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Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:06,746 --> 00:00:11,031 This is the Amazon rainforest. It's breathtaking. 2 00:00:12,775 --> 00:00:17,641 So many people think of the Amazon as this vast, natural oasis. 3 00:00:17,666 --> 00:00:21,000 Truly wild, unchanged forever... 4 00:00:24,186 --> 00:00:26,080 ...dotted with a few isolated tribes. 5 00:00:27,466 --> 00:00:29,921 But it's a complete myth. 6 00:00:29,946 --> 00:00:33,281 See, a monumental mystery is unfolding out here, 7 00:00:33,306 --> 00:00:37,671 with new evidence of vast societies that thrived along these banks 8 00:00:37,696 --> 00:00:40,080 and stretched right across the continent, 9 00:00:40,105 --> 00:00:42,880 where now, there's nothing but dense rainforest. 10 00:00:44,546 --> 00:00:47,231 I want to get to the bottom of this mystery 11 00:00:47,256 --> 00:00:51,031 and find out for myself the real history of the Amazon. 12 00:00:53,386 --> 00:00:56,521 I'm Ella al-Shamahi. 13 00:00:56,546 --> 00:00:59,801 I'm an explorer and archaeologist in some of the world's 14 00:00:59,826 --> 00:01:02,591 most dangerous and remote regions. 15 00:01:04,666 --> 00:01:07,721 I'll be travelling through the Amazon's conflict zones... 16 00:01:07,746 --> 00:01:09,591 GUNFIRE 17 00:01:09,616 --> 00:01:11,391 LOUD BANG 18 00:01:11,416 --> 00:01:14,880 ...in search of a lost ancient world. 19 00:01:14,905 --> 00:01:16,561 There's hand prints. 20 00:01:16,586 --> 00:01:19,200 There's actual hand prints. 21 00:01:19,225 --> 00:01:24,521 I'll be seeing how new technology is looking beneath the jungle, 22 00:01:24,546 --> 00:01:27,750 uncovering vast, hidden settlements 23 00:01:27,775 --> 00:01:32,200 and revealing the remains of entire civilisations 24 00:01:32,225 --> 00:01:34,601 of millions of people. 25 00:01:34,626 --> 00:01:38,111 It's going to raise a whole pile of questions. 26 00:01:38,136 --> 00:01:41,441 Who were these people and when did they live here? 27 00:01:41,466 --> 00:01:43,111 Where did they come from? 28 00:01:43,136 --> 00:01:48,281 And perhaps most important of all, what on Earth happened to them? 29 00:01:57,336 --> 00:02:02,111 I'm going on an incredible adventure to solve a massive mystery. 30 00:02:05,775 --> 00:02:09,750 When most of us think about ancient civilisations in the Americas, 31 00:02:09,775 --> 00:02:14,161 we think of the mighty mountain citadels of the Inca... 32 00:02:15,746 --> 00:02:18,361 ...and the great pyramids of the Maya. 33 00:02:23,496 --> 00:02:25,111 But here in the Amazon, 34 00:02:25,136 --> 00:02:28,601 there are no signs of ancient civilisation at all. 35 00:02:28,626 --> 00:02:32,161 Just a vast, empty wilderness, 36 00:02:32,186 --> 00:02:36,471 lightly populated by scattered indigenous groups. 37 00:02:39,576 --> 00:02:41,960 But could we have got it all wrong? 38 00:02:43,386 --> 00:02:46,361 An extraordinary account by a European explorer, 39 00:02:46,386 --> 00:02:48,681 almost 500 years ago, 40 00:02:48,706 --> 00:02:51,801 paints a dramatically different picture. 41 00:02:53,266 --> 00:02:56,191 One of the first Europeans to ever travel along the Amazon 42 00:02:56,216 --> 00:02:59,521 was a missionary called Gaspar de Carvajal. 43 00:02:59,546 --> 00:03:02,681 He actually wrote about it in his diary in the 16th century 44 00:03:02,706 --> 00:03:07,041 and he talks about "gleaming vast cities 45 00:03:07,066 --> 00:03:08,551 "on the river banks." 46 00:03:08,576 --> 00:03:13,291 And he describes inhabited areas that were 440 kilometres long. 47 00:03:13,316 --> 00:03:17,601 It took them two clays and two nights to pass through it. 48 00:03:20,216 --> 00:03:21,651 Back in 1542... 49 00:03:22,855 --> 00:03:26,750 ...Carvajal described a highly developed civilisation. 50 00:03:31,855 --> 00:03:34,321 One to rival the famous cities of the Inca. 51 00:03:35,936 --> 00:03:38,401 But successive generations of explorers 52 00:03:38,426 --> 00:03:40,750 found pretty much what we see today. 53 00:03:40,775 --> 00:03:45,111 Endless, impenetrable jungle. 54 00:03:45,136 --> 00:03:47,651 So, the Spanish priest was forgotten. 55 00:03:47,676 --> 00:03:50,401 His diary ridiculed. 56 00:03:51,626 --> 00:03:54,830 But now, new archaeological evidence is suggesting 57 00:03:54,855 --> 00:03:57,681 he may have been telling the truth after all. 58 00:04:02,035 --> 00:04:05,960 My investigation will take me right across the Amazon, 59 00:04:05,985 --> 00:04:08,241 the world's largest rainforest, 60 00:04:08,266 --> 00:04:11,241 so huge, it spans eight countries. 61 00:04:14,496 --> 00:04:18,911 I'm starting off in a region of western Brazil called Acre. 62 00:04:21,576 --> 00:04:24,601 Here, huge areas of the forest have been cleared 63 00:04:24,626 --> 00:04:26,191 and turned into farmland. 64 00:04:27,266 --> 00:04:28,911 It's just tragic. 65 00:04:28,936 --> 00:04:32,760 But it's also revealing something amazing. 66 00:04:34,676 --> 00:04:37,481 Allowing archaeologists like Jose lriarte 67 00:04:37,506 --> 00:04:40,241 to discover the Amazon's ancient secrets. 68 00:04:41,626 --> 00:04:44,100 Hello, how are you? Hey, how's it going? 69 00:04:45,236 --> 00:04:47,211 Watch out, it's super steep. 70 00:04:51,236 --> 00:04:55,061 Deforestation has recently revealed these mind-blowing, 71 00:04:55,086 --> 00:04:57,501 man-made geoglyphs- 72 00:04:59,646 --> 00:05:02,541 Huge, mysterious geometric patterns... 73 00:05:04,236 --> 00:05:06,860 ...carved into the landscape. 74 00:05:08,086 --> 00:05:12,421 This is one of the most distinct and mysterious geoglyphs 75 00:05:12,446 --> 00:05:13,701 in the whole region. 76 00:05:13,726 --> 00:05:16,011 We've all seen crop circles. Yeah. 77 00:05:16,036 --> 00:05:19,751 But this is something like a pre-historic crop circle... 78 00:05:20,776 --> 00:05:21,780 ...in the Amazon. 79 00:05:23,135 --> 00:05:27,421 This isn't supposed to exist and yet, it does. 80 00:05:29,675 --> 00:05:31,501 It is a bit mad, isn't it? 81 00:05:33,416 --> 00:05:36,341 Thought to date from as long as 2,000 years ago, 82 00:05:36,366 --> 00:05:40,341 centuries before Europeans arrived in the Amazon, 83 00:05:40,366 --> 00:05:45,471 their sheer scale means they surely could only have been built 84 00:05:45,496 --> 00:05:47,931 by a highly organised society. 