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NARRATOR:
High in the Andes Mountains,

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more than 150 massive
stone blocks

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lie scattered on the ground.

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GIORGIO A. TSOUKALOS:
Puma Punku is one
of the most enigmatic places

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on planet Earth.

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Some of the stone blocks
are over a hundred tons.

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NARRATOR:
The ancient blocks are carved
with incredible precision.

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TRAVIS TAYLOR:
It's an amazing piece
of engineering

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that is beyond its time.

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NARRATOR:
But the origins
and purpose of Puma Punku

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remain completely unknown.

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Mainstream archaeology says
that this site is

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1,500 years old,

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but anyone you talk to
in that community

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will tell you
it's much, much older.

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NARRATOR:
Could new advancements
in technology

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finally help to solve
a centuries-old puzzle

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and offer proof
of alien intervention on Earth?

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ERICH VON DÄNIKEN:
The locals say, "It was not us
who made these platforms.

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"It was the gods.

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The gods who descended
from the sky."

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NARRATOR:
There is a doorway

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in the universe.

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Beyond it is
the promise of truth.

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It demands
we question everything

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we have ever been taught.

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The evidence is all around us.

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The future is
right before our eyes.

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We are not alone.

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We have never been alone.

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High in the Andes Mountains,

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Spanish explorer
Pedro Cieza de León is

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searching for
the Inca capital of Qullasuyu.

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Just south of Lake Titicaca,

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at an elevation
of nearly 13,000 feet,

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he comes upon
extraordinary ruins

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covering roughly
two and a half square miles.

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It is the ancient
settlement of Tiahuanaco.

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De León spends many months
investigating the site

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and writes in his chronicles

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that Tiahuanaco contains
impressive stone walls,

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idols of human figures,
and great doorways.

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He also writes about an area

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south of the main
archaeological site

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called Puma Punku,
or "Gate of the Puma."

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It features stone blocks
so enormous,

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he does not understand how
they could be moved by humans.

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And they are carved
with a precision

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that, according to De León,
could not be accomplished

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with the tools
available to the Inca.

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TSOUKALOS:
Pedro Cieza de León says

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that the local population,

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which was Inca, told him...

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...that this place was
not built by the Incas

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but it was built
hundreds of years before.

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If the Inca themselves have said
that it was not the Inca,

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well, then,
who were the pre-Incas?

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And there we are confronted
with a gigantic question mark.

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NARRATOR:
What the giant blocks formed
is completely unknown,

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and nearly five centuries
after its discovery by De León,

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Puma Punku remains
as mysterious as ever.

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It's out in this really open
high plains.

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Most of the stones
in Puma Punku are huge.

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The biggest is 130 tons.

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There's another one
that's 85 tons.

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Even the small ones are
multiton.

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So these are huge.

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The Plataforma Lítica is
in the center of Puma Punku

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and it's, in fact,
the foundation.

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So it consists of enormous slabs
of red sandstone

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that were brought from a quarry
eight miles to the west,

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over two mountain ranges.

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So, how that was accomplished,
I have no idea.

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CAROLINE WHITEHILL:
Another really fascinating

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aspect of the Puma Punku site

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is the distribution
of these blocks.

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Some of them are still
upright in the position

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that they were
originally constructed in.

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Most of them are strewn about.

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It looks like you're
in a child's playroom

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and blocks have just been
knocked over

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from some sort of a structure
that was built.

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HUGH NEWMAN: It looks
like it's been destroyed

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by a kind of tsunami
or something.

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It's got mud
piled up everywhere.

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Giant stones sticking out of it
at crazy angles.

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NARRATOR:
It remains unknown

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whether the structures
of Puma Punku were destroyed

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by a cataclysm
or if the construction project

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was simply abandoned
before it was finished.

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But the roughly
150 megalithic blocks

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that can be found
at the site today

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reveal that
the builders possessed

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astounding
stoneworking abilities.

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BARNHART:
Puma Punku has
these megalithic blocks

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that are perfectly cut...

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...that all of their angles are
completely right angles.

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There's these ones
in particular called H-blocks

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that look
like a big capital "H."

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They have kind of,
uh, fade lines going in

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where they carved the same shape
in a couple of different layers,

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deeper and deeper
into the stone.

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And its precision is
really mind-boggling.

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TAYLOR:
There are grooves that are cut
with perfect 90-degree angles.

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It looks
like they were so precise

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that they were done

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with modern-day
milling machine tools.

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DAVID CHILDRESS:
There's stones there, too,

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that have a lot of drill holes

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and saw cuts
and things like that in them.

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It's an amazing piece
of engineering

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that is beyond its time.

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TSOUKALOS:
Predominantly, we have two types
of stone at Puma Punku,

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and that is red sandstone
and gray andesite.

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They have found tools
made of copper

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and of iron
and bronze at Puma Punku.

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And with those tools, you can
absolutely cut the sandstone.

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However, you cannot cut
the gray andesite blocks

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with bronze or with copper
or with iron.

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What's interesting, too,
is that the stone blocks

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that we find at Puma Punku,

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the surface is
as if you're touching glass.

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It is perfection.

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So, to me it's possible
that our ancestors figured out

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a way to vitrify stone.

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And we have evidence here
of some type of a heat tool.

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NARRATOR:
In 1903, Arthur Posnansky,

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an Austrian engineer, explorer,
and amateur archaeologist,

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traveled to Puma Punku,

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which by that time was
located in Western Bolivia.

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Posnansky began
the most thorough study

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of the site ever conducted.

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Arthur Posnansky was born
in Vienna, Austria

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in the 19th century,

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and in his early 20s
he moved to South America.

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But very soon after that,

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he became fascinated
by Puma Punku

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and spent almost
the rest of his life

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studying and researching
that location.

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TSOUKALOS:
Arthur Posnansky lived
and researched at Puma Punku

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from 1904 until 1945.

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He was there for 41 years

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and he absolutely fell in love

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not only
with the landscapes there

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but also with that culture
that put a spell on him,

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and it was
his biggest siren call.

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When speaking
with the Aymara elders,

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they speak very, very fondly

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of the archaeologist
Posnansky...

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...because he respected them
and he respected their culture.

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And he talked to them about what
they knew about these sites.

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And one of the places
that they're in agreement

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is that the site is much older

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than it's believed to be
by mainstream archaeologists.

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NARRATOR:
Mainstream scholars believe

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the site was
originally constructed

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about 1,500 years ago,
but Posnansky proposed

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that Puma Punku was
much, much older.

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By examining the structures
and what he believed was

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their original alignment
with the stars,

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he dated the ruins to 15,000 BC.

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TAYLOR:
Arthur Posnansky suggests
that Puma Punku would line up

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with stellar objects
about 17,000 years ago.

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The local Indigenous people,
the Aymara, uh, they actually

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have a mythology
that Puma Punku has been around

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for maybe
as much as 17,000 years.

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NARRATOR:
The Aymara people have
occupied the area

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of modern-day Peru and Bolivia
for at least 800 years

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and lived alongside the Inca
when Pedro Cieza de León

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arrived at Tiahuanaco
in the 16th century.

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Both the Inca
and Aymara told De León

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and other Spanish chroniclers

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not only that Puma Punku was
built long before their time

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but also that it was
the work of the gods.

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VON DÄNIKEN:
The locals said,

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"It was not us who made this.

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It was the gods
who did it in one night."

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"The gods who descended
from the sky."

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So, normally every culture says,

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"Oh, yes, we did it.
We, we had the knowledge.

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We were strong enough."

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In that case, Puma Punku,
the locals say,

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"It was not us
who made these platforms.

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It was the gods."

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Which gods? Extraterrestrials.

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NARRATOR:
The mystery of Puma Punku
has persisted for centuries.

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But now, thanks
to new archaeological research

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and cutting-edge technology,

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experts believe
they may finally be able

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to accurately reconstruct
the ancient megalithic site

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and, in the process,

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perhaps answer some
of the long-standing questions

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about Puma Punku's age,
how it was built,

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and its potential
extraterrestrial origins.

