Original subtitles

♪

Narrator: MACHU PICCHU,

AN ANCIENT ABANDONED CITY IN THE CLOUDS,

THE JEWEL OF A LONG-LOST CIVILIZATION --

THE INCAS.

THE TRUE PURPOSE OF THIS SITE

HAS BEEN A MYSTERY FOR CENTURIES,

BUT TODAY, INVESTIGATORS

ARE MAKING NEW DISCOVERIES

THAT CHANGE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF MACHU PICCHU.

Bastante: EVERY DAY IS DIFFERENT IN MACHU PICCHU.

EVERY MINUTE IS DIFFERENT IN MACHU PICCHU.

Narrator: THEIR BREAKTHROUGHS ARE REWRITING THE HISTORY

OF THESE ENIGMATIC RUINS.

I THINK WE'RE STILL REALLY AT THE VERY BEGINNING

OF LEARNING ABOUT IT.

Narrator: NOW, ARCHAEOLOGISTS BELIEVE THEY'RE ON THE VERGE

OF CRACKING HIDDEN MESSAGES THE INCAS LEFT BEHIND.

Hyland: IF WE COULD UNDERSTAND THIS CODE,

IMAGINE WHAT WE COULD LEARN ABOUT THE INCAS.

Narrator: TO SOLVE THE MYSTERIES OF MACHU PICCHU,

WE'LL PULL APART THIS CITY STONE-BY-STONE.

WE'LL DIVE DEEP THROUGH ITS WALLS

AND TEMPLES TO UNEARTH THE ASTONISHING SECRETS

THAT LIE AT THE HEART OF THIS FORGOTTEN WONDER.

--Captions by VITAC-- www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

MACHU PICCHU IN PERU --

LOST FOR CENTURIES,

BEAUTIFUL AND AWE-INSPIRING.

MODERN ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVERED THESE ENIGMATIC RUINS

MORE THAN 100 YEARS AGO.

♪

TODAY, NEW IDEAS ARE COMING TO LIGHT

WHICH COULD CHANGE OUR UNDERSTANDING

OF WHY MACHU PICCHU IS HERE.

Bastante: IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE EFFORT AND THE SKILLS

THAT THE INCAS MUST HAVE HAD IN ORDER

TO BUILD SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN THIS EXACT SPOT

MAKES IT ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE.

♪

Narrator: THE RUINS ARE PERCHED ALONG A PERILOUS RIDGE

BETWEEN TWO PROMINENT MOUNTAIN PEAKS.

STEPSTONE TERRACES CLING TO THE STEEP MOUNTAINSIDE.

MACHU PICCHU'S NEAR-PRISTINE STONE BUILDINGS ARE PACKED

FULL OF ANCIENT INCA TECHNOLOGY.

♪

A MYSTERIOUS CURVED BUILDING STANDS OUT

IN THE GEOMETRIC CITYSCAPE.

WHY IS IT SO DIFFERENT FROM THE BUILDINGS AROUND IT?

♪

WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF THIS CITY IN THE CLOUDS?

♪

THERE ARE MANY THEORIES --

FROM A ROYAL PALACE TO A TRADING HUB.

♪

JOSé BASTANTE IS MACHU PICCHU'S CHIEF ARCHAEOLOGIST.

HE BELIEVES THE ANSWER LIES IN THE BUILDINGS THEMSELVES

AND IS UNCOVERING EVIDENCE THAT TELLS A DIFFERENT STORY.

MOST OF THE THINGS GOING ON IN MACHU PICCHU ARE RELATED

TO THE CEREMONIAL PART.

♪

Narrator: TEAMS OF ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARE INVESTIGATING EVERY STRUCTURE

AT MACHU PICCHU,

AND THEY'RE DISCOVERING THAT MANY OF THE BUILDINGS

SEEM TO ALIGN WITH THE MOVEMENTS OF THE SUN.

COULD THEY BE LINKED TO THE INCA RELIGION?

THE SUN IS THE MOST IMPORTANT DEITY OF THE INCAS.

Narrator: JOSé THINKS MANY OF THE STRUCTURES HERE

ARE DEDICATED TO THE SUN.

ONE OF THE MOST INTRIGUING IS THE CURIOUS BUILDING

WITH THE UNIQUE CURVED SIDES.

♪

STRIPPING AWAY THESE WALLS REVEALS A VAST GRANITE BLOCK.

♪

BENEATH THIS FINELY POLISHED ROCKY OUTCROP,

A SMALL ROOM WITH MYSTERIOUS NICHES IN THE WALLS.

SOME OF THE FINEST INCA MASONRY AT MACHU PICCHU FORMS

THE TEMPLE'S CURVED SIDES.

AND A MYSTERIOUS GROOVE IN THE POLISHED ROCK ALIGNS

WITH THE RISING SUN ON THE WINTER SOLSTICE,

THE SHORTEST DAY OF THE YEAR.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS THINK THAT THIS STRANGE

BUILDING COULD BE A TEMPLE TO MARK

THE SACRED CYCLES OF THE SUN.

♪

JOSé BELIEVES THIS TEMPLE ISN'T THE ONLY STRUCTURE

TO LOOK TO THE SKIES.

♪

THIS STRANGE STONE STICKING OUT OF THE BEDROCK

IS KNOWN AS THE INTIWATANA.

DID THIS PECULIAR STONE ALSO PERFORM A RELIGIOUS FUNCTION?

♪

TODAY IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SOLAR EVENTS

IN THE INCA CALENDAR --

THE EQUINOX,

WHICH MARKS A CHANGE IN THE SEASONS.