85 00:05:50,526 --> 00:05:52,860 These are ritual, ceremonial structures. 86 00:05:52,885 --> 00:05:56,421 If we go back in time and we think of the technology 87 00:05:56,446 --> 00:05:58,130 that the geoglyph builders have, 88 00:05:58,155 --> 00:06:02,471 it would take 100 people a month to take out the dirt 89 00:06:02,496 --> 00:06:03,900 to build one of these structures. 90 00:06:03,925 --> 00:06:07,931 So, we're talking about a society that was very complex. 91 00:06:07,956 --> 00:06:13,011 To be able to plan, to build and to maintain these structures. 92 00:06:15,885 --> 00:06:18,941 Discovering these structures is a game changer. 93 00:06:18,966 --> 00:06:23,341 The people who built them weren't small groups of hunter-gatherers, 94 00:06:23,366 --> 00:06:28,581 but part of a much more complex society than experts ever imagined. 95 00:06:30,135 --> 00:06:34,501 Once completely hidden, they now seem to be everywhere. 96 00:06:38,396 --> 00:06:41,551 So far, more than 500 structures have emerged 97 00:06:41,576 --> 00:06:43,860 in this part of the Amazon alone... 98 00:06:45,366 --> 00:06:48,730 ...across an area almost the size of Scotland. 99 00:06:51,526 --> 00:06:53,831 It's so completely unexpected. 100 00:06:53,856 --> 00:06:56,980 I think so many of us have got the notion of the people 101 00:06:57,005 --> 00:07:01,621 that lived in the Amazon and it wasn't societies like this. 102 00:07:03,326 --> 00:07:05,621 This isn't a simple society. 103 00:07:05,646 --> 00:07:10,551 These geoglyphs indicate a really complex society. 104 00:07:19,859 --> 00:07:22,445 These discoveries are starting a revolution 105 00:07:22,470 --> 00:07:24,675 in Amazonian archaeology. 106 00:07:33,940 --> 00:07:36,195 OK, what...what are we looking at here? 107 00:07:37,470 --> 00:07:41,754 So, this is our area of archaeological interest. 108 00:07:42,779 --> 00:07:46,754 Today, cutting-edge laser technology called Lidar 109 00:07:46,779 --> 00:07:51,425 is helping scientists to discover what's hidden beneath the tress, 110 00:07:51,450 --> 00:07:53,995 without destroying the rainforest. 111 00:07:55,700 --> 00:07:59,245 Look at all this area covered with trees. 112 00:07:59,270 --> 00:08:01,995 But when we remove the canopy... 113 00:08:02,020 --> 00:08:03,915 ...kaboom. 114 00:08:03,940 --> 00:08:07,834 The scan reveals structures that have never been seen before... 115 00:08:09,420 --> 00:08:12,605 ...including one that Jose is particularly intrigued by. 116 00:08:13,859 --> 00:08:16,195 As you can see, we've found a new site 117 00:08:16,220 --> 00:08:19,355 that was completely unknown to archaeology. 118 00:08:21,779 --> 00:08:23,115 Oh, wow. 119 00:08:23,140 --> 00:08:24,555 I mean, that's amazing. 120 00:08:26,300 --> 00:08:29,964 What's revealed looks like a precise circle of mounds 121 00:08:29,989 --> 00:08:32,634 with a straight road leading to it. 122 00:08:36,380 --> 00:08:37,714 It's incredible. 123 00:08:37,739 --> 00:08:39,995 That is completely hidden under the trees. 124 00:08:41,350 --> 00:08:44,395 Jose believes this could be an ancient settlement. 125 00:08:45,909 --> 00:08:48,475 But there's only one way to find out for sure. 126 00:08:49,810 --> 00:08:54,634 Tomorrow, we're going to do an expedition to go through the forest 127 00:08:54,659 --> 00:08:57,355 to find this site and see how it looks. 128 00:08:57,380 --> 00:08:59,605 Oh, this is gonna be brilliant. 129 00:09:13,060 --> 00:09:15,964 It's morning and a short, sweltering hike 130 00:09:15,989 --> 00:09:18,355 takes us to the edge of the forest. 131 00:09:18,380 --> 00:09:19,834 Ugh! 132 00:09:19,859 --> 00:09:22,145 It's going to be dense, difficult terrain, 133 00:09:22,170 --> 00:09:24,395 so we need a local guide. 134 00:09:27,380 --> 00:09:28,395 Hey. Ella. 135 00:09:29,859 --> 00:09:32,634 So, what's your assessment of the forest behind us? 136 00:09:32,659 --> 00:09:34,275 Like, how brutal is it, really? 137 00:09:47,140 --> 00:09:49,865 I feel like I'm about to go to my death in there. 138 00:09:55,020 --> 00:09:58,714 I've done most of my archaeology in unstable and hostile territories, 139 00:09:58,739 --> 00:10:00,634 like Yemen and Iraq, 140 00:10:00,659 --> 00:10:03,275 but this jungle is a whole different challenge. 141 00:10:04,859 --> 00:10:06,475 Here is the worst kind of forest. 142 00:10:07,630 --> 00:10:09,915 This is the thing we need to watch for. 143 00:10:09,940 --> 00:10:11,995 The palm spines. You see? 144 00:10:12,020 --> 00:10:14,685 Once it enters your body, it won't come out. 145 00:10:14,710 --> 00:10:18,155 Are you being serious? Yeah. It will come out in two, three months, so... 146 00:10:18,180 --> 00:10:20,605 Please be very careful with these spines. 147 00:10:27,180 --> 00:10:29,475 The going is painfully slow, 148 00:10:29,500 --> 00:10:32,555 and it's taking much longer than Jose expected. 149 00:10:33,710 --> 00:10:35,964 We still have a while to go 150 00:10:35,989 --> 00:10:38,514 and, er, I'm a bit worried 151 00:10:38,539 --> 00:10:42,834 because you can see how dense it is to get there. 152 00:10:43,989 --> 00:10:46,964 I don't know if we are going to be able to see anything. 153 00:10:49,350 --> 00:10:51,245 Oh, my God, the ants are everywhere. 154 00:10:51,270 --> 00:10:53,225 We just did half of it. 155 00:10:53,250 --> 00:10:54,964 We need to do the other half. 156 00:10:54,989 --> 00:10:56,685 Come on, we can do this. 157 00:10:58,789 --> 00:11:01,195 We can't stay in the forest after dark, 158 00:11:01,220 --> 00:11:03,964 because at night, the jungle gets really dangerous. 159 00:11:05,300 --> 00:11:06,555 Ow, shit. 160 00:11:06,580 --> 00:11:08,355 Ai-ai-ai. 161 00:11:12,659 --> 00:11:15,555 Then suddenly, Jose spots something. 162 00:11:15,580 --> 00:11:18,155 Do you think this could be something, Ella? 163 00:11:18,180 --> 00:11:21,195 I think, er, we may have found something. 164 00:11:21,220 --> 00:11:24,764 Could it be the entrance to the ancient village? 165 00:11:24,789 --> 00:11:26,634 This could be the causeway. W00! 166 00:11:26,659 --> 00:11:28,045 In there. 167 00:11:34,869 --> 00:11:39,435 We've been hacking through dense forest for most of the day... 168 00:11:39,460 --> 00:11:44,764 ...in search of what could be an ancient Amazonian settlement. 169 00:11:44,789 --> 00:11:46,644 Wait, Neguinho. Wait. 170 00:11:46,669 --> 00:11:50,285 Then suddenly, deep in the forest... 