All language subtitles for Unearthed.(2016).S03E02.Lost.Pyramids.of.the.Americas.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD+2.0.H.264-Cinefeel_track3_[eng]

Narrator: DEEP IN THE DESERT
OF SOUTH AMERICA,

MYSTERIOUS PYRAMIDS
RISE UP FROM THE GROUND --

THE LOST CITY OF CARAL.

THERE'S NOTHING LIKE THIS
IN HUMAN HISTORY.

THIS IS TOTALLY UNIQUE.

Narrator: RECENTLY DISCOVERED
AFTER A MILLENNIA

BURIED BENEATH
MOUNTAINS OF SAND,

IT WAS CONSTRUCTED
AT THE SAME TIME

AS EGYPT'S GREAT PYRAMIDS
AT GIZA.

DID THESE PEOPLE BUILD SOUTH
AMERICA'S FIRST-EVER PYRAMIDS?

LOOK AT THE CONSERVATION
OF THESE THINGS.

IT'S REALLY INCREDIBLE.

Narrator:
NOW NEW MAPPING TECHNOLOGY
IS ALLOWING INVESTIGATORS

TO DELVE DEEP INSIDE
THE HEART OF CARAL

TO SOLVE ITS MYSTERIES.

WHO CREATED THESE STRUCTURES
AND WHY?

Lombardi:
THE BUILDING OF PYRAMIDS,
THE BUILDING OF MONUMENTS --

EVERYTHING WAS RELIGIOUS.

Narrator: AND COULD THIS BE
THE BIRTHPLACE

OF THE FIRST CIVILIZATION
IN THE AMERICAS?

IT SUGGESTS THAT THE TRAJECTORY
THESE PEOPLE TOOK

TOWARD CIVILIZATION

IS DIFFERENT THAN
ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD.

Narrator:
TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS,

WE'LL DECONSTRUCT THIS
ANCIENT WONDER,

WE'LL DIVE DEEP INTO ITS
MIGHTY PYRAMIDS,

BURROWING DOWN
THROUGH TONS OF SAND

TO UNEARTH
THE INCREDIBLE STORY

OF SOUTH AMERICA'S
ANCIENT LOST CIVILIZATION

THAT SUDDENLY DISAPPEARED
WITHOUT A TRACE

BENEATH THE DESERT SANDS.

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

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

CARAL --

A MYSTERIOUS SERIES OF PYRAMIDS
IN THE HEART OF PERU.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS
ONLY BEGAN EXCAVATING

THIS ABANDONED DESERT SITE
JUST OVER 20 YEARS AGO.

SINCE THEN, IT HAS CONTINUED TO
CONFOUND INVESTIGATORS.

WHY ARE SUCH INCREDIBLE
STRUCTURES HERE,

IN ONE OF SOUTH AMERICA'S
MOST INHOSPITABLE LANDSCAPES?

TODAY, RESEARCHERS ARE
UNCOVERING A LOST CIVILIZATION

UNLIKE ANY OTHER --

ONE THAT'S FORCING
ARCHAEOLOGISTS LIKE JEFF ROSE

TO RADICALLY RETHINK
HOW CIVILIZATION AROSE

ON THIS CONTINENT.

Rose: BEFORE ARCHAEOLOGIST
STARTED WORKING HERE,

WE THOUGHT THERE'S FOUR OR FIVE
ORIGINAL COMPLEX CIVILIZATIONS

IN THE ENTIRE WORLD,

BUT THIS ADDS
ONE MORE TO THAT LIST.

EXCEPT WHAT THEY FOUND HERE

IS NOTHING LIKE THE OTHER
EARLY CIVILIZATIONS.

Narrator: CARAL IS
ONE OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES
IN THE WORLD.

BURIED BENEATH LAYERS OF SAND,
ROCK, AND RUBBLE

LIES A MYSTERIOUS PYRAMID

ABANDONED
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

THE PYRAMID COVERS AN AREA
OF FIVE FOOTBALL FIELDS

AT ITS BASE,

A GIANT 98-FOOT-HIGH STRUCTURE
BUILT FROM MULTIPLE PLATFORMS.

IN FRONT OF IT,
A BIZARRE STONE RING

WITH 10-FOOT-HIGH WALLS

AND STAIRS FLANKED
BY TWO UPRIGHT MONOLITHS.

NEARBY, ARCHAEOLOGISTS FIND

FIVE OTHER
PYRAMID-LIKE BUILDINGS.

COULD THIS VAST ANCIENT CITY
REWRITE THE RULE BOOK

ON HOW CIVILIZATIONS ARE BORN?

WHEN EUROPEANS ARRIVED IN
THE AMERICAS IN THE LATE 1400s,

THEY ENCOUNTERED THE MAYA,
AZTEC, AND INCA CIVILIZATIONS --

ALL ADVANCED

BUT ALSO STEEPED IN VIOLENCE.

JEFF ROSE IS AN EXPERT
IN EARLY SOCIETIES.

MOST ARCHAEOLOGISTS BELIEVE THAT
ALL THESE AMERICAN CULTURES

WERE BORN OUT OF WAR.

Rose:
IT WAS PEOPLE HAVING TO GATHER
TOGETHER TO PROTECT ONE ANOTHER

FROM THOSE GUYS
OVER THE NEXT VALLEY.

AND IN DOING SO,

THEY WERE INCREASING THEIR
TECHNOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY,

THEY WERE BECOMING MORE SOCIAL.

AND THEN BEFORE YOU KNEW IT,
YOU HAD CIVILIZATION.

AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT WE THOUGHT
FOR THE LAST 100 YEARS.

Narrator: CARAL COULD REWRITE
THE RULE BOOK,

BECAUSE, INCREDIBLY,
EXPERTS HAVEN'T UNEARTHED

A SINGLE WEAPON HERE.

SO DID CARAL EVOLVE
FROM PEACE NOT WAR?

JEFF JOINS THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL
TEAM DIGGING FOR ANSWERS.

RUTH SHADY SOLIS, IN CHARGE OF
THE EXCAVATIONS HERE AT CARAL,

FIRST VISITED THIS SITE
NEARLY 25 YEARS AGO.