ON MOST DAYS OF THE YEAR, THE INTIWATANA STONE

AND EVERYTHING AROUND IT,

INCLUDING PEOPLE, CAST A SHADOW,

BUT ON THE EQUINOX,

AS THE SUN REACHES NOON,

SOMETHING STRANGE HAPPENS.

THE INTIWATANA STONE'S SHADOW DISAPPEARS.

WAS IT DESIGNED TO MARK THIS SPECIAL DAY?

BECAUSE OF THE PARTICULAR SHAPE AND ANGLES

OF THIS LITHIC SCULPTURE

THAT WE CALL INTIWATANA,

THAT IS ACTUALLY AN ALTAR,

THERE IS NO SHADOW CAST DURING THE EQUINOXES.

♪

Narrator: SO HOW DID THEY DO IT?

♪

ALL ALONG THE EQUATOR, ON THE EQUINOX,

THE SUN PASSES DIRECTLY OVERHEAD

CAUSING SHADOWS ON THE GROUND TO PRACTICALLY VANISH,

BUT MACHU PICCHU IS 13 DEGREES SOUTH OF THE EQUATOR

WHERE THE SUN IS NOT OVERHEAD.

♪

TO MARK THIS SPECIAL DAY, THE INCAS MUST HAVE SCULPTED

THE ROCK TO LEAN AT PRECISELY 13 DEGREES

SO THAT IT POINTS DIRECTLY AT THE SUN.

THESE STRUCTURES SEEM TO SUGGEST THAT MACHU PICCHU

IS A VATICAN CITY IN THE CLOUDS,

A PLACE WHERE THE INCA COULD INTERACT WITH THEIR

MOST IMPORTANT GOD --

THE SUN.

DID THE INCAS CHOOSE THIS SITE HIGH IN THE MOUNTAINS

TO GET A BETTER VIEW OF THE SKY?

IT'S A TEMPTING THEORY, BUT THERE'S A PROBLEM.

MACHU PICCHU IS REGULARLY SHROUDED IN CLOUD.

SO WHY BUILD A TEMPLE COMPLEX TO THE SUN HERE?

JOSé BELIEVES A BRAND-NEW DISCOVERY HELPS TO EXPLAIN

WHY THE INCAS BUILT THEIR SOLAR OBSERVATORY

IN SUCH A CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT.

THIS HUGE ROCKY OUTCROP THAT RESEMBLES A MOUNTAIN

IS A SHRINE.

Narrator: THIS INCA SHRINE

HAS CONCEALED ITS SECRETS FOR DECADES.

WHAT THEY DIDN'T REALIZE IS THAT THERE WAS

SOMETHING ELSE OVER HERE

THAT THEY DIDN'T NOTICE, AND WE HAVE JUST FOUND.

♪

Narrator: HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT, JOSé HAS UNCOVERED ARTWORK.

WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS TRADITIONALLY CALLED ROCK ART,

BUT IN THE ANDES, THIS IS A QUILCA.

Narrator: JOSé DOESN'T THINK THIS ROCK ART, OR QUILCA,

WAS MADE BY THE INCAS

AND COULD BE CENTURIES OLDER.

Bastante: THESE GRAPHIC MOTIFS HAVE NO RELATIONSHIP

WHATSOEVER WITH THE INCA CIVILIZATION

DURING 15th AND 16th CENTURY.

Narrator: MACHU PICCHU MOUNTAIN MAY HAVE BEEN SACRED

FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS,

LONG BEFORE THE INCAS.

Bastante: THIS IS AN EVIDENCE OF PRESENCE

OF PRE-INCA PEOPLE IN THE AREA.

WE ARE TALKING ABOUT BETWEEN 800 TO 1200 A.D.

Narrator: NOW, ARCHAEOLOGISTS BELIEVE THIS MYSTERIOUS PAINTING

MIGHT BE A CLUE TO WHY THE INCAS WERE DRAWN TO THIS REMOTE SITE.

♪

Bastante: WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING IS THAT THIS PLACE

WAS CONSIDERED AS SACRED EVEN BEFORE THE INCAS.

THE INCAS JUST ARRIVED AND REALIZED

THE SACREDNESS OF THE PLACE.

♪

Narrator: JOSé BELIEVES MACHU PICCHU WAS BUILT HERE

BECAUSE IT WAS ALREADY A SACRED SITE

WITH AN ANCIENT CONNECTION TO THE GODS.

♪

BUT DID THE INCAS BUILD MACHU PICCHU

SIMPLY TO WORSHIP THEIR GODS?

♪

OR IS THERE ANOTHER EXPLANATION FOR THE CITY'S CONSTRUCTION?

COULD THE ANSWER BE LOCKED AWAY INSIDE THE SKELETONS

OF MACHU PICCHU?

♪

♪

Narrator: MACHU PICCHU IS ONE

OF THE MOST JAW-DROPPING SITES IN THE WORLD.

EACH YEAR, THIS ANCIENT WONDER ATTRACTS

NEARLY A MILLION VISITORS.

♪

BUT THE PURPOSE OF MACHU PICCHU HAS ALWAYS BEEN A MYSTERY.

SOME ARCHAEOLOGISTS BELIEVE IT'S A RELIGIOUS SITE,

BUT THERE ARE ENOUGH HOUSES FOR MORE THAN 500 PEOPLE.

WHY WERE THESE PEOPLE HERE, AND WHAT DID THEY DO?

I THINK WE'RE STILL REALLY

AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF LEARNING ABOUT IT.

IN TERMS OF WHAT DAILY LIFE WAS LIKE,

WE'RE JUST SCRATCHING THE SURFACE.