171 00:11:50,310 --> 00:11:52,235 Look at that! Look at that. 172 00:11:53,590 --> 00:11:56,005 This is much lower down. 173 00:11:56,030 --> 00:11:57,925 If you take a look, 174 00:11:57,950 --> 00:12:00,405 this looks like a ridge. 175 00:12:00,430 --> 00:12:04,285 Steps down here and steps down to the other side. 176 00:12:04,310 --> 00:12:07,724 Neguinho is 1.6 metres, 177 00:12:07,749 --> 00:12:12,724 so we are talking that this man is minimum two metres and a half. 178 00:12:12,749 --> 00:12:15,075 So this might be the entrance to the village? 179 00:12:15,100 --> 00:12:18,594 This is likely to be the entrance of the village. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 180 00:12:18,619 --> 00:12:19,875 Yes! 181 00:12:19,900 --> 00:12:22,205 As an archaeologist, these are the moments 182 00:12:22,230 --> 00:12:23,644 that are really special, you know? 183 00:12:25,340 --> 00:12:28,005 This is our newly-discovered site. 184 00:12:28,030 --> 00:12:29,365 I wanna hug you. Sorry. 185 00:12:32,310 --> 00:12:34,925 Jose's, like, doing this in the background. 186 00:12:34,950 --> 00:12:38,085 This...this is just blowing my mind right now, 187 00:12:38,110 --> 00:12:40,724 because this is real archaeological discovery. 188 00:12:40,749 --> 00:12:44,394 No archaeologist has stepped here before. Not at all. 189 00:12:47,980 --> 00:12:49,925 Revealed by laser scans, 190 00:12:49,950 --> 00:12:55,125 Jose begins the first ever survey of the new site, 191 00:12:55,150 --> 00:12:58,644 piecing together a picture of an ancient settlement. 192 00:12:59,749 --> 00:13:03,085 And this ground-truthing gives strong evidence 193 00:13:03,110 --> 00:13:05,565 that other newly-revealed structures 194 00:13:05,590 --> 00:13:08,764 are also man-made. 195 00:13:08,789 --> 00:13:13,445 It's archaeology like this that's retelling the history of the Amazon. 196 00:13:13,470 --> 00:13:17,805 There were people who were living here hundreds of years ago 197 00:13:17,830 --> 00:13:21,724 and it's so bloody awesome... Yeah. 198 00:13:21,749 --> 00:13:24,805 ...that we're standing at the beginning of the village. 199 00:13:24,830 --> 00:13:27,115 But I am actually standing on an ant hill 200 00:13:27,140 --> 00:13:29,805 and they are biting me really badly, 201 00:13:29,830 --> 00:13:31,565 so I think we should move. 202 00:13:31,590 --> 00:13:34,925 It's five o'clock. We need to get out. Vamonos! 203 00:13:37,950 --> 00:13:41,485 We can now bring this village to life. 204 00:13:41,510 --> 00:13:43,805 Over 500 years ago, 205 00:13:43,830 --> 00:13:47,724 20 or more houses would have been built on raised platforms, 206 00:13:47,749 --> 00:13:52,035 forming a circle more than 150 metres across. 207 00:13:53,619 --> 00:13:57,514 There was a sunken road leading into a large central plaza... 208 00:13:58,950 --> 00:14:03,315 ...where a community of up to 200 people would have gathered. 209 00:14:05,619 --> 00:14:10,724 And the lidar scans show this settlement wasn't alone. 210 00:14:10,749 --> 00:14:14,285 The road leads to another village nearby, 211 00:14:14,310 --> 00:14:17,285 the first of over 50 212 00:14:17,310 --> 00:14:24,445 that formed a vast extended network, mostly hidden until now. 213 00:14:24,470 --> 00:14:28,035 It's powerful evidence that ancient Amazonians 214 00:14:28,060 --> 00:14:31,844 built permanent, organised societies. 215 00:14:35,869 --> 00:14:38,205 And it's just the start of the revolution 216 00:14:38,230 --> 00:14:41,724 that's changing our understanding of the Amazon. 217 00:14:45,549 --> 00:14:47,394 Back in 1542, 218 00:14:47,419 --> 00:14:49,885 the Spanish missionary Gaspar de Carvajal 219 00:14:49,910 --> 00:14:53,394 described even more sophisticated societies... 220 00:14:55,749 --> 00:15:01,724 ...with huge cities and lords adorned with elaborate jewellery. 221 00:15:01,749 --> 00:15:04,365 Now, I'm heading to Bolivia 222 00:15:04,390 --> 00:15:07,365 in search of those gleaming cities. 223 00:15:11,030 --> 00:15:12,205 0h! 224 00:15:13,980 --> 00:15:15,885 My introduction to Bolivia's a bit bumpy. 225 00:15:18,340 --> 00:15:21,085 I've already seen how ground-breaking lidar 226 00:15:21,110 --> 00:15:23,445 can unlock the secrets of the Amazon. 227 00:15:25,270 --> 00:15:27,925 I've come to find out how it actually works 228 00:15:27,950 --> 00:15:31,315 and what more secrets it can reveal. 229 00:15:31,340 --> 00:15:32,565 Hi! 230 00:15:32,590 --> 00:15:33,724 Good morning. 231 00:15:33,749 --> 00:15:36,005 Ella, nice to meet you guys. Mark. 232 00:15:36,030 --> 00:15:37,724 How do you do, Ella? Hi, Mark. 233 00:15:37,749 --> 00:15:40,005 Heiko. Heiko, nice to meet you. Hi. 234 00:15:40,030 --> 00:15:42,524 British archaeologist Mark Robinson 235 00:15:42,549 --> 00:15:46,315 and a team from three archaeological institutes 236 00:15:46,340 --> 00:15:49,165 are lidar pioneers in the Amazon. 237 00:15:49,190 --> 00:15:51,474 Could you just explain to me what Hdaris? 238 00:15:51,499 --> 00:15:53,755 Yeah, lidar is a laser scanner. 239 00:15:53,780 --> 00:15:55,604 It's a 3D laser scanner. 240 00:15:55,629 --> 00:15:58,394 And here we have a rotating mirror through the glass. Mm-hm. 241 00:15:58,419 --> 00:16:02,474 And the idea is that you shoot a lot of laser pulses at the ground. 242 00:16:02,499 --> 00:16:05,394 So, lasers will shoot out, hit the mirror and the mirror's rotating, 243 00:16:05,419 --> 00:16:07,394 so it can basically get the full spread 244 00:16:07,419 --> 00:16:11,035 and it can create an incredibly detailed three-dimensional map 245 00:16:11,060 --> 00:16:12,524 of the terrain. 246 00:16:12,549 --> 00:16:14,755 ENGINE REVS 247 00:16:21,700 --> 00:16:25,724 Yeah, you definitely get the motion sickness on the turns. 248 00:16:25,749 --> 00:16:28,115 Leaping backwards and forwards like this 249 00:16:28,140 --> 00:16:30,835 can be queasy work. 250 00:16:30,860 --> 00:16:32,445 Yeah, you need a strong stomach. 251 00:16:35,580 --> 00:16:38,965 The area we are scanning is mostly open floodplains... 252 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:42,165 ...dotted with patches of forest. 253 00:16:44,419 --> 00:16:45,685 It's incredible! 254 00:16:49,749 --> 00:16:53,474 It is really surprising to me that this is the Amazon, 255 00:16:53,499 --> 00:16:57,474 cos I wouldn't expect a massive floodplain. 