Shady Solis:
[ SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE ]

Narrator:
BUT RUTH THOUGHT DIFFERENTLY,

AND IN 1996,
SHE BEGAN EXCAVATING.

IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE SHE
REALIZED THAT THIS SITE WAS

EXCEPTIONALLY OLD AND MIGHT EVEN
BE THE EARLIEST CIVILIZATION

IN THE AMERICAS.

Narrator:
UNTIL NOW, EXPERTS BELIEVE
THE OLMEC CIVILIZATION

WAS THE OLDEST
IN THE AMERICAS.

THESE PEOPLE INHABITED MEXICO
FROM AROUND 1500 B.C.

COULD CARAL BE EVEN OLDER?

THE HUNT FOR PROOF
OF CARAL'S AGE BEGINS

INSIDE THE CITY'S
LARGEST PYRAMID.

THE GREAT PYRAMID IS
AN ANCIENT ENGINEERING MARVEL.

A SERIES OF STONE AND MORTAR
WALLS FORM THE EXTERIOR.

SUPPORTING THEM,

A LAYER OF TIGHTLY PACKED GRAVEL
FORMS A SOLID BASE.

BEHIND THIS,

LARGE ROCKS PACKED INTO NETS
CALLED SHICRAS

ARE STACKED UP AGAINST
THE INNER RETAINING WALLS...

TO GIVE THE STRUCTURE STRENGTH.

COULD THESE STRANGE BAGS HOLD
THE SECRET TO THE PYRAMID'S AGE?

THE DRY DESERT AIR
HAS PRESERVED THE SHICRAS

IN INCREDIBLE CONDITION.

BUT HOW LONG HAVE THEY
BEEN HERE?

THE NETS ARE
MADE OF ORGANIC MATERIAL

SUCH AS REEDS OR GRASS,

SO SCIENTISTS CAN USE CARBON
DATING TO FIGURE OUT THEIR AGE.

LEAD ARCHAEOLOGIST
PLINIO GUILLEN ALARCON

IS EXCAVATING THE SHICRAS.

[ SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE ]

Narrator:
SO JUST HOW OLD IS THIS SITE?

PLINIO'S RESULTS REVEALED

IT IS FAR MORE ANCIENT
THAN EXPECTED.

CARAL DATES BACK NEARLY
FIVE MILLENNIA --

THOUSANDS OF YEARS BEFORE

THE OLMEC, MAYAN,
OR INCA CULTURES AROSE.

Narrator:
IT'S AN INCREDIBLE DISCOVERY.

TO HAVE THIS HERE

COMPLETELY REWRITES
WHAT WE THOUGHT WE KNEW

ABOUT THE RISE OF CIVILIZATION
IN THE AMERICAS.

Narrator:
THE SHICRAS REVEAL THAT
CIVILIZATION ON THIS CONTINENT

BEGAN LONG BEFORE EXPERTS
PREVIOUSLY BELIEVED,

WHICH MEANS CARAL'S MONUMENTS
WERE BUILT AT THE SAME TIME

AS THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS WERE
BUILDING THEIR VAST PYRAMIDS

AT GIZA.

AND THERE'S ANOTHER SURPRISE.

ALL THE SITES THAT JEFF HAS
WORKED ON FROM THIS PERIOD

ARE NORMALLY FILLED
WITH CERAMIC SHARDS,

BUT NO ONE HAS EVER FOUND ANY
AT CARAL.

POTTERY IS THE MOST COMMON THING
YOU'D FIND

AT ANY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

OVER THE LAST 7,000
OR 8,000 YEARS.

IT'S USED FOR EVERYTHING.

IT'S STORING LIQUIDS,
FOR COOKING.

IT'S DURABLE, SO IT DOESN'T
DECAY IN THE GROUND.

SO NOT TO HAVE IT HERE
IS A REALLY WEIRD MYSTERY.

Narrator:
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, HUMAN
CIVILIZATIONS HAVE RELIED ON

CERAMIC POTS FOR COOKING

AND TO STORE THEIR FOOD,
WATER, AND OTHER GOODS.

THE EARLIEST POTTERS SHAPED
THEIR CLAY BY HAND

THEN FIRED AT IN OPEN BONFIRES,

MAKING POTS HARD ENOUGH
TO BE PRESERVED FOR MILLENNIA.

OVER TIME, CIVILIZATIONS TURNED
THEIR SKILL INTO ART,

CREATING ELABORATELY
DECORATED VASES

THAT TELL US MUCH ABOUT
THEIR CULTURE.

FROM CHINA TO EGYPT, ALL
THE MAJOR ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS

HAVE LEFT POTTERY BEHIND
EXCEPT AT CARAL.

WHY?

THE TEAM BELIEVES CARAL
IS UNIQUE --

A CIVILIZATION WHERE PEOPLE
BUILD HUGE, COMPLEX PYRAMIDS

LONG BEFORE MASTERING SEEMINGLY
SIMPLE SKILLS

SUCH AS FIRING CLAY.

THIS SUGGESTS THAT THE
TRAJECTORY OF THESE PEOPLE TOOK

TOWARD CIVILIZATION

IS DIFFERENT THAN ANYWHERE ELSE
IN THE WORLD.

Narrator:
CARAL SMASHES THE MODEL FOR
HOW CIVILIZATIONS ARE BORN.

SO HOW DID THESE PEOPLE SURVIVE
IN THE DESERT WITHOUT WATER,

AND WHAT WERE THESE
PYRAMIDS FOR?

CAN THIS BODY FOUND BURIED

IN THE HEART OF CARAL'S GREAT
PYRAMID PROVIDE THE ANSWER?

♪♪

Narrator: CARAL -- A NEARLY
5,000-YEAR-OLD PYRAMID CITY

UNEARTHED
IN THE PERUVIAN DESERT

BUILT BEFORE THE PEOPLE HERE
HAD EVEN INVENTED POTTERY,

THE EARLIEST CIVILIZATION
IN THE AMERICAS.

BUT WHY WERE THESE PYRAMIDS
BUILT HERE,

AND WHAT WERE THEY FOR?