♪

Narrator: BEYOND THE IMPRESSIVE TEMPLES

AND RELIGIOUS STRUCTURES,

THERE ARE MANY PRACTICAL BUILDINGS.

MORE THAN 140 HOUSES WERE HOME TO THE PEOPLE THAT LIVED HERE,

BUT WHO WERE THEY?

♪

ARCHAEOLOGISTS SEARCHING FOR CLUES

ON THE SLOPES BELOW THE HOUSES

HAVE UNCOVERED A GRUESOME SURPRISE.

MORE THAN 170 SKELETONS LITTER THE LANDSCAPE IN MAKESHIFT TOMBS

COVERED WITH BOULDERS.

COULD THESE HUMAN REMAINS HOLD CLUES

TO WHY MACHU PICCHU WAS BUILT?

♪

TODAY, THE SKELETONS LIE IN THE PERUVIAN CITY OF CUZCO,

THE INCA CAPITAL.

RICHARD BURGER AND LUCY SALAZAR ARE EXAMINING

THE BONES FOUND AT MACHU PICCHU.

♪

SOME OF THE SKELETONS HAVE DEFORMITIES,

INCLUDING STRANGE ELONGATED SKULLS.

COULD THESE PROVIDE ANOTHER CLUE TO WHY MACHU PICCHU WAS BUILT?

RICHARD AND LUCY MEASURE THE SHAPE OF THE SKULLS.

THIS INTRIGUING SHAPE IS NOT A NATURAL DEFORMITY.

♪

SOME ANCIENT PERUVIAN COMMUNITIES WOULD BIND CLOTH

AROUND THEIR CHILDREN'S HEADS

TO CHANGE THE SHAPE OF THEIR SKULLS

AND MAKE THEM LOOK TALLER.

BUT NOT EVERY SKULL HAS BEEN DEFORMED IN THE SAME WAY

OR AT ALL.

WHY?

RICHARD BELIEVES MACHU PICCHU WAS A MELTING POT

OF DIFFERENT CULTURES,

DISPARATE PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE EMPIRE

LIVING SIDE BY SIDE IN ONE REMOTE PLACE.

Burger: THE CRANIA OF THESE SKELETONS HAD A VARIETY

OF CRANIAL DEFORMATIONS,

AND SINCE CRANIAL DEFORMATION IN ANCIENT

PERU WAS OFTEN A MARKER OF ETHNICITY,

IT IMPLIED THAT THE SKELETONS

CAME FROM DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS.

Narrator: RICHARD NEEDS FURTHER EVIDENCE

TO PROVE HIS THEORY,

SO HE ANALYZES THE BONES AT AN ATOMIC LEVEL.

THERE ARE VARIOUS KINDS OF ATOMIC STRUCTURES

OF MOST ELEMENTS.

DIFFERENT PLANTS WILL ABSORB DIFFERENT PROPORTIONS OF THESE,

AND THEN WHEN A HUMAN EATS THEM,

THIS WILL BE REFLECTED IN THEIR BONE COMPOSITION.

Narrator: BY MEASURING CHEMICAL TRACES IN THE BONES,

RICHARD CAN WORK OUT WHAT THESE INCAS WERE EATING

WHEN THEY WERE ALIVE.

USUALLY IN A SINGLE COMMUNITY,

THERE WILL BE ONLY A SMALL AMOUNT OF VARIATION.

WHAT WE FOUND WAS THAT THERE WAS A HIGH DEGREE OF VARIABILITY

IN THE READINGS.

THESE PEOPLE HAD HAD QUITE DIFFERENT DIETS

DURING THEIR LIFETIMES.

THESE PEOPLE COME FROM DIFFERENT AREAS.

♪

Narrator: RICHARD BELIEVES ONLY ONE PERSON

HAD THE POWER TO ASSEMBLE

SUCH A COSMOPOLITAN COMMUNITY --

THE INCA EMPEROR.

♪

RATHER THAN BEING BUILT FOR RELIGIOUS PURPOSES,

RICHARD BELIEVES MACHU PICCHU WAS MAINLY A ROYAL RESIDENCE.

♪

TODAY, HE'S SEARCHING THE SITE FOR EVIDENCE

OF THE EMPEROR'S PRESENCE.

Burger: WE BELIEVE THAT THE EMPEROR WOULD HAVE LIVED HERE,

THE SAPA INCA.

IT'S VERY OFTEN REFERRED TO AS THE HOUSES OF THE INCA.

Narrator: THIS HOUSE IS SEPARATE FROM OTHER BUILDINGS ON THE SITE

AND HAS MANY LUXURIES FOUND NOWHERE ELSE IN THE CITY.

Burger: IT'S THE ONLY ONE THAT SEEMS TO HAVE A BATH

WITH ALL THE FRESHWATER COMING DOWN FROM THE SPRING.

IT HASN'T BEEN IN ANY WAY TAMPERED WITH BY OTHERS.

I THINK THE FACT THAT THE EMPEROR'S HOUSE

WAS NEXT TO THE TEMPLE

OF THE SUN SUGGESTS

THAT SACRED CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR

IN EVERYTHING HE DID.

Narrator: BUT IF MACHU PICCHU IS A ROYAL PALACE,

WHERE ARE THE REMAINS OF THE GREAT EMPEROR

THAT ONCE LIVED HERE?

INCA BURIALS REVEAL A LOT

ABOUT THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE DECEASED.

HIGH-CLASS PEOPLE WERE BURIED ALONGSIDE RICHES

AND METAL OBJECTS, LIKE GOLD.