256 00:16:57,499 --> 00:17:01,965 Yeah, the diversity of the Amazon basin is just mind-boggling. 257 00:17:01,990 --> 00:17:05,805 For humans, these are perfect locations to exist. 258 00:17:05,830 --> 00:17:07,604 You get the best of both worlds. 259 00:17:07,629 --> 00:17:10,445 You get all the resources of a savannah environment 260 00:17:10,470 --> 00:17:12,755 as well as the benefits of a full forest. 261 00:17:15,030 --> 00:17:18,165 Our main focus is an unusual mound 262 00:17:18,190 --> 00:17:22,604 rising out of the otherwise flat landscape. 263 00:17:22,629 --> 00:17:25,524 Coming up on the right, on the right side of the helicopter, 264 00:17:25,549 --> 00:17:27,885 we're gonna come up on La Punta mound, 265 00:17:27,910 --> 00:17:30,245 with a nice little white house on top. 266 00:17:30,270 --> 00:17:34,005 Mark believes the mound is the relic of an ancient settlement, 267 00:17:34,030 --> 00:17:37,195 possibly built more than 2,000 years ago. 268 00:17:38,390 --> 00:17:40,965 Now he's in search of any signs 269 00:17:40,990 --> 00:17:45,325 that it might have been part of something bigger. 270 00:17:45,350 --> 00:17:46,885 When we were on the ground, 271 00:17:46,910 --> 00:17:50,724 you could see that there were clusters of trees nearby, 272 00:17:50,749 --> 00:17:55,115 but it was actually being up in the sky you could suddenly start seeing 273 00:17:55,140 --> 00:17:57,474 the other mounds that are really close by 274 00:17:57,499 --> 00:18:02,085 in really close proximity, like neighbours to the La Punta mound. 275 00:18:02,110 --> 00:18:04,045 And suddenly you're thinking, 276 00:18:04,070 --> 00:18:06,045 "All right, what's going on there?" 277 00:18:06,070 --> 00:18:10,015 All right, so if we look at the map here, it's our current position. 278 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:11,724 YOU can see 6S we PFOQFBSS, 279 00:18:11,749 --> 00:18:15,604 we're collecting new data that's coming out as we pass over. 280 00:18:17,940 --> 00:18:22,245 Amazingly, lidar is working its magic again. 281 00:18:25,910 --> 00:18:29,555 The scans reveal more man-made mounds nearby, 282 00:18:29,580 --> 00:18:32,724 many hidden beneath the trees. 283 00:18:32,749 --> 00:18:35,474 And the mounds are all different sizes, 284 00:18:35,499 --> 00:18:38,734 with some much more impressive than others. 285 00:18:40,299 --> 00:18:42,805 For Mark, that's curious, 286 00:18:42,830 --> 00:18:46,734 as it could be evidence of social hierarchy, 287 00:18:46,759 --> 00:18:51,685 a crucial stage towards large-scale societies. 288 00:18:57,350 --> 00:19:00,734 The La Punta mound appears to be the epicentre 289 00:19:00,759 --> 00:19:03,045 of something much bigger 290 00:19:03,070 --> 00:19:09,095 and it might hold clues to the great civilisations I'm searching for. 291 00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:12,325 I'm going there with archaeologist Carla Betancourt, 292 00:19:12,350 --> 00:19:15,165 who recently began excavating the mound. 293 00:19:17,549 --> 00:19:19,245 On our way, I can't resist 294 00:19:19,270 --> 00:19:23,165 taking a closer look at some of the wildlife. 295 00:19:27,940 --> 00:19:29,635 Can you see them? 296 00:19:29,660 --> 00:19:32,205 Do you see the teeth on it? Look at that! 297 00:19:41,509 --> 00:19:42,995 CARLA: So, welcome to La Punta. 298 00:19:45,870 --> 00:19:49,765 It looks beautiful. Yeah, it's a beautiful landscape. 299 00:19:51,150 --> 00:19:53,685 Already, in the first year of excavation, 300 00:19:53,710 --> 00:19:58,274 Carla's uncovered a whole history of human occupation at La Punta. 301 00:20:00,020 --> 00:20:03,565 This is amazing. Yeah, the stratigraphy is wonderful. 302 00:20:03,590 --> 00:20:07,885 You can see this black layer. 303 00:20:07,910 --> 00:20:12,245 That is the earliest layer... Oh! 304 00:20:12,270 --> 00:20:15,604 ...from when they started to build this mound. 305 00:20:15,629 --> 00:20:18,845 Cos we are talking about maybe 1,000 years. 306 00:20:18,870 --> 00:20:21,075 Are you kidding? That's wonderful! 307 00:20:22,379 --> 00:20:26,765 The layers of soil contain signs of the people who lived here 308 00:20:26,790 --> 00:20:30,404 at different points in Amazonian history. 309 00:20:30,429 --> 00:20:34,245 Their pottery, their rubbish, even their bones. 310 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:39,565 So, that is a snapshot of 1,000 years. Yes. 311 00:20:39,590 --> 00:20:41,455 How doesn't that give you goose bumps? 312 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:44,635 Like, seriously, how does that not give you goose bumps? 313 00:20:46,150 --> 00:20:49,354 But it's the human remains discovered by Carla 314 00:20:49,379 --> 00:20:53,925 that are giving us a window into ancient Amazonian society. 315 00:20:55,350 --> 00:20:57,715 The unearthed skeleton of a man 316 00:20:57,740 --> 00:21:00,965 buried with elaborate copper earrings 317 00:21:00,990 --> 00:21:03,995 is a sure sign of status. 318 00:21:05,350 --> 00:21:10,125 So, I think this man was an important man in this society. 319 00:21:10,150 --> 00:21:13,645 Yeah, maybe a political character or something 320 00:21:13,670 --> 00:21:17,175 and that is the reasons that we are thinking that there was 321 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:21,534 a society organised, also with hierarchies. 322 00:21:21,559 --> 00:21:23,125 It seems privileged people 323 00:21:23,150 --> 00:21:27,604 were living on the larger, more impressive mounds. 324 00:21:27,629 --> 00:21:31,005 The lower classes left with the lower mounds. 325 00:21:33,379 --> 00:21:36,925 It all fits with a complex class-based society. 326 00:21:39,590 --> 00:21:42,255 Maybe there is something like a competition 327 00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:45,075 between these different groups of people 328 00:21:45,100 --> 00:21:48,925 and they are building this mound higher and higher. 329 00:21:48,950 --> 00:21:50,565 One bigger than the other. 330 00:21:51,590 --> 00:21:55,484 So, I think it is a sign of status or competition. 331 00:21:55,509 --> 00:21:58,284 So, that's interesting, cos we know this in anthropology 332 00:21:58,309 --> 00:22:01,364 that people do compete with higher and higher buildings. 