Original subtitles

I'm in Tiwanaku, Bolivia, where the

Incas say mankind was created.

Not far from here are the mysterious ruins of Puma Punku,

which feature magnificent megalithic blocks.

Today, most archaeologists believe that Puma Punku was part

of an ancient temple complex, but they are baffled by the

uniformly shaped and sharp edged stone blocks found all over the

site. They are also puzzled by an even

bigger mystery: What type of structure did these blocks

actually form? Could it be that the ruins of

Puma Punku offer evidence of advanced, extraterrestrial

technology being used in the ancient past?

For an ancient astronaut theorist, there are few sites on

Earth more intriguing than this one, and that's why I'm here

investigating the incredible mystery of Puma Punku.

My name is Giorgio Tsoukalos. I explore the world that exists

between reality and speculation, the known and the unknown.

What we've been taught by mainstream scholars is not the

whole picture. But I'm convinced that every day

we are one step closer to the truth.

High in the Andes Mountains, in the Altiplano desert, is

Tiwanaku, one of the most rugged and desolate places on Earth.

This region of Bolivia has seen its fair share of warfare,

invasion and turmoil over the years, but I'm here to see if it

also experienced contact with extraterrestrials.

In 1549, while searching for the capital of the Inca Empire,

Pedro Cieza de León and his Spanish conquistadors discovered

the ruins of what looked like a massive temple complex at what

is now called Tiwanaku. Mainstream archaeologists

suggest that these ruins were once the center of the Tiwanaku

civilization, with approximately 40,000 inhabitants, but little

is known about the people who lived here or the structures

they left behind. Of special interest are the

walls of this large square shaped courtyard, which

features numerous carved stone faces that suggest those of

extraterrestrial visitors. But located just a half a mile

away from the temple at Tiwanaku lie the ruins of what is thought

to be yet another temple complex: the mysterious site

known as Puma Punku, "the Gateway of the Puma."

The name was given by the local Aymara people, who found

artifacts at the site depicting imagery of warriors wearing

masks made of puma skulls. But the Aymara have only

inhabited the area for around 800 years, and Puma Punku is

believed to have been built thousands of years ago.

But what was it? A temple?

A meeting place? Some elaborate monument?

All of these possibilities have been suggested, but to this day

no one knows just what this place was, who built it, or

exactly how old it really is. But what's even more intriguing

is that the blocks here don't even look like those found at

Tiwanaku. It is one of the places where

logic no longer makes sense, because the blocks that we have

here are unique on this entire planet.

This is the only place.

So check it out. Here are the awesome, awesome

H blocks. They're made from solid blocks

of precisely shaped andesite. Whenever I see them, I I

and this is just this feeling that you get at Puma Punku

I'm at a loss for words, because this here is something that

can't be found anywhere else in the world.

Mainstream archaeologists believe that these H blocks were

created by hand, with primitive stone and metal tools.

Tools, I should mention, that they have never found examples

of. But what's so very interesting

is that they seem as if they are part of a larger picture.

That if you put them together, they form a solid wall, which is

very incredible. If another block was placed on

top or this was placed on top of another rock, these are features

that make these two blocks fit together seamlessly.

Because the one thing that we have to remind ourselves with

this particular construction style, no mortar, no binding

agent was ever used. These pieces are so perfect that

they fit together interlockingly in such a way that you don't

need anything with which to bind together the two or three or

hundreds of pieces. Other examples of this type of

precise, interlocking stonework can be found in Cusco, at

Saksaywaman and even Machu Picchu.

But nothing with the sophistication of this place

right here. I mean, it's incredibly

enigmatic. Everywhere I turn, I see more

and more incredible blocks that can't be explained by mainstream

scientists. This is pretty amazing.

I mean, check this out. If you look at this groove

right here... I mean, forget chicken bones.

You simply cannot do this with primitive tools.

And you've got these holes drilled at an equidistant, as if

it's some type of a female piece to a male piece.

So what was it that actually fit into this?

Because one thing, to me, is crystal clear, that this here

or any of these pieces they have nothing to do with any type

of embellishments. These look like technical

components, part of a larger, almost industrial construction.

