Original subtitles

Narrator: THE AMAZON RAIN FOREST,

A BREATHTAKING NATURAL WONDER.

IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN SEEN AS A PRISTINE WILDERNESS,

HOME TO NO MORE THAN A SCATTERING OF SMALL TRIBES.

BUT TODAY, THE AMAZON IS AT THE CENTER OF A MONUMENTAL MYSTERY.

ACCORDING TO ONE CENTURIES-OLD ACCOUNT,

GIANT CITIES ONCE THRIVED IN THE JUNGLE,

AND NOW ASTONISHING DISCOVERIES...

THIS IS INCREDIBLE.

THERE'S SO MUCH HERE.

Narrator: ...ARE RAISING THE QUESTION,

"COULD THAT BE TRUE?"

THERE WERE MANY PEOPLE LIVING IN THE AMAZON.

Narrator: WITH NEW TECHNOLOGY,

SCIENTISTS ARE SEARCHING FOR CLUES...

...TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF A MISSING CIVILIZATION...

THESE WERE MUCH MORE COMPLEX SOCIETIES

THAN WE THOUGHT EXISTED.

Narrator: ...WHERE THEY CAME FROM...

THERE'S A SIGN OF ANCESTRY IN YOU

THAT IS VERY UNIQUE AND VERY SPECIAL.

Narrator: ...AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM.

FOR THE PEOPLE LIVING HERE, IT WAS A CATASTROPHIC EVENT,

AND PEOPLE JUST RUN AWAY.

Narrator: IT'S A DANGEROUS PLACE.

BUT EMERGING FROM THE RAINFOREST TODAY

IS THE GREATEST HUMAN STORY THAT'S NEVER BEEN TOLD.

[ SHOUTING IN FOREIGN ]

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

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

¶

THE MIGHTY MOUNTAIN CITADELS OF THE INCA...

...AND THE COLOSSAL PYRAMIDS OF THE MAYA.

RELICS OF THE FAMOUS CIVILIZATIONS

OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA.

BUT WHAT ABOUT HERE,

THE AMAZON,

A PHENOMENAL EXPANSE OF TROPICAL RAINFOREST AND FLOOD PLAINS?

IT'S THE SIZE OF THE UNITED STATES

AND STRETCHES ACROSS EIGHT COUNTRIES IN SOUTH AMERICA.

ONE OF THE FIRST EUROPEANS EVER TO EXPLORE THE AMAZON

WAS A SPANISH MISSIONARY NAMED GASPAR DE CARVAJAL.

IN HIS DIARY OF THE VOYAGE, WRITTEN IN 1542,

HE DESCRIBES SEEING VERY LARGE CITIES THAT GLISTENED IN WHITE,

AND SO MANY HOUSES LINING THE RIVER

THAT THEY TOOK TWO DAYS AND NIGHTS TO PASS.

MANY YEARS LATER,

VISITORS WOULD LOOK AT THE DESERTED BANKS IN DISBELIEF.

THIS COULDN'T BE THE SAME PLACE CARVAJAL WROTE ABOUT.

BUT NEW EVIDENCE SUGGESTS

HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN TELLING THE TRUTH AFTER ALL.

¶

ONE OF THE FIRST CLUES HAS BEEN DISCOVERED IN BRAZIL,

IN A REGION CALLED ACRE.

THE REGION SUFFERED FROM DECADES OF DEFORESTATION,

BUT THE DEVASTATIONS HAD ONE VERY UNEXPECTED SIDE EFFECT.

ARCHEOLOGIST JOSé IDIARTE IS INVESTIGATING.

HERE WE GO.

ALL OVER THE RANCH LAND,

DEFORESTATION HAS REVEALED

ONE OF THE AMAZON'S DEEPEST SECRETS...

HUNDREDS OF HUGE GEOMETRIC PATTERNS NEVER SEEN BEFORE,

CARVED INTO THE LANDSCAPE.

THEY'RE CALLED GEOGLYPHS.

¶

BUT WHO MADE THEM AND WHY?

THE ANSWER MAY LIE BENEATH JOSé'S FEET.

EXCAVATIONS AT THE GEOGLYPH HAVE REVEALED

HARDLY ANY HUMAN ARTIFACTS, EXCEPT IN ONE SPOT,

A PRECIOUS COLLECTION OF FINE POTTERY.

THIS IS A CRUCIAL CLUE FOR JOSé THAT PEOPLE HAD LIVED HERE.