333 00:22:01,389 --> 00:22:04,005 Even today, we know that people do this. 334 00:22:04,030 --> 00:22:06,045 People build a tower 335 00:22:06,070 --> 00:22:08,645 and then somebody else tries to build a higher tower. 336 00:22:08,670 --> 00:22:11,925 You get the idea. So, it's kind of blown my mind to think people 337 00:22:11,950 --> 00:22:13,435 would be doing it with mounds, 338 00:22:13,460 --> 00:22:15,255 cos you're keeping up with the Jones', 339 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:17,725 you're trying to compete. 340 00:22:17,750 --> 00:22:21,284 I'm already building a picture of societies 341 00:22:21,309 --> 00:22:24,534 more complex than experts ever imagined. 342 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:30,175 But the Spanish priest 500 years ago 343 00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:33,725 talked of an even more advanced society, 344 00:22:33,750 --> 00:22:36,795 of cities ruled by powerful lords. 345 00:22:37,950 --> 00:22:40,765 800 miles east, in Brazil, 346 00:22:40,790 --> 00:22:43,685 I'm hoping one indigenous community 347 00:22:43,710 --> 00:22:46,925 can unlock that great ancient secret 348 00:22:46,950 --> 00:22:50,005 and perhaps the mystery of what happened 349 00:22:50,030 --> 00:22:52,795 to those lost civilisations. 350 00:22:57,204 --> 00:22:59,179 Back in Brazil, I'm still investigating 351 00:22:59,204 --> 00:23:04,338 the extraordinary diary of Spanish missionary, Gaspar De Carvajal. 352 00:23:05,854 --> 00:23:08,899 In 1542, he was aboard one of the first 353 00:23:08,924 --> 00:23:11,779 European explorations of the Amazon. 354 00:23:13,694 --> 00:23:17,338 His account describes vast, sprawling settlements, 355 00:23:17,363 --> 00:23:19,669 all along the river bank. 356 00:23:21,493 --> 00:23:25,059 And he talks about one settlement being so large 357 00:23:25,084 --> 00:23:27,499 that it stretched for five leagues, 358 00:23:27,524 --> 00:23:29,419 that's about 27.5km, 359 00:23:29,444 --> 00:23:33,109 without there intervening any space from house to house, 360 00:23:33,134 --> 00:23:35,579 which was a marvellous thing to behold. 361 00:23:37,884 --> 00:23:41,029 But when Europeans returned to the Amazon, years later, 362 00:23:41,054 --> 00:23:43,779 all they found was forest. 363 00:23:45,214 --> 00:23:50,549 And Carvajal's account of great Amazonian civilisations was dismissed. 364 00:23:53,004 --> 00:23:57,388 Today, new approaches to archaeology are completely overturning 365 00:23:57,413 --> 00:24:00,138 our understanding of the Amazon's history. 366 00:24:01,854 --> 00:24:03,699 It's shocking, but for years, 367 00:24:03,724 --> 00:24:06,699 we've ignored one critical piece of the puzzle. 368 00:24:06,724 --> 00:24:10,218 But finally, indigenous peoples' own accounts 369 00:24:10,243 --> 00:24:13,719 of their ancient history are leading the way. 370 00:24:15,464 --> 00:24:19,769 The Kuikuro people live in the upper Xingu region of Brazil. 371 00:24:20,904 --> 00:24:22,769 Today, there are just 500 of them. 372 00:24:22,794 --> 00:24:24,599 WHOOPING 373 00:24:24,624 --> 00:24:26,439 But they believe they're descendants 374 00:24:26,464 --> 00:24:28,849 of a once-vast, ancient civilisation. 375 00:24:30,794 --> 00:24:33,569 And Chief Afukaka is proud of that heritage. 376 00:24:42,513 --> 00:24:45,679 American anthropologist Michael Heckenberger 377 00:24:45,704 --> 00:24:47,929 works closely with the Kuikuro. 378 00:24:49,433 --> 00:24:52,079 They've led him to a remote part of the forest, 379 00:24:52,104 --> 00:24:55,408 where they say there are clues to their ancient past. 380 00:24:58,464 --> 00:25:02,769 The site is surrounded by a massive, mysterious ditch. 381 00:25:05,063 --> 00:25:07,408 When we'd mapped the extent of this ditch 382 00:25:07,433 --> 00:25:12,849 around the archaeological site, it goes for over 2km. 383 00:25:12,874 --> 00:25:17,719 That ditch enclosed an area of 50 hectares, 384 00:25:17,744 --> 00:25:22,769 which is 20-times as large as the contemporary village. 385 00:25:22,794 --> 00:25:25,158 So this was a massive earthen structure 386 00:25:25,183 --> 00:25:29,569 that was built by a population that could mobilise labour 387 00:25:29,594 --> 00:25:34,569 on a much larger scale and obviously supported a much larger population. 388 00:25:36,674 --> 00:25:40,158 Michael believes the ancient Kuikuro built the ditch 389 00:25:40,183 --> 00:25:44,488 as a defensive fortification, around 800 years ago. 390 00:25:45,984 --> 00:25:50,288 Compared with today's village, the ancient settlement was huge. 391 00:25:51,154 --> 00:25:54,319 But in other ways, it was incredibly similar. 392 00:25:55,344 --> 00:25:58,488 So Michael can use the layout of today's village 393 00:25:58,513 --> 00:26:01,649 to guide him around the archaeological site. 394 00:26:03,183 --> 00:26:05,569 Starting, oddly, with the trash mounds 395 00:26:05,594 --> 00:26:08,679 that families always build behind their houses. 396 00:26:11,313 --> 00:26:15,238 What we set about looking for first was the trash mounds. 397 00:26:15,263 --> 00:26:19,959 We assumed that, between the plaza and these trash mounds, 398 00:26:19,984 --> 00:26:22,569 we would find the remains of ancient houses. 399 00:26:22,594 --> 00:26:24,368 So we opened up this area, 400 00:26:24,393 --> 00:26:27,368 looking for the remains of that actual house. 401 00:26:29,034 --> 00:26:32,649 We came across, suddenly, a pot support, 402 00:26:32,674 --> 00:26:35,009 it's a very distinctive ceramic artefact. 403 00:26:35,034 --> 00:26:37,929 It's what they used to hold up their cooking pots. 404 00:26:39,393 --> 00:26:41,679 This is an important breakthrough, 405 00:26:41,704 --> 00:26:47,288 because the Kuikuro use very similar supports to help them cook today. 406 00:26:48,674 --> 00:26:51,569 As soon as the Kuikuru saw that pot support, 407 00:26:51,594 --> 00:26:53,929 they immediately knew what we were looking at. 408 00:26:53,954 --> 00:26:55,649 They said, "This is the kitchen. 409 00:26:55,674 --> 00:26:58,009 "The front door is going to be right there. 410 00:26:58,034 --> 00:27:00,368 "The sleeping areas are going to be right there." 411 00:27:00,393 --> 00:27:02,679 And sure enough, as we expanded our excavations, 412 00:27:02,704 --> 00:27:05,009 we found remnants of the front door. 413 00:27:05,034 --> 00:27:07,368 We found remnants of the sleeping area. 414 00:27:07,393 --> 00:27:11,089 This ancient community was built on the same principles 415 00:27:11,114 --> 00:27:13,319 as the contemporary community. 