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♪ ♪

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NARRATOR:
Western Bolivia, 1995.

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Archaeologist Alexei Vranich
is preparing to excavate

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00:10:56,750 --> 00:10:58,750
an ancient structure
at the site of Tiahuanaco

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for his PhD thesis.

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00:11:00,917 --> 00:11:04,375
When the project
runs into complications,

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a local archaeological team

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invites him to instead
visit the ruins of Puma Punku.

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VRANICH:
The Puma Punku
is located at Tiahuanaco

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just a little bit south
of the village.

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00:11:17,958 --> 00:11:20,500
It's one of the more
dramatic landscapes you can find

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00:11:20,667 --> 00:11:23,125
at 13,000 feet above sea level.

207
00:11:24,167 --> 00:11:28,292
And you simply don't expect
to find something so impressive

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00:11:28,458 --> 00:11:30,333
in such a desolate landscape.

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00:11:30,542 --> 00:11:36,542
I remember seeing it, and I had
no idea what I was looking at.

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It was a confusing mess,

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00:11:38,625 --> 00:11:40,417
and I had never seen
anything like it.

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NARRATOR:
Upon seeing Puma Punku,

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00:11:43,667 --> 00:11:45,708
Vranich decided to make the site

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00:11:45,875 --> 00:11:49,792
the new focus
of his excavation project.

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00:11:49,958 --> 00:11:52,458
VRANICH:
I lived in the village
with the Aymara Indians,

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00:11:52,625 --> 00:11:56,667
and these are local people that
have been there for centuries,

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and they worked directly
with me,

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so I got to know
the culture very well.

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00:12:01,667 --> 00:12:03,083
They're excellent excavators.

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00:12:03,250 --> 00:12:05,333
But they also held it
in high esteem

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within their cosmological world.

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00:12:09,250 --> 00:12:11,042
WHITEHILL:
When you speak
to the elders of the Aymara,

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00:12:11,208 --> 00:12:13,708
they will tell you that this
was actually built by the gods,

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that these were gods
that came down.

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00:12:16,875 --> 00:12:18,292
NARRATOR:
Jorge Delgado,

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00:12:18,417 --> 00:12:20,458
an Inca by birth and heritage,

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00:12:20,625 --> 00:12:22,833
says that in
the Native tradition,

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00:12:22,958 --> 00:12:25,458
the gods connected
with Puma Punku

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00:12:25,625 --> 00:12:28,792
are known as the Space Brothers.

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00:12:33,500 --> 00:12:38,875
...ways how we can
become one with the stones.

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NARRATOR:
The first known photograph
of Puma Punku was taken in 1893,

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00:13:19,292 --> 00:13:23,750
and the site has transformed
dramatically since that time.

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In fact,
the entire area of Tiahuanaco

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00:13:27,375 --> 00:13:31,833
is like a giant puzzle with
many pieces missing or moved.

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00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:35,000
TSOUKALOS:
Half of Tiahuanaco town

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00:13:35,167 --> 00:13:38,333
was built with Puma Punku stone

237
00:13:38,542 --> 00:13:42,333
and with Tiahuanaco stone
from the ancient sites.

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00:13:42,458 --> 00:13:44,875
I mean, there is one block
at a gas station.

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00:13:45,042 --> 00:13:49,000
The cathedral,
or the Church of Tiahuanaco--

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a third of it is Puma Punku
Tiahuanaco rock.

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00:13:53,375 --> 00:13:57,333
It puts a giant damper
on trying to figure out

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00:13:57,458 --> 00:14:01,500
what did Puma Punku look like
in its heyday?

243
00:14:02,833 --> 00:14:04,333
NARRATOR:
Even the Bolivian government

244
00:14:04,500 --> 00:14:08,292
has been responsible
for altering the landscape.

245
00:14:08,458 --> 00:14:10,042
VRANICH:
In the 1950s,

246
00:14:10,208 --> 00:14:12,208
the Bolivian government
decided that they wanted

247
00:14:12,375 --> 00:14:14,167
to have ruins

248
00:14:14,333 --> 00:14:17,875
similar to what Peru had
for Machu Picchu

249
00:14:18,042 --> 00:14:21,083
or Mexico had for Teotihuácan.

250
00:14:21,208 --> 00:14:23,583
So, it was a very
progressive agenda

251
00:14:23,750 --> 00:14:27,375
to give the Bolivian people
a pre-Columbian identity.

252
00:14:27,542 --> 00:14:31,667
But the result for archaeology
was a bit of a disaster.

253
00:14:31,833 --> 00:14:33,292
They moved around a lot of stone

254
00:14:33,458 --> 00:14:36,375
and did a lot
of questionable reconstructions.

255
00:14:36,542 --> 00:14:40,083
NARRATOR:
While performing excavations
at the ancient site,

256
00:14:40,250 --> 00:14:44,250
Dr. Vranich decided to embark on
his own reconstruction project

257
00:14:44,375 --> 00:14:48,333
in hopes of answering some
of Puma Punku's many mysteries.

258
00:14:48,542 --> 00:14:52,875
Dr. Vranich's reconstruction
would be computer-generated,

259
00:14:53,042 --> 00:14:55,542
and the first step
was to precisely measure

260
00:14:55,750 --> 00:14:58,167
every stone block.

261
00:14:58,333 --> 00:15:01,792
VRANICH:
I used a lot of interesting
and new technologies

262
00:15:01,958 --> 00:15:04,917
from laser scanners
to photogrammetry.

263
00:15:05,042 --> 00:15:08,417
But the best method
ended up being tape measure,

264
00:15:08,583 --> 00:15:10,250
pen and paper.

265
00:15:10,417 --> 00:15:13,167
And I used the notes
from scholars

266
00:15:13,292 --> 00:15:18,333
from over a century ago,
from the 1840s to the 1890s.

267
00:15:18,500 --> 00:15:21,250
And then, recently,
an architect from UC Berkeley

268
00:15:21,417 --> 00:15:24,333
did a lot of the drawings
of these stones,

269
00:15:24,542 --> 00:15:27,667
and that became the basis
for the reconstruction.

270
00:15:27,875 --> 00:15:31,500
NARRATOR:
Once Dr. Vranich
completed the arduous task

271
00:15:31,708 --> 00:15:34,792
of documenting the measurements
of every known stone block

272
00:15:34,958 --> 00:15:36,875
and slab at Puma Punku,

273
00:15:37,042 --> 00:15:40,000
he 3D-printed them at UCLA,

274
00:15:40,125 --> 00:15:42,542
where he was working
as a research associate

275
00:15:42,708 --> 00:15:45,125
and visiting
assistant professor.

276
00:15:45,250 --> 00:15:47,208
With help from his students,

277
00:15:47,417 --> 00:15:50,708
he began putting together
the puzzle pieces.

278
00:15:50,875 --> 00:15:53,250
We had a lot of pieces,

279
00:15:53,417 --> 00:15:57,208
and we had no idea how
to go about putting it together.

280
00:15:57,375 --> 00:15:59,708
There was a couple of rules
that have been found

281
00:15:59,875 --> 00:16:01,292
on how some of these stones,

282
00:16:01,458 --> 00:16:03,458
or how some
of the ornaments, fit.

283
00:16:03,625 --> 00:16:06,833
Certain types of windows
or niches are always found

284
00:16:07,042 --> 00:16:10,750
in certain patterns
or in certain combinations.

285
00:16:10,958 --> 00:16:12,917
We continued to play
with this model

286
00:16:13,083 --> 00:16:14,458
probably for over a year.

287
00:16:14,667 --> 00:16:17,167
And we were almost
at our wits end going,

288
00:16:17,250 --> 00:16:20,000
"We're not gonna be able
to put this together,"

289
00:16:20,083 --> 00:16:22,958
when we finally had
a moment of insight.

