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[Narrator] The Incas.

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An extraordinary civilization.

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In just over 100 years, from
the 15th to the 16th century

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three all-powerful emperors

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built an astonishing empire.

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The biggest the Americas
had ever seen.

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[Historian 1]
The Inca state had a population

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of 9 to 12 million people.

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[Historian 2] They were
highly developed people.

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[Narrator] The Incas left behind
monumental and intricate traces

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of their genius.

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But the story of
these great people

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remains shrouded in mystery.

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Where did the Incas come from?

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[Historian 3] They imitated
a society that was before them.

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[Historian 4] They're heirs
to an ancient civilization.

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[Narrator] How did they come to
rule over such a vast territory

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in the space of a century?

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Thanks to scientific advances

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and ultra-realistic
computer-generated images,

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we're going to bring this
lost civilization back to life.

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[Historian 4] Advances
in archaeology have truly

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revolutionized our understanding
of Inca history.

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[Narrator]
Revealing its fascinating

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and mysterious origins,

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this is the incredible story

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of how the Inca Empire began.

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♪ ♪

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♪ ♪

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At dawn when the mist
starts to dissipate,

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a magnificent site emerges...

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Machu Picchu.

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Perched on an Andes ridge
at an altitude of 2,400 meters,

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it appears suspended
in the clouds

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defying the laws of nature.

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This ancient city is one of the
New Seven Wonders of the World,

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and a spectacular symbol

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of one of the most renowned
civilizations in history,

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the Inca Empire.

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[Alicia Fernández Flórez,
dubbed] The Inca Empire was one

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of the greatest civilizations
in South America

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because they made significant
advances in astronomy,

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architecture and engineering.

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Machu Picchu is
profoundly important,

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all this ancestral knowledge.

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♪ ♪

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[Narrator] Machu Picchu
demonstrates the genius

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and power of a people

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capable of conquering
the highest peaks.

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It was the jewel
of a colossal empire,

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which the Incas built in record
time across South America.

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At its peak in 1532,

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Inca territory stretched

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over 5,000 kilometers

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along the Andes,

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from Ecuador to Chile.

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Yet 100 years before, the Incas

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were just one of hundreds

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of small tribes of Peruvians

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living in a mountain valley

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not far from Machu Picchu,

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in Cusco.

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♪ ♪

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How did the Incas get out
of this remote valley

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and build a formidable empire
so quickly?

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The history of Cusco
and its founders

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has long remained secret,

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because the Incas did not have
a written language.

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They communicated in a complex
system of knotted cords,

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known as khipus.

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To date, no one has been able

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to fully decipher
their meaning.

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So to discover
the origins of the Incas,

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we have to go to the archives
of the Spanish conquistadors.

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[César Itier, dubbed]
The history of the Incas

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as we know it has been handed
down to us by Spanish authors,

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who themselves gathered
their information

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from Indigenous informants,
often members of the Inca elite.

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[Narrator] For a long time,
the Spanish conquerors,

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who defeated the Incas,

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were the only ones to tell
the story of this empire.

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Arriving in Cusco in 1533,

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they documented chronicles
for the King of Spain.

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These precious testimonies
allow us to strip back

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modern-day Cusco
and visualize the city

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at the time of the Incas.

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The conquistadors
were impressed

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by this small metropolis,

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with its hundreds
of thatched stone buildings,

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and palaces decorated
with gold and silver.

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[Flórez] They recorded
everything there,

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so recounting all the details
and impressions they had

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arriving in Cusco.

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This is very important
for archaeologists,

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because thanks to these
early writings,

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we have a more accurate idea

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of what the Inca state was like,
and its importance.

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[Narrator] For the ancient
people of Cusco,

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Inca was not the name of
a people, but of the leader.

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The Spanish record
more than 10 Inca kings.

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The first is a mythical ruler
called Manco Cápac,

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or Manco the Mighty.

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[Itier] Manco Cápac is
a historical figure

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since his mummy was preserved
as late as the 16th century

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and was seen by
Spanish witnesses.

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He's the first of 12 kings.

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[Narrator] The Spanish only
provide legendary information

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about this first king.

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According to Inca oral record,

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Manco Cápac emerged from a cave
when the sun was created.

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He walked with his sister
to the Cusco valley

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to plant a golden scepter,
and found the dynasty of people

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who proclaimed themselves
the Sons of the Sun.

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[Alexei Vranich]
This is mythic history.

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But every empire creates
their own origin myth.

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You can't form an empire
just by force.

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You need ideology.

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[Narrator]
Who really was Manco Cápac?

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Archaeologists are now
beginning to unravel the truth

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behind this legendary tale.

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[speaking French]

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[Itier] Archaeology shows
that a state was formed

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in the Cusco valley
during the 13th century

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between 1200 and 1300.

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[Narrator] Manco Cápac was
a chief, a warrior,

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who arrived from
the Andean high plateau,

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gained control
of the local tribes,

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and founded the Inca Empire.

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The modern development of Cusco
has gradually erased

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the original buildings
in the heart of the valley.

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After more than 500 years
of urbanization,

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the traces of the first
Inca kingdom are buried beneath

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the modern streets
of the city center.

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But high above Cusco,
the hills of Sacsayhuamán

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could hold
precious information.

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[Vranich] We think this is where
they first settled in Cusco,

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where they had their houses

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and their other
important structures.

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So we're looking for the first
foundations of Inca Cusco,

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what is the start of what became
the capital of the Inca Empire?

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[Narrator]
The site of Sacsayhuamán

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intrigues scientists.

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Most of the visible ruins date
back to the 15th century

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and the beginnings
of the Inca Empire,

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but some stones appear
to be much older.

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To find out for sure,

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an international team
of researchers

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are studying the area.

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[Dominika Sieczkowska]
We hope to find

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during the excavation process
organic remains like charcoal,

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seeds, and everything
that the Inca left

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when they were
constructing this site.

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[Narrator] These remains
could provide a date

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for the birth of Cusco.

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But in an area partially
covered by dense forest,

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advanced tools are needed.

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The drone is equipped with
LiDAR, a laser technology

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that can pierce
through vegetation

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to reveal human-made
structures beneath.

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Scientists are searching
for structures

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that could indicate
Manco Cápac's early work.

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[Sieczkowska] We can find
the walls under this vegetation

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and the soil, and those walls
might be related

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to the Inca construction
of the Sacsayhuamán.

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[Narrator] To identify the
hidden walls more accurately,

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the hill is imaged using
ground-penetrating radar.

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Signals are beamed
through the soil

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to detect buried structures
up to two meters deep.

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[Vranich]
With this investigation,

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we'll be able to find the moment
when we can actually start

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to say yes, the Inca are here.

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They are starting to form
their capital city.

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[Narrator] This new exploration
of Sacsayhuamán will make it

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possible to determine the date
of Manco Cápac's settlement.

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Current estimates lie
between 1200 and 1230,

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more than 300 years before
the arrival of the Spanish.

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[Sieczkowska]
Thanks to chronicles,

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we know a lot about relative
history of the Incas,

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but we don't know when
and how everything happened.

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[Narrator] The archaeologists'
work fills in the blanks

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in the Spanish archives.