PALEO PATHOLOGIST GUIDO LOMBARDI
EXAMINES THE BONES

OF ANCIENT SKELETONS DISCOVERED
THROUGHOUT CARAL'S SUPE VALLEY.

HE'S TRYING TO WORK OUT WHO
THESE PEOPLE REALLY WERE.

COULD THEIR LIVES AND DEATHS
SHED LIGHT ON THE MYSTERY

OF HOW THESE GREAT PYRAMIDS
WERE USED?

A CLUE MAY LIE WITH
A SKELETON BURIED INSIDE

THIS ANCIENT MONUMENT --

CARAL'S GREAT PYRAMID.

AT THE TOP OF THE STRUCTURE

LIE THE CRUMBLED WALLS OF A
SERIES OF INTERCONNECTED ROOMS.

AT THEIR HEART,
A CEREMONIAL CHAMBER

OF HUGE SIGNIFICANCE
TO THE CITY'S ELITE.

WHEN ARCHAEOLOGISTS
EXCAVATED THIS ROOM...

...THEY DISCOVERED
A GRUESOME SECRET --

AMONGST THE RUBBLE LIES
THE SKELETON OF A MAN.

NOT SEEN
FOR AROUND 4,000 YEARS,

WHO COULD IT BE?

CAN THIS DISCOVERY
SHED NEW LIGHT

ON THE PURPOSE
OF THESE ANCIENT STRUCTURES?

GUIDO INVESTIGATES
THE MAN'S SKELETON,

IMMACULATELY PRESERVED

BY THE PROTECTIVE WALLS
OF THE PYRAMID.

GUIDO EXAMINES HIS SPINE.

HE DISCOVERS BONY GROWTHS
ON HIS LOWER VERTEBRAE.

HIS FEET ALSO SHOW
SIGNS OF DAMAGE.

THE EVIDENCE TELLS A TALE
OF INCREDIBLY HARD LABOR.

THIS WORKER CARRIED HUGE LOADS
OVER LONG DISTANCES.

BUT SKULL FRACTURES LEAD GUIDO
TO BELIEVE HIS DEATH

WAS NO ACCIDENT.

HE SUSPECTS THE MAN WAS ATTACKED
THEN THROWN INTO THE BURIAL PIT

WHILE STILL ALIVE.

THE SKELETON'S POSITION REVEALS
TO GUIDO WHY HE DIED.

THE MAN WAS KILLED
AND BURIED WITHIN THE PYRAMID

AS A CEREMONIAL OFFERING
TO THE GODS.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS THINK
THE PYRAMIDS WERE THE STAGES

ON WHICH RELIGIOUS RITUALS
WERE CARRIED OUT

TO UNITE THE COMMUNITY.

ALMOST ALL OF THE WORLD'S
ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS

WORSHIPED GODS.

RITUALS WOULD BE HELD
ON SACRED STAGES

TO APPEASE THEM
WITH GIFTS AND OFFERINGS.

IF THE GODS WERE
THOUGHT TO BE BLOODTHIRSTY,

THEY WERE OFFERED
HUMAN SACRIFICE.

IN THE PEACEFUL CITY
OF CARAL,

THIS PRACTICE WAS
RELATIVELY UNCOMMON.

BUT THE MASSIVE TEMPLES AND
RITUAL FIRE ALTARS SHOW RELIGION

WAS STILL A HUGELY IMPORTANT
PART OF LIFE.

SO WHO PRESIDED OVER
THESE CEREMONIES?

WAS A DOMINANT UPPER CLASS
USING THESE PYRAMIDS

TO WIELD POWER
OVER THE MASSES?

ARCHAEOLOGISTS BELIEVE
A HIERARCHICAL SOCIETY

IS ONE SIGN
OF A DEVELOPED CIVILIZATION.

THIS IS THE BODY OF A WOMAN
DISCOVERED NEAR CARAL.

HER SKELETON SUGGESTS
THAT NOT ONLY DID

SUCH AN UPPER CLASS
ELITE EXIST,

BUT THEY WENT TO EXTRAORDINARY
LENGTHS TO DEMONSTRATE THEIR

STATUS AND POWER.

THIS WOMAN'S SKULL IS
STRANGELY FLATTENED.

HER HEAD WAS DEFORMED
WHILE SHE WAS ALIVE.

THIS SKULL REMODELING IS CAUSED
BY TIGHTLY BINDING THE HEAD

TO RESHAPE IT.

THIS WOMAN'S REMAINS
AND THE SACRIFICED WORKER

ARE CLEAR SIGNS
THAT THE PEOPLE OF CARAL

WERE SPLIT INTO HIGH
AND LOW STATUS.

THIS WAS A COMPLEX
STRUCTURED SOCIETY

MADE UP OF DIFFERENT
SOCIAL CLASSES.

THE ELITE IMPOSED A RELIGION
THAT ENFORCED THEIR POWER

AND THE PYRAMIDS WERE AT
THE HEART OF THEIR RITUALS.

BUT WHAT BROUGHT THESE PEOPLE TO
THE DESERT IN THE FIRST PLACE,

AND HOW DID THEY CREATE
SUCH AN INCREDIBLE CITY

IN ONE OF THE WORLD'S
HARSHEST ENVIRONMENTS?

Narrator:
THE ANCIENT CITY OF CARAL
IN SOUTH AMERICA

IS TRANSFORMING OUR
UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN HISTORY.

IT'S OLDER THAN ANY MONUMENTAL
CULTURE IN THE AMERICAS

AND MAY HAVE BEEN
THE BIRTHPLACE OF CIVILIZATION

ON THIS CONTINENT.

ARCHAEOLOGIST JEFF ROSE
IS PUZZLED BY

HOW DIFFERENT CARAL SEEMS

FROM THE MANY OTHER
EARLY CULTURES HE STUDIED.

ONE OF ITS GREATEST MYSTERIES IS
WHY THE CITY WAS BUILT

IN SUCH HOSTILE TERRAIN.

CARAL SITS IN THE MIDDLE OF
PERU'S COASTAL DESERT --

AN ARID BELT BETWEEN THE ANDES
AND THE PACIFIC.

IT RECEIVES AROUND
AN INCH OF RAINFALL EVERY YEAR.