I've got a little paper clip,

ordinary paper clip that I've just unfurled.

To see how deep they go, and they actually go equidistant all

the way down. I mean, that is something that

cannot be achieved with... with chicken bones.

As far as I'm concerned, these stone blocks had to have been

cut with some type of advanced technology... but what?

Back in 2012, I met up with machinist and toolmaker Chris

Dunn at his workshop in Danville, Illinois, to put a

Puma Punku stone sample through the ultimate test.

We've got a sample of the laser cut.

This is the diamond wheel cut. And the top surface is the

original cut surface from Puma Punku.

So now we can compare the difference between all three

cuts. Looking at an actual

piece of precision cut stone from Puma Punku under a

microscope, Chris compared the two modern cutting techniques

with the part of the stone cut thousands of years ago.

Even taking into account centuries of time and weather,

Chris's comparison revealed incredible differences.

You've got vitrification...

upon the laser cut side... and then, of course, you've got

circular tool marks on, uh... the the side cut with the

diamond saw. And then, whatever tool they

used to... cut the ancient surface must have been a

different method. Now, do you think

it's possible that some type of a diamond precision tool was

used on the old surface, but because it was such a long time

ago, that over time, the surface became a bit more rough and

we're talking 10,000 or even 15,000 years ago?

That is a reasonable speculation.

I think we have to start examining, um...

a little more sophisticated tools that no longer exist.

The cuts from the diamond saw were the best

comparison to those found on the stone blocks at Puma Punku...

so we're talking about the sharpest, most sophisticated

cutting tool we have today. So, how could a so called

"primitive society" have achieved such sophisticated

stone carving techniques? Check out this block right here.

There's something really cool about this one.

First, I wanted to show you true north on my compass...

which, as you can see... this is true north.

Now, watch what happens. All of a sudden...

true north is over there. It's in the complete opposite

direction... and here, even more so...

down there. This is wild.

So... what is going on here? Clearly, this rock has been

somehow magnetized. So, was it exposed to some

electromagnetic waves? Or is it like this because, at

some point, these blocks underwent or came in contact

with something strange? I mean, this whole place is

bizarre. Below the plateau, where the

H blocks are located, are the steps and walls marking the

edges of the Puma Punku mound. Now I can truly see the scale of

the sight. If you look down all the way,

you can see, it's perfectly level, it's perfectly level.

This is a newly excavated area that I haven't seen before

and again, it shows tremendous precision.

Check out this, for example, right here.

What's really interesting is that you can't even put a

piece of paper in between the fittings; and no mortar

was used. So, I mean, this is really

incredible stuff and this is very, very, very old.

But, at the same time... it was just utter perfection.

The Spanish conquerors were not able

to move such gigantic blocks. And then the Inca ruler said,

"It was not us who made Puma Punku.

It was the gods."

It was the gods."

just a half a mile from the H blocks at Puma Punku, is a

giant stone structure called "The Gate of the Sun."

Here you can find depictions of the god Viracocha and his winged

children. Look at those incredible

carvings. It's one giant piece; a monolith

made of andesite. It's incredibly difficult to

carve this with any type of tool, because it has to be

harder than the current andesite.

In the 1960s, at this same location, a wall was

excavated to reveal a fascinating array of stone

heads. But who do these strange heads

represent? There is one structure here that

may provide a clue. This is a place where the

Bennett Monolith was discovered. And it's a representation of

Pachamama 21 feet tall. The largest monolith ever

uncovered here. "Pachamama" essentially means

"the cosmic mother," because "Pacha" means "cosmos" and

"mama"... well, I don't have to explain that.

And so the idea is that this is a place of creation.

And I find that interesting, because if you look at the

different heads that are built into the wall, some look, uh,

very different than others. So the question arises are

these heads representing different races of humans?

Or are they depictions of the so called gods alien visitors

who came down from the sky? It's fascinating to look around

and see these ancient monuments at Tiwanaku and Puma Punku.

But I still wonder just how old these ruins really are.