290
00:16:24,042 --> 00:16:25,833
We were able to put together

291
00:16:25,958 --> 00:16:29,083
two different pieces that formed

292
00:16:29,250 --> 00:16:32,292
what one wall of the temple
would have looked like.

293
00:16:32,458 --> 00:16:35,542
NARRATOR:
Dr. Vranich and his students
had discovered

294
00:16:35,667 --> 00:16:39,000
what he calls
the Tiahuanaco Rosetta Stone.

295
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:43,125
VRANICH:
That allowed us
to find the other pieces

296
00:16:43,292 --> 00:16:45,375
and fit them together.

297
00:16:45,500 --> 00:16:49,167
And once we had that,
we realized we actually had

298
00:16:49,292 --> 00:16:52,000
a miniature version
of the Puma Punku

299
00:16:52,208 --> 00:16:57,083
down to almost exact size,
0.57 in scale.

300
00:16:57,208 --> 00:16:58,833
That was one of those

301
00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:01,167
aha moments
that almost surprises you.

302
00:17:01,375 --> 00:17:03,000
For an archaeologist,
it's one of those moments

303
00:17:03,167 --> 00:17:04,333
that you live for.

304
00:17:05,542 --> 00:17:07,292
NARRATOR:
Once Dr. Vranich
and his students

305
00:17:07,500 --> 00:17:10,083
established how the pieces
fit together,

306
00:17:10,250 --> 00:17:14,417
they were able to do a complete
reconstruction of Puma Punku.

307
00:17:14,583 --> 00:17:17,542
VRANICH:
Puma Punku-- it's two
different things, in a way.

308
00:17:17,708 --> 00:17:20,333
One of them
is the entire temple complex,

309
00:17:20,542 --> 00:17:23,333
which is almost
half a kilometer long.

310
00:17:23,458 --> 00:17:27,417
There's the main platform,
there's a plaza in front of it,

311
00:17:27,583 --> 00:17:29,250
there's a couple
of different walls.

312
00:17:29,417 --> 00:17:31,292
So, it's a substantial building.

313
00:17:31,458 --> 00:17:34,000
But surrounding
the inner courtyard,

314
00:17:34,125 --> 00:17:36,000
you would have had
these buildings

315
00:17:36,208 --> 00:17:37,500
that we're reconstructing
right now.

316
00:17:37,708 --> 00:17:39,333
So, we're reconstructing

317
00:17:39,542 --> 00:17:42,667
the main religious
and ritual focus

318
00:17:42,875 --> 00:17:45,708
of this larger temple complex.

319
00:17:45,875 --> 00:17:48,125
The Puma Punku
probably had formed

320
00:17:48,250 --> 00:17:51,667
part of the religious ideology
that Tiahuanaco

321
00:17:51,792 --> 00:17:55,208
was an important place on Earth
where all the forces

322
00:17:55,375 --> 00:17:56,625
of the heavens
and the underworld

323
00:17:56,792 --> 00:17:58,750
were mediated to create

324
00:17:58,917 --> 00:18:01,625
a fertile and safe Earth.

325
00:18:03,625 --> 00:18:06,333
NARRATOR:
Dr. Vranich has assembled
the most complete model

326
00:18:06,458 --> 00:18:09,083
of Puma Punku ever constructed.

327
00:18:10,125 --> 00:18:13,042
But just how accurate is it?

328
00:18:13,208 --> 00:18:15,833
And could it provide
the key to solving

329
00:18:16,042 --> 00:18:19,500
the centuries-old mystery
of Puma Punku?

330
00:18:26,042 --> 00:18:27,833
NARRATOR:
Over the past 20 years,

331
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:29,667
archaeologist Dr. Alexei Vranich

332
00:18:29,875 --> 00:18:31,333
has taken detailed measurements

333
00:18:31,542 --> 00:18:34,833
of every existing
megalithic block at Puma Punku

334
00:18:34,958 --> 00:18:37,375
and had them 3D-printed.

335
00:18:39,375 --> 00:18:42,167
By working with his model,
he has developed a theory

336
00:18:42,375 --> 00:18:46,125
on how the ancient site
was originally constructed.

337
00:18:47,125 --> 00:18:50,708
On March 5, 2024,

338
00:18:50,875 --> 00:18:52,417
he invited Giorgio Tsoukalos

339
00:18:52,542 --> 00:18:55,250
and aerospace engineer
Dr. Travis Taylor

340
00:18:55,375 --> 00:18:57,000
to a workspace in Los Angeles

341
00:18:57,125 --> 00:18:59,833
to share the results
of his research.

342
00:19:00,042 --> 00:19:03,792
Tell me what this template is
that's on the tabletop here.

343
00:19:03,958 --> 00:19:07,917
VRANICH:
This represents
the sandstone foundation

344
00:19:08,083 --> 00:19:10,167
for this building
of the Puma Punku.

345
00:19:10,333 --> 00:19:12,708
And to print it out
was simply too cumbersome,

346
00:19:12,875 --> 00:19:14,375
so we put it out on paper.

347
00:19:14,542 --> 00:19:16,375
Put that in scale for me.
How-how far

348
00:19:16,542 --> 00:19:18,500
-is this piece of paper?
-So, this one's about

349
00:19:18,708 --> 00:19:21,208
-maybe 70 meters long
by about 12 meters wide.
-Oh, okay. Okay.

350
00:19:21,417 --> 00:19:23,833
-And...
-And consisting
of how many platform?

351
00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:26,500
So, we have 17 different pieces

352
00:19:26,667 --> 00:19:30,875
of sandstone that would have
completed a very flat surface.

353
00:19:31,083 --> 00:19:34,333
And there's an excellent chance
it probably would have extended

354
00:19:34,458 --> 00:19:36,333
another 12 meters this way.

355
00:19:36,458 --> 00:19:40,208
TSOUKALOS:
When I saw the model in person,

356
00:19:40,375 --> 00:19:43,292
I was like,
"I cannot believe my eyes."

357
00:19:43,458 --> 00:19:47,000
It almost looked
like a very long

358
00:19:47,167 --> 00:19:49,250
and rectangular building

359
00:19:49,417 --> 00:19:54,625
with multiple structures
lining up a long avenue.

360
00:19:54,792 --> 00:19:58,500
Alexei, clearly,
this is a passion for you.

361
00:19:58,625 --> 00:20:00,583
My-my question is,
if I were to compare

362
00:20:00,750 --> 00:20:03,833
all the cuts and everything
to the actual one,

363
00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:05,292
how closely would they compare?

364
00:20:05,458 --> 00:20:07,375
-No, they wouldn't.
-Really?

365
00:20:07,542 --> 00:20:09,542
VRANICH:
I wanted to know
what these blocks looked like

366
00:20:09,708 --> 00:20:11,833
when they were made,
not how they were damaged

367
00:20:12,042 --> 00:20:13,792
or worn over the years.

368
00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:16,958
I needed to know, "How were
these things meant to fit?"

369
00:20:17,167 --> 00:20:20,750
So, you-you would suggest, then,

370
00:20:20,958 --> 00:20:23,167
that these blocks

371
00:20:23,333 --> 00:20:26,792
are what they actually
looked like when they were made.

372
00:20:26,958 --> 00:20:28,500
VRANICH:
Exactly.

373
00:20:28,708 --> 00:20:30,750
Well, that's amazing. I mean,
the first time I was there,

374
00:20:30,917 --> 00:20:33,708
uh, was in 1995,

375
00:20:33,875 --> 00:20:35,708
and in 1995,

376
00:20:35,875 --> 00:20:39,167
one of the most
fascinating blocks I've seen

377
00:20:39,333 --> 00:20:41,167
is this guy right here.

378
00:20:41,375 --> 00:20:43,417
VRANICH:
This stone...

379
00:20:43,542 --> 00:20:45,250
-This is what
you were looking at, correct?
-Yes. Mm-hmm.