THE ONE THING YOU REALLY NEED
FOR A SETTLEMENT TO FLOURISH

IS WATER.

YOU NEED A WATER SUPPLY THAT'S
BOTH GOING TO PROVIDE WATER

FOR THE PEOPLE AND IS ALSO GOING
TO NOURISH THE PLANTS.

SO THIS ENTIRE ENTERPRISE IS
CONTINGENT ON WHETHER OR NOT

THERE'S A RELIABLE SOURCE
OF FRESH WATER.

Narrator:
THE PEOPLE WERE CERTAINLY
GETTING WATER FROM SOMEWHERE,

BECAUSE THE CITY THEY BUILT
WAS ENORMOUS.

IN ITS HEYDAY,

CARAL WOULD HAVE BEEN
TRULY MAGNIFICENT.

THE CIRCULAR PLAZA WAS ONCE
PAINTED WHITE.

THIS 10-FOOT-HIGH RING
WAS A PLACE FOR CEREMONIES

AND LARGE GATHERINGS.

AT THE TOP OF A VAST
MAIN STAIRCASE,

AN ALTAR
WITH A CENTRAL FIREPLACE

SUGGESTS ORGANIZED RELIGION
WAS AT THE HEART OF SOCIETY.

AND TO HOUSE THE
CITY'S POPULATION,

THERE WERE ENOUGH BUILDINGS
FOR OVER 3,000 PEOPLE.

THE CITY'S EPIC FOOTPRINT
REVEALS

THAT THE PEOPLE OF CARAL
WERE NOT JUST SURVIVING,

THEY WERE THRIVING.

SO HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE

IN ONE OF THE DRIEST PLACES
ON EARTH?

ARCHAEOLOGISTS
ALDEMAR CRISPIN BALTA

IS HUNTING FOR ANSWERS.

THIS STREAK OF GREEN SURROUNDS
THE TRICKLING SUPE RIVER.

INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE
THEY'VE FOUND EVIDENCE THAT

CARAL'S PEOPLE HAD A CLEVER
WAY TO CHANNEL THIS WATER

TO THEIR FIELDS.

[ SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE ]

THIS FAINT CHANNEL,
BARELY VISIBLE IN THE ROCK FACE,

COULD BE PART OF ONE OF
THE OLDEST IRRIGATION SYSTEMS

IN THE AMERICAS --

CARVED OUT CENTURIES BEFORE
ANY OTHER SOUTH AMERICAN

CIVILIZATION BUILT WATERWAYS,

AT THE SAME TIME AS
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS WERE

CONSTRUCTING CANALS.

ALDEMAR BELIEVES
WHAT THEY'VE DISCOVERED HERE

IS JUST A TINY FRACTION OF
A MASSIVE SYSTEM OF WATERWAYS.

BUT FOR THE PEOPLE OF CARAL,
THERE WAS ONE BIG PROBLEM.

THE SUPE RIVER ONLY FLOWS
FOR FIVE MONTHS OF THE YEAR --

BETWEEN DECEMBER AND APRIL.

THE REST OF THE YEAR,
IT'S DRY.

WHEN THE RIVER HAD NO WATER,

PEOPLE FACED THE DEADLY THREAT
OF DROUGHT.

TO SURVIVE, THEY HAD TO FIND
ANOTHER WATER SOURCE

TO FEED THE CANALS.

SO WHERE WAS THIS
LIFESAVING SUPPLY?

WHEN THE RIVER DRIED UP,

THE SUPE VALLEY
HAD A UNIQUE ADVANTAGE --

WATER FROM HIGH IN THE ANDES

TRAVELED THROUGH
PERMEABLE ROCK

AND EMERGED IN THE VALLEY
AS FRESH WATER SPRINGS.

THIS UNDERGROUND SOURCE
ENSURED FARMERS HAD WATER

ALL YEAR ROUND TO IRRIGATE
THEIR THIRSTY CROPS,

EVEN IN THE DRIEST OF TIMES.

A YEAR-ROUND WATER SUPPLY
MADE LIFE POSSIBLE AT CARAL.

IT ALLOWED THEM TO IRRIGATE
THE FIELDS THAT SUPPORTED

A THRIVING POPULATION.

BUT INCREDIBLY,

EXPERTS ARE DISCOVERING THEY
DIDN'T USE THIS PRECIOUS WATER

TO FOCUS ON GROWING FOOD.

ALDEMAR'S TEAM HUNT FOR CLUES
IN THE DEBRIS LEFT BEHIND

BY ANCIENT FARMERS.

EVERY ANCIENT CIVILIZATION
THAT I KNOW OF

HAS FED THEIR PEOPLE WITH SOME
KIND OF A KEY CEREAL GRAIN,

WHETHER IT'S RICE OR CORN,
WHEAT OR BARLEY.

SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR HERE

IS WHAT KIND OF SEEDS
ARE IN THIS DIRT.

WHAT WERE THEY GROWING
IN THAT VALLEY?

Narrator:
ALDEMAR DISCOVERS THAT PEOPLE
HERE GREW A FEW VEGETABLES

AND FRUIT.

BUT THE MOST COMMON CROP OF ALL
COMES AS A SURPRISE.

ONCE AGAIN, CARAL GOES
AGAINST EVERYTHING

ARCHAEOLOGISTS LIKE JEFF

THINK SHOULD HAVE BEEN HAPPENING
5,000 YEARS AGO.

IT'S CRAZY TO THINK THAT THEY'RE
GOING THROUGH ALL THIS WORK

JUST TO GROW COTTON.

IF YOU GO TO THE SUMERIANS,

AND THE GROWING WHEAT
AND BARLEY.

YOU GO TO THE MAYA,
AND THEY'RE GROWING CORN.

AND THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT
CAN FEED A CIVILIZATION,

AND THESE GUYS ARE PUTTING
A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK IN

TO GROW SOMETHING
THAT YOU CAN'T EAT.

Narrator:
THE BUILDERS OF CARAL'S LOST
PYRAMIDS FOUND INGENIOUS WAYS

TO EXTRACT EVERY DROP OF WATER
FROM THEIR HARSH ENVIRONMENT.