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And the remains that
have been studied

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now allow the Incas
to tell their own story.

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[speaking foreign language]

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[Denise Pozzi-Escot] Today,
thanks to these new technologies

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we can learn much more
about this great empire.

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We are trying to
reconstruct its history

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from the remains
left by these people.

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[Narrator] But what do
the pre-colonial remains

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tell us about
the Inca Empire itself?

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Can they explain how
this small kingdom

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suddenly became
a continental power?

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[Narrator] To shed light
on the birth of the empire,

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we must examine the best
preserved Inca site,

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Machu Picchu.

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Thanks to its
isolated location,

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this ancient city
escaped the violence

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of the Spanish conquistadors.

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[Sieczkowska] Spaniards never
actually destroyed the site.

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They were possibly aware
that this site was here,

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but they never got in here,
they never destroyed it.

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[Narrator] When the American
explorer Hiram Bingham

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was shown the ruins
of Machu Picchu in 1911,

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the city had been abandoned
for over 300 years,

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and enveloped by thick
tropical vegetation.

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But the first
excavations revealed

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the buildings were
exceptionally well preserved.

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[speaking Spanish]

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[Flórez] Some buildings were
gradually destroyed

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by the spread of nature.

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But fortunately,
at the structural level,

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Machu Picchu survives and is one
of the most important examples

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of how a city was built
during the Inca era.

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[Narrator] After more than 100
years of archaeological work,

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it is now possible
to virtually reconstruct

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the city at its peak.

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Over 500 years ago,
experts estimate the town

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was inhabited by 400 people.

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And during annual pilgrimages,

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it expanded to host
1,000 people.

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[Sieczkowska] Machu Picchu was
some kind of sanctuary itself

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because it was a destination
for pilgrims to getting in here.

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So, in Machu Picchu, you will
find many ceremonial aspects

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that were possibly
related to the rituals

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that were taking place in here.

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[Narrator] Thanks to
the Spanish chronicles,

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historians know that the site
was the major work

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of the first Inca emperor,
Pachacutec.

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Pachacutec appears 200 years

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after Manco Cápac,

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as the ninth Inca ruler.

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He was the first whose reign
transformed the kingdom

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into an empire and the lives
of millions of Andeans.

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Pachacutec ruled
from his palace

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located to the north
of the main plaza.

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From here, he ordered

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the complete
reconstruction of Cusco.

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The capital was
just the beginning.

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He transformed the
Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.

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This hilltop city was not
just a sacred site.

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It was a manifesto
of Pachacutec's vision

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for South America.

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Covering an area 530 meters
long and 200 meters wide,

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the complex features
170 structures

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and almost 700 terraces,

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built from thousands
of cubic meters of stone.

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How can so much
material be found

248
00:13:37,334 --> 00:13:39,534
in the middle of these cliffs?

249
00:13:39,667 --> 00:13:42,434
The nature of the rock
provides a clue.

250
00:13:42,567 --> 00:13:45,767
[Sieczkowska] It's constructed
with granite mostly,

251
00:13:45,901 --> 00:13:50,167
and we can find it in basically
every single building

252
00:13:50,300 --> 00:13:52,567
that was made in here.

253
00:13:52,701 --> 00:13:55,667
[Narrator] Granite is one of
the hardest and heaviest rocks

254
00:13:55,801 --> 00:14:00,334
on the planet, weighing
2 1/2 tons per cubic meter.

255
00:14:00,467 --> 00:14:02,200
An average-sized rock here

256
00:14:02,334 --> 00:14:05,167
weighs the equivalent
of two modern cars.

257
00:14:05,300 --> 00:14:08,767
But the Inca builders
were expert geologists.

258
00:14:08,901 --> 00:14:11,534
[Sieczkowska] We are located
in the middle of the Andes,

259
00:14:11,667 --> 00:14:15,367
that were created because
of the geological movement

260
00:14:15,501 --> 00:14:19,000
between all the plates.

261
00:14:19,133 --> 00:14:21,434
[Narrator] The Andes,
stretching from the Caribbean

262
00:14:21,567 --> 00:14:23,267
to Tierra del Fuego,

263
00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:25,567
formed over hundreds
of millions of years

264
00:14:25,701 --> 00:14:31,367
from the Oceanic plate sliding
under the American plate.

265
00:14:31,501 --> 00:14:35,133
As the Earth's crust lifted,
it cracked,

266
00:14:35,267 --> 00:14:36,701
producing volcanoes,

267
00:14:36,834 --> 00:14:40,834
still active in Chile
and the Bolivian Plateau.

268
00:14:40,968 --> 00:14:44,300
Machu Picchu is surrounded
by two major faults

269
00:14:44,434 --> 00:14:47,567
created by these
tectonic movements.

270
00:14:49,267 --> 00:14:51,000
[Sieczkowska]
You can see the elements

271
00:14:51,133 --> 00:14:53,033
of these geological fault
at site,

272
00:14:53,167 --> 00:14:57,200
and what we see in the quarry
right now is just a piece.

273
00:14:57,334 --> 00:14:59,267
This is how the Machu Picchu
looked like

274
00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:04,534
before the Inca started
the urbanization process.

275
00:15:04,667 --> 00:15:06,934
[Narrator] Before the arrival
of Pachacutec,

276
00:15:07,067 --> 00:15:11,100
the ridge of Machu Picchu
was an open-air quarry,

277
00:15:11,234 --> 00:15:14,334
littered with huge
granite boulders,

278
00:15:14,467 --> 00:15:18,834
which Inca workers patiently
cut into bricks using hammers.

279
00:15:18,968 --> 00:15:21,634
[Sieczkowska] They didn't have
any metallic iron tools.

280
00:15:21,767 --> 00:15:24,901
You can see a lot of elements
where the stones

281
00:15:25,033 --> 00:15:30,033
were possibly carved, there are
traces where the Incas decided

282
00:15:30,167 --> 00:15:34,067
to cut it and took
some elements.

283
00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:36,200
[Narrator]
Even without iron tools,

284
00:15:36,334 --> 00:15:37,801
the clear traces of cutting

285
00:15:37,934 --> 00:15:41,167
prove the mastery
of the carvers.

286
00:15:41,300 --> 00:15:42,734
[speaking French]

287
00:15:42,868 --> 00:15:44,834
[Itier] It's stone architecture
with irregular

288
00:15:44,968 --> 00:15:46,701
but fine-tuned fittings,

289
00:15:46,834 --> 00:15:49,734
which may represent what
the empire is all about.

290
00:15:49,868 --> 00:15:54,734
This mosaic of diverse groups
that fit perfectly together.

291
00:15:56,667 --> 00:15:59,968
[Narrator] Terraces were
constructed by building walls,

292
00:16:00,100 --> 00:16:02,067
and leveling the ground

293
00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:05,234
with thick layers of stone,

294
00:16:05,367 --> 00:16:09,434
sand and earth.

295
00:16:09,567 --> 00:16:12,000
For Archaeologist
Dominika Sieczkowska,

296
00:16:12,133 --> 00:16:15,767
who excavated the area,
this clever method of terracing

297
00:16:15,901 --> 00:16:19,534
provides solid foundations
and allows water runoff

298
00:16:19,667 --> 00:16:23,701
in a region that receives up to
two meters of rainfall a year.