HE WOULD EXPECT TO FIND POTTERY EVERYWHERE.

BUT THE DISCOVERY OF SPECIAL PIECES

CAREFULLY DEPOSITED AT THE ENTRANCE

POINTS TO A DIFFERENT USE.

ARRIBA.

JOSé IS ASTONISHED BY THE SHEER SCALE OF THESE STRUCTURES.

MEASURING ABOUT THE SIZE OF A FOOTBALL FIELD

AND GOING 10 FEET DEEP,

PEOPLE MUST HAVE REMOVED 3,000 TONS OF DIRT

TO BUILD THIS DITCH.

THAT'S A MASSIVE FEAT OF ENGINEERING.

WHOEVER BUILT THIS, THEY WERE NO HUMBLE NOMADIC TRIBES,

BUT PART OF A HIGHLY ORGANIZED SOCIETY.

THIS IS A GAME-CHANGER FOR PEOPLE LIKE JOSé,

WHO STUDY THE HISTORY OF THE AMAZON.

AND IF A MASSIVE, COMPLEX SOCIETY DID ONCE LIVE HERE,

THEY MUST HAVE LEFT MORE TRACES OF THEIR CIVILIZATION.

JOSé BELIEVES THERE IS MORE TO DISCOVER

HIDDEN IN THE GREAT AMAZON JUNGLE.

¶

AND NOW HE CAN SEARCH FOR IT WITHOUT DESTROYING THE FOREST.

USING CUTTING-EDGE LASER TECHNOLOGY CALLED LIDAR,

HE CAN SEE WHAT'S HIDDEN BENEATH THE TREES.

AT FIRST, THE LASERS REVEAL ONLY DENSE TREE COVER.

BENEATH THE FOREST, SOMETHING APPEARS OUT OF NOWHERE.

THE SCAN SEEMS TO SHOW AN AMAZING CIRCULAR STRUCTURE

MADE FROM ELONGATED MOUNDS,

WITH A LONG, STRAIGHT DITCH LEADING TO THE EAST.

JOSé BELIEVES IT COULD BE AN ANCIENT SETTLEMENT

AT THE END OF A SUNKEN ROAD,

BUT HE CAN'T BE SURE BECAUSE IT'S NEVER BEEN EXPLORED.

¶

Narrator: ARCHEOLOGIST JOSé IDIARTE IS IN BRAZIL

SEARCHING FOR FORGOTTEN AMAZONIAN VILLAGE,

WHICH HE BELIEVES HAS BEEN HIDDEN FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.

HE'S GOING TO NEED A GUIDE...

...TO HELP HIM GET SAFELY THROUGH THE DENSE

AND DANGEROUS RAINFOREST.

¶

¶

FORGING A SAFE PATH THROUGH THIS THICK UNDERGROWTH

IS PAINFULLY SLOW WORK.

AND IT'S TAKING MUCH LONGER THAN JOSé PLANNED.

¶

¶

THEN, SUDDENLY...

JOSé HAS MADE A BRAND NEW DISCOVERY.

HE BEGINS TAKING DETAILED MEASUREMENTS OF THE SITE,

AND BY COMBINING THEM WITH YOUR ORIGINAL LASER SCANS,

THE ANCIENT SETTLEMENT BEGINS TO COME TO LIFE.

UP TO 200 PEOPLE LIVED AROUND A MAIN CENTRAL PLAZA,

WHERE THEY CONGREGATED FOR UNITY ACTIVITIES.

AROUND THE PLAZA, 20 OR MORE HOUSES,

EACH BUILT ON RAISED PLATFORMS.

WINDING THROUGH THE FOREST

IS A WIDE SUNKEN ROAD THAT LEADS TO THE VILLAGE ENTRANCE,

EXACTLY WHERE JOSé IS CURRENTLY STANDING.

BUT LIDAR REVEALED

THIS ISN'T THE ONLY VILLAGE HIDING IN THE FOREST.

JOSé IS CONSTRUCTING AN ANCIENT AMAZON

THAT'S FAR MORE COMPLEX THAN WE COULD HAVE IMAGINED.

HUNDREDS OF SIMILAR SITES ACROSS THE REGION

SUGGEST THAT A MASSIVE POPULATION MUST HAVE LIVED HERE

FOR 2,500 YEARS.

¶

¶

BUT BACK IN THE 16th CENTURY, THE SPANISH MISSIONARY WROTE

OF EVEN GREATER WONDERS,

GLISTENING CITIES AND CHIEFS ADORNED IN GOLD.