THEY'D TAMED THE DESERT,
BUT WHY WERE THEY USING IT

TO GROW SOMETHING
THEY COULDN'T EAT,

AND HOW DID THIS CITY
EVENTUALLY BECOME BURIED

BENEATH A BLANKET OF SAND?

Narrator:
THE CITY OF CARAL IN PERU
IS FORCING ARCHAEOLOGISTS

TO RETHINK THE RISE OF
CIVILIZATION IN THE AMERICAS.

ALMOST 5,000 YEARS AGO,

CARAL'S ENGINEERS DEVELOPED
A SYSTEM OF IRRIGATION.

IT MADE FARMING POSSIBLE IN ONE
OF THE WORLD'S DRIEST PLACES.

BUT INSTEAD OF GROWING ENOUGH
FOOD TO FEED THEIR CITY,

THEY WERE CULTIVATING COTTON.

SO HOW DID THESE
PEOPLE SURVIVE?

THIS INTRICATE COTTON MATERIAL
DISCOVERED AT CARAL

IS A CLUE.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS BELIEVE
IT'S A FISHING NET.

WERE CARAL'S PEOPLE
GROWING COTTON

TO PRODUCE FISHING EQUIPMENT?

IF SO, WHY, WHEN THE CITY
IS 10 MILES FROM THE OCEAN?

INVESTIGATORS TURN
TO THE PYRAMIDS FOR CLUES.

WHEN ARCHAEOLOGISTS FIRST
UNCOVERED THE GALLERY PYRAMID,

THEY DISCOVERED A TREASURE TROVE
OF UNEXPECTED OBJECTS...

INCLUDING AN OFFERING THAT
CONTAINED FRAGMENTS OF A RAFT.

WHEN THEY INVESTIGATED FURTHER,

THEY UNEARTHED SOMETHING
EVEN MORE SURPRISING.

IN WHAT WAS ONCE
THE CEREMONIAL HALL

ON TOP OF THE PYRAMID...

...THEY FOUND
THE TRUNK OF A TREE

SURROUNDED BY CAREFULLY ARRANGED
BLUE WHALE VERTEBRAE.

WHY DID THIS DESERT-DWELLING
CIVILIZATION FILL THEIR MONUMENT

WITH OFFERINGS
RELATED TO THE SEA?

THESE CLUES SUGGEST
THAT THE OCEAN WAS CENTRAL

TO CARAL'S SURVIVAL.

BUT WHAT ROLE DID IT PLAY
IN THIS INLAND SOCIETY?

GABRIEL PRIETO BURMESTER
IS AN ARCHAEOLOGIST

WHO SPECIALIZES
IN THE MARINE HISTORY OF PERU.

IN HIS LAB,

HE EXAMINES ARTIFACTS
FROM AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

NEAR A COASTAL TOWN
CALLED JUANCHACO.

THE SETTLEMENT HE IS STUDYING

WAS FOUNDED ABOUT
1,000 YEARS AFTER CARAL,

BUT GABRIEL BELIEVES
IT COULD STILL SHED LIGHT

ON THE ENIGMA
OF CARAL'S ANCIENT PAST.

THE FIRST FISHERMAN HERE HUNTED
SHARKS WITH HOOKS AND LINES.

Burmester: WE HAVE ALL THESE
SHARK VERTEBRAE --

MORE THAN 16,000 --

THAT WE CURRENTLY EXCAVATED.

AND, OF COURSE, WE HAVE THESE
THESE BEAUTIFUL SHARK TEETH,

YOU KNOW, THAT TELL US ABOUT
THE CAPACITY OF THESE PEOPLE

TO ACTUALLY HUNT
THESE THESE BIG, LARGE FISH.

Narrator:
BUT HUNTING 10-FOOT-LONG SHARKS

WAS A RISKY WAY
TO FEED THEIR FAMILIES.

IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE THE PEOPLE
OF JUANCHACO UTILIZED

A NEW, MORE EFFICIENT
TECHNOLOGY.

THESE TWO BEAUTIFUL EXAMPLES
OF FISHING NETS.

Narrator: NETS ALLOWED THEM
TO CATCH SMALLER FISH

BUT IN GREATER NUMBERS.

Burmester: PERHAPS
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING

IS THAT THEY
WERE ALL MADE OF COTTON.

Narrator:
TODAY, THE FISHERMEN OF
JUANCHACO STILL USE SIMPLE NETS

WHILE RIDING TRADITIONAL
REED BOATS --

A WAY OF FISHING
INHERITED FROM THEIR ANCESTORS.

GABRIEL THINKS THAT, BY USING
NETS, THESE ANCIENT PEOPLE WERE

ABLE TO CATCH MORE FOOD
THAN THEY NEEDED.

WHAT THEY DIDN'T EAT,
THEY EXCHANGED OR SOLD.

THE PEOPLE OF JUANCHACO WERE
EMBARKING ON A PROCESS CRUCIAL

TO CIVILIZATION --

TRADE.

Burmester: THE FACT THAT
THEY ARE USING A FISHING NET

TO INCREASE THEIR FISH CATCH

TELLS US ABOUT
A MORE OPEN COMMUNITY

THAT IS USING
A SURPLUS IN MARINE PRODUCE

TO EXCHANGE FOR OTHER GOODS.

Narrator: THESE ARTIFACTS
ARE SURPRISINGLY SIMILAR

TO THE TEMPLE OFFERINGS
AT CARAL.

SO ARCHAEOLOGISTS THINK

PEOPLE AT CARAL
ALSO TRADED NETS FOR FISH,

BUT NEARLY 1,000 YEARS
EARLIER.

COULD THESE SIMPLE NETS
REPRESENT

THE FIRST FLOWERING OF TRADE
IN THE AMERICAS

THAT ALMOST FIVE MILLENNIA LATER
IS STILL GOING STRONG

IN THE COMMERCE
AND ECONOMIES OF TODAY?

Burmester:
WHEN YOU EXCHANGE PRODUCE
FROM DIFFERENT REGIONS,

YOU ARE ACTUALLY FOSTERING

ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS
OF CIVILIZATION --

THAT IS ON THE ONE HAND
SOCIAL INTERACTION,

AND AT THE SAME TIME,
YOU'RE INCREASING, YOU KNOW,

THE ECONOMY.