299
00:16:23,834 --> 00:16:26,033
[Sieczkowska] It's quite
challenging to get here

300
00:16:26,167 --> 00:16:30,934
and to start the foundation of
the city basically from nothing.

301
00:16:31,067 --> 00:16:33,701
We don't know the estimation
about how many people

302
00:16:33,834 --> 00:16:39,567
constructed the site, but it has
to be thousands of people.

303
00:16:39,701 --> 00:16:40,667
[Narrator] At this altitude,

304
00:16:40,801 --> 00:16:45,467
Machu Picchu shows
the power of the Incas.

305
00:16:45,601 --> 00:16:49,434
From the mid-15th century,
the empire was already capable

306
00:16:49,567 --> 00:16:53,367
of mobilizing
thousands of workers.

307
00:16:53,501 --> 00:16:56,934
It also bore witness to
an unprecedented development

308
00:16:57,067 --> 00:16:58,734
of knowledge and techniques

309
00:16:58,868 --> 00:17:02,734
that Pachacutec encouraged
throughout his Empire.

310
00:17:02,868 --> 00:17:07,032
To transform a rocky spur in
the middle of a seismic region

311
00:17:07,166 --> 00:17:09,267
into a home,

312
00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:13,934
Pachacutec's builders deployed
elaborate engineering.

313
00:17:15,467 --> 00:17:17,467
[Itier] Throughout their empire,
the Incas try to mark

314
00:17:17,601 --> 00:17:19,634
the landscape to signal
their presence

315
00:17:19,767 --> 00:17:21,867
with a highly distinctive
architecture,

316
00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:22,834
very different from that

317
00:17:22,968 --> 00:17:25,800
of the peoples who had
come before them.

318
00:17:25,934 --> 00:17:28,734
And so this very homogenous
architecture

319
00:17:28,868 --> 00:17:33,334
is a way of visually marking
this reunification of the world,

320
00:17:33,467 --> 00:17:38,634
this unity that the Incas
claimed to have brought it.

321
00:17:38,767 --> 00:17:40,467
[Narrator] The technical
engineering introduced

322
00:17:40,601 --> 00:17:45,634
by Pachacutec represented a new
era and a new way of thinking.

323
00:17:45,767 --> 00:17:47,667
But what exactly were
the beliefs of the man

324
00:17:47,834 --> 00:17:50,801
who called himself
Son of the Sun?

325
00:17:53,934 --> 00:17:56,934
[Narrator] This ideology was
born 600 kilometers south

326
00:17:57,067 --> 00:17:59,000
of Machu Picchu,

327
00:17:59,133 --> 00:18:02,367
near Lake Titicaca.

328
00:18:02,501 --> 00:18:05,234
This site is known
as Tiahuanaco,

329
00:18:05,367 --> 00:18:09,100
and its remains have intrigued
experts for years.

330
00:18:09,234 --> 00:18:11,167
[Itier] Tiahuanaco was
a religious center,

331
00:18:11,300 --> 00:18:13,801
both a pilgrimage center
and an economic center

332
00:18:13,934 --> 00:18:15,167
where a large city developed

333
00:18:15,300 --> 00:18:18,000
with very important
monumental architecture.

334
00:18:18,133 --> 00:18:20,601
[Vranich] It's probably the most
important or the largest society

335
00:18:20,734 --> 00:18:21,601
before the Inca.

336
00:18:21,734 --> 00:18:23,667
But they left us
monumental architecture

337
00:18:23,801 --> 00:18:27,434
and some very elaborate,
beautiful artifacts.

338
00:18:27,567 --> 00:18:28,801
[Narrator] Tiahuanaco was

339
00:18:28,934 --> 00:18:30,701
the birthplace of a society

340
00:18:30,834 --> 00:18:31,901
that developed between

341
00:18:32,033 --> 00:18:35,133
500 and 1100 AD,

342
00:18:35,267 --> 00:18:36,334
and whose influence spread

343
00:18:36,467 --> 00:18:37,934
across the high plateau

344
00:18:38,067 --> 00:18:40,234
of Bolivia, southern Peru

345
00:18:40,367 --> 00:18:43,033
and northern Chile.

346
00:18:43,167 --> 00:18:45,033
[Vranich] Tiahuanaco was
abandoned in 1000 AD,

347
00:18:45,167 --> 00:18:47,267
about 500 years before the Inca.

348
00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:49,701
So when the Inca arrived
to conquer the area

349
00:18:49,834 --> 00:18:53,400
with their armies, they looked
at it and they go, this is huge.

350
00:18:53,534 --> 00:18:59,367
This is a monumental city
that existed way before us.

351
00:18:59,501 --> 00:19:01,667
[Narrator] Modern tools give us
a more precise idea

352
00:19:01,801 --> 00:19:05,133
of what the Incas
discovered at the time.

353
00:19:05,267 --> 00:19:06,901
[Vranich] The buildings
are completely ruined,

354
00:19:07,033 --> 00:19:09,434
and the stones are scattered
across the site.

355
00:19:09,567 --> 00:19:12,501
So we were able to record
the stones both by hand

356
00:19:12,634 --> 00:19:16,234
and using drones and other
photogrammic methods.

357
00:19:16,367 --> 00:19:18,734
And from there we created
these virtual models

358
00:19:18,868 --> 00:19:21,567
that we were able
to piece together.

359
00:19:21,701 --> 00:19:24,601
[Narrator] American
archaeologist Alexei Vranich

360
00:19:24,734 --> 00:19:26,834
has reconstructed
some of the buildings

361
00:19:26,968 --> 00:19:30,501
by scanning and digitizing
each stone,

362
00:19:30,634 --> 00:19:33,567
then placing it back into
its original position.

363
00:19:33,701 --> 00:19:34,801
[Vranich] We are able
to reconstruct the form

364
00:19:34,934 --> 00:19:36,701
of one of the more
impressive buildings.

365
00:19:36,834 --> 00:19:40,033
And one of the things about it
was how similar it was

366
00:19:40,167 --> 00:19:42,634
to Inca architecture.

367
00:19:42,767 --> 00:19:45,367
[Narrator] On a site not far
from Machu Picchu,

368
00:19:45,501 --> 00:19:48,334
Inca engineers built
a near-identical replica

369
00:19:48,467 --> 00:19:51,300
of this monument.

370
00:19:51,434 --> 00:19:55,267
The trapezoidal openings,
typical of the Inca style,

371
00:19:55,400 --> 00:20:00,267
are directly inspired by
the doors at Tiahuanaco.

372
00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:02,067
[Vranich] The Inca
were relatively new.

373
00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:04,934
They had to demonstrate to
people that they were ancient.

374
00:20:05,067 --> 00:20:08,868
So they imitated a society
that was before them.

375
00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:11,634
[Narrator] This passage along
the shores of Lake Titicaca

376
00:20:11,767 --> 00:20:14,868
was fundamental to
the Inca Empire's destiny.