AND NOW, IN ANOTHER CORNER OF THE AMAZON,

AN INCREDIBLE CLUE HAS BEEN UNEARTHED.

Narrator: DEEP IN THE AMAZON JUNGLE,

SCIENTISTS ARE SEARCHING FOR EVIDENCE

OF FORGOTTEN CIVILIZATIONS THAT LIVED HERE CENTURIES AGO.

IN BOLIVIA, NEAR THE CITY OF TRINIDAD,

MARK ROBINSON AND A TEAM

OF THREE EUROPEAN ARCHEOLOGY INSTITUTES

ARE LAUNCHING A COMPREHENSIVE LIDAR STUDY.

¶

¶

MARK IS ON HIS WAY TO SCAN AN AREA OF OPEN SAVANNA

ON THE AMAZON FLOODPLAINS.

THIS IS JUST ONE PART OF A WIDE RANGE OF INVESTIGATION

INTO SITES THAT ARCHEOLOGISTS BELIEVE

MAY ONCE HAVE BEEN HOME TO ANCIENT SOCIETIES.

MARK'S INVESTIGATING A MYSTERIOUS MOUND

THAT'S BEEN DISCOVERED JUTTING OUT OF THE LANDSCAPE

IN AN AREA CALLED LA PUNTA.

BUT ONE MOUND DOESN'T INDICATE A CIVILIZATION.

MARK HOPES THAT SCANNING THE WIDER AREA

WILL REVEAL FURTHER SIGNS OF HUMAN HABITATION.

YET LIDAR SCANS REVEAL DOZENS OF OTHER MOUNDS

IN THE SURROUNDING AREA.

THE MOUNDS VARY IN SIZE.

SOME APPEAR BIGGER THAN OTHERS.

COULD THIS BE EVIDENCE OF A SOCIETY

WITH AN ADVANCED CLASS STRUCTURE?

¶

NOW, ARCHEOLOGIST CARLA BETTENCOURT IS ON HER WAY

TO THE LA PUNTA MOUND TO EXCAVATE THE SITE

AND FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ITS PURPOSE.

BUT THESE PLAINS ARE WELL DEFENDED

BY A SHARP-TOOTHED ARMY.

¶

LEAVING THE CROCS BEHIND...

...CARLA FINALLY ARRIVES AT THE LA PUNTA MOUND.

¶

Bettencourt: SO, WELCOME TO LA PUNTA.

Narrator: HER EXCAVATIONS REVEAL

THAT THE MOUND WAS BUILT BY HUMANS,

A VERY LONG TIME AGO.

CARLA ALSO EXCAVATING A LARGER MOUND NEARBY.

WITHIN IT IS A MAN WEARING ELABORATE JEWELRY,

SUGGESTING THE BURIAL OF SOMEONE WITH HIGH STATUS.

IF THE BIGGEST, MOST IMPRESSIVE MOUNDS

WERE OCCUPIED BY IMPORTANT INDIVIDUALS,

THEN THIS WAS AN ORGANIZED SOCIETY

WITH SOME KIND OF CLASS-BASED STRUCTURE.

IT ALSO SUGGESTS

THAT THE PEOPLE LIVING IN THE OTHER MOUNDS

MAY HAVE BEEN RIVALS AS WELL AS NEIGHBORS.

THE SPANISH MISSIONARY'S DESCRIPTION

OF THE ANCIENT CITIES WITH TRIBAL RULES

MAY HAVE BEEN ACCURATE ALL ALONG.

IT'S CREATING A REALITY MUCH CLOSER

TO THE ADVANCED SOCIETIES HE DESCRIBED.

BUT WAS THIS A TRUE CIVILIZATION?

NOW, MODERN INDIGENOUS TRIBES ARE REVEALING CLUES

ABOUT THEIR ANCESTORS' ACHIEVEMENTS

AND WHY THEY DISAPPEARED.

[ WHOOPING ]

¶

Narrator: WHEN THE FIRST EUROPEANS SAILED ALONG THE AMAZON RIVER,

THEY DISCOVERED A COMPLETELY NEW WORLD.

SPANISH MISSIONARY GASPAR DE CARVAJAL

WROTE ABOUT HIS JOURNEY IN HIS DIARY,

DESCRIBING A REGION WITH SPRAWLING CITIES

THAT STRETCHED FOR MILES ALONG THE RIVERBANKS.