380
00:20:45,458 --> 00:20:47,875
So, it's a stone--
it's a window within a window

381
00:20:48,042 --> 00:20:49,000
-within a window.
-TAYLOR: Yes.

382
00:20:49,208 --> 00:20:50,458
TSOUKALOS:
Wow.

383
00:20:51,375 --> 00:20:52,833
TAYLOR:
You have to have done

384
00:20:53,042 --> 00:20:54,500
ground-penetrating radar,

385
00:20:54,625 --> 00:20:56,542
uh, and other
sensor measurements out there.

386
00:20:56,708 --> 00:20:58,333
Is there more to it
underneath the surface

387
00:20:58,500 --> 00:21:00,292
that we're not seeing here?

388
00:21:00,458 --> 00:21:02,500
We actually did
one of the most extensive

389
00:21:02,667 --> 00:21:06,458
ground-penetrating radar surveys
for the entire continent.

390
00:21:06,625 --> 00:21:09,708
And then UNESCO went by
and did a drone survey,

391
00:21:09,875 --> 00:21:14,042
uh, and it picked up every
tiny bump across the surface.

392
00:21:14,208 --> 00:21:15,958
And, yeah,
they definitely showed

393
00:21:16,083 --> 00:21:18,292
that the Puma Punku
is quite large

394
00:21:18,458 --> 00:21:20,333
and there's a lot more
of these stones.

395
00:21:20,542 --> 00:21:24,625
Do you have any conclusion
what any of this means?

396
00:21:24,792 --> 00:21:26,833
This is a temple,
it's a ceremonial place.

397
00:21:26,958 --> 00:21:28,625
That-That's clearly evident.

398
00:21:28,792 --> 00:21:30,625
TAYLOR:
Alexei, looking
at all the parts here, uh,

399
00:21:30,792 --> 00:21:34,167
I could probably come up
with a billion combinations.

400
00:21:34,333 --> 00:21:36,500
So, how certain are you

401
00:21:36,708 --> 00:21:38,625
that this
is the right combination?

402
00:21:38,792 --> 00:21:41,500
Or that there's iterations
of it, versions of it,

403
00:21:41,625 --> 00:21:43,000
or something
completely different

404
00:21:43,208 --> 00:21:44,583
that this
could've possibly been?

405
00:21:44,750 --> 00:21:47,000
You know what,
I-I'm fairly confident

406
00:21:47,167 --> 00:21:48,542
about the general form

407
00:21:48,750 --> 00:21:50,542
and the location
of certain things,

408
00:21:50,708 --> 00:21:52,417
that's for sure.

409
00:21:52,583 --> 00:21:55,333
NARRATOR:
While working
with his 3D printed model,

410
00:21:55,542 --> 00:21:58,333
Dr. Vranich made
an extraordinary discovery

411
00:21:58,542 --> 00:22:01,708
about the purpose
of the intricately carved blocks

412
00:22:01,875 --> 00:22:02,875
at Puma Punku.

413
00:22:03,042 --> 00:22:05,375
Come over here.

414
00:22:05,542 --> 00:22:07,250
We just printed this one out.

415
00:22:07,458 --> 00:22:10,667
If this is the way
it should have gone,

416
00:22:10,833 --> 00:22:15,708
with here, and then it would
have had a little bit on top.

417
00:22:20,833 --> 00:22:24,208
From this point,
it doesn't seem like much.

418
00:22:24,375 --> 00:22:25,958
But come around this side.

419
00:22:26,083 --> 00:22:30,167
Now look through the door

420
00:22:30,292 --> 00:22:32,333
and what do you see?

421
00:22:32,500 --> 00:22:34,333
-Bring yourself down.
-So like this?

422
00:22:34,500 --> 00:22:36,875
Oh! Yeah!

423
00:22:37,042 --> 00:22:39,542
And you know when
you'll have the two mirrors

424
00:22:39,708 --> 00:22:41,458
parallel to each other
and you look

425
00:22:41,667 --> 00:22:43,667
and it's like an infinity
mirror, as they call it.

426
00:22:43,875 --> 00:22:46,250
-VRANICH: Yes.
-TAYLOR: It's kind
of that effect.

427
00:22:46,458 --> 00:22:48,250
Like you're looking to infinity.

428
00:22:48,458 --> 00:22:49,958
It's forced perception.

429
00:22:50,125 --> 00:22:53,333
It's a door within a door
within a door within a door.

430
00:22:53,542 --> 00:22:56,042
TAYLOR:
What direction is this facing?

431
00:22:56,250 --> 00:22:58,792
VRANICH:
So this is facing, uh, west.

432
00:22:58,958 --> 00:23:00,333
TAYLOR:
Oh, so it would see a sunset?

433
00:23:00,500 --> 00:23:01,750
VRANICH:
Yes, yes.

434
00:23:01,875 --> 00:23:04,333
TAYLOR:
It would be
very interesting to note

435
00:23:04,542 --> 00:23:08,333
what time of year does the sun
actually set perfectly

436
00:23:08,458 --> 00:23:10,750
such that it illuminates
the very center

437
00:23:10,958 --> 00:23:12,583
of that infinity door?

438
00:23:12,792 --> 00:23:15,667
It won't line up
exactly right now,

439
00:23:15,833 --> 00:23:17,833
but you could project
that backwards in time,

440
00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:21,583
and it would tell us when
the sun lined up on that spot.

441
00:23:21,750 --> 00:23:23,208
You could use this
to date this room.

442
00:23:23,375 --> 00:23:25,167
VRANICH:
Right.

443
00:23:25,333 --> 00:23:28,167
NARRATOR:
Determined to solve
the mystery of Puma Punku,

444
00:23:28,375 --> 00:23:33,292
Dr. Vranich has released his 3D
printing diagrams to the public

445
00:23:33,458 --> 00:23:35,417
and has challenged
other researchers

446
00:23:35,583 --> 00:23:38,000
to reconstruct
the ancient site as well.

447
00:23:38,208 --> 00:23:39,333
There's a lot of pieces

448
00:23:39,500 --> 00:23:41,458
that I haven't
been able to place,

449
00:23:41,625 --> 00:23:45,167
so that's why I placed all
of this information online

450
00:23:45,333 --> 00:23:47,125
along with
the basic instructions.

451
00:23:47,292 --> 00:23:50,208
I would love for people to
download this, print them out.

452
00:23:50,375 --> 00:23:53,417
My model is good for the moment,

453
00:23:53,583 --> 00:23:56,208
but it's the basic model.

454
00:23:56,375 --> 00:23:58,042
We can add
a lot of things to it.

455
00:23:59,167 --> 00:24:02,333
TAYLOR:
What Alexei has done
is absolutely fantastic.

456
00:24:02,542 --> 00:24:05,625
Now anyone can take
all the pieces there

457
00:24:05,750 --> 00:24:07,583
and see if they can
put them together in a way

458
00:24:07,708 --> 00:24:09,458
that makes sense to them.

459
00:24:09,583 --> 00:24:12,958
And sooner or later,
someone is going to figure out

460
00:24:13,125 --> 00:24:15,333
what all these pieces built,
what they were,

461
00:24:15,500 --> 00:24:17,167
why were they there.

462
00:24:17,375 --> 00:24:20,333
NARRATOR:
Now that accurate
measurements of Puma Punku

463
00:24:20,500 --> 00:24:22,500
are available online,

464
00:24:22,667 --> 00:24:26,375
could this mark the beginning
of a new era of discovery?

465
00:24:26,542 --> 00:24:29,375
Perhaps further clues
can be found

466
00:24:29,500 --> 00:24:32,125
by examining
another model of Puma Punku

467
00:24:32,292 --> 00:24:36,000
that reveals that the site
bears striking similarities

468
00:24:36,167 --> 00:24:39,000
to some of the most
ancient constructions on Earth.