377
00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:18,601
Pachacutec not only found his
architectural signature here,

378
00:20:18,734 --> 00:20:21,501
but found the place where
he would rewrite history,

379
00:20:21,634 --> 00:20:27,033
and give birth to the legend
of the Sons of the Sun.

380
00:20:27,167 --> 00:20:28,234
In Inca mythology,

381
00:20:28,367 --> 00:20:31,434
Lake Titicaca is
the cradle of the world,

382
00:20:31,567 --> 00:20:35,267
where the creator God
gave life to the elements.

383
00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:37,734
It was he who made
the sun appear,

384
00:20:37,868 --> 00:20:40,734
as well as
the very first Incas.

385
00:20:40,868 --> 00:20:44,567
Among them, Manco Cápac
and Mama Ocllo,

386
00:20:44,701 --> 00:20:47,467
who walked to the fertile
valley of Cusco

387
00:20:47,601 --> 00:20:52,267
to plant a golden scepter
and found the Inca Dynasty.

388
00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:54,534
[speaking Spanish]

389
00:20:54,667 --> 00:20:56,667
[Flórez] The Inca rulers
needed strong arguments

390
00:20:56,801 --> 00:20:59,567
to legitimize
their divine origin.

391
00:20:59,701 --> 00:21:03,100
They did so with the legend
of Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo,

392
00:21:03,234 --> 00:21:05,133
and from there it all began,

393
00:21:05,267 --> 00:21:07,834
the empire with
all the conquests.

394
00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:10,868
[speaking Spanish]

395
00:21:12,634 --> 00:21:14,734
[Narrator] Thanks to
these mystical origins,

396
00:21:14,868 --> 00:21:17,968
the Incas became rulers
of divine right,

397
00:21:18,100 --> 00:21:20,300
justified in their conquests.

398
00:21:20,434 --> 00:21:21,868
[speaking French]

399
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:24,367
[Itier] Just as the sun
brings its fertile force

400
00:21:24,501 --> 00:21:27,834
to agriculture,
enabling plants to grow,

401
00:21:27,968 --> 00:21:30,701
the Inca also spread
benefits to their subjects,

402
00:21:30,834 --> 00:21:36,033
their dependents, and to
the peoples they conquered.

403
00:21:36,167 --> 00:21:39,868
[Narrator] How did Pachacutec,
self-proclaimed Son of the Sun,

404
00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:43,834
transform the daily lives
of millions of Andeans?

405
00:21:43,968 --> 00:21:47,701
Could the key lie
in the Inca religion?

406
00:21:47,834 --> 00:21:51,067
Machu Picchu, where the most
revealing building

407
00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:53,467
of the new Inca civilization

408
00:21:53,601 --> 00:21:58,100
is recognizable by
its unusual shape.

409
00:21:58,234 --> 00:22:00,467
This is the Temple of the Sun,

410
00:22:00,601 --> 00:22:05,501
with two perpendicular sides
and a uniquely rounded facade.

411
00:22:07,267 --> 00:22:08,734
[speaking Spanish]

412
00:22:08,868 --> 00:22:11,067
[Julio Córdova Valer, dubbed]
It's angled, so it's square

413
00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:15,367
on one side and semicircular
on the other.

414
00:22:15,501 --> 00:22:18,567
Inside there are
open windows and niches

415
00:22:18,701 --> 00:22:23,601
where offerings were likely
made during ceremonies.

416
00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:27,734
[Narrator] More than
500 years ago,

417
00:22:27,868 --> 00:22:33,300
the buildings at Machu Picchu
had a steep thatched roof.

418
00:22:33,434 --> 00:22:38,667
But the Temple of the Sun
was an open-air building.

419
00:22:38,801 --> 00:22:42,734
[Valer] The space has always
been exclusively open

420
00:22:42,868 --> 00:22:44,100
without a roof.

421
00:22:44,234 --> 00:22:48,334
It's a place for observation
from dawn to dusk.

422
00:22:50,901 --> 00:22:54,200
[Narrator] This unique structure
seems to have served

423
00:22:54,334 --> 00:22:57,734
as an astronomical observatory.

424
00:22:57,868 --> 00:23:01,334
♪ ♪

425
00:23:01,467 --> 00:23:04,200
But the precise way
in which the Incas used it

426
00:23:04,334 --> 00:23:06,267
is still unknown.

427
00:23:08,667 --> 00:23:13,567
The center of the building is
occupied by a large boulder,

428
00:23:13,701 --> 00:23:18,234
engraved with mysterious lines.

429
00:23:18,367 --> 00:23:20,400
[speaking Spanish]

430
00:23:20,534 --> 00:23:23,267
[Valer] This was a sort of table
on which they watched the sun

431
00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:25,267
come through the window.

432
00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:28,434
The astronomer could say
what's happening,

433
00:23:28,567 --> 00:23:30,734
what's going to happen
on this date.

434
00:23:30,868 --> 00:23:35,834
Is it the cold season
or the hot season?

435
00:23:35,968 --> 00:23:38,234
[Narrator] The building's
three openings

436
00:23:38,367 --> 00:23:40,701
are perfectly positioned.

437
00:23:40,834 --> 00:23:45,667
The largest faces
magnetic north.

438
00:23:45,801 --> 00:23:49,133
The central window is aligned
with the rising sun

439
00:23:49,267 --> 00:23:53,367
on the June solstice,
while the second window

440
00:23:53,501 --> 00:23:57,367
aligns on
the December solstice.

441
00:23:57,501 --> 00:23:59,434
During both phenomena,

442
00:23:59,567 --> 00:24:02,701
the sun's rays land
on the engraving

443
00:24:02,834 --> 00:24:06,534
on the central boulder.

444
00:24:06,667 --> 00:24:09,200
[Valer] There's a time when
we're in the rainy season

445
00:24:09,334 --> 00:24:11,467
and another when we're
in the dry season,

446
00:24:11,601 --> 00:24:15,734
'cause here there are only two
types of climate, rain and sun.

447
00:24:15,868 --> 00:24:18,734
Astronomers are going to observe
this, and from that moment

448
00:24:18,868 --> 00:24:23,300
will change the agricultural
direction of the Andean world.

449
00:24:24,767 --> 00:24:27,767
[Narrator] The Temple of the Sun
was used to track the path

450
00:24:27,901 --> 00:24:32,267
of the sun and mark
the changing of the seasons.

451
00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:36,133
And it was dedicated
to the sun god, Inti.

452
00:24:36,267 --> 00:24:40,200
♪ ♪

453
00:24:40,334 --> 00:24:41,968
As the Son of the Sun,

454
00:24:42,100 --> 00:24:48,167
Pachacutec gave Inti a central
role in running his empire.

455
00:24:48,300 --> 00:24:52,667
The solar calendar governed
the daily life of his subjects,

456
00:24:52,801 --> 00:24:55,901
from agriculture
to architecture,

457
00:24:56,033 --> 00:24:58,934
to religious festivals.

458
00:24:59,067 --> 00:25:02,267
And many of Machu Picchu's
buildings were aligned

459
00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:06,434
with the stars for
religious ceremonies,

460
00:25:06,567 --> 00:25:11,601
including the most enigmatic
one of all: sacrifice.