Narrator:
EXPERTS BELIEVE THAT CARAL'S
NEW TRADE-BASED PROSPERITY

DIDN'T HAPPEN BY CHANCE.

IT WAS DRIVEN BY
A SUDDEN CHANGE OF CLIMATE.

A COLD-WATER CURRENT

WHICH FLOWS ALONG
THE COAST OF SOUTH AMERICA

HELPS SUPPORT
AN ABUNDANCE OF MARINE LIFE.

BUT NEARLY 5,000 YEARS AGO,

THE WATERS WARMED
AND THE FISH STOCKS CHANGED.

LARGER SPECIES SUCH AS TUNA

WERE REPLACED
BY SCHOOLS OF SMALLER FISH.

THIS CALLED FOR A CHANGE
IN FISHING TECHNIQUES.

INSTEAD OF USING A SINGLE LINE,
THE FISHERMEN NOW NEEDED NETS.

NETS REQUIRED MORE COTTON

THAN THE FISHERMEN COULD
GROW THEMSELVES.

BUT THE PEOPLE OF CARAL
HAD PLENTY,

SO TRADE BENEFITED THEM BOTH.

AS THE CITIZENS OF CARAL
EXCHANGED COTTON FOR FISH,

THEIR CIVILIZATION GREW
AND FLOURISHED.

Burmester: CARAL WAS LIKE
A VERY LARGE MARKET PLACE --

THE PERFECT STAGE
FOR THESE PEOPLE TO MEET

AND TO EXCHANGE PRODUCTS

BETWEEN FISHING
AND FARMING COMMUNITIES.

AND THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING
THAT EVENTUALLY LEADS

TO A MORE COMPLEX WAY
OF LIFE.

Narrator:
THE PYRAMIDS WERE ALSO A DRAW,

ATTRACTING TRADERS TO THE CITY.

Burmester:
CARAL HAD THESE BEAUTIFUL
AND LARGE MONUMENTAL CENTERS

WHERE THEY CAN GO TO PRAY,

WHERE THEY CAN GO TO EXCHANGE
THEIR PRODUCTS FOR OTHER GOODS.

Narrator: UNLIKE ALL OTHER EARLY
CIVILIZATIONS IN THE AMERICAS,

THIS SOCIETY WASN'T BORN
OUT OF WARFARE.

RATHER THAN ATTACKING
THEIR NEIGHBORS,

THE PEOPLE OF CARAL BUILT
A RICH CULTURE

ROOTED IN PEACEFUL TRADE.

BUT ANOTHER MYSTERY
REMAINS UNSOLVED.

WHEN ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNCOVERED
THE GIANT PYRAMIDS OF CARAL,

THEY FOUND THAT THERE WAS
AN ABRUPT END

TO HUMAN ACTIVITY HERE
AFTER 1600 B.C.

WHY DID CIVILIZATIONS
SUDDENLY DISAPPEAR

FROM THE SUPE VALLEY?

COULD A SERIES OF CRACKS
IN THE GREAT PYRAMID

HOLD THE SECRET
TO CARAL'S COLLAPSE?

Narrator: THE GIANT
CEREMONIAL COMPLEX AT CARAL

WAS THE CENTER OF THE FIRST
CIVILIZATION IN THE AMERICAS,

THRIVING FOR
MORE THAN A MILLENNIUM.

BUT NEARLY 4,000 YEARS AGO,
THE SITE WAS SUDDENLY ABANDONED.

THERE'S NO EVIDENCE OF HUMAN
ACTIVITY BEYOND 1600 B.C.

SO WHAT WENT WRONG?

ARCHAEOLOGIST DAN SANDWEISS

INVESTIGATES WHETHER ONE OF
NATURE'S MOST DESTRUCTIVE FORCES

BROUGHT CARAL TO ITS KNEES.

Sandweiss: LOOK AT THE
CONSERVATION OF THESE THINGS.

IT'S REALLY INCREDIBLE.

IT'S SUCH A LUXURY TO WORK ON
THE COAST HERE

WHERE EVERYTHING IS SO DRY
AND WELL-PRESERVED.

Narrator: HE THINKS A CLUE
TO WHAT CAUSED THE DESTRUCTION

CAN BE UNCOVERED WITHIN CARAL'S
LARGEST MONUMENT.

WHEN ARCHAEOLOGISTS
FIRST UNEARTHED

THE GREAT PYRAMID HERE,

THEY DISCOVERED IT HAD SUFFERED
TREMENDOUS DAMAGE.

A GIANT CRACK RAN THROUGH
THE SACRED FIRE ALTAR.

IT SPLIT THE CEREMONIAL
HEARTH IN TWO.

AND THE SOUTHERN FACE
OF THE STRUCTURE

HAD SLUMPED
AND SLIPPED SIDEWAYS...

...DEFORMING
THE ENTIRE PYRAMID.

COULD A CATACLYSMIC EARTHQUAKE

HAVE DRIVEN
THE ANCIENT PEOPLE OF CARAL

TO FLEE THEIR SACRED CITY?

♪♪

THROUGHOUT HISTORY,

MANY CULTURES AND CIVILIZATIONS
HAVE BEEN DESTROYED

BY NATURAL DISASTERS.

WAS THIS THE FATE OF CARAL?

THIS LOCATION WHERE CARAL IS

IS ONE OF THE MOST
EARTHQUAKE-PRONE AREAS ON EARTH.

IT'S PART OF
THE PACIFIC RING OF FIRE,

WHERE A PLATE FROM UNDER
THE PACIFIC OCEAN,

IN THIS CASE,
IS GOING UNDERNEATH

THE SOUTH AMERICAN CONTINENT

AND PUSHING IT UP.

AND AS IT GOES, IT GETS STUCK.
CREATES FRICTION.

AND WHEN THAT RELEASES, THEN YOU
HAVE REALLY BIG EARTHQUAKES.

AND AROUND HERE THEY OCCUR ABOUT
EVERY 50 YEARS, REALLY BIG ONES.