♪

THE MOST IMPORTANT INCAS, THE EMPERORS,

WERE EVEN MUMMIFIED

AND PARADED ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS.

BUT AT MACHU PICCHU,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS FIND FAR SIMPLER BURIALS IN CAVES.

♪

MOST OF THE SKELETONS AT MACHU PICCHU

ARE BURIED WITH GOODS

THAT LINK THEM TO LOWER-STATUS JOBS,

LIKE A COOK'S POT

OR THE REMAINS OF A SHEPHERD'S LLAMA.

IF THERE'S NO EVIDENCE OF AN EMPEROR'S BURIAL

OR MUMMY AT MACHU PICCHU,

DID HE EVER LIVE HERE?

RICHARD BELIEVES MACHU PICCHU WAS BUILT AS A SECOND HOME

FOR THE EMPEROR,

A PLACE TO RELAX FAR AWAY FROM THE INCA CAPITAL AT CUZCO.

I DESCRIBED IT ONCE AS A CAMP DAVID

BECAUSE WE KNOW THE STRESSES

OF BEING IN CHARGE OF AN EMPIRE,

AND JUST BY ANALOGY TO OTHER COUNTRIES,

LIKE THE UNITED STATES,

THE LEADER NEEDS TO GET AWAY

AND, YOU KNOW, RELAX EVERY NOW AND THEN.

I WOULD IMAGINE THAT, YOU KNOW, HE COULD HAVE COME HERE

ONCE EVERY YEAR FOR A FEW WEEKS.

♪

Narrator: WAS MACHU PICCHU AN INCA CAMP DAVID,

A PLACE FOR THE EMPEROR TO RELAX AND GET AWAY FROM IT ALL?

IF IT WAS, THE INCAS FACED AN INCREDIBLE CHALLENGE,

BUILDING A PALACE FIT FOR A KING HERE.

MACHU PICCHU SITS ACROSS TWO FAULT LINES,

EXPERIENCING DOZENS OF EARTHQUAKES

AND HUNDREDS OF LANDSLIDES EVERY YEAR.

♪

HOW DID THE INCAS BUILD A SECOND HOME FOR THE EMPEROR

IN SUCH A HOSTILE PLACE?

♪

AND COULD THESE MYSTERIOUS OBJECTS

CONCEAL ANCIENT MESSAGES

FROM THE INCAS THEMSELVES?

♪

♪

Narrator: MACHU PICCHU IS AN EXTRAORDINARY FEAT

OF ANCIENT ENGINEERING.

IT SOARS ALMOST 8,000 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL,

WEDGED ON A RIDGE BETWEEN TWO MOUNTAINS.

♪

EARTHQUAKES, LANDSLIDES, AND FLOODS RAVAGE THE AREA.

IT LOOKS LIKE THE MOST IMPOSSIBLE PLACE

FOR A CITY TO EXIST,

BUT MACHU PICCHU IS STILL STANDING.

HOW DID THE INCAS BUILD A CITY TO SURVIVE THE CENTURIES

WITH ONLY STONE-AGE TECHNOLOGY?

THE CLUES ARE HIDING IN THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF MACHU PICCHU.

THE HUNDREDS OF INCA BUILDINGS THAT CROWN THE STEEP MOUNTAIN

TOP ARE MADE FROM THOUSANDS OF SUPER TOUGH GRANITE BLOCKS.

♪

BLOWING THE BUILDINGS APART REVEALS

THAT NO TWO BLOCKS ARE THE SAME.

BUT THESE DRY-STONE WALLS APPEAR NEAT AND STRAIGHT.

♪

THE WEIRD ANGLES AND ASYMMETRICAL STONES

SLOT TOGETHER PERFECTLY.

BUT WHY DID THE INCAS USE SUCH STRANGE-SHAPED BUILDING BLOCKS?

♪

FERNANDO ASTETE IS THE SITE'S DIRECTOR

AND HAS BEEN STUDYING MACHU PICCHU FOR 30 YEARS.

HE KNOWS EVERY STONE HERE AND THINKS THE ANSWER

TO WHY THEY'RE SUCH STRANGE SHAPES LIES

JUST ABOVE THE CITY CENTER IN A QUARRY.

BECAUSE GRANITE IS SO TOUGH, FERNANDO THINKS THE INCAS

WOULD CHIP AWAY AT NATURAL WEAK POINTS

AND WORK WITH THE NATURAL SHAPE OF THE ROCK

RATHER THAN FORCE THE STONE INTO REGULAR BRICKS.

BUT UNEVEN BLOCKS COME WITH THEIR OWN CHALLENGES.

IF THESE STONES WERE SIMPLY STACKED,

THE ODDLY SHAPED BLOCKS

WOULD HAVE FORMED UNSTABLE WALLS.

SO THE INCAS MUST HAVE CAREFULLY MATCHED AND POUNDED

EACH STONE ACCORDING

TO THE EXACT SHAPE OF ITS NEIGHBORS.

DURING AN EARTHQUAKE, THE STONES ARE FREE TO BOUNCE AROUND

BEFORE SETTLING BACK INTO THEIR PERFECT POSITION.

IT'S A GREAT THEORY, BUT GRANITE IS INCREDIBLY STRONG

AND DIFFICULT TO WORK.

MOST STONE TOOLS WOULD BREAK AGAINST ITS TOUGH SURFACE.

HOW DID THE INCA SHAPE THIS ROCK WITH SUCH PRECISION,

THAT IN MANY PLACES YOU CAN'T FIT

A RAZOR BLADE BETWEEN THE STONES?