Before I began my investigation, I made a trip to Switzerland to

talk with my good friend and mentor Erich von Daniken, who

gave me some great insights into the history behind these

incredible and mysterious sites. So, Erich, tell me about Puma

Punku, because what I find interesting is according to some

translations, somebody suggested there is a calendar there.

And this calendar goes back some 20,000 or so years.

Now, this calendar, Giorgio, you are referring to,

is clearly proven. There are scientific books

written by Dr. Edmund Kiss, that's 50, 60 years ago, uh,

by Dr.... Professor Bellamy. I knew him personally.

Brilliant explorers, and they absolutely deciphered this

calendar of Tiwanaku, and it dates back at least 24,000 years

in the past. But our modern archaeology does

not accept these dates because it contradicts our evolution.

In 1928, German explorer Edmund Kiss drew

elaborately detailed re creations of what he believed

once stood at both Tiwanaku and Puma Punku.

He became one of the first to suggest that the ancient

structures were far older than the traditionally accepted date

of 200 AD. Another German researcher,

Professor Hans Schindler Bellamy, dated Puma Punku to

before 10,000 BC and theorized that it was destroyed by a

flood. The Spanish

conquerors, when they arrived, they were up there with their

soldiers and they took the Inca, the ruler of them, and they

showed them these ruins of Puma Punku and they asked them,

"How did you make this? Because we, from Spain, we were

not able to move such gigantic blocks."

And then the Inca ruler said, "It was not us who made it.

It was the gods who made it in one simple night."

Mainstream archaeologists who dismiss the

local stories of gods constructing Puma Punku have

long argued that ancient people could have moved these

megalithic stones through sheer manpower alone.

During an experiment conducted in 1966, members of the Bolivian

army attempted to drag a two ton megalithic block and raise it

using only rope. They barely managed to shift it

by a few inches. But assuming that the ancient

people here really were able to somehow raise these giant blocks

using nothing more than rope and manpower, how did they get them

here in the first place? Mainstream archaeologists say

the massive stones were hewn at quarries over 60 miles away and

then they were rolled to Puma Punku on logs.

But there is one major problem with this theory.

We're at an altitude of over 12,000 feet, which means there

are no trees, because trees only grow to a certain altitude.

And if somebody proposes that this whole place was deforested

and they just cut down the trees in order to move around these

blocks, then they don't know what they're talking about.

So the idea of wooden rollers falls by the wayside.

Like that.

While I'm in Bolivia, I want to find out what

the local people know and believe about both Puma Punku

and Tiwanaku. Right next to the ruins is the

town of Tiwanaku, home to the native Aymara people.

The Aymara have inhabited Bolivia as well as Peru and

Chile for at least 800 years, descending from other cultures

in the area that go back as far as 5,000 years.

They continue to speak the native language of their

ancestors, and have kept alive the oral traditions of their

people for centuries. With the help of my translator

and guide, Juan Carlos, I've arranged to meet Rene Quispe, an

Aymara elder and local historian.

So what can he tell me about the legends how, for example,

Tiwanaku was built?

The sun god Viracocha is the Andean creator

and destroyer of worlds. According to ancient legends,

Viracocha was born on the Isle of the Sun on nearby Lake

Titicaca. Eventually, Viracocha

disappeared "over the water as if it were land, without

sinking," never to return. Like that.

Yes. I'm shocked to hear

this Aymara elder mention the term "Watchers," because the

Watchers are a key component of the ancient astronaut theory, so

to hear this term associated with the ancient stories of

Bolivia is pretty awesome. According to the Book of Enoch,

an ancient Hebrew text found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, the

Watchers were a group of 200 angels sent to Earth to watch

over the early humans. But when they mated with human

women and created a race of giant hybrids, known as the

Nephilim, they angered God and were banished from returning to

Heaven. Now, what's really interesting

is that the Inca also tell of Viracocha creating a race of

giants. So, hearing an Aymara elder and

historian say that Viracocha was also considered a Watcher is

incredibly fascinating. Was there a particular reason

why it was built?

Yeah. Also... Giants jumped out of

the lake. Giants.

Oh, they were shaving off the stones.

Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. No?

Like that. No? The question I would

like to ask is, if we look at the Gate of the Sun with

Viracocha in the center and all those winged beings, what is the

significance of it?