Narrator: DAN BELIEVES ONE SUCH
COLOSSAL QUAKE BADLY DAMAGED

THE GREAT PYRAMID'S
CEREMONIAL BUILDINGS.

A REALLY GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE
DAMAGE THIS BIG EARTHQUAKE DID

IS THIS WALL THAT WE SEE HERE,
YOU CAN SEE HOW THE TOP

IS PUSHED BACK IN THIS DIRECTION
AND THE BASE IS PULLED OUT

AND EVEN BULGED IN THE MIDDLE.

IF YOU LOOK AT THESE WALLS
ROTATED BACK,

THERE AT LEAST 20 DEGREE
ANGLE ROTATION.

IF THIS WERE HAPPENING
IN A CITY TODAY,

IT WOULD BE
A REAL DISASTER.

Narrator:
COULD THIS TERRIFYING EVENT

HAVE FORCED PEOPLE
TO ABANDON CARAL?

ARCHAEOLOGIST
DAVID PALOMINO OLIVOS

BELIEVES THE CITIZENS
WOULDN'T RUN FROM A THREAT

THAT THEY KNEW WELL,

NO MATTER HOW POWERFUL.

Olivos: [ SPEAKING
NATIVE LANGUAGE ]

Narrator: DAVID'S
INVESTIGATIONS HERE UNEARTH

EVIDENCE OF REPAIRS
TO THE SITE.

THIS PROVES THAT CARAL'S
PEOPLE STAYED

TO SHORE UP THEIR MONUMENTS.

BUT ONE THING
HAS PUZZLED HIM --

WHY DIDN'T
THE GREAT PYRAMID COLLAPSE?

HIS STRUCTURAL INVESTIGATION
SUGGEST SOMETHING ASTONISHING.

CARAL'S ARCHITECTS HAD
DEVELOPED BUILDING TECHNIQUES

TO MINIMIZE EARTHQUAKE DAMAGE.

HE BELIEVES THE SHICRAS, WHICH
GIVE THE PYRAMID STRENGTH,

ALSO GIVE IT A DEGREE
OF SEISMIC STABILITY.

WHEN TIGHTLY PACKED
ONE ON TOP OF ANOTHER,

THEY FORM FOUNDATIONS WHICH
DRAMATICALLY REDUCE

THE EFFECT OF TREMORS.

THESE LOOSE SACKS OF ROCK
DISPERSED SEISMIC ENERGY

THROUGH THE BUILDING,
DILUTING ITS DESTRUCTIVE POWER.

THIS TECHNOLOGY SAVED THE GREAT
PYRAMID FROM TOTAL DESTRUCTION

AND ALLOWED IT TO BE REPAIRED.

SO IF IT WASN'T EARTHQUAKES,

WHAT DID CAUSE CARAL
TO BE ABANDONED,

AND WHAT TERRIBLE EVENT
BURIED THE CITY IN SAND?

♪♪

Narrator: THE PEOPLE OF CARAL
HAD BUILT AN INCREDIBLE CITY

IN THE PERUVIAN DESERT.

THEY OVERCAME THE CHALLENGES OF
WATER SUPPLY AND EARTHQUAKES

TO ESTABLISH A CIVILIZATION
BASED ON TRADE.

BUT 3,600 YEARS AGO,
THEY DISAPPEARED.

Sandweiss: KEEP GOING DOWN.
THAT'S REALLY INTERESTING.

Narrator:
DAN SANDWEISS IS TRYING
TO WORK OUT WHY THEY LEFT.

Sandweiss:
SOMETHING WAS GOING ON.

THAT DIDN'T COME IN
WITH THE WIND.

WHOA, LOOK AT
THE SIZE OF THOSE ROCKS.

SO, AS WE GO DOWN THIS PIT,

WE'RE GOING THROUGH TIME.

THE DEEPER YOU GO,
THE OLDER YOU GET.

Narrator: HE'S LOOKING FOR
CHANGES IN THE SAND --

UNUSUAL LAYERS WHICH COULD
BE EVIDENCE LEFT BEHIND

BY A NATURAL DISASTER.

Sandweiss:
IF WE LOOK DOWN HERE,

THERE'S
A REALLY FASCINATING DEPOSIT

ABOUT FIVE METERS DOWN --

ANGULAR ROCKS,
LARGE SIZE JUMBLED TOGETHER.

THAT TOOK A LOT OF WATER
TO BRING THOSE IN HERE.

IT MUST'VE BEEN MOVING REALLY
QUICKLY AT SOME POINT

TO DEPOSIT THOSE ROCKS.

Narrator: ALTHOUGH CARAL IS
A DESERT FOR MOST OF THE YEAR,

IT CAN BE HIT
BY PERIODIC FLOODS.

WITH EARTHQUAKES
LOOSENING THE SEDIMENT

ANY STORMS FURTHER UP THE VALLEY
UNLEASHING HUGE VOLUMES OF MUD.

THESE MUDFLOWS
HAVE A NAME IN PERU --

HUAYCOS.

Sandweiss: SO, IF WE WERE HERE
DURING THIS EVENT,

WOULD START RAINING FIRST,

THERE'D PROBABLY BE
LIGHTNING AND THUNDER.

AND THEN WE'D HEAR THIS RUSHING,
ROARING SOUND

AND THIS MASSIVE WALL OF MUD
AND ROCK AND SAND

WOULD START SHOOTING DOWN
THIS CANYON TOWARDS CARAL.

IT WOULD BE
A REALLY NASTY PLACE TO BE.

IF YOU'RE IN THE WAY OF THIS,
YOU PROBABLY WOULDN'T SURVIVE.

Narrator: IN 2017,

THIS REGION OF PERU SUFFERED
A SERIES OF DEVASTATING HUAYCOS.

MANY COMMUNITIES
ARE STILL REELING FROM THEM.

NEARLY 5,000 YEARS AGO,

CARAL WAS BUILT UP ON A TERRACE
ABOVE THE RIVER,

PERHAPS HELPING TO AVOID
THE WORST OF THESE HUAYCOS.

CARAL'S ARCHITECTS
HAD DONE ALL THEY COULD

TO DESIGN A CITY
RESISTANT TO NATURE'S WRATH.