CENTURIES LATER, HIS DIARY WAS DISMISSED.

BUT MANY OF TODAY'S INDIGENOUS TRIBES TELL STORIES

THAT ARE SURPRISINGLY SIMILAR TO CARVAJAL'S JOURNAL ENTRIES,

AND THEY COULD HOLD MORE PRECIOUS CLUES

TO REVEAL THE AMAZON'S SECRET ANCIENT HISTORY.

THE KUIKURO PEOPLE LIVE

IN THE UPPER XINGU REGION OF BRAZIL.

THERE ARE JUST 600 OF THEM NOW,

BUT THEY BELIEVE THEY'RE THE DESCENDANTS

OF A MUCH BIGGER CIVILIZATION.

CHIEF AFUKAKA KUIKURO IS PROUD OF THEIR LONG HERITAGE.

ANTHROPOLOGIST MICHAEL HACKENBERGER

WORKS CLOSELY WITH THE KUIKURO.

HE HAS SPENT OVER 20 YEARS INVESTIGATING THEIR HISTORY.

TODAY, MICHAEL HAS BEEN GIVEN PERMISSION TO VISIT

A REMOTE PART OF THE JUNGLE

WHERE THE KUIKURO HAVE LONG BELIEVED CLUES

TO THEIR ANCIENT PAST CAN BE FOUND.

THE SITE IS SURROUNDED BY A MASSIVE DITCH

HIDDEN UNDER TREES.

WHEN WE MAPPED THE EXTENT OF THIS DITCH

AROUND THE ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE,

IT GOES FOR OVER TWO KILOMETERS.

THAT DITCH ENCLOSED AN AREA OF 50 HECTARES,

WHICH IS 20 TIMES AS LARGE AS THE CONTEMPORARY VILLAGE.

SO, THIS WAS A MASSIVE EARTHEN STRUCTURE

THAT WAS BUILT BY A POPULATION

THAT COULD MOBILIZE LABOR ON A MUCH LARGER SCALE

AND OBVIOUSLY SUPPORTED A MUCH LARGER POPULATION.

Narrator: MICHAEL BELIEVES IT WAS A DITCH USED TO DEFEND

THE MASSIVE 800-YEAR-OLD SETTLEMENT.

ONE DWARFS THE VILLAGE THEY LIVE IN TODAY.

THERE'S SOMETHING EVEN MORE SURPRISING.

MICHAEL IS ABLE TO USE THE LAYOUT OF THE MODERN VILLAGE

TO GUIDE HIM AROUND THE MUCH LARGER ANCIENT SETTLEMENT.

A TYPICAL XINGU VILLAGE,

LIKE THE KUIKURO VILLAGE THAT WE'RE IN NOW,

IS ALWAYS ORGANIZED AROUND A LARGE, CIRCULAR PLAZA.

Narrator: MANY HOUSES SURROUND EACH PLAZA.

BEHIND EACH HOUSE, FAMILIES BUILD A TRASH MOUND,

JUST AS THEY WOULD HAVE DONE IN THE ANCIENT VILLAGE.

WHAT WE SET ABOUT LOOKING FOR FIRST WAS THE TRASH MOUNDS.

WE ASSUMED THAT BETWEEN THE PLAZA AND THESE TRASH MOUNDS,

WE WOULD FIND THE REMAINS OF ANCIENT HOUSES.

SO, WE OPENED UP THIS AREA

LOOKING FOR THE REMAINS OF THAT ACTUAL HOUSE.

WE CAME ACROSS SUDDENLY A POT SUPPORT.

IT'S A VERY DISTINCTIVE CERAMIC ARTIFACT.

IT'S WHAT THEY USE TO HOLD UP THEIR COOKING POTS.

Narrator: THIS IS A HUGE DISCOVERY

BECAUSE TODAY'S KUIKURO COMMUNITY

USES SIMILAR SUPPORTS TO HELP THEM COOK.

AS SOON AS THE KUIKURO SAW THAT POT SUPPORT,

THEY IMMEDIATELY KNEW WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT.

THEY SAID, "THIS IS THE KITCHEN.

THE FRONT DOOR IS GOING TO BE RIGHT THERE.

THE SLEEPING AREAS ARE GOING GONNA BE RIGHT THERE."

AND SURE ENOUGH, AS WE EXPANDED OUR EXCAVATIONS,

WE FOUND REMNANTS OF THE FRONT DOOR.

WE FOUND REMNANTS OF THE SLEEPING AREA.