461
00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:17,367
[Narrator]
Historical writings tell us

462
00:25:17,501 --> 00:25:20,968
that the Incas sacrificed
animals, like llamas,

463
00:25:21,100 --> 00:25:23,167
but also human beings,

464
00:25:23,300 --> 00:25:26,701
at mountain ceremonies
called capac hucha.

465
00:25:26,834 --> 00:25:28,567
[speaking French]

466
00:25:28,701 --> 00:25:30,033
[Itier] In special
circumstances,

467
00:25:30,167 --> 00:25:33,200
such as political
or climate crises,

468
00:25:33,334 --> 00:25:36,834
the Incas also practiced
human sacrifice,

469
00:25:36,968 --> 00:25:41,300
especially the sacrifice
of children or adolescents.

470
00:25:42,634 --> 00:25:46,634
[Narrator] In 1954, the body
of a young boy was found

471
00:25:46,767 --> 00:25:52,334
5,000 meters high on the summit
of a Chilean volcano.

472
00:25:55,567 --> 00:26:00,200
The body, mummified by
the cold, is kept out of sight

473
00:26:00,334 --> 00:26:02,767
at the National Museum
of Natural History

474
00:26:02,901 --> 00:26:05,067
in Santiago, Chile.

475
00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:09,734
[Marcela Sepulveda] This entire
set of objects is high quality.

476
00:26:09,868 --> 00:26:12,834
They are exceptional
and exclusive pieces,

477
00:26:12,968 --> 00:26:14,033
which were most likely made

478
00:26:14,167 --> 00:26:19,000
especially to accompany
the child in death.

479
00:26:19,133 --> 00:26:22,033
[Narrator] For more than
50 years, this child's body

480
00:26:22,167 --> 00:26:24,300
and every object
that accompanied it

481
00:26:24,434 --> 00:26:27,634
have been scrutinized
by experts.

482
00:26:28,968 --> 00:26:33,501
Carbon-dating confirmed that
he died during the Inca period.

483
00:26:33,634 --> 00:26:36,901
A study of his bone and teeth
development determined

484
00:26:37,033 --> 00:26:38,100
that he was between

485
00:26:38,234 --> 00:26:40,400
eight and nine years old.

486
00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:45,334
Using x-ray scanning
technology,

487
00:26:45,467 --> 00:26:48,400
Verónica Silva Pinto
is trying to uncover

488
00:26:48,534 --> 00:26:52,100
the exact cause of death.

489
00:26:52,234 --> 00:26:56,300
Highly accurate modeling of
the skull has made it possible

490
00:26:56,434 --> 00:26:59,501
to detect a previously
unseen fracture;

491
00:26:59,634 --> 00:27:03,334
a fatal injury caused
by a hammer blow.

492
00:27:07,367 --> 00:27:09,701
[speaking Spanish]

493
00:27:09,834 --> 00:27:11,834
[Verónica Silva Pinto] This
weapon is a star-shaped club

494
00:27:11,968 --> 00:27:14,367
typical of the Inca periods.

495
00:27:14,501 --> 00:27:18,200
Here, a wooden handle was
fitted to deal the blow.

496
00:27:18,334 --> 00:27:21,601
Basically the angle
had to be like this.

497
00:27:21,734 --> 00:27:24,901
The weapon was brandished
and hitting there,

498
00:27:25,033 --> 00:27:26,934
that's the cause of death.

499
00:27:27,067 --> 00:27:33,267
If he didn't die instantly,
he died as a result of the blow.

500
00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:34,801
[Narrator] A brutal way to die.

501
00:27:34,934 --> 00:27:37,968
But this act was not perceived
as cruel by the Incas.

502
00:27:38,100 --> 00:27:40,200
[speaking Spanish]

503
00:27:40,334 --> 00:27:43,167
[Pinto] Death for the Inca
was not as we know it.

504
00:27:43,300 --> 00:27:44,734
Death was a journey.

505
00:27:44,868 --> 00:27:46,367
So the child wasn't dying.

506
00:27:46,501 --> 00:27:51,501
He was joining the world
of spirits and gods,

507
00:27:51,634 --> 00:27:53,834
and so would have greater power

508
00:27:53,968 --> 00:27:57,667
than if he had remained
in the living world.

509
00:28:02,167 --> 00:28:05,567
[Narrator] This child is not
an isolated victim.

510
00:28:05,701 --> 00:28:09,767
In the 1990s, while exploring
the peaks of the Andes,

511
00:28:09,901 --> 00:28:13,667
archaeologist Johan Reinhard
discovered several other bodies

512
00:28:13,801 --> 00:28:17,701
of children sacrificed
in the same way.

513
00:28:17,834 --> 00:28:19,434
[Itier] There's a very
political dimension

514
00:28:19,567 --> 00:28:22,400
to these sacrifices
of young people.

515
00:28:22,534 --> 00:28:24,901
As far as we know,
these children, these teenagers

516
00:28:25,033 --> 00:28:29,067
were often the children of the
local authorities of the empire.

517
00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:32,234
[Sepulveda] Ultimately,
the Incas carried out

518
00:28:32,367 --> 00:28:35,367
these sacrifices,
these capacocha,

519
00:28:35,501 --> 00:28:39,601
to mark places that were sacred
to the local populations.

520
00:28:39,734 --> 00:28:43,701
By sacrificing what was
most precious to them.

521
00:28:43,834 --> 00:28:47,234
This Inca ritual is not only
a symbolic act,

522
00:28:47,367 --> 00:28:51,667
but also a political one.

523
00:28:51,801 --> 00:28:54,767
[Narrator] Human sacrifice was
practiced in South America

524
00:28:54,901 --> 00:28:57,567
long before the emergence
of the Incas.

525
00:28:57,701 --> 00:29:00,667
But the Incas used it
as an instrument of power,

526
00:29:00,801 --> 00:29:03,334
in order to rule over
other religious practices

527
00:29:03,467 --> 00:29:04,834
in the Andes.

528
00:29:04,968 --> 00:29:07,767
Before Pachacutec,
the Andeans worshipped

529
00:29:07,901 --> 00:29:09,434
a number of other deities,

530
00:29:09,567 --> 00:29:13,467
traces of which can still
be seen in Cusco.

531
00:29:15,300 --> 00:29:16,400
In the royal capital,

532
00:29:16,534 --> 00:29:20,000
the Spanish conquerors
described several temples.

533
00:29:20,133 --> 00:29:21,400
But in the lower city,

534
00:29:21,534 --> 00:29:24,400
one building in particular
captivated them--

535
00:29:24,534 --> 00:29:26,801
a sacred structure with gardens

536
00:29:26,934 --> 00:29:30,901
dotted with golden statues
of llamas and maize.

537
00:29:31,033 --> 00:29:34,400
The site is now occupied
by a Catholic church.

538
00:29:34,534 --> 00:29:37,734
♪ ♪

539
00:29:37,868 --> 00:29:42,000
[Alex Usca Baca, dubbed] This
church was first built in 1534

540
00:29:42,133 --> 00:29:45,300
by the Dominican Order.

