Every ancient village has a center plaza for dancing and village gathering – much like modern day Polynesian towns.
I often wondered why some of the largest ancient Marquesan villages were located (at times) in valleys without great harbors or easy access to the interior of the island.
For example, Taaoa is located in a bay with a windy, surf ridden beach, a ten minute drive from Atuona, the current capital of Hiva Oa. In contrast, Atuona is next to the most sheltered bay on the island (where we hauled out our sailboat).
The incredible peak rising above Taaoa , as seen from the Atuona side. This was our view from Aldebaran while hauled out in the boatyard.
Directly behind Taaoa, however, is a gigantic steep 3000ft mountain peak. This was an amazing power spot! I speculate that villages were built in powerful locations more for the “mana”, or life-force, than for economic reasons or transportation access. What do you think? Maybe someone with internet can verify this hypothesis. If you have a comment to share, write in the Reply section below.
Mu preparing a custom hat for Asher
Green Coconut Run 
We had wondered the same thing when we were there. Although I’m not sure this is the same site we were at in Daniel’s Bay. We hadn’t expected to come across any ruins as we hiked up to the waterfall, so it caught us completely by surprise! All the tikis and stone statures just lying about in the middle of nowhere, the traces of roads and stone foundations for what? Amazing. The thought that apparently thousands of Marquesans lived there before the explorers came and brought the diseases that wiped out nearly the whole population.