416 00:27:15,624 --> 00:27:18,519 And these revelations are only the beginning. 417 00:27:18,544 --> 00:27:20,038 GRUNTING 418 00:27:20,063 --> 00:27:22,368 Investigating the surrounding area 419 00:27:22,393 --> 00:27:26,449 has revealed that this settlement was not alone, 420 00:27:26,474 --> 00:27:30,319 but part of an entire, ancient, urban network. 421 00:27:32,784 --> 00:27:36,038 What really took me by surprise is how integrated they were. 422 00:27:36,063 --> 00:27:38,368 They were all connected by roads, 423 00:27:38,393 --> 00:27:41,319 and not just small paths through the tropical forest, 424 00:27:41,344 --> 00:27:44,879 these were wide and well-constructed roads with kerbs. 425 00:27:47,313 --> 00:27:51,009 Michael estimates this ancient, interconnected metropolis 426 00:27:51,034 --> 00:27:56,759 was home to around 50,000 people, in just this area alone. 427 00:27:58,063 --> 00:28:01,089 Much bigger than anything else we've seen. 428 00:28:02,624 --> 00:28:07,649 It confirms what today's Kuikuro people have always believed. 429 00:28:34,624 --> 00:28:37,089 Why not civilisations in the Amazon? 430 00:28:39,504 --> 00:28:42,089 The pre-Columbian societies of the Amazon, 431 00:28:42,114 --> 00:28:46,118 these were not that different from some of the classic civilisations 432 00:28:46,143 --> 00:28:48,399 we look to in antiquity. 433 00:28:51,063 --> 00:28:54,058 The evidence is now really stacking up 434 00:28:54,083 --> 00:28:58,419 that ancient Amazon societies not only existed, 435 00:28:58,444 --> 00:29:02,089 but did so on a scale and complexity 436 00:29:02,114 --> 00:29:06,188 that, compared to today, is staggering. 437 00:29:06,213 --> 00:29:10,589 Experts now believe as many as 10 million people 438 00:29:10,614 --> 00:29:13,339 lived across the whole of the Amazon. 439 00:29:15,134 --> 00:29:19,138 It looks like the ridiculed Spanish missionary, Gaspar De Carvajal, 440 00:29:19,163 --> 00:29:22,219 may well have been telling the truth, after all. 441 00:29:23,293 --> 00:29:26,669 But that raises another, huge question. 442 00:29:27,724 --> 00:29:31,579 Where on earth did all those people go? 443 00:29:32,774 --> 00:29:35,138 The truth is simple and tragic. 444 00:29:37,293 --> 00:29:41,699 The early Europeans, possibly including Gaspar De Carvajal himself, 445 00:29:41,724 --> 00:29:44,829 brought diseases that spread like wildfire 446 00:29:44,854 --> 00:29:47,058 through the people of the Amazon. 447 00:29:49,364 --> 00:29:52,138 It decimated those populations very quickly. 448 00:29:52,163 --> 00:29:56,779 They had never had experience with these Old World diseases. 449 00:29:56,804 --> 00:30:00,138 And once they hit, they would ravage entire villages 450 00:30:00,163 --> 00:30:02,499 and quickly move from village to village, 451 00:30:02,524 --> 00:30:05,989 precisely because these populations were interlinked 452 00:30:06,014 --> 00:30:09,349 in very complex trade networks. 453 00:30:12,293 --> 00:30:14,579 In some places, the lack of immunity 454 00:30:14,604 --> 00:30:18,629 meant up to 90% of Amazonians perished 455 00:30:18,654 --> 00:30:21,188 from influenza and smallpox. 456 00:30:21,213 --> 00:30:25,549 Across the Americas, millions died 457 00:30:25,574 --> 00:30:29,938 in one of the biggest demographic catastrophes in human history. 458 00:30:32,213 --> 00:30:34,549 BELLS JANGLE 459 00:30:34,574 --> 00:30:38,138 Some escaped death and enslavement by fleeing their cities. 460 00:30:39,854 --> 00:30:43,109 But unlike the stone relics of other great civilisations, 461 00:30:43,134 --> 00:30:48,308 their wooden cities rotted and disappeared beneath the forest. 462 00:30:50,604 --> 00:30:54,938 Over the centuries, repeated contact with the outside world 463 00:30:54,963 --> 00:30:56,859 has often spelt disaster. 464 00:30:59,213 --> 00:31:01,419 Even in living memory. 465 00:31:29,413 --> 00:31:30,859 Five centuries ago, 466 00:31:30,884 --> 00:31:36,499 this area was populated by as many as 50,000 people. 467 00:31:36,524 --> 00:31:40,989 Now there are only around 500. 468 00:31:44,213 --> 00:31:47,388 Just 1% of a once-great metropolis. 469 00:31:48,413 --> 00:31:50,749 And today, across the Amazon, 470 00:31:50,774 --> 00:31:54,318 its people are still fighting for their survival. 471 00:31:56,413 --> 00:31:59,659 Right now, the Brazilian rainforest 472 00:31:59,684 --> 00:32:03,579 is being cleared at a terrifying rate... 473 00:32:03,604 --> 00:32:06,909 BOLSANARO SPEAKS PORTUGUESE ..as President Bolsanaro's government 474 00:32:06,934 --> 00:32:09,429 ruthlessly pursues economic growth. 475 00:32:11,374 --> 00:32:16,268 In the last 50 years, a fifth of the rainforest has disappeared. 476 00:32:16,293 --> 00:32:18,188 Cleared for timber and farming. 477 00:32:20,134 --> 00:32:23,549 Indigenous peoples have seen their land taken away, 478 00:32:23,574 --> 00:32:26,068 their forest destroyed. 479 00:32:30,374 --> 00:32:32,268 But they're fighting back. 480 00:32:35,093 --> 00:32:37,579 And they're discovering that their history 481 00:32:37,604 --> 00:32:39,909 is an important weapon in the battle... 482 00:32:39,934 --> 00:32:42,509 CHANTING 483 00:32:44,374 --> 00:32:48,299 ...as some communities try to prove the lands they occupy today 484 00:32:48,324 --> 00:32:51,469 are traditional, indigenous homelands. 485 00:32:55,963 --> 00:32:59,188 I've come to a remote river town called Tefe, 486 00:32:59,213 --> 00:33:01,268 in the northwest of Brazil. 487 00:33:01,293 --> 00:33:04,759 From here I'm travelling up-river to meet the Kokama, 488 00:33:04,784 --> 00:33:09,068 an indigenous community that live in fear of eviction. 489 00:33:12,173 --> 00:33:15,148 But they've been finding unusual pottery, 490 00:33:15,173 --> 00:33:20,219 which they hope will help them to stay in their ancestral home. 491 00:33:24,645 --> 00:33:27,110 The Kokama people believe these artefacts 492 00:33:27,135 --> 00:33:29,540 are from an ancient Amazonian society. 