541
00:29:45,434 --> 00:29:47,567
[Narrator] Baroque architecture
has destroyed

542
00:29:47,701 --> 00:29:50,901
the most beautiful monument
of Pachacutec's empire,

543
00:29:51,033 --> 00:29:54,934
known as the Coricancha,
which means "golden enclosure"

544
00:29:55,067 --> 00:29:57,434
in the language of the Incas.

545
00:29:59,300 --> 00:30:02,067
Some traces of the most
sacred Inca temples

546
00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:04,834
still remain today.

547
00:30:04,968 --> 00:30:07,067
A curved facade

548
00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:10,634
and foundations of the building
around an inner courtyard,

549
00:30:10,767 --> 00:30:13,033
where each of the rooms
was dedicated

550
00:30:13,167 --> 00:30:17,334
to one of the main
Inca deities.

551
00:30:17,467 --> 00:30:20,901
[speaking Spanish]

552
00:30:21,033 --> 00:30:24,934
[Baca] One of the main rooms
in the Coricancha

553
00:30:25,067 --> 00:30:28,200
was the Temple of the Sun.

554
00:30:28,334 --> 00:30:30,901
We can locate it where
the Coricancha Church

555
00:30:31,033 --> 00:30:33,200
is currently located.

556
00:30:33,334 --> 00:30:35,868
[speaking Spanish]

557
00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:40,534
Inside the Temple of the Sun
there is a golden plaque

558
00:30:40,667 --> 00:30:46,033
with features that represent
the Andean worldview.

559
00:30:47,634 --> 00:30:52,200
[Narrator] This plaque shows the
richness of the Inca religion.

560
00:30:52,334 --> 00:30:55,200
[speaking Spanish]

561
00:30:55,334 --> 00:30:57,033
[Baca] The architecture
of this room

562
00:30:57,167 --> 00:31:00,501
is refined and well-finished.

563
00:31:00,634 --> 00:31:03,000
The main function
of these niches

564
00:31:03,133 --> 00:31:06,968
was to house important objects
used to worship the god

565
00:31:07,100 --> 00:31:11,801
known as Illapa,
or lightning or thunder.

566
00:31:14,567 --> 00:31:17,734
[Narrator] The Coricancha,
the heart of the Inca religion,

567
00:31:17,868 --> 00:31:23,968
is a sanctuary dedicated
to the Andean pantheon of gods.

568
00:31:24,100 --> 00:31:27,801
[Baca] The Incas didn't just
have a main god, the sun,

569
00:31:27,934 --> 00:31:32,334
they also had other minor
deities such as K'uychi,

570
00:31:32,467 --> 00:31:33,801
the god of the rainbow,

571
00:31:33,934 --> 00:31:39,234
and Illapa, the god
of thunder or lightning.

572
00:31:39,367 --> 00:31:41,701
[Narrator] In addition
to these forces of nature,

573
00:31:41,834 --> 00:31:44,834
the Andean people also
worshipped the mountains

574
00:31:44,968 --> 00:31:46,634
that surrounded them.

575
00:31:48,501 --> 00:31:52,434
[Itier] Each local territory
is not only represented

576
00:31:52,567 --> 00:31:55,334
but also fertilized
and protected

577
00:31:55,467 --> 00:31:59,033
by the mountain
that overlooks it.

578
00:31:59,167 --> 00:32:04,501
And so people worship and make
offerings to this mountain god.

579
00:32:05,667 --> 00:32:08,701
[Narrator] Andean religion is
a complex system

580
00:32:08,834 --> 00:32:10,834
of ancestral beliefs.

581
00:32:10,968 --> 00:32:13,300
But within this broad pantheon,

582
00:32:13,434 --> 00:32:17,801
Pachacutec gave the sun
a new decisive role.

583
00:32:20,501 --> 00:32:24,400
[Baca] When Pachacutec began
to conquer other peoples,

584
00:32:24,534 --> 00:32:27,100
these local groups had to submit

585
00:32:27,234 --> 00:32:30,601
to the general government
of the Inca state.

586
00:32:30,734 --> 00:32:34,300
They had to worship the sun god.

587
00:32:36,334 --> 00:32:37,868
[Narrator]
Worship of the sun spread

588
00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:41,400
to more than 10 million people
in the empire,

589
00:32:41,534 --> 00:32:43,567
despite the fact
their religious beliefs

590
00:32:43,701 --> 00:32:45,067
were much older.

591
00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:47,634
How did the Incas achieve this?

592
00:32:50,501 --> 00:32:53,701
[Narrator] On the shores of the
Pacific, this desert landscape

593
00:32:53,834 --> 00:32:56,200
was one of the first regions
to be conquered

594
00:32:56,334 --> 00:32:58,567
by the Sons of the Sun.

595
00:32:58,701 --> 00:33:00,801
After taking Cusco and the area

596
00:33:00,934 --> 00:33:02,701
around Lake Titicaca,

597
00:33:02,834 --> 00:33:03,901
the Inca armies reached

598
00:33:04,033 --> 00:33:06,901
the western coast near Lima,

599
00:33:07,033 --> 00:33:08,100
to capture the site

600
00:33:08,234 --> 00:33:10,767
of Pachacámac.

601
00:33:10,901 --> 00:33:12,834
Occupied since 200 AD,

602
00:33:12,968 --> 00:33:16,801
this town was the sacred site
of the most worshipped divinity

603
00:33:16,934 --> 00:33:20,300
in South America at that time.

604
00:33:20,434 --> 00:33:22,033
[Rocio Vilar Astigueta, dubbed]
Pachacámac comes from

605
00:33:22,167 --> 00:33:24,100
the Quechua words pacha
meaning land,

606
00:33:24,234 --> 00:33:27,601
and camac meaning the spirit
that animates or gives life.

607
00:33:27,734 --> 00:33:30,801
Pachacámac was the force
that animated the world.

608
00:33:30,934 --> 00:33:33,267
He was the spirit of the world.

609
00:33:34,801 --> 00:33:38,167
[Pozzi-Escot] The simple
movement of his head

610
00:33:38,300 --> 00:33:40,968
causes the Earth to tremble.

611
00:33:41,100 --> 00:33:45,734
This god is so powerful
that he brought the peoples

612
00:33:45,868 --> 00:33:52,067
of the region together in this
important ceremonial center.

613
00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:55,834
It was a pilgrimage center.

614
00:33:57,400 --> 00:33:59,334
[Narrator] At the time
of the Inca conquest,

615
00:33:59,467 --> 00:34:01,734
pilgrims had been gathering
for hundreds of years

616
00:34:01,868 --> 00:34:05,801
from across the Andes to
worship the god Pachacámac

617
00:34:05,934 --> 00:34:07,767
at his colorful temple.

618
00:34:07,901 --> 00:34:10,833
[speaking Spanish]

619
00:34:10,967 --> 00:34:12,868
[Astigueta] It was entirely
decorated with motifs

620
00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:17,132
of flora, fauna and people,
which adorned the structures

621
00:34:17,266 --> 00:34:20,766
and were linked to the worship
of Pachacámac.