469
00:24:47,750 --> 00:24:52,042
NARRATOR:
3D data visualization expert
Scott McAvoy

470
00:24:52,208 --> 00:24:55,792
runs the university library's
digital media lab.

471
00:24:55,875 --> 00:24:59,583
He is also known
for his CGI reconstructions

472
00:24:59,708 --> 00:25:01,208
of ISIS-destroyed sites

473
00:25:01,417 --> 00:25:04,417
in the ancient
Syrian city of Palmyra.

474
00:25:04,583 --> 00:25:07,292
Archaeological reconstruction
is a way to put

475
00:25:07,458 --> 00:25:08,958
a lot of different data together

476
00:25:09,125 --> 00:25:11,583
in a way that we
can draw connections

477
00:25:11,750 --> 00:25:13,667
between ourselves and the way
things were in the past.

478
00:25:13,875 --> 00:25:16,750
If a picture is worth
a thousand words,

479
00:25:16,917 --> 00:25:19,792
a 3D model
must be worth a million.

480
00:25:19,917 --> 00:25:22,542
Puma Punku is a perfect target
for this work.

481
00:25:22,708 --> 00:25:26,083
It's dripping with mystery
and it's very enticing.

482
00:25:27,125 --> 00:25:31,000
NARRATOR:
Now he has applied the data
collected by Dr. Alexei Vranich

483
00:25:31,208 --> 00:25:34,875
to create a digital
3D wireframe of Puma Punku.

484
00:25:35,958 --> 00:25:37,167
-Hey, Scott.
-Hey. Good to see you again.

485
00:25:37,333 --> 00:25:38,542
Good to see you.

486
00:25:38,708 --> 00:25:42,583
NARRATOR: On March 28, 2024,

487
00:25:42,750 --> 00:25:45,875
Scott invited archaeologist
Dr. Ed Barnhart,

488
00:25:46,042 --> 00:25:48,500
who has conducted his own
on-the-ground investigations

489
00:25:48,625 --> 00:25:51,125
of Puma Punku
to review his model

490
00:25:51,292 --> 00:25:53,125
and discuss his findings.

491
00:25:53,292 --> 00:25:56,250
BARNHART:
I've been to Puma Punku
three different times.

492
00:25:56,417 --> 00:25:57,583
I have wandered this thing

493
00:25:57,750 --> 00:25:59,625
and looking at it
from different angles,

494
00:25:59,792 --> 00:26:03,167
feeling stupid
that I can't figure out

495
00:26:03,375 --> 00:26:05,042
how any of these things
go together.

496
00:26:05,167 --> 00:26:07,250
McAVOY:
Well, that's where
technology can really help us.

497
00:26:07,417 --> 00:26:09,792
-Let me show you what we got.
-Okay.

498
00:26:09,958 --> 00:26:15,250
McAVOY:
So, this is the positions
of the stones from 1893.

499
00:26:15,458 --> 00:26:18,500
The stones had been moved
so many times in recent years

500
00:26:18,667 --> 00:26:21,833
and even in the past
before this photo was taken.

501
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,208
We're trying
to get a better sense

502
00:26:24,417 --> 00:26:26,875
of where they might have laid.

503
00:26:27,042 --> 00:26:30,625
This is a puzzle with probably
40% of its pieces missing.

504
00:26:30,792 --> 00:26:32,458
McAVOY:
I think it was calculated,

505
00:26:32,583 --> 00:26:34,667
like, ten percent of the pieces
are maybe here.

506
00:26:34,833 --> 00:26:36,625
-Oh, my gosh, really?
-Yeah. We're missing a lot.

507
00:26:36,833 --> 00:26:38,417
This is only 150 bricks.

508
00:26:38,542 --> 00:26:40,333
You know,
if we put these up by volume,

509
00:26:40,458 --> 00:26:42,458
I think
it's going to make up, like,

510
00:26:42,625 --> 00:26:45,167
half of the front facade.

511
00:26:45,250 --> 00:26:46,958
-Oh, my gosh.
-Yeah.

512
00:26:47,125 --> 00:26:49,167
Here we're starting with the
satellite image of Puma Punku.

513
00:26:49,292 --> 00:26:53,167
And then we overlay,
um, Alexei's map.

514
00:26:53,375 --> 00:26:55,833
So here we have a basic 3D model

515
00:26:55,917 --> 00:26:58,667
of the platform around it,

516
00:26:58,750 --> 00:27:00,500
the plaza on the outside.

517
00:27:00,708 --> 00:27:03,250
And we see that this temple
is at the entrance

518
00:27:03,458 --> 00:27:05,000
to this sunken courtyard.

519
00:27:05,208 --> 00:27:06,750
That is fascinating.

520
00:27:07,875 --> 00:27:10,875
McAVOY:
From the incisions
on the foundation here,

521
00:27:11,042 --> 00:27:15,375
I feel pretty comfortable
extruding the walls.

522
00:27:15,542 --> 00:27:18,500
You know, raising
these up to the height

523
00:27:18,667 --> 00:27:23,750
of the doorway and trying
to fill in that space.

524
00:27:23,917 --> 00:27:27,833
Okay. That does make sense.

525
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:30,250
So, there seems to be
an implied symmetry here.

526
00:27:30,417 --> 00:27:32,167
There seems to be a pattern.

527
00:27:32,333 --> 00:27:33,875
This side reflects this side.

528
00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:38,500
So we're moving forward
based on that.

529
00:27:38,667 --> 00:27:39,958
BARNHART:
Wow.

530
00:27:40,125 --> 00:27:41,833
That makes logical sense to me

531
00:27:42,042 --> 00:27:44,583
because the other parts
of Tiahuanaco we can see

532
00:27:44,750 --> 00:27:47,542
all adhere to a basic symmetry.

533
00:27:47,667 --> 00:27:50,667
McAVOY:
Well, you know, there's so many
more pieces here that

534
00:27:50,833 --> 00:27:52,917
I wasn't even able
to find a place for,

535
00:27:53,125 --> 00:27:55,333
especially
these tub stones here.

536
00:27:55,458 --> 00:27:57,333
BARNHART:
You know,
one of the real clues

537
00:27:57,500 --> 00:27:59,792
is these little guys right here,

538
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:03,000
these, where we believe

539
00:28:03,167 --> 00:28:07,500
metal, kind of I-bars,
would keep them clasped.

540
00:28:07,708 --> 00:28:09,458
There's another one there.

541
00:28:09,625 --> 00:28:11,958
Those are exactly
the kind of pieces

542
00:28:12,083 --> 00:28:13,917
that I'm focused on
to say like, "Okay,

543
00:28:14,083 --> 00:28:16,542
this puzzle piece
has to fit with this one."

544
00:28:16,708 --> 00:28:17,833
Yeah, these are great.

545
00:28:17,958 --> 00:28:19,792
NARRATOR:
The type of connection

546
00:28:19,875 --> 00:28:21,333
Dr. Barnhart is referring to

547
00:28:21,542 --> 00:28:24,458
is commonly called
a keystone cut.

548
00:28:24,625 --> 00:28:28,417
On the blocks at Puma Punku
are what we call keystone cuts.

549
00:28:28,583 --> 00:28:31,625
And these keystone cuts
are notches, like a T-notch,

550
00:28:31,750 --> 00:28:34,792
set on the edge of a block
that match a T-notch

551
00:28:34,917 --> 00:28:36,583
on another edge of a block.

552
00:28:36,750 --> 00:28:39,583
And then molten metal was poured

553
00:28:39,750 --> 00:28:42,833
into those notches
as a fastener.

554
00:28:44,042 --> 00:28:45,625
NEWMAN:
These keystone cuts
are fascinating

555
00:28:45,792 --> 00:28:48,542
because they're found
not just at Puma Punku

556
00:28:48,708 --> 00:28:50,458
and Tiahuanaco in Bolivia.

557
00:28:50,625 --> 00:28:52,042
They're found in Peru.