No? Pacahacas. They were... they

were Viracocha's court. Yeah.

According to the Anales de Cuauhtitlan, a

document from 1570, Viracocha said, "If my subjects were ever

to see me, they would run away." Now, when I hear that, I'm

tempted to ask, "Did Viracocha need a mask because he didn't

look anything like his subjects?"

Could he have been a real, flesh and blood

extraterrestrial? How does he react when people

say, for example, that this place here could have been built

more than 10,000 years ago?

I agree that this place existed before the flood.

It's really interesting to hear this Aymara elder mention Posnansky when

talking about the date of Tiwanaku.

Arthur Posnansky spent over 40 years in Bolivia researching and

writing about pre Inca archaeological sites.

Posnansky proposed that Tiwanaku was around 17,000 years old, and

he developed his theory after examining the connections

between the ancient temple complex and sophisticated

astronomical alignments. According to his theory, the

structure at Tiwanaku called "Kalasasaya" was built so that

the sun would rise directly over the cornerstones on the summer

and winter solstices, and based on the changing tilt of the

Earth, you'd have to go back at least 17,000 years for that to happen.

Today, many people say that

Posnansky's theories are miscalculations...

Yeah. ...and that it was

just fantasy.

Yeah. Hmm?

Right.

Right.

to meet Aymara elder Rene Quispe and to ask him about the

Aymara traditions. The three things that stuck out

were, one the giants. That's amazing stuff that

they came out of Lake Titicaca and that they used stones with

which to whittle down the giant blocks.

And then the second one was the stories about the Watchers.

And that is interesting to me because the stories of the

Watchers exist worldwide. And then the third one was that

he completely agrees with the theories of Arthur Posnansky.

After coming here and seeing this place firsthand once again,

I'm more and more convinced that Posnansky was correct and that

the local stories about Tiwanaku being built by some kind of

extraterrestrial beings might be more than just mythology.

Much, much more. I really do think that something

really weird happened at Puma Punku.

When you see the articulation of the stones,

they're doing things that are way beyond.

There was nothing they couldn't do.

I'm in Peru, meeting with author and ancient

astronaut theorist David Childress, a prolific author

on the topic of ancient technology.

He has spent most of his life traveling the world and

challenging established assumptions about mankind's

history. He's just the person I need to

help me sift through the evidence and connect all the

dots. I really do think that, uh, Puma

Punku is one of the few places in the world where common sense

no longer applies. Something really weird happened

at some point at Puma Punku. I mean, when was the last time

you were there? I was there, uh, just,

uh, about six months ago or so. David has studied

Puma Punku for decades, and he believes that it is the key to

showing the connection between ancient civilizations and

ancient space travelers. One of the things that I enjoy

talking about is that when we look at these stones that

obviously have been cut in a very precise fashion that, in

your opinion, it had to have been done in an easy fashion

with easy means. What do you mean by that?

One of the things is when you see the articulation of

the stones at Puma Punku and the H blocks are such a good

example the stonemasons were getting very fancy and they're

doing things that are way beyond what they need to do.

But it would seem as if, with the power tools that that I

think they must have had, there was nothing they couldn't do.

They could be as fancy as they wanted, because it was easy for

them. Exactly like this.

It's unnecessary elaboration and decoration.

You're thinking, oh, this must be so much labor and moving the

stones and cutting the stones. Yet it had to be easy for them.

And moving the stones, too, must have been easy for them.

It's not something that's so incredibly difficult as as we

would imagine that primitive architects and engineers would

be doing. It has been

suggested that some sort of antigravity technology may have

been used at Puma Punku to lift and place the massive stone

blocks. But if that were true, it would

certainly suggest that some sort of highly advanced technology

was in play here. You have, also, the

areas with keystone cuts. And the the poured clamps of

molten metal that went into those cuts.

Yeah, just like these. Yeah, right.

And that's such an unusual way of fitting stones.

And that is something that you see at the sun temple,

Coricancha in Cusco you'll find, also, these keystone

cuts and at Ollantaytambo on the way to Machu Picchu.