DAN STILL BELIEVES IT COULD HAVE
BEEN A POWERFUL NATURAL FORCE

THAT PUSHED THEM
TO ABANDON THE PYRAMIDS.

HE SUSPECTS THE HUGE SAND DUNES
THAT ENCIRCLE THE SITE

COULD HOLD THE KEY
TO CARAL'S DEMISE.

SOME SOAR OVER 100 FEET HIGH.

THEIR FORMATION THOUSANDS
OF YEARS AGO

WAS TRIGGERED
BY A SHIFT IN THE CLIMATE.

WHEN CARAL WAS FLOURISHING,

I'VE DISCOVERED THIS IS A TIME

WHEN THERE WAS A REALLY BIG
CHANGE IN THE CLIMATE SYSTEM,

AND WE BEGAN TO GET
THESE EL NIÑO EVENTS

THAT OCCUR
EVERY COUPLE OF DECADES.

AND THAT MEANS
EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE

THE WATERS OFF THE COAST
GET WARM,

AND WHEN THE WARM, WATER
EVAPORATES AND COMES INLAND

AND WE GET THESE MASSIVE STORMS
IN THE VALLEY.

Narrator: STORMS ALONE
ARE A DEADLY THREAT.

BUT WHEN THEY HIT
EARTHQUAKE-RAVAGED TERRAIN,

THE EFFECT IS CATASTROPHIC.

AS EARTHQUAKES HIT THE REGION,

THEY DESTABILIZE
THE ARID MOUNTAIN EARTH,

SENDING LOOSE DEBRIS CRASHING
DOWN INTO THE FOOTHILLS.

TORRENTIAL RAIN POWERED BY
THE WARM WATER OF THE PACIFIC

WASHES THE DEBRIS
INTO THE RIVER

AND EVENTUALLY TO THE COAST.

OVER MANY DECADES,
THE SILT BUILDS UP

TO FORM A LARGE RIDGE.

THE RIDGE SEALS OFF
THE ONCE-RICH FISHING BAYS,

FILLING THEM WITH SAND.

TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE,

OVER TIME, PREVAILING WINDS
THEN BLOW THE SAND INLAND...

AND TURN THE ONCE FERTILE FIELDS
INTO DESERT.

OVER 1,000 YEARS,

CARAL GRADUALLY
CHOKED TO DEATH.

IT CREATED THE DUNE
WE'RE STANDING ON.

THIS IS A 30-METER-HIGH DUNE
MADE FROM THAT SAND.

Narrator: IN THE END,

NATURE KILLED OFF CARAL --

ITS AGRICULTURE, ITS ECONOMY,
ITS MAGNIFICENT PYRAMIDS

ALL SMOTHERED BY SAND.

Sandweiss:
WHEN YOU COVER THE FIELDS,

YOU LOSE A BIG PIECE
OF THE ECONOMIC BASIS

FOR THE CARAL CIVILIZATION.

THEY WERE BASED
ON FARMING AND FISHING.

AND IF YOU KNOCK OUT
A BIG PART OF THE FARMING,

IT'S NOT
SUSTAINABLE ANYMORE.

AND WE THINK
THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO CARAL.

THAT'S WHY IT CAME TO AN END.

Narrator:
ONCE THEIR CIVILIZATION FALTERED

AROUND 3,600 YEARS AGO,

THE CITIZENS OF CARAL
DISAPPEARED FROM HISTORY.

THE EGYPTIANS WOULD CONTINUE
BUILDING PYRAMIDS

FOR ANOTHER CENTURY,

BUT NO MORE PYRAMIDS WOULD BE
BUILT IN THE AMERICAS

UNTIL THEY WERE CONSTRUCTED
IN PLACES LIKE

TEOTIHUACAN AND LA VENTA
IN MEXICO

MORE THAN 1,000 YEARS LATER.

BUT DAN BELIEVES CARAL'S
CULTURE AND CUSTOMS LIVED ON.

Sandweiss:
WHEN CARAL WAS ABANDONED,

IT WAS A DEAD END
FOR THE CARAL CIVILIZATION,

BUT NOT FOR THE PEOPLE
OR FOR MANY OF THEIR TRADITIONS.

AND UNDOUBTEDLY SOME OF THE
TRADITIONS CONTINUE TO INFLUENCE

LATER PEOPLE CARRIED DOWN
FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION.

Narrator: THE CITY OF CARAL
FLOURISHED FOR 1,000 YEARS

BEFORE SUFFOCATING
IN THE DESERT SANDS.

ITS PEOPLE FORGED THE FIRST
CIVILIZATION OF THE AMERICAS.

MOST ARCHAEOLOGISTS
ONCE THOUGHT

THAT ALL CULTURES
FOLLOWED A SIMILAR PATH.

WAR WAS A DRIVING FORCE
AND POTTERY A PREREQUISITE

FOR ANY NEW CIVILIZATION.

CARAL RIPS UP THE RULE BOOK.

Rose: THIS IS TOTALLY UNIQUE
IN HUMAN HISTORY.

WHAT ARCHAEOLOGISTS
FOUND HERE

IS NOTHING LIKE
THE OTHER EARLY CIVILIZATIONS.

IT DEMONSTRATES THAT
THERE ARE DIFFERENT PATHWAYS

TO BECOMING CIVILIZED.

Narrator:
CARAL'S INCREDIBLE STORY
IS FORCING ARCHAEOLOGISTS

TO RETHINK THE HISTORY
OF CIVILIZATION.

EVIDENCE FROM THIS SITE PROVES
THAT SOCIETIES CAN EMERGE

FROM PEACEFUL BEGINNINGS
BORN FROM TRADE NOT CONQUEST,

THAT A CULTURE CAN BE
TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED ENOUGH

TO BUILD
EARTHQUAKE-RESISTANT BUILDINGS

WITHOUT FIRST INVENTING
THE SIMPLEST CLAY POTS.

CARAL WAS A SOCIETY

THAT FOUGHT OFF SOME OF
NATURE'S HARSHEST CHALLENGES...

BUT WAS EVENTUALLY DEFEATED.

THE FIRST CIVILIZATION
IN THE AMERICAS.

♪♪

♪♪

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