558
00:28:52,167 --> 00:28:56,167
They're found in Egypt.
They're found in Greece.

559
00:28:56,375 --> 00:28:59,792
And they even found at
Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

560
00:28:59,958 --> 00:29:02,167
So, does this prove
that there was, like,

561
00:29:02,375 --> 00:29:04,833
a worldwide
technological civilization

562
00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:06,875
that shared this knowledge?

563
00:29:07,042 --> 00:29:09,708
TSOUKALOS:
From the ancient
astronaut perspective,

564
00:29:09,875 --> 00:29:15,917
our ancestors all went
to the same masonry school.

565
00:29:16,125 --> 00:29:19,292
Meaning, the same
extraterrestrial teachers

566
00:29:19,458 --> 00:29:21,083
visited at Puma Punku

567
00:29:21,250 --> 00:29:25,417
and the same teachers
visited at Angkor Wat.

568
00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:30,042
NARRATOR:
Is it possible
that Puma Punku

569
00:29:30,208 --> 00:29:32,208
was visited
by otherworldly beings

570
00:29:32,375 --> 00:29:34,042
in the distant past?

571
00:29:35,250 --> 00:29:38,042
Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes,

572
00:29:38,208 --> 00:29:41,042
and suggest Puma Punku
presents evidence

573
00:29:41,208 --> 00:29:44,542
that could push back
the entire timeline

574
00:29:44,708 --> 00:29:47,250
of human civilization.

575
00:29:51,750 --> 00:29:53,625
NARRATOR:
Muncie, Indiana.

576
00:29:53,750 --> 00:29:56,750
April 9th, 2024.

577
00:29:56,917 --> 00:30:00,833
At Ball State University,
Giorgio Tsoukalos

578
00:30:00,958 --> 00:30:04,167
is meeting with Professor
of Electronic Art John Fillwalk,

579
00:30:04,333 --> 00:30:07,583
who used the data gathered
by Dr. Alexei Vranich

580
00:30:07,750 --> 00:30:10,208
to develop his own model
of Puma Punku.

581
00:30:10,333 --> 00:30:12,208
So, here's what
we've been working on.

582
00:30:12,333 --> 00:30:15,083
Oh, wow. This is great.
Look at all this.

583
00:30:15,208 --> 00:30:16,458
This was probably
the most challenging

584
00:30:16,625 --> 00:30:18,250
reconstruction we've ever done.

585
00:30:18,375 --> 00:30:22,500
So, how then did you come up
with that particular structure?

586
00:30:22,708 --> 00:30:25,167
The first thing, really,
we tried to do

587
00:30:25,292 --> 00:30:27,458
was reconstruct the foundation
because that really informed

588
00:30:27,625 --> 00:30:29,958
sort of the growth
of the building out of that.

589
00:30:30,125 --> 00:30:33,750
And a lot of the blocks are
very specific to certain spots.

590
00:30:33,917 --> 00:30:35,458
TSOUKALOS:
Oh, wow.

591
00:30:35,625 --> 00:30:36,833
FILLWALK:
Then we create a motif

592
00:30:36,958 --> 00:30:38,750
that expands around
the structures.

593
00:30:38,917 --> 00:30:42,333
You know, to me,
it seems very mystical.

594
00:30:42,500 --> 00:30:46,375
The patterning of the doorways
within doorways within doorways

595
00:30:46,542 --> 00:30:49,000
I mean, it really suggests
an idea of a transition.

596
00:30:49,208 --> 00:30:52,250
It points, to me,
toward another reality,

597
00:30:52,417 --> 00:30:56,167
maybe the afterlife,
to honor ancestors.

598
00:30:57,208 --> 00:30:59,167
NARRATOR:
John Fillwalk's reconstruction,

599
00:30:59,375 --> 00:31:02,542
much like the model built
by Dr. Alexei Vranich,

600
00:31:02,750 --> 00:31:05,750
contains doorways
within doorways,

601
00:31:05,917 --> 00:31:07,833
which he believes
points to the site

602
00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:10,750
having served
a ceremonial function.

603
00:31:10,917 --> 00:31:14,250
But the question remains:
for who?

604
00:31:15,375 --> 00:31:18,667
In 1945,
after studying Puma Punku

605
00:31:18,833 --> 00:31:23,000
for more than four decades,
archaeologist Arthur Posnansky

606
00:31:23,208 --> 00:31:25,667
published his findings
in a book titled

607
00:31:25,875 --> 00:31:29,083
Tihuanacu:
The Cradle of American Man.

608
00:31:30,292 --> 00:31:33,833
And in it, he proposed
that the structures found

609
00:31:34,042 --> 00:31:37,583
throughout the Tiahuanaco site--
including Puma Punku--

610
00:31:37,750 --> 00:31:41,125
were built
roughly 17,000 years ago.

611
00:31:42,083 --> 00:31:44,958
The reason why he did that
is because

612
00:31:45,042 --> 00:31:47,750
of astronomical facts

613
00:31:47,917 --> 00:31:51,458
that he found at Tiahuanaco.

614
00:31:51,667 --> 00:31:54,542
These astronomical markers only

615
00:31:54,708 --> 00:31:56,833
line up properly

616
00:31:57,000 --> 00:31:59,583
around 15,000 BC.

617
00:32:02,458 --> 00:32:04,333
CHILDRESS:
Modern archaeologists have been

618
00:32:04,542 --> 00:32:08,667
getting dates
that are more like 500 AD.

619
00:32:08,833 --> 00:32:10,708
But the dating is difficult.

620
00:32:10,875 --> 00:32:13,167
Even today,
archaeologists are not

621
00:32:13,333 --> 00:32:17,208
in agreement of the dates
of Tiahuanaco and Puma Punku.

622
00:32:18,167 --> 00:32:19,833
NARRATOR:
Posnansky based his dating

623
00:32:20,042 --> 00:32:22,083
on features at a site located

624
00:32:22,208 --> 00:32:24,875
less than one mile
northeast of Puma Punku

625
00:32:25,042 --> 00:32:27,292
called Kalasasaya.

626
00:32:28,375 --> 00:32:31,167
John Fillwalk digitally
recreated this ancient site

627
00:32:31,333 --> 00:32:33,750
with its
central sunken courtyard

628
00:32:33,917 --> 00:32:35,333
and many monoliths

629
00:32:35,500 --> 00:32:37,917
in order to look
for celestial alignments

630
00:32:38,042 --> 00:32:41,000
that might corroborate
Posnansky's dating.

631
00:32:41,167 --> 00:32:44,292
We're looking at Kalasasaya.

632
00:32:45,375 --> 00:32:48,583
And Kalasasaya does have
a beautiful equinox alignment.

633
00:32:48,708 --> 00:32:50,292
You'll see
the sun just sits there

634
00:32:50,458 --> 00:32:51,833
-right on top of the, the stone.
-TSOUKALOS: Okay.

635
00:32:52,042 --> 00:32:53,292
FILLWALK:
That's gorgeous.

636
00:32:53,417 --> 00:32:55,542
TSOUKALOS:
Oh, how cool is that?

637
00:32:55,708 --> 00:32:57,667
So, we worked with NASA's

638
00:32:57,833 --> 00:32:59,583
JPL Horizons group

639
00:32:59,792 --> 00:33:03,375
to provide data on any kind
of visible celestial body

640
00:33:03,583 --> 00:33:07,042
-looking at 15,000 BC.
-And what did you find?

641
00:33:07,208 --> 00:33:09,125
So, there were some interesting
alignments, I have to say.

642
00:33:10,042 --> 00:33:12,042
At Kalasasaya.

643
00:33:12,208 --> 00:33:14,833
Because there's all
the verticals that point around.

644
00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:17,333
And so we investigated that

645
00:33:17,542 --> 00:33:19,792
from the center monument
looking outward towards

646
00:33:19,917 --> 00:33:22,458
those posts
as almost like in Stonehenge

647
00:33:22,625 --> 00:33:24,417
-where you look and you can see,
-Right.