FERNANDO BELIEVES THE KEY TO MACHU PICCHU'S

METICULOUS CONSTRUCTION

CAN BE FOUND LYING ON THE GROUND...

♪

A HEAVY IRON-RICH ROCK CALLED HEMATITE,

A NATURAL IRON HAMMER.

FERNANDO'S EXPERIMENTS SHOW THAT THE INCAS COULD USE HEMATITE

TO SHAPE THE TOUGH GRANITE BLOCKS

WITH GREAT PRECISION,

BUT IT WAS SLOW WORK.

FERNANDO BELIEVES MACHU PICCHU WAS ONLY POSSIBLE

BECAUSE THE MOUNTAINS THEMSELVES

ARE NATURAL QUARRIES OF EARTHQUAKE-PROOF GRANITE.

♪

THE INCAS FOUND ALL THE MATERIALS

TO BUILD A CITY OF HOUSES

AND EXQUISITE TEMPLES RIGHT HERE.

♪

BUT LIVING ON A MOUNTAINTOP IS HARD.

SHEER CLIFFS SURROUND THE SITE ON THREE SIDES.

THERE ARE NO FIELDS TO PLOW.

HOW DID THE PEOPLE OF MACHU PICCHU SURVIVE

IN SUCH A REMOTE LOCATION?

♪

♪

Narrator: MACHU PICCHU IS A CITY ON THE EDGE.

BASED ON THE NUMBER OF HOUSES ON THE SITE,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS BELIEVE

THERE COULD HAVE BEEN 500

OR MORE PEOPLE LIVING HERE.

♪

BUT SURROUNDED ON THREE SIDES BY SHEER CLIFFS,

HEAVY RAINS AND LANDSLIDES WASH AWAY ANY SOIL DOWN

THE STEEP MOUNTAIN SLOPES.

WITHOUT FLAT FIELDS FOR GROWING CROPS OR LIVESTOCK,

HOW DID THE INCAS FEED THEMSELVES

IN SUCH A REMOTE AND INHOSPITABLE ENVIRONMENT?

THE LIMITED QUANTITY OF WATER, THE DIFFICULT ACCESS, OF COURSE,

IS A VERY DIFFICULT AREA TO WORK.

♪

Narrator: THE INCAS SURROUNDED MACHU PICCHU WITH TERRACES

TO STABILIZE THE HILLSIDE

AND CREATE FOUNDATIONS FOR BUILDINGS.

INSIDE THESE STEP STRUCTURES, THERE'S A SURPRISING LEVEL

OF COMPLEX INCA TECHNOLOGY.

THE INCAS CAREFULLY LAID DISTINCT LAYERS OF GRAVEL

AND STONES OF DIFFERENT SIZES THROUGHOUT EVERY TERRACE,

BUT WHAT WERE THESE LAYERS FOR?

A CLUE RESTS ON TOP --

A FLAT LAYER OF FINE SOIL THAT CAN'T BE WASHED AWAY.

COULD THESE THIN STRIPS ALSO BE THE FIELDS THAT FED A CITY?

♪

A CLUE LIES IN THE LAYOUT OF MACHU PICCHU.

ONE HALF IS FILLED WITH TEMPLES AND HOUSES.

THE OTHER HAS VIRTUALLY NO BUILDINGS AT ALL.

♪

THESE EMPTY TERRACES LOOK LIKE FOUNDATIONS FOR BUILDINGS,

BUT CHIEF ARCHAEOLOGIST JOSé BASTANTE

BELIEVES THIS SLOPE IS THE INCA SOLUTION TO FARMING.

IN THIS PART, IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

OF MACHU PICCHU, THERE'S NO ISSUE

WITH WATER INFILTRATION

OR WATER COMING OUT.

Narrator: JOSé BELIEVES THE MULTIPLE LAYERS

OF ROCK INSIDE THESE TERRACES ALLOWED WATER

TO DRAIN THROUGH WITHOUT DISRUPTING THE TOPSOIL,

PROVIDING A STABLE PLATFORM FOR CROPS.

BUT TO LIVE ON THIS ROCKY MOUNTAINTOP,

THE INCA ALSO NEEDED A CONSTANT CLEAN SUPPLY OF DRINKING WATER

AND SACRED WATER FOR RITUALS.

IF WE DIDN'T HAVE A SPRING, THERE'S NO LIFE.

Narrator: THE INCAS FOUND A NATURAL SPRING HERE,

WHICH THEY CONSIDERED SACRED,

A GIFT FROM THE MOUNTAIN.

BUT HOW COULD THIS SMALL SPRING SERVE A WHOLE CITY?

♪

THIS SURPRISING FRESHWATER SOURCE COMES FROM RAINWATER.

IT FILTERS THROUGH THE FRACTURES IN THE ROCK AND ERUPTS

IN SPRINGS ALONG THE MOUNTAINSIDE.

THE INCAS BUILT STONE CHANNELS INTO THE TERRACES,

WHICH DELIVERED RUNNING WATER FROM THE MOUNTAIN SPRING

TO 16 FOUNTAINS ACROSS THE CITY.

♪

Bastante: THE WATER THAT WE SEE HERE,

IT'S COMING FROM A SPRING MORE THAN 700 METERS AWAY.

IT WAS CHANNELED BY THE INCAS,

CROSSES ALL THE AGRICULTURAL AREA OF MACHU PICCHU

AND ENTERS THE URBAN AREA.

♪

THIS WATER IS USED FOR DRINKING,

FOR COOKING, AND ALSO FOR CEREMONIAL PURPOSES.