493 00:33:29,565 --> 00:33:32,980 The problem is, we don't even know that they are that old. 494 00:33:33,005 --> 00:33:35,700 We haven't even verified that they are authentic, 495 00:33:35,725 --> 00:33:37,500 and the reason for that is no archaeologist 496 00:33:37,525 --> 00:33:39,090 has actually examined them 497 00:33:39,115 --> 00:33:42,110 and that's because the Kokama are actually quite protective over them 498 00:33:42,135 --> 00:33:44,900 and they are refusing to release them to archaeologists. 499 00:33:44,925 --> 00:33:48,059 And so I'm, I'm feeling somewhat beside myself, 500 00:33:48,084 --> 00:33:49,259 I'm feeling really excited, 501 00:33:49,284 --> 00:33:51,540 because they are actually letting me see them. 502 00:33:53,115 --> 00:33:54,620 We're here. 503 00:33:57,084 --> 00:33:58,580 All right, here we go. 504 00:34:00,005 --> 00:34:03,059 Hi! Nice to meet you. Thank you for having us. 505 00:34:12,365 --> 00:34:14,939 I am really, really honoured to see them. 506 00:34:14,964 --> 00:34:17,259 And thank you, cos I feel like everybody's come out 507 00:34:17,284 --> 00:34:18,650 to see them with me! 508 00:34:20,525 --> 00:34:25,500 The Kokama's lifestyle has continually changed with the times. 509 00:34:26,805 --> 00:34:30,420 But they also claim centuries of history on this land. 510 00:34:31,475 --> 00:34:34,470 And Chief Anildo has made it his life's work 511 00:34:34,495 --> 00:34:37,580 to protect his people from the threat of eviction. 512 00:34:54,475 --> 00:34:58,009 Although they're nervous of outsiders, Chief Anildo has agreed 513 00:34:58,034 --> 00:35:01,090 to show me the artefacts they've discovered nearby. 514 00:35:05,245 --> 00:35:06,300 Ooh! 515 00:35:06,325 --> 00:35:10,700 It's the first time they've shown them to any archaeologist. 516 00:35:10,725 --> 00:35:12,420 Ah, OK. 517 00:35:15,284 --> 00:35:17,090 0h! 518 00:35:17,115 --> 00:35:20,550 You can see there's quite a bit of design going on here. 519 00:35:20,575 --> 00:35:24,420 Belais and her friend Teresa discovered these pieces 520 00:35:24,445 --> 00:35:26,370 while they were collecting Brazil nuts. 521 00:35:47,044 --> 00:35:49,300 It's hard to tell much from a simple broken pot... 522 00:35:50,325 --> 00:35:52,809 ...but I'm quickly led to another house... 523 00:35:57,405 --> 00:35:59,730 SHE GASPS 524 00:35:59,755 --> 00:36:03,269 ...and what could be an ancient treasure trove. 525 00:36:06,525 --> 00:36:08,780 It's like a hidden museum around here! 526 00:36:10,834 --> 00:36:14,380 Look at that! Oh, my gosh, that's face, isn't it? 527 00:36:14,405 --> 00:36:16,740 This is easily, so far, of everything I've seen, 528 00:36:16,765 --> 00:36:19,139 the most, kind of, intact, and most spectacular, really. 529 00:36:19,164 --> 00:36:23,220 It's an archaeological artefact, it could be ancient, um, 530 00:36:23,245 --> 00:36:25,809 and it's just kind of loitering here in a back bedroom. 531 00:36:27,405 --> 00:36:28,450 It's a delicate situation, 532 00:36:28,475 --> 00:36:31,500 cos these things have been in the ground for a very long time, 533 00:36:31,525 --> 00:36:33,300 and that's what's preserved them. 534 00:36:33,325 --> 00:36:36,740 If they were out in the open air, in this sweltering heat, 535 00:36:36,765 --> 00:36:38,139 they would not have survived. 536 00:36:39,294 --> 00:36:42,420 The concern is that something like this, you want protect it, 537 00:36:42,445 --> 00:36:45,910 and you want to protect it for the Kokama, actually, 538 00:36:45,935 --> 00:36:48,269 not...not just for the archaeologists. 539 00:36:52,044 --> 00:36:55,500 If the pottery can be proved to be ancient artefacts, 540 00:36:55,525 --> 00:36:57,860 it could be powerful evidence 541 00:36:57,885 --> 00:37:01,780 in the case the Kokama are building against eviction. 542 00:37:03,084 --> 00:37:06,530 But they've consistently refused to show the pots to outsiders. 543 00:37:08,325 --> 00:37:10,860 Why were you afraid to let others see them? 544 00:37:26,275 --> 00:37:29,500 They simply don't trust government officials. 545 00:37:29,525 --> 00:37:32,660 They're worried that if the pots are taken away, 546 00:37:32,685 --> 00:37:34,990 they will disappear for good, 547 00:37:35,015 --> 00:37:39,500 ending any hope they have of remaining on their ancestral land. 548 00:37:57,735 --> 00:38:00,889 OK, I'm good with fish. Fish is...fish is good. 549 00:38:00,914 --> 00:38:02,069 Fish is good. 550 00:38:02,094 --> 00:38:05,500 I really hope I can help the Kokama prove 551 00:38:05,525 --> 00:38:09,180 that people have been living here for centuries. 552 00:38:11,205 --> 00:38:14,380 Tomorrow will be the day of reckoning 553 00:38:14,405 --> 00:38:18,069 in their desperate battle against eviction. 554 00:38:19,205 --> 00:38:20,819 Thank you so much, thank you. 555 00:38:20,844 --> 00:38:21,819 Thank you! 556 00:38:22,815 --> 00:38:23,990 Obrigada. 557 00:38:37,335 --> 00:38:41,699 So, I guess today is going to be really dramatic, 558 00:38:41,724 --> 00:38:44,060 and I'm really hoping not traumatic for the Kokama, 559 00:38:44,085 --> 00:38:47,949 because we've organised for a specialist in Amazonian pottery 560 00:38:47,974 --> 00:38:52,340 to come down and to essentially assess and examine the pottery, 561 00:38:52,365 --> 00:38:56,949 so that they can tell us if the pottery is actually ancient or not. 562 00:39:00,405 --> 00:39:04,380 The Kokama have allowed me to invite Eduardo Tamanaha, 563 00:39:04,405 --> 00:39:07,779 an expert in ancient Amazonian artefacts, 564 00:39:07,804 --> 00:39:12,180 to judge whether the pottery really is pre-Columbian, 565 00:39:12,205 --> 00:39:18,060 made before the arrival of the Spanish, more than 500 years ago. 566 00:39:21,125 --> 00:39:22,620 How's it going? Hi. 567 00:39:22,645 --> 00:39:23,870 This is the chief. 568 00:39:29,165 --> 00:39:33,060 The Kokama's hope of proving this is ancient indigenous land 569 00:39:33,085 --> 00:39:36,230 rests on Eduardo's judgment. 570 00:39:42,615 --> 00:39:48,230 And I'm incredibly nervous about how all this might turn out. 571 00:39:48,255 --> 00:39:50,819 Suddenly, I'm... 572 00:39:50,844 --> 00:39:53,949 ...l'm really rooting for this stuff to be pre-Columbian, 573 00:39:53,974 --> 00:39:56,750 because, you know, it is a wonderful community. 574 00:39:56,775 --> 00:40:00,310 You see here, just... The kids, they just come up to you, they say hello. 575 00:40:00,335 --> 00:40:01,540 Hey! 576 00:40:01,565 --> 00:40:03,870 It's quite...upsetting to think that 577 00:40:03,895 --> 00:40:07,870 that might not be the conclusion, you know? This is not pre-Columbian. 