648
00:33:24,542 --> 00:33:26,542
you know, solstice or equinox
and that kind of thing.

649
00:33:26,708 --> 00:33:28,792
That would essentially indicate

650
00:33:28,958 --> 00:33:31,833
that Posnansky's calculations

651
00:33:32,042 --> 00:33:34,250
in this particular case

652
00:33:34,417 --> 00:33:35,792
were correct.

653
00:33:35,958 --> 00:33:37,417
I mean, I think that's possible.

654
00:33:37,542 --> 00:33:38,542
There are alignments.

655
00:33:38,708 --> 00:33:40,542
-Wow. Okay.
-Yeah.

656
00:33:40,750 --> 00:33:43,458
-There are.
-That date back 15,000 BC.
I mean,

657
00:33:43,625 --> 00:33:46,333
you know, all of this
would essentially rewrite

658
00:33:46,542 --> 00:33:50,042
South American history,
and this is something to be

659
00:33:50,208 --> 00:33:52,167
-excited about.
-Yeah.

660
00:33:53,208 --> 00:33:55,542
NARRATOR: If the Kalasasaya
structure at Tiahuanaco

661
00:33:55,708 --> 00:33:59,000
can be dated to 15,000 BC,

662
00:33:59,167 --> 00:34:03,125
is it possible that Puma Punku
is that old as well?

663
00:34:03,292 --> 00:34:05,583
FOERSTER: There's no logic
as to why modern archaeologists

664
00:34:05,750 --> 00:34:07,292
put one fence around Puma Punku

665
00:34:07,417 --> 00:34:08,833
and another around Tiahuanaco.

666
00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:10,375
They're both the same location.

667
00:34:10,542 --> 00:34:12,708
It's clear they were
both built at the same time

668
00:34:12,875 --> 00:34:16,333
by the same builders
in the very, very distant past.

669
00:34:17,958 --> 00:34:19,708
NARRATOR:
Some researchers also believe

670
00:34:19,875 --> 00:34:22,250
that the remote location
of Puma Punku

671
00:34:22,375 --> 00:34:26,625
would make more sense if it had
been built 17,000 years ago,

672
00:34:26,792 --> 00:34:29,667
because at that time,
it may have overlooked

673
00:34:29,833 --> 00:34:32,083
Lake Titicaca.

674
00:34:32,250 --> 00:34:34,375
If you look at
the geomorphology, if you look

675
00:34:34,583 --> 00:34:36,667
at the sediments that have
been deposited around the site,

676
00:34:36,875 --> 00:34:39,750
you can see that the lake was
at one point much, much larger.

677
00:34:41,250 --> 00:34:43,375
COLLINS:
Lake Titicaca today

678
00:34:43,542 --> 00:34:47,167
is many miles away
from Puma Punku,

679
00:34:47,375 --> 00:34:50,792
but in the past it is believed
that this was actually

680
00:34:50,958 --> 00:34:53,833
much closer to Puma Punku.

681
00:34:55,333 --> 00:34:57,667
-So, we're looking
at Lake Titicaca right now,
-Correct.

682
00:34:57,833 --> 00:34:59,792
so where is, in this image,

683
00:34:59,958 --> 00:35:01,708
where is Puma Punku located?

684
00:35:01,875 --> 00:35:04,042
Yeah, so, right,
so at the tail end

685
00:35:04,208 --> 00:35:06,333
of the lake, here on the south,

686
00:35:06,500 --> 00:35:09,292
kind of east corner, if you come
out here into the plains,

687
00:35:09,458 --> 00:35:12,000
it's a little bit offset
into that area, that flat area.

688
00:35:12,167 --> 00:35:14,750
Okay, and the idea
is that long ago,

689
00:35:14,875 --> 00:35:17,500
Lake Titicaca was much,
much larger,

690
00:35:17,708 --> 00:35:20,042
and so that Puma Punku
and Tiahuanaco

691
00:35:20,208 --> 00:35:23,167
may have been a harbor or a port

692
00:35:23,375 --> 00:35:25,167
to Lake Titicaca.

693
00:35:25,375 --> 00:35:27,042
Certainly would make sense,
and water

694
00:35:27,208 --> 00:35:29,792
is such a dominant feature
at the site, as you know,

695
00:35:29,958 --> 00:35:31,583
-with the canal structures
-Right.

696
00:35:31,708 --> 00:35:33,500
-and drainage systems
and all of that.
-Mm-hmm.

697
00:35:33,667 --> 00:35:36,375
So, that connection to water,
obviously, is really important.

698
00:35:37,375 --> 00:35:39,125
NARRATOR:
According to some experts,

699
00:35:39,292 --> 00:35:41,500
Puma Punku's proximity
to Lake Titicaca

700
00:35:41,667 --> 00:35:44,500
in the distant past
might also explain

701
00:35:44,708 --> 00:35:48,625
why the site appears to have
experienced a cataclysmic event.

702
00:35:49,667 --> 00:35:52,458
FOERSTER: I think what was
responsible was a massive

703
00:35:52,667 --> 00:35:55,750
explosion of the volcano
of Cerro Khapía

704
00:35:55,875 --> 00:35:57,708
between 12,800

705
00:35:57,875 --> 00:36:00,625
and 11,600 years ago.

706
00:36:00,792 --> 00:36:03,083
Right next to that volcano

707
00:36:03,250 --> 00:36:04,833
is the deepest part of the lake,

708
00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:07,458
which is 800 to 900 feet deep.

709
00:36:07,625 --> 00:36:09,875
So I think the debris
that came from the volcano

710
00:36:10,042 --> 00:36:15,125
created a tsunami
that lifted up the soil

711
00:36:15,333 --> 00:36:17,750
and sediment at the bottom
of the shallow part of the lake

712
00:36:17,958 --> 00:36:22,333
and literally buried Puma Punku
and parts of Tiahuanaco.

713
00:36:22,458 --> 00:36:24,667
TSOUKALOS:
There is a possibility

714
00:36:24,875 --> 00:36:29,833
that Dr. Posnansky's
calculations are correct.

715
00:36:29,958 --> 00:36:32,083
And Puma Punku may date back

716
00:36:32,208 --> 00:36:35,875
as far as 15,000 years BC.

717
00:36:36,042 --> 00:36:38,292
And if that is the case,

718
00:36:38,458 --> 00:36:40,333
that is one of those times

719
00:36:40,542 --> 00:36:42,958
where, in many cultures
around the world,

720
00:36:43,125 --> 00:36:44,917
including the ancient Egyptians,

721
00:36:45,042 --> 00:36:47,375
are referring to a golden age

722
00:36:47,542 --> 00:36:52,125
when the so-called gods
mingled amongst humankind.

723
00:36:52,333 --> 00:36:56,792
So, was this an early memory
of first contact?

724
00:36:56,958 --> 00:37:00,083
NARRATOR: Could it be
that Puma Punku was built

725
00:37:00,250 --> 00:37:02,667
more than 17,000 years ago

726
00:37:02,875 --> 00:37:06,167
and has a connection
to otherworldly visitors?

727
00:37:06,333 --> 00:37:09,125
Perhaps further clues
can be found

728
00:37:09,292 --> 00:37:12,167
by examining
a gigantic stone gateway

729
00:37:12,333 --> 00:37:15,875
that might be
the final piece of the puzzle.

730
00:37:20,833 --> 00:37:23,083
NARRATOR: When investigating
the ruins of Puma Punku

731
00:37:23,208 --> 00:37:26,000
for insights
about its mysterious origins,

732
00:37:26,125 --> 00:37:28,375
ancient astronaut theorists
believe

733
00:37:28,542 --> 00:37:30,167
some of the most
compelling clues

734
00:37:30,333 --> 00:37:33,583
can be found by examining
a giant stone doorway

735
00:37:33,708 --> 00:37:35,792
that stands less
than a mile away

736
00:37:35,875 --> 00:37:37,333
in central Tiahuanaco.

