WITH
THE BACKGROUND IS THE SAME.
(Music)
>> THE VANDALISM THAT WAS DONE
AT THESE SIGHTS TOOK SOMETHING
AWAY FROM HUECO TANKS VISITORS.
>> IT'S BEAUTIFUL UP HERE!
>> IT TOOK AWAY THEIR ABILITY TO
EXPERIENCE AMAZING ANCIENT
IMAGES IN THE WAY THAT THEY WERE
MEANT TO BE SEEN BY THE PEOPLE
WHO CREATED THEM.
(Music)
THIS PROJECT IS A WAY THAT WE
CAN GET THAT BACK!
>> MAYBE I'LL JUST AH DO THIS
WITH MORE CAREFULLY AND SLOWLY
CAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE I'M
UNCOVERING SOMETHING.
(Laser pops)
>> SO THE R IS GONE, THE O IS
GONE, PART OF C AND A, WOW!
WE ACTUALLY HAVE NEVER EVER
SEEN, NOT MYSELF OR ANYONE ELSE
WHO WORKS HERE WE'VE NEVER BEEN
ABLE TO SEE THIS ROCK FACE
WITHOUT THIS DEFACEMENT ON IT.
THIS IS THE ONLY WAY WE KNOW IT
CAUSE IT'S BEEN HERE SO LONG,
AND WE HAD SUCH A BELIEF
UNTIL NOW THAT IT WAS GOING
TO BE HERE FOREVER,
THAT IT WASN'T REMOVABLE.
(Laser pops)
>> THE FACT THAT WE ARE ABLE TO
REMOVE THE GRAFFITI AND BRING
BACK THE SIGHT TO WHAT IT WAS
BEFORE THE SIGHTS WERE
VANDALIZED IS QUITE AMAZING
BECAUSE IN A WAY WE ARE TURNING
BACK A CLOCK OF TIME AND MAKING
THIS SIGHT TO BE WHAT THE NATIVE
AMERICANS WANTED IT TO BE.
I THINK THE FIRST TIME IN
DECADES PEOPLE WILL BE ABLE TO
SEE THE SIGHT THE WAY IT WAS
MEANT TO BE.
(Music)