Original subtitles

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.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