Narrator: THE INCA ENGINEERED A CLEVER SOLUTION

TO BRING THIS SACRED WATER

TO THE URBAN SECTOR OF MACHU PICCHU.

♪

BUT THIS INCA MASONRY IS VULNERABLE.

IN A LANDSCAPE RAVAGED BY EARTHQUAKES,

ANY DAMAGE TO THESE WATER CHANNELS COULD FLOOD THE SACRED

BUILDINGS AROUND THEM.

Bastante: WE HAVE THE PART OF THE CHANNEL ON THE URBAN SECTOR,

THAT THE INCAS CANNOT AFFORD WATER INFILTRATION

BECAUSE THAT WILL AFFECT THE STRUCTURES IN ONE

OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SECTORS

THAT IS THE TEMPLE OF THE SUN AREA.

Narrator: HOW DID THE INCAS ENSURE THIS CHANNEL NEVER LEAKED?

JOSé THINKS THESE STRANGELY CARVED BLOCKS SCATTERED

AROUND THE SITE COULD HOLD A CLUE.

Bastante: THESE STONES HAVE BEEN ALWAYS HERE,

AND IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A MYSTERY WHAT THEY WERE FOR.

THERE HAVE BEEN MANY THEORIES, BUT FINALLY,

WE HAVE FIGURED IT OUT.

Narrator: THIS SMOOTH CHANNEL APPEARS TO BE DESIGNED

TO CARRY WATER.

WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE IS WE ARE REMEASURING THEM TO SEE

WHERE WILL THEY EVENTUALLY GO.

Narrator: JOSé BELIEVES THESE CARVED CHANNELS WERE DESIGNED

TO CARRY WATER,

BUT NOT HERE.

♪

Bastante: WE MEASURE THE LENGTH OF ALL OF THEM,

AND WE MEASURE THE LENGTH

OF THE PART OF THE CHANNEL

THAT IS ALREADY INSIDE THE URBAN SECTOR,

AND IT BASICALLY MATCHES THE LENGTH REQUIRED.

NOW, WE KNOW THAT THESE GRANITE STONES

WERE GOING TO REPLACE THE PART OF THE CHANNEL

THAT IS INSIDE THE URBAN SECTOR OF MACHU PICCHU.

♪

Narrator: IF AN EARTHQUAKE DAMAGED

THE CRUCIAL URBAN WATER CHANNEL,

REPLACEMENT STONES

COULD EASILY SNAP INTO PLACE AROUND THE TEMPLES.

THE INCAS HAD A NEW SET OF STONES READY TO GO.

♪

THIS BRAND-NEW DISCOVERY IS EVIDENCE

THAT THE INCAS WERE MAINTAINING

AND IMPROVING MACHU PICCHU ALL THE TIME.

THROUGH EFFECTIVE WATER MANAGEMENT,

THE INCAS COULD KEEP THEIR POPULATION ALIVE

AND PROTECT THEIR SACRED BUILDINGS.

BUT THERE'S ANOTHER UNSOLVED MYSTERY.

RECENTLY, SOME ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE CALCULATED THAT THE 500

OR MORE INHABITANTS OF THIS MOUNTAIN CITY

COULDN'T SURVIVE ON THE FOOD AND WATER HERE ALONE.

MACHU PICCHU MUST HAVE HAD RELIED ON IMPORTS.

BUT HOW DID THE SUPPLIES GET HERE?

AFTER ALL, THE CITY IS FAMOUS FOR ITS ISOLATION,

CUT OFF BY SHEER CLIFFS,

STEEP MOUNTAINS AND THICK FOREST.

♪

IS NEW EVIDENCE ABOUT TO TURN EVERYTHING WE THOUGHT WE KNEW

ABOUT MACHU PICCHU ON ITS HEAD?

♪

♪

Narrator: MACHU PICCHU APPEARS TO BE CUT OFF

FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD.

THE INCAS ENGINEERED COMPLEX STRUCTURES

TO FEED THE PEOPLE THAT LIVED HERE.

♪

BUT ARCHAEOLOGISTS DON'T THINK MACHU PICCHU

WOULD HAVE PRODUCED ENOUGH FOOD

TO KEEP THE WHOLE POPULATION ALIVE.

♪

THE INCAS MUST HAVE ALSO BROUGHT FOOD TO THIS

ISOLATED MOUNTAINTOP,

BUT FROM WHERE?

JOSé THINKS THERE ARE CLUES ALL ACROSS THE SITE.

Bastante: THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE THAT WE'RE GETTING

ARE GIVING US A MUCH MORE COMPLEX IDEA

OF WHAT MACHU PICCHU FUNCTIONS

WERE DURING ITS SHORT LIFETIME.

♪

Narrator: HIDDEN BEHIND MACHU PICCHU'S MAIN

GATE STANDS A MYSTERIOUS BUILDING.

MOST INCA HOUSES WERE SINGLE-STORY,

BUT ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE

SUGGESTS THIS TALL STRUCTURE CARRIED A SECOND FLOOR.

♪

THESE WALLS ONCE SUPPORTED ROWS OF GIANT WOODEN BEAMS,

STEEPLY ANGLED TO CREATE A HIGH ROOF COVERED WITH THATCH.

♪

INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE THIS WAS A MASSIVE INDUSTRIAL STOREHOUSE

FOR IMPORTED FOOD,

BUT IF IT WAS,

WHERE DID THE SUPPLIES COME FROM

AND HOW DID THEY GET HERE?