737
00:37:37,500 --> 00:37:39,500
Called the Gate of the Sun,

738
00:37:39,583 --> 00:37:42,833
it is ten feet tall,
13 feet wide

739
00:37:42,958 --> 00:37:46,250
and was carved from
a single piece of andesite stone

740
00:37:46,417 --> 00:37:49,000
that weighs more than ten tons.

741
00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:52,333
Perhaps one of the most
iconic works of Tiahuanaco

742
00:37:52,500 --> 00:37:54,417
is the Gate of the Sun.

743
00:37:55,458 --> 00:37:57,958
It was found nearby
and ultimately moved

744
00:37:58,125 --> 00:37:59,542
to its present location.

745
00:37:59,750 --> 00:38:01,500
And they think
that it could well have been,

746
00:38:01,708 --> 00:38:04,667
actually, the entrance
or gateway to Puma Punku.

747
00:38:04,875 --> 00:38:08,375
It features
the Inca god Viracocha,

748
00:38:08,583 --> 00:38:11,000
who's the god of creation,
who's portrayed

749
00:38:11,208 --> 00:38:13,333
as a sort of a humanoid figure

750
00:38:13,542 --> 00:38:15,583
with rays coming off his head.

751
00:38:15,750 --> 00:38:17,958
NEWMAN:
Interestingly, the god Viracocha

752
00:38:18,125 --> 00:38:19,833
is holding two staffs.

753
00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:23,625
And this is the most
ancient version of Viracocha.

754
00:38:23,708 --> 00:38:26,417
And so to find that there
is really quite astonishing.

755
00:38:26,583 --> 00:38:29,500
It's said
that Viracocha himself,

756
00:38:29,708 --> 00:38:33,500
the great god of the Andes,
was actually the person

757
00:38:33,667 --> 00:38:37,708
who instigated the construction
of Tiahuanaco and Puma Punku.

758
00:38:39,333 --> 00:38:40,917
So what's particularly
fascinating about

759
00:38:41,083 --> 00:38:42,292
the Gate of the Sun is that

760
00:38:42,458 --> 00:38:45,167
on either side of Viracocha

761
00:38:45,375 --> 00:38:48,167
are these figures on each side,

762
00:38:48,375 --> 00:38:51,000
and they are birdmen.

763
00:38:51,083 --> 00:38:53,375
TSOUKALOS:
Viracocha is flanked

764
00:38:53,542 --> 00:38:56,500
with 48 winged beings.

765
00:38:56,667 --> 00:38:58,833
Now, why would these beings

766
00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:00,542
have wings attached to them?

767
00:39:00,667 --> 00:39:03,375
Well, because our ancestors

768
00:39:03,542 --> 00:39:06,167
try to signify flight.

769
00:39:06,375 --> 00:39:08,500
What I think is depicted

770
00:39:08,667 --> 00:39:11,167
on the Gate of the Sun is a type

771
00:39:11,292 --> 00:39:13,375
of a celestial pantheon,

772
00:39:13,542 --> 00:39:15,833
suggesting that whoever came

773
00:39:16,042 --> 00:39:18,000
and imparted knowledge

774
00:39:18,167 --> 00:39:20,167
at Tiahuanaco and Puma Punku

775
00:39:20,292 --> 00:39:23,833
were beings that had
a celestial connection,

776
00:39:24,042 --> 00:39:27,083
meaning they came from the sky.

777
00:39:28,458 --> 00:39:30,417
NARRATOR: Could it be
that the figures carved

778
00:39:30,542 --> 00:39:33,833
on the Gate of the Sun are
depictions of extraterrestrials

779
00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:37,667
who arrived in Puma Punku
in the distant past?

780
00:39:38,708 --> 00:39:42,125
If Puma Punku was
some sort of temple complex--

781
00:39:42,333 --> 00:39:45,750
as Alexei Vranich, Scott McAvoy

782
00:39:45,875 --> 00:39:48,750
and John Fillwalk
have all envisioned--

783
00:39:48,875 --> 00:39:51,875
was it built to connect
with these beings?

784
00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:56,667
For now, there remain
more questions than answers.

785
00:39:56,792 --> 00:40:00,000
But many researchers believe
that solving the mystery

786
00:40:00,125 --> 00:40:04,833
of Puma Punku could lead to
even more profound revelations.

787
00:40:05,042 --> 00:40:08,167
VRANICH:
Puma Punku will be a mystery

788
00:40:08,333 --> 00:40:10,417
for a lot of people
for a long time.

789
00:40:10,625 --> 00:40:13,833
And there are
a lot of aspects and facets

790
00:40:13,917 --> 00:40:15,875
of that society
we don't know about.

791
00:40:16,042 --> 00:40:19,583
Archaeologists will be able to
work there for many generations.

792
00:40:19,750 --> 00:40:22,208
We can continue to excavate,

793
00:40:22,417 --> 00:40:25,125
uh, and do
more advanced analysis

794
00:40:25,333 --> 00:40:27,333
to try to find out
a little bit more

795
00:40:27,542 --> 00:40:30,083
about Puma Punku
and Tiahuanaco society.

796
00:40:31,375 --> 00:40:34,792
FOERSTER: Puma Punku is unique
in terms of its construction,

797
00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:37,917
its astonishing level
of accuracy.

798
00:40:38,125 --> 00:40:40,417
Flat surfaces almost laser flat.

799
00:40:40,542 --> 00:40:42,875
So it makes it one
of the most enigmatic

800
00:40:43,042 --> 00:40:45,833
and fascinating
ancient locations on the planet.

801
00:40:47,042 --> 00:40:50,042
The level of technology
required to create

802
00:40:50,208 --> 00:40:54,000
Puma Punku would defy
21st century technologies.

803
00:40:54,167 --> 00:40:57,000
So, how that was accomplished,
I have no idea.

804
00:40:58,708 --> 00:41:02,125
TSOUKALOS: Even to this day,
with all the recreations,

805
00:41:02,292 --> 00:41:05,000
nobody really
has figured out yet

806
00:41:05,208 --> 00:41:10,000
what that place looked like
when it was finished.

807
00:41:10,167 --> 00:41:13,250
What was Puma Punku made for?

808
00:41:13,417 --> 00:41:15,750
Your guess is as good as mine.

809
00:41:15,958 --> 00:41:18,708
But we may have a eureka moment

810
00:41:18,875 --> 00:41:20,625
where, together,

811
00:41:20,792 --> 00:41:23,667
we will unlock the great mystery

812
00:41:23,875 --> 00:41:25,792
of Puma Punku.

813
00:41:25,958 --> 00:41:28,542
NARRATOR: Since Spanish
explorers first came upon

814
00:41:28,750 --> 00:41:31,417
Puma Punku
nearly five centuries ago,

815
00:41:31,583 --> 00:41:34,833
the ruins have remained
one of the ancient world's

816
00:41:35,042 --> 00:41:36,917
greatest mysteries.

817
00:41:37,042 --> 00:41:41,667
Like the pyramids that stand
on Egypt's Giza Plateau,

818
00:41:41,833 --> 00:41:45,417
the enormous Moai statues
of Easter Island,

819
00:41:45,583 --> 00:41:48,500
and the monoliths of Stonehenge,

820
00:41:48,708 --> 00:41:51,375
might Puma Punku
point to a history

821
00:41:51,542 --> 00:41:54,333
that is much different
than we've imagined?

822
00:41:54,542 --> 00:41:56,583
Perhaps modern technology

823
00:41:56,750 --> 00:41:59,125
will soon reveal Puma Punku's

824
00:41:59,292 --> 00:42:02,250
long held secrets and the truth

825
00:42:02,417 --> 00:42:05,500
about our alien ancestors.

826
00:42:05,625 --> 00:42:08,042
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