THIS ANCIENT COMMUNITY WAS BUILT ON THE SAME PRINCIPLES

AS THE CONTEMPORARY COMMUNITY.

[ GRUNTS ]

Narrator: BUT THESE REVELATIONS ARE ONLY THE BEGINNING.

[ BOTH GRUNTING ]

Narrator: BECAUSE THIS SETTLEMENT IS JUST PART OF SOMETHING

MUCH, MUCH BIGGER.

[ WHOOPING ]

Narrator: MICHAEL'S INVESTIGATION IN THE NEARBY AREA

REVEAL AN ENTIRE URBAN NETWORK.

Hackenberger: WHAT REALLY TOOK ME BY SURPRISE IS HOW INTEGRATED THEY WERE.

THEY WERE ALL CONNECTED BY ROADS,

AND NOT JUST SMALL PATHS THROUGH THE TROPICAL FOREST.

THESE WERE WIDE AND WELL CONSTRUCTED ROADS WITH CURBS.

¶

Narrator: MICHAEL ESTIMATES THAT THIS ANCIENT INTERCONNECTED CITY

WAS HOME TO AROUND 50,000 PEOPLE IN THIS AREA ALONE.

¶

THIS DISCOVERY CONFIRMS

WHAT TODAY'S KUIKURO PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED.

[ WHOOPING ]

WHY NOT CIVILIZATIONS IN THE AMAZON?

THE PRE-COLUMBIAN SOCIETIES OF THE AMAZON

AND THEIR DESCENDANTS TODAY ARE LEGITIMATE CIVILIZATIONS.

THEY DID THINGS AS REMARKABLE --

THE SCALE OF THEIR MANAGEMENT OF THE LANDSCAPE,

THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT THEY ORGANIZED ACROSS REGIONS.

IT WAS NOT THAT DIFFERENT

AS SOME OF THE CLASSIC CIVILIZATIONS

WE LOOK TO IN ANTIQUITY.

Narrator: SO MAYBE CARVAJAL'S JOURNAL ENTRIES WERE RIGHT ALL ALONG.

ANCIENT AMAZONIAN SOCIETIES DID EXIST ON A SCALE AND COMPLEXITY.

THAT'S STAGGERING. BY COMPARISON WITH TODAY'S.

IT'S NOW ESTIMATED THAT AS MANY AS 10 MILLION PEOPLE

MAY HAVE LIVED IN THE AMAZON.

¶

¶

BUT IN THE CENTURIES FOLLOWING,

THE POPULATION HAS DROPPED TO JUST 1% OF THAT.

AND TODAY, MANY TRIBES ARE FIGHTING FOR THEIR IDENTITY,

THEIR HISTORY, AND THEIR SURVIVAL.

IN BRAZIL, ONE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY IS FACING EVICTION

FROM THEIR ANCESTRAL LANDS.

TO SECURE THEIR SURVIVAL,

THEY HOPE THE DISCOVERY OF ANCIENT ARTIFACTS

MAY BE THE KEY TO PROVING THEIR HERITAGE.

¶

Narrator: ARCHEOLOGISTS HAVE MADE NEW DISCOVERIES

THAT PROVE ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS ONCE THRIVED IN THE AMAZON,

LIVING IN SOCIETIES THAT WERE COMPLEX AND ORGANIZED

ON A MASSIVE SCALE,

AND THIS FORGOTTEN HISTORY REALLY DOES MATTER.

IN BRAZIL'S UPPER AMAZON,

ALONG THE BUSY RIVER TOWN OF TEFE,

PALEOANTHROPOLOGIST ELLA AL-SHAMAHI..

FEELS LIKE A MORNING COMMUTE, BUT JUST DIFFERENT.

...IS ON HER WAY TO MEET ONE INDIGENOUS TRIBE

FOR WHOM A BRAND-NEW DISCOVERY...

THAT BOAT OVER THERE. YEAH.

...COULD MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE TO THEIR SURVIVAL.

[ CHANTING, WHOOPING ]

Narrator: EVER SINCE THE SPANISH CONQUESTS,

THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF THE AMAZON

HAVE BEEN IN CONFLICT WITH EUROPEAN SETTLERS.

SINCE THEIR HOME IS FULL OF RESOURCES, TIMBER, GOLD,

AND LAND FOR FARMING,

THEY'VE BATTLED AGAINST MINERS,

LOGGERS, AND WIDESPREAD BURNING OF THE FOREST FOR DECADES.