JOSé BASTANTE IS CONVINCED THAT MACHU PICCHU WAS KEPT ALIVE

THANKS TO A VAST NETWORK OF ROADS CONNECTING IT

TO THE FARMS OF THE WIDER EMPIRE,

AND HE THINKS EVIDENCE OF THESE ROADS

COULD STILL EXIST TODAY.

WE'RE STILL DISCOVERING NEW INCA ROADS

WITHIN THE SANCTUARY BORDERS.

Narrator: TO FIND THESE ROADS, JOSé LOOKS FOR UNUSUAL ENTRANCES

AROUND THE EDGES OF MACHU PICCHU

THAT DON'T APPEAR TO LEAD ANYWHERE,

LIKE THIS STAIRCASE.

Bastante: THIS STAIRCASE WAS ALWAYS A MYSTERY.

WE DIDN'T KNOW REALLY WHERE IT WAS COMING FROM,

BUT RECENTLY, WE JUST FIGURED IT OUT.

WE FOUND THE ROAD.

THE ONLY ISSUE IS THAT THE ROAD HAS COLLAPSED AT CERTAIN POINTS,

SO WE CANNOT FOLLOW IT COMPLETELY.

♪

Narrator: TODAY, JOSé'S TEAM

IS INVESTIGATING A NEWLY DISCOVERED TRAIL.

♪

HE BELIEVES THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THIS ROAD

HAS BEEN EXPLORED FOR CENTURIES.

Bastante: NEXT TO MACHU PICCHU CITY,

WE HAVE PROBABLY FOUND ALL THE ROADS,

BUT IN THE AREA,

THERE ARE STILL MANY ROADS

TO BE FOUND LOST IN THE VEGETATION.

Narrator: SO FAR, ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE UNCOVERED

A WEB OF EIGHT ROADS

LEADING INTO MACHU PICCHU.

♪

THESE PROBABLY BROUGHT SUPPLIES TO THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED HERE.

BUT JOSé BELIEVES THEY MAY ALSO EXPLAIN ANOTHER KEY REASON

WHY MACHU PICCHU WAS BUILT HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Bastante: MACHU PICCHU IS STRATEGICALLY LOCATED BETWEEN

THE ANDES AND THE AMAZON,

ADMINISTERING A HUGE TERRITORY.

THE PRODUCTS ARE PASSING BY THROUGH HERE,

THE ADMINISTRATION

AND THE POLITICAL DECISIONS

ARE COMING FROM HERE REGARDING THIS TRADE.

♪

Narrator: JOSé BELIEVES MACHU PICCHU WAS AN IMPORTANT

ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER,

A HUB TO CONTROL THE MOVEMENT OF GOODS

AND PEOPLE

AND AN EASTERN OUTPOST KEEPING TABS

ON THE EXPANDING EMPIRE.

THE INCA ROADS ARE THE VERTEBRAL SPINE OF THE EMPIRE.

Narrator: THESE ANCIENT HIGHWAYS WERE HIGHLY ENGINEERED

WITH STEPS CUT DIRECTLY INTO THE MOUNTAINS

AND ROPE BRIDGES

THAT STRETCHED ACROSS PERILOUS RAVINES.

THE INCAS STAGGERED REST STOPS A DAY'S HIKE APART.

THESE ACTED AS CHECKPOINTS,

KEEPING ACCESS TO THE ROADS UNDER STRICT CONTROL.

AND OFFICIAL RUNNERS, CALLED CHASQUI,

COULD MOVE BETWEEN INCA SITES IN RELAYS,

COVERING OVER 1,000 MILES ON FOOT IN LESS THAN A WEEK.

IN JUST 100 YEARS, THE INCA EMPIRE GREW MASSIVELY,

BUILDING 25,000 MILES OF ROAD,

LONG ENOUGH TO WRAP AROUND THE WHOLE EARTH.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS BELIEVE IT WAS THE INCA EMPEROR PACHACUTI

WHO EXTENDED THE REACH OF INCA INFLUENCE

ACROSS MUCH OF THE CONTINENT.

PACHACUTI IS THE TRANSFORMER OF THE WORLD,

IS THE ONE THAT STARTED THE EXPANSION OUTSIDE OF CUZCO

AND EVENTUALLY MANAGED TO CONQUER

A HUGE AMOUNT OF TERRITORY,

PART OF ECUADOR, COLOMBIA,

PERU, BOLIVIA, ARGENTINA AND CHILE.

Narrator: THE INCA TRAILS WERE KEY TO PACHACUTI'S SUCCESS.

BUT WITHOUT A WRITTEN LANGUAGE,

HOW DID THE EMPEROR SEND MESSAGES

AND INSTRUCTIONS TO THE FARTHEST REACHES OF THE EMPIRE?

♪

SOME INVESTIGATORS NOW BELIEVE THAT THESE STRANGE

KNOTTED BRAIDS ARE EVIDENCE

OF A SECRET INCA CODE.

COULD THESE FRAIL ARTIFACTS FINALLY UNLOCK THE SECRETS

OF MACHU PICCHU?

♪

♪

Narrator: MACHU PICCHU IS FAMOUS AS A LOST CITY.

GENERATIONS OF ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE ASKED,

"WHAT WAS IT FOR?

WHY WAS IT BUILT HERE?"

FOR DECADES, INVESTIGATORS THOUGHT THE INCAS

HAD LEFT NO WRITTEN RECORDS,

BUT COULD THERE HAVE BEEN A SECRET INCA CODE

STARING THEM IN THE FACE THE WHOLE TIME?

Hyland: THE INCAS STILL REMAIN ONE OF THE MOST

MYSTERIOUS CIVILIZATIONS IN THE WORLD.