578 00:40:13,645 --> 00:40:15,980 But this is archaeology, it's science, 579 00:40:16,005 --> 00:40:18,310 and sometimes you don't get the results that you want. 580 00:40:18,335 --> 00:40:20,590 And it can be, er, upsetting. 581 00:40:21,804 --> 00:40:24,310 That's not a...a nice feeling, at all. 582 00:40:26,165 --> 00:40:29,260 So much here, it's just kind of finding spots for it, 583 00:40:29,285 --> 00:40:30,899 it's like a treasure trove. 584 00:40:34,495 --> 00:40:37,060 It's the moment of truth. 585 00:40:43,415 --> 00:40:45,180 I'm studying your face, Eduardo. 586 00:40:46,285 --> 00:40:48,540 Trying to see if I can see any clues. 587 00:40:52,365 --> 00:40:54,699 Well, what signs are you looking for? 588 00:40:54,724 --> 00:40:57,470 There are some signs that we can see if they are ancient, 589 00:40:57,495 --> 00:40:59,060 or not so ancient. 590 00:40:59,085 --> 00:41:02,500 What type of technology they used to make this pottery. 591 00:41:02,525 --> 00:41:06,860 The colour of the clay, what did they put in the base of this clay, too? 592 00:41:07,924 --> 00:41:11,230 Is there anything interesting that you could tell me maybe about this one? 593 00:41:13,924 --> 00:41:16,779 Well, here, we can see what they put in this clay. 594 00:41:17,885 --> 00:41:19,140 It's the speckliness, right? 595 00:41:19,165 --> 00:41:21,060 Yes. Slight speckles, spot and stuff. 596 00:41:21,085 --> 00:41:25,420 That is from the tree bark that they burn and mix with the clay. 597 00:41:25,445 --> 00:41:27,140 To...to make the pottery. 598 00:41:27,165 --> 00:41:29,470 Oh, gosh, yeah, yeah. We call it "caraipe". 599 00:41:29,495 --> 00:41:31,110 You can actually see that. 600 00:41:31,135 --> 00:41:33,029 Yeah, it's very small. 601 00:41:33,054 --> 00:41:34,949 And it is a very old technology. 602 00:41:36,724 --> 00:41:38,190 All right, this one. 603 00:41:39,285 --> 00:41:40,550 Hm... 604 00:41:41,695 --> 00:41:46,060 That's very interesting, because you can see here the Yuma face. 605 00:41:46,085 --> 00:41:48,829 Right? Yeah. We have here the Yuma face. Uh-huh. 606 00:41:48,854 --> 00:41:51,190 Probably they mixed something with red, 607 00:41:51,215 --> 00:41:53,670 to make the eyes, the ears, the nose. 608 00:41:53,695 --> 00:41:56,980 It's very typical on archaeological sites in the Amazon. 609 00:41:58,215 --> 00:42:01,029 So, I guess this is the big moment. 610 00:42:01,054 --> 00:42:03,949 Um...what's your professional opinion? 611 00:42:03,974 --> 00:42:08,550 Well, definitely, with no doubt, it is all ancient pottery. 612 00:42:08,575 --> 00:42:15,029 All of this is pre-Columbian, and probably with 1,000 or 1,500 years ago. 613 00:42:15,054 --> 00:42:16,980 Shut up! That's amazing, really? Yeah. 614 00:42:17,005 --> 00:42:18,029 Oh, my gosh. 615 00:42:18,054 --> 00:42:19,500 I'm so glad! 616 00:42:19,525 --> 00:42:21,860 I feel really, really excited with that, 617 00:42:21,885 --> 00:42:24,190 because it is a great collection that they have. 618 00:42:24,215 --> 00:42:25,500 That is really amazing. 619 00:42:32,215 --> 00:42:33,470 Eduardo? 620 00:42:33,495 --> 00:42:35,500 You're Brazilian, do you want to... 621 00:42:35,525 --> 00:42:37,779 ...do you want to tell them the good news? 622 00:42:54,445 --> 00:42:56,909 APPLAUSE Yeah! 623 00:42:59,775 --> 00:43:01,110 Give us a high one. 624 00:43:01,135 --> 00:43:03,470 It really couldn't be better news. 625 00:43:03,495 --> 00:43:06,829 It's persuasive evidence that indigenous people, 626 00:43:06,854 --> 00:43:08,779 probably Kokama themselves, 627 00:43:08,804 --> 00:43:14,029 have lived here for well over 1,000 years. 628 00:43:20,965 --> 00:43:23,470 It means their ancestors may well 629 00:43:23,495 --> 00:43:26,420 have been part of those great civilisations... 630 00:43:28,085 --> 00:43:30,829 ...that the Spanish missionary, Carvajal, 631 00:43:30,854 --> 00:43:33,060 witnessed all those centuries ago. 632 00:43:35,365 --> 00:43:37,270 CHIEF SNIFFLES 633 00:43:38,445 --> 00:43:39,670 God, this is... 634 00:43:42,495 --> 00:43:43,940 Chief, how are you feeling, 635 00:43:43,965 --> 00:43:48,270 and what does this mean for you, and for the Kokama? 636 00:44:28,716 --> 00:44:30,922 APPLAUSE 637 00:44:35,557 --> 00:44:40,972 It's a moving end to the first part of my epic mission. 638 00:44:40,997 --> 00:44:45,372 To explore how the story of the ancient Amazon 639 00:44:45,397 --> 00:44:49,972 is being completely rewritten by brand-new discoveries. 640 00:44:55,277 --> 00:44:58,612 What I've seen in the Amazon has blown my mind. 641 00:44:59,947 --> 00:45:02,641 Because it has completely changed my perception. 642 00:45:04,997 --> 00:45:07,011 See, we thought of the Amazon, historically, 643 00:45:07,036 --> 00:45:10,202 as being this wilderness with a few indigenous groups in it. 644 00:45:11,916 --> 00:45:15,532 But we're finding out that, actually, just a few hundred years ago, 645 00:45:15,557 --> 00:45:18,002 complex societies existed in the Amazon. 646 00:45:18,027 --> 00:45:21,332 Societies with infrastructure, with roads, with hierarchy. 647 00:45:22,586 --> 00:45:26,922 But my Amazon adventure is only just beginning, 648 00:45:26,947 --> 00:45:29,282 and I want to find out so much more. 649 00:45:29,307 --> 00:45:31,172 How did they get here? 650 00:45:32,357 --> 00:45:35,922 How did they survive and thrive in such large numbers, 651 00:45:35,947 --> 00:45:38,172 in such an inhospitable place? 652 00:45:42,836 --> 00:45:47,332 Next time, I'm going deep into dangerous Columbian territory... 653 00:45:47,357 --> 00:45:50,482 We basically got our visa from a bunch of rebels. 654 00:45:51,997 --> 00:45:55,612 ...to discover never-seen-before ancient rock art. 655 00:45:57,117 --> 00:45:59,922 This is the prehistoric Sistine ChapeL 656 00:46:02,227 --> 00:46:06,612 I come face-to-face with the remains of ancient Amazonians. 657 00:46:07,796 --> 00:46:08,972 They are 6,000 years old. 658 00:46:11,277 --> 00:46:13,612 And I meet a people who are changing the story... 659 00:46:13,637 --> 00:46:17,172 You share DNA with people in Australia. 660 00:46:17,197 --> 00:46:20,362 ...of one of the greatest ever human journeys. 661 00:46:44,357 --> 00:46:47,332 Subtitles by Red Bee Media 54161

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