Right here. That's Ollantaytambo right

there. Right, right.

That's an indication that the same builders of Puma Punku and

Tiwanaku are also the builders of the sun temple in Cusco and

at Ollantaytambo and Saksaywaman, even Machu Picchu.

But then you can go around the world and find this unusual

keystone cuts in Egypt, in Greece.

This is at the Giza Temple.

Okay. There at at Giza and the Sphinx

temple. You're also gonna find these at

Borobudur in Java, at Angkor Wat in Cambodia and at the

megalithic site of My Son in Vietnam.

These mysterious keystone cuts exist at a

surprising number of ancient sites all over the world.

It's a building technique that involves pouring metal into cut

rock on both sides of a joint. And it has been suggested that

the clamps that went inside them were made of copper, bronze,

silver, or a mixture of silver and gold.

Curiously, in nearly every case where keystone cuts have been

found, the clamps have been removed.

Or, possibly, the structures are so old that the metal has eroded

completely. But some still contain remnants

of metal, which leaves no doubt that the architects had at least

rudimentary knowledge of metallurgy.

You know, stuff like that is sensational, because it would

imply one of two things. Either, as you say, they were

the same builders. Or that they were the same

teachers. Because, clearly, it is not a

similar construction style; it's identical.

It's it's not something that could really have

been developed independently, and and so the mainstream

archaeologists are basically just ignoring this.

Because if they were to discuss this, it would completely wreck

their whole theories that these people are... are isolated from

each other. I mean, they had to be made by

the same kind of engineers and and architects.

Here we have blocks that some have estimated to be

100 metric tons. How would you move a 100 ton

block without a crane? I don't know.

I'm in Peru with

fellow ancient astronaut theorist David Childress.

We've been discussing the precision cut stone blocks found

all over Puma Punku. Many of the blocks contain

keystone cuts, which are also found at other megalithic sites.

But these aren't the only striking similarities that exist

between Puma Punku and other ancient sites found throughout

the world. There are so many

similarities, including the monolithic doors that you have

at Puma Punku and Tiwanaku where these doors are just cut out of

one solid piece of granite. And you find that, too, uh, at

Persepolis in in Iran, for instance.

And then, on top of all that, you've got the Fuente Magna bowl

that's now in the Precious Metals Museum in La Paz.

Thought to be over 5,000 years old, the Fuente

Magna bowl was discovered near Lake Titicaca by a local farmer

in the 1950s. It features hundreds of

triangular carvings that are strangely similar to the

cuneiform text used by the ancient Sumerians.

But what is a bowl featuring Sumerian text doing more than

8,000 miles from Sumeria or, as we know it today, Iraq?

Could it be further evidence that what ancient astronaut

theorists have been saying for decades might be true?

Could early humans, at one time, really have been influenced by

visitors from another planet? That bowl has two

forms of Sumerian writing on it, Sumerian hieroglyphs and

Sumerian cuneiform. It's been authenticated by

Bolivian archaeologists, and all that mainstream archaeologists

can do at this point is ignore it.

It's not something they could ever address because it would

completely blow all of their theories out of the water.

What makes a Bolivian archaeologist less

mainstream than all the other mainstream archaeologists?

In my opinion, nothing. So why aren't they confirmed by

the rest of archaeology? It would change

history. The Fuente Magna bowl is

basically proof that the Sumerian Anunnaki were coming to

South America. I believe that Tiwanaku and

Puma Punku, uh, were were mining centers.

The idea of Sumerian writings being discovered near

Lake Titicaca would relate to the theories of author Zecharia

Sitchin and his proposal that the Sumerians were interacting

with a highly advanced extraterrestrial race known as

the Anunnaki. History has to be rewritten.

Eventually, they'll have to address these things.

I look forward to, uh, whatever results you come up with.

I'll definitely keep you posted on my my findings.

After speaking with David Childress, I'm more convinced

than ever that Puma Punku was constructed with the assistance

of extraterrestrials, but my questions of what these blocks

actually formed and how the structure was destroyed still

remain unanswered. To get a better picture of just

what this incredible site might have looked like when it was

first built, I returned home to meet with Casey Hemmatyar, a

forensic structural engineer based in Los Angeles.