622
00:34:20,900 --> 00:34:23,534
You can see the head of a fish,

623
00:34:23,667 --> 00:34:28,167
further on, here's another head,

624
00:34:28,300 --> 00:34:30,833
and finally here's
a part of the head

625
00:34:30,967 --> 00:34:34,067
and what could be the eye
of a third fish.

626
00:34:36,067 --> 00:34:38,400
[Narrator] When the Incas
conquered this temple,

627
00:34:38,534 --> 00:34:40,900
they respected the rites
of the pilgrims,

628
00:34:41,033 --> 00:34:45,467
who prayed to Pachacámac
or consulted the oracle.

629
00:34:47,934 --> 00:34:51,033
[Astigueta] In these places,
the Pachacámac oracle

630
00:34:51,167 --> 00:34:53,801
must have provided insight.

631
00:34:53,934 --> 00:34:57,434
It was a prestigious oracle
in the pre-Hispanic world.

632
00:34:57,567 --> 00:35:00,434
We know that when the Incas
arrived at Pachacámac,

633
00:35:00,567 --> 00:35:05,067
they, too, probably
consulted the oracle.

634
00:35:07,834 --> 00:35:11,434
[Narrator] The Incas did not
stop the worship of Pachacámac.

635
00:35:11,567 --> 00:35:14,534
But they placed
their sun god above him

636
00:35:14,667 --> 00:35:16,534
and transformed the landscape

637
00:35:16,667 --> 00:35:19,767
with the empire's
signature architecture.

638
00:35:19,901 --> 00:35:25,033
♪ ♪

639
00:35:25,167 --> 00:35:27,934
[Astigueta] There are several
features that could be replicas

640
00:35:28,067 --> 00:35:30,100
of those in Cusco.

641
00:35:30,234 --> 00:35:31,968
This wall must have
been standing,

642
00:35:32,100 --> 00:35:36,767
and we can see here that it has
a three-sided configuration

643
00:35:36,901 --> 00:35:39,567
similar to the doors
that could be found,

644
00:35:39,701 --> 00:35:45,901
for example, in Cusco's
most sacred places.

645
00:35:48,067 --> 00:35:50,200
[Narrator] On the highest peak,

646
00:35:50,334 --> 00:35:53,367
above the Temple of Pachacámac,

647
00:35:53,501 --> 00:35:57,734
the Incas erected
their Temple of the Sun.

648
00:36:00,667 --> 00:36:02,868
[Astigueta] They built
the Temple of the Sun

649
00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:04,634
to impose a new regime,

650
00:36:04,767 --> 00:36:08,834
the worship of their principal
god, Inti, or the sun god.

651
00:36:08,968 --> 00:36:11,968
This building dominates
the landscape of Pachacámac

652
00:36:12,100 --> 00:36:15,501
allowing it to be seen and
appreciated by the people

653
00:36:15,634 --> 00:36:21,701
who come to worship Pachacámac
or to carry out activities here.

654
00:36:21,834 --> 00:36:23,234
[Narrator]
This Temple of the Sun

655
00:36:23,367 --> 00:36:26,767
was a skillful demonstration
of imperial rule.

656
00:36:26,901 --> 00:36:29,267
But the Incas
didn't stop there.

657
00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:32,400
Excavations have just
revealed a new room

658
00:36:32,534 --> 00:36:35,734
adjoining
the Temple of Pachacámac.

659
00:36:37,667 --> 00:36:39,601
[Astigueta]
Its location on the facade

660
00:36:39,734 --> 00:36:42,367
at the center of the temple
probably indicates

661
00:36:42,501 --> 00:36:46,534
that it was a building dedicated
to controlling worship.

662
00:36:46,667 --> 00:36:49,534
The Incas controlled the flow
of people and offerings

663
00:36:49,667 --> 00:36:53,901
that reached
the Temple of Pachacámac.

664
00:36:55,767 --> 00:36:57,901
[Narrator] Religion was
an instrument of conquest

665
00:36:58,033 --> 00:36:59,300
for the Incas.

666
00:36:59,434 --> 00:37:02,367
They tolerated the ancient gods
and beliefs,

667
00:37:02,501 --> 00:37:04,968
but they physically
imposed the sun religion

668
00:37:05,100 --> 00:37:07,667
in order to dominate
all others.

669
00:37:07,801 --> 00:37:11,434
[Pozzi-Escot] This way of
controlling the other gods

670
00:37:11,567 --> 00:37:13,267
without destroying them

671
00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:17,200
means that the population
submits peacefully

672
00:37:17,334 --> 00:37:19,601
because there is
no confrontation.

673
00:37:19,734 --> 00:37:23,934
So they also have
political control.

674
00:37:26,367 --> 00:37:29,634
[Itier] The Inca emperor is
a kind of god on Earth,

675
00:37:29,767 --> 00:37:31,701
a kind of human sun.

676
00:37:31,834 --> 00:37:34,234
You can only talk to him
through a curtain.

677
00:37:34,367 --> 00:37:37,367
You can't touch him.

678
00:37:37,501 --> 00:37:40,434
[Narrator] How did Pachacutec
make himself immortal

679
00:37:40,567 --> 00:37:42,801
in the eyes of the people?

680
00:37:42,934 --> 00:37:45,467
[Narrator] The emperor relied
on one of the oldest beliefs

681
00:37:45,601 --> 00:37:49,901
on the American continent:
the worship of ancestors.

682
00:37:52,234 --> 00:37:54,367
[Narrator]
On the outskirts of Lima,

683
00:37:54,501 --> 00:37:56,968
the suburbs of Puruchuco
are home

684
00:37:57,100 --> 00:38:02,067
to the largest pre-Hispanic
necropolis ever discovered.

685
00:38:02,200 --> 00:38:04,200
Thousands of the buried
were exhumed

686
00:38:04,334 --> 00:38:07,567
to be preserved and studied
in the laboratory.

687
00:38:07,701 --> 00:38:11,534
♪ ♪

688
00:38:11,667 --> 00:38:14,601
[Clide Valladolid Huaman,
dubbed] When people die,

689
00:38:14,734 --> 00:38:18,868
they make a funeral bundle
in the shape of a character,

690
00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:22,901
then place a head on it
with eyes.

691
00:38:24,367 --> 00:38:27,367
[Narrator] These funeral bundles
are large cloths

692
00:38:27,501 --> 00:38:30,434
that wrap the body
of the deceased.

693
00:38:30,567 --> 00:38:33,033
This is an ancestral practice
in the Andes,

694
00:38:33,167 --> 00:38:37,000
where the dry air makes it
possible to preserve remains.

695
00:38:37,133 --> 00:38:41,734
♪ ♪

696
00:38:41,868 --> 00:38:44,701
[Huaman] When we unwrap
these funerary packages,

697
00:38:44,834 --> 00:38:48,267
we find the body
of a mummified person.

698
00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:52,334
It's a natural mummification,
not an artificial one.

699
00:38:52,467 --> 00:38:56,033
Adults from the Inca era are
buried in a fetal position

700
00:38:56,167 --> 00:38:58,701
with their hands like this.

701
00:39:00,133 --> 00:39:02,701
[Narrator] To find out more
about the deceased,

702
00:39:02,834 --> 00:39:07,467
these funerary bundles undergo
a process called tomography,

703
00:39:07,601 --> 00:39:12,901
which scans and constructs the
interior in three dimensions.