THEY HAD AN EMPIRE THE SIZE OF THE WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE,

AND YET VERY BASIC THINGS ABOUT THEM

ARE A COMPLETE MYSTERY TO US.

♪

Narrator: ANTHROPOLOGIST SABINE HYLAND

IS SEARCHING FOR A NEW WAY

TO UNCOVER MACHU PICCHU'S LONG-LOST PAST.

Hyland: FOR A LONG TIME, PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT THE INCAS

HAD NO WRITING SYSTEM,

BUT NOW THERE'S A GROUP OF US SCHOLARS THAT ARE MAKING,

I THINK, A LOT OF PROGRESS IN UNDERSTANDING

THAT THEY DID HAVE A WRITING SYSTEM.

AND LITTLE BY LITTLE, WE'RE STARTING TO DECODE IT.

♪

Narrator: SABINE HAS COME TO OXFORD UNIVERSITY IN ENGLAND

AS PART OF HER INVESTIGATION

TO UNCOVER LOST INCA RECORDS.

♪

WOW. THIS IS AMAZING.

Narrator: THIS CAREFULLY PRESERVED BUNDLE OF STRING

WAS BROUGHT HERE FROM PERU IN THE EARLY 20th CENTURY.

THE INCAS LEFT HUNDREDS OF THESE MYSTERIOUS OBJECTS BEHIND.

IT'S CALLED A QUIPU, AND SABINE BELIEVES

THE POSITION OF ITS MANY STRINGS

AND KNOTS SPELL OUT AN ANCIENT INCA CODE.

IS THIS INCA WRITING?

YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WOULD LOOK AT QUIPU SOMETIMES AND SAY,

"WHAT IS THIS?"

SOMEBODY EVEN CALLED THEM AN OLD MOPHEAD,

BUT QUIPUS ARE ACTUALLY A VERY SOPHISTICATED SYSTEM

FOR RECORDING INFORMATION.

SABINE HAS SPENT YEARS STUDYING THESE ENIGMATIC OBJECTS,

AND EACH NEW QUIPU SHE FINDS BRINGS HER

CLOSER TO UNDERSTANDING THEM.

♪

WITHIN MINUTES, SABINE SPOTS

THAT THIS IS AN ACCOUNTING QUIPU.

Hyland: SO THE INCAS HAD A DECIMAL SYSTEM.

IN THE HUNDREDS, YOU HAVE A SINGLE KNOT.

THAT MEANS 100.

IN THE TENS PLACE, YOU HAVE A LONG KNOT

THAT HAS NINE LITTLE NUBS.

THAT MEANS 90.

AND THIS LONG KNOT WITH SEVEN NUBS REPRESENTS 7, SO 197.

♪

Narrator: THIS QUIPU CONTAINS NUMERICAL INFORMATION,

BUT SABINE HAS FOUND OTHER QUIPUS

WITH SOPHISTICATED FORMS

OF LANGUAGE CODED INTO THEM.

Hyland: RECENTLY, I DISCOVERED TWO 18th-CENTURY QUIPUS

IN A VERY, VERY SMALL VILLAGE IN THE ANDES,

AND THESE QUIPUS ARE PHONETIC.

EACH CORD REPRESENTS A SYLLABLE.

♪

Narrator: LIKE THE ROSETTA STONE,

WHICH ALLOWED ARCHAEOLOGISTS

TO UNDERSTAND EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS,

EACH QUIPU BRINGS US CLOSER TO UNDERSTANDING THE INCAS.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S ADDICTIVE ABOUT WORKING

ON QUIPUS IS IT'S LIKE A DETECTIVE STORY.

IT'S LIKE PIECING A PUZZLE TOGETHER,

BUT INSTEAD OF ONE BIG ROSETTA STONE,

WE'RE FINDING LOTS OF LITTLE,

MINI ROSETTA STONES

THAT LITTLE BY LITTLE ARE ALLOWING US TO UNDERSTAND

WHAT THIS CODE IS AND HOW IT WORKED.

♪

Narrator: SABINE BELIEVES THAT QUIPUS MIGHT SHED NEW LIGHT

ON THE MYSTERY OF WHY MACHU PICCHU WAS BUILT.

Hyland: IF WE COULD UNDERSTAND THE QUIPUS,

IT WOULD OPEN UP TO US

THE MEANING OF SITES LIKE MACHU PICCHU.

MACHU PICCHU, SPECIFICALLY, WE WOULD GET A RECORD

OF WHAT ACTUAL DAILY ACTIVITIES WERE CARRIED OUT THERE,

AND WE COULD USE THAT TO UNDERSTAND

HOW THIS SITE FUNCTIONED DAY-TO-DAY.

♪

Narrator: MACHU PICCHU IS STILL ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC

AND MYSTERIOUS SITES IN THE WORLD.

MACHU PICCHU REPRESENTS ALL THE GLORIOUS PERUVIAN PAST

BEFORE THE SPANISH INVASION.

Narrator: EVEN TODAY, THESE TEMPLES

CONTINUE TO REVEAL NEW SURPRISES.

Burger: THERE'S STILL AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT

THAT COULD BE DONE THROUGH EXCAVATION

AND LABORATORY ANALYSIS.

♪

Narrator: PERFECTLY POSITIONED IN AN ANCIENT SACRED REGION

WITH LUXURIES BEFITTING AN EMPEROR,

COMMANDING BOTH THE AMAZON AND THE ANDES,

MACHU PICCHU IS THE CENTER OF A COMPLEX LANDSCAPE

THAT'S STILL BEING DISCOVERED.

♪

♪