With more than 30 years of experience investigating all

types of structures and building materials, I knew that Casey

would be the perfect person to analyze what Puma Punku was

built to be and what violent forces might have led to its

destruction. Mr. Hemmatyar?

Hello. I'm Giorgio. Great pleasure to meet you.

So, in your opinion, how do you think something like this was

cut? The first thing is

that how these people, uh, several thousand years ago had

this ability and this precision and the knowledge to create such

a structure. Is it impossible to use a copper

tool in order to create these? Um, probably, yes.

Because you need a material that has a much higher hardness in

order to achieve these goals. In modern days, we do these type

of, uh, structures. We call them tilt up.

Let's say this wall is three story, okay?

So what we do, we come right next to that particular site, we

place wood forms all around it. Once we place the reinforcing,

then we pour concrete into this and we flatten the surface and

we let it stay there to cure for several days.

Then we have special cranes that come, and then we lift them.

They bring down. Now, we're doing this at the

same time on four sides. So what you're

telling me is the way it works is that the whole thing is

raised by a crane, like this. Yes.

So in reference to Puma Punku with all of this, I

mean, here we have blocks that some have estimated to be around

100 metric tons, and we're also at an altitude of almost 13,000

feet, so the air is rarified. You know, it's, uh, kind of a

dicey place up there if you're not in physical shape.

So how would you move a 100 ton block without a crane?

Uh... I don't know.

Even to an expert like Casey Hemmatyar, the

methods used to carve the stones at Puma Punku and then lift them

into place remain a mystery. But now I'm even more eager to

find out not only how Puma Punku was built but why.

I'm in Southern California in the offices of

Forensic Structural Engineer Casey Hemmatyar.

Using CGI technology, Casey has spent the last three weeks

constructing a three dimensional model of Puma Punku.

And now he's about to show me not only what he believes it

might have looked like but how it was ultimately destroyed.

Here we've got some visualization of what potential

combination of putting these together to create the platform.

Man, I'm blown away by what Casey is showing me, a

three dimensional model of what Puma Punku might have looked

like more than 10,000 years ago. It's unlike any other model I've

ever seen. It even has a large platform

area that I can imagine being used as some kind of a launching

pad. Was Puma Punku some type of

spaceport for ancient astronauts?

Or the headquarters for a team of alien engineers and

scientists sent to explore the Earth?

This is cool looking. Really awesome.

But now I'm more puzzled than ever.

How could such a large and magnificent structure have been

so completely destroyed? As a forensic structural

engineer, do you think that an explosion might have been a

reason for the destruction of Puma Punku?

The size of these, uh, stones, the weight of them, the

mass and the way I look at the pictures of the remains of

these, it's my opinion that it it would be very remote that

that would've been the cause. Okay, so then what

does that leave us with? The concept of flood

would make more sense to me. Casey's computer

animation of Puma Punku is consistent with various theories

which suggest that the enormous stone blocks were somehow lifted

up and then dropped down. It's also consistent with what

I've been hearing from everyone I've spoken with so far that

Puma Punku was built sometime before the Great Flood.

The soil becomes almost liquid.

Getting saturated by water, it loses its stability, and

therefore it's not capable of providing support to the

structure above anymore. And with the movement of water

itself, that can cause movement of those objects.

The idea that Puma Punku was destroyed by a flood

makes perfect sense because seashells and fossils of fish

have been found here, even though the nearest body of

water is more than ten miles away.

The cataclysm or the flood is strong enough to jumble up the

original place of these blocks right away.

Every legend, every mythology has a core of truth, and that is

my quest. Casey, thank you very much for

your time. My pleasure.

There is now very little doubt in my mind that

Puma Punku was built with some sort of extraterrestrial

technology and that its destruction was probably caused

by a great flood, perhaps the same flood that is described in

the Old Testament. This has been an amazing

journey. And while I'm even more

convinced that mankind had alien ancestors, I need to find more

evidence. And so this is why I'm off once

again in search of aliens. Captioning sponsored by

A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS Captioned by

Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org