704
00:39:13,033 --> 00:39:15,501
[Huaman] With the scanner,
we can see in detail

705
00:39:15,634 --> 00:39:19,601
the person's sex and age,
and even observe other objects

706
00:39:19,734 --> 00:39:22,934
inside without having
to open them.

707
00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:26,567
[Narrator] Beneath the fabric,

708
00:39:26,701 --> 00:39:30,601
offerings such as
shells and tools

709
00:39:30,734 --> 00:39:35,567
accompany the deceased
on their final journey.

710
00:39:35,701 --> 00:39:38,334
[Pozzi-Escot] In ancient Peru,

711
00:39:38,467 --> 00:39:45,033
death is like a passage
to another life.

712
00:39:45,167 --> 00:39:50,634
That's why these burials always
contain a collection of items

713
00:39:50,767 --> 00:39:53,300
that accompany the dead.

714
00:39:56,234 --> 00:39:58,300
[Narrator]
Unlike ordinary mortals,

715
00:39:58,434 --> 00:40:00,334
Inca emperors
and their families

716
00:40:00,467 --> 00:40:03,767
were not placed in
funerary bundles or buried.

717
00:40:03,901 --> 00:40:10,234
They became mummies, stored
and displayed in niches.

718
00:40:10,367 --> 00:40:12,267
These royal mummies were kept

719
00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:16,434
in the palaces
and temples of Cusco.

720
00:40:16,567 --> 00:40:18,367
They were honored as gods,

721
00:40:18,501 --> 00:40:23,434
and displayed during ceremonies
for everyone to see.

722
00:40:23,567 --> 00:40:25,868
[Itier] They were taken out
to the main plaza of Cusco

723
00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:27,133
to celebrate.

724
00:40:27,267 --> 00:40:31,801
People sat with them
and offered them drinks.

725
00:40:31,934 --> 00:40:34,367
[Narrator] Ever present
among the living,

726
00:40:34,501 --> 00:40:38,434
the deceased emperor
becomes immortal.

727
00:40:40,067 --> 00:40:43,567
The imperial mummies also
traveled to the empire's

728
00:40:43,701 --> 00:40:48,767
most sacred sites,
including Machu Picchu.

729
00:40:48,901 --> 00:40:51,701
In the upper part
of the hilltop city,

730
00:40:51,834 --> 00:40:54,400
hidden beneath
the Temple of the Sun,

731
00:40:54,534 --> 00:40:58,067
Inca builders carved
a room into the rock.

732
00:40:58,200 --> 00:41:02,267
♪ ♪

733
00:41:03,934 --> 00:41:06,634
[Flórez] There are similarities
with other Inca burials

734
00:41:06,767 --> 00:41:10,400
in which a few traces of bone
have been identified,

735
00:41:10,534 --> 00:41:13,234
which could indicate that
this was a mausoleum

736
00:41:13,367 --> 00:41:17,701
intended for members
of the Inca elite.

737
00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:22,267
[Narrator] This cave could have
housed the mummy

738
00:41:22,400 --> 00:41:26,200
of Emperor Pachacutec himself.

739
00:41:26,334 --> 00:41:28,667
[Flórez] We have no proof
that Pachacutec's mummy

740
00:41:28,801 --> 00:41:30,234
was in this mausoleum.

741
00:41:30,367 --> 00:41:34,434
But there are a few clues
that make it probable.

742
00:41:36,501 --> 00:41:39,200
[Narrator] Pachacutec
revolutionized the religion

743
00:41:39,334 --> 00:41:41,467
of 10 million people,

744
00:41:41,601 --> 00:41:46,467
using every ancestral rite
to benefit his own power.

745
00:41:47,934 --> 00:41:49,300
[Sieczkowska] There is still
a lot of mystery

746
00:41:49,434 --> 00:41:50,801
regarding the Inca state,

747
00:41:50,934 --> 00:41:54,634
and every day we are
discovering new things.

748
00:41:56,334 --> 00:41:58,634
[Narrator] Every trace
left behind by the Incas

749
00:41:58,767 --> 00:42:01,667
sheds light on the founder
of the empire.

750
00:42:01,801 --> 00:42:06,400
And new clues still reveal
fundamental discoveries.

751
00:42:07,934 --> 00:42:10,901
[Sieczkowska] Based on chronicle
information, at the beginning,

752
00:42:11,033 --> 00:42:14,100
we're thinking that Pachacutec
started his conquest

753
00:42:14,234 --> 00:42:17,267
in this region
more or less in 1438,

754
00:42:17,400 --> 00:42:19,234
and the construction
of Machu Picchu

755
00:42:19,367 --> 00:42:23,467
started approximately in 1450.

756
00:42:23,601 --> 00:42:27,100
[Narrator] This chronology,
established in 1945,

757
00:42:27,234 --> 00:42:30,300
has recently been called
into question by excavations

758
00:42:30,434 --> 00:42:35,467
at Machu Picchu
and nearby Chachabamba.

759
00:42:35,601 --> 00:42:37,968
Carbon-dated remains
of charcoal show that

760
00:42:38,100 --> 00:42:42,467
these two sites are older
than previously thought.

761
00:42:45,234 --> 00:42:50,434
[Sieczkowska] The classical date
of 1450 is no longer reliable

762
00:42:50,567 --> 00:42:55,434
because the Machu Picchu and
Chachabamba were constructed

763
00:42:55,567 --> 00:42:58,267
approximately 30 or even more
years before.

764
00:42:58,400 --> 00:43:00,467
Now we know that the empire
start to grow

765
00:43:00,601 --> 00:43:03,767
much time before what we knew.

766
00:43:03,901 --> 00:43:07,968
So the date of 1438,
it's no longer date

767
00:43:08,100 --> 00:43:11,968
for the rise
of Pachacutec's empire.

768
00:43:12,100 --> 00:43:14,801
[Itier] It's often said that
the Inca state was built

769
00:43:14,934 --> 00:43:16,467
in 100 years,

770
00:43:16,601 --> 00:43:19,467
and that it dominated the Andes
for only a century.

771
00:43:19,601 --> 00:43:21,000
But in fact, for many regions,

772
00:43:21,133 --> 00:43:25,400
it was more like a century and
a half or even two centuries.

773
00:43:26,801 --> 00:43:29,367
[Narrator] Little by little,
modern archaeology

774
00:43:29,501 --> 00:43:34,067
is learning more about
this vast and enigmatic empire.

775
00:43:34,200 --> 00:43:36,567
Pachacutec was not
the first ruler,

776
00:43:36,701 --> 00:43:39,934
nor the first to spread
influence beyond Cusco.

777
00:43:40,067 --> 00:43:41,634
But he was the first emperor,

778
00:43:41,767 --> 00:43:45,234
and with him,
the Incas transformed.

779
00:43:45,367 --> 00:43:47,367
It was the birth
of what would become

780
00:43:47,501 --> 00:43:51,634
the largest
South American empire.

781
00:43:51,767 --> 00:43:57,934
♪ ♪

782
00:43:58,067 --> 00:44:01,667
♪ ♪