IN THIS REGION, INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

HAVE SOME PROTECTION TO THE LAND UNDER BRAZILIAN LAW,

BUT ONLY IF THEY CAN PROVE THERE ARE ESTABLISHED TRIBAL RIGHTS.

ELLA IS TRAVELING TO MEET THE KOKAMA PEOPLE.

THEY ARE FACING EVICTION FROM THEIR LAND

UNLESS THEY CAN PROVE THEY HAVE ALWAYS LIVED THERE.

FORTUNATELY, THEY BELIEVE THEY HAVE DISCOVERED

ANCIENT ARTIFACTS THAT COULD HELP SECURE THEIR CLAIM.

THE KOKAMA PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT THESE ARTIFACTS

ARE FROM AN ANCIENT AMAZONIAN SOCIETY.

THE PROBLEM IS WE DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW THAT THEY'RE THAT OLD.

WE HAVEN'T EVEN VERIFIED THAT THEY'RE AUTHENTIC,

AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS THAT NO ARCHEOLOGIST

HAVE ACTUALLY EXAMINED THEM,

AND THAT'S BECAUSE THE KOKAMA

ARE ACTUALLY QUITE PROTECTIVE OVER THEM

AND THEY'RE REFUSING TO RELEASE THEM TO ARCHEOLOGISTS.

¶

SO, THERE'S A CHIEF IN A HEAD DRESS.

HI. NICE TO MEET YOU. THANK YOU FOR HAVING US.

Narrator: TODAY, THE KOKAMA HAVE ADOPTED A MODERN LIFESTYLE,

BUT THEY'RE STILL PROTECTIVE OF THEIR TRADITIONS AND HISTORY.

ELLA IS ONE OF THE FIRST OUTSIDERS

THEY'VE EVER ALLOWED IN TO VIEW THEIR POTTERY.

I AM REALLY, REALLY HONORED TO SEE THEM.

CHIEF ANILDO TAKES ELLA TO ONE OF THE VILLAGE HOUSES.

OOH!

Narrator: AND THERE, ON A SHELF FULL OF PLASTIC DOLLS,

A POTENTIALLY PRICELESS ANCIENT ARTIFACT.

AH. OKAY.

[ SPEAKS FOREIGN ] OKAY.

OH.

I CAN SEE IT HAS QUITE A BIT OF DESIGN GOING ON HERE.

BELAIS AND HER FRIEND TERESA DISCOVERED THE PIECES

WHEN THEY WERE OUT GATHERING BRAZIL NUTS.

BELAIS AND THERESA'S SMALL BROKEN POT

TURNS OUT TO BE JUST THE BEGINNING.

WE'VE GOT THE NEXT BRAZILIAN TEAM MEMBERS HERE.

[ YELLING INDISTINCTLY ]

Narrator: THE NEXT HOUSE...

[ SPEAKING FOREIGN ]

Narrator: ...APPEARS TO BE AN ARCHEOLOGICAL TREASURE TROVE.

WOW.

Al-Shamahi: LOOK AT THAT.

OH, MY GOSH. THAT'S A FACE, ISN'T IT?

THIS IS EASILY SO FAR, OF EVERYTHING I'VE SEEN,

THE MOST KIND OF INTACT AND MOST SPECTACULAR, REALLY.

IT'S AN ARCHEOLOGICAL ARTIFACT. IT COULD BE ANCIENT.

AND IT'S JUST KIND OF --

IT'S LOITERING HERE IN A BACK BEDROOM.

THE CONCERN IS THAT SOMETHING LIKE THIS --

YOU WANT TO PROTECT IT,

AND YOU WANT TO PROTECT IT FOR THE KOKAMA, ACTUALLY,

NOT JUST FOR THE ARCHEOLOGISTS AND FOR ACADEMIA.

EVEN IF THEY TURNED OUT NOT TO BE ANCIENT,

THESE PIECES OF POTTERY ARE PART OF THE HERITAGE OF THIS LAND,

AND ELLA IS EAGER TO SEE THAT THEY ARE PROPERLY PRESERVED.

BUT WHY HAVE THE KOKAMA PEOPLE RESISTED

SHOWING THEM TO ARCHEOLOGISTS BEFORE NOW?

THEIR CONCERN IS THAT IF GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

TAKE AWAY THEIR POTTERY, THEIR EVIDENCE WILL BE LOST.

ELLA HOPES TO HELP THE KOKAMA PEOPLE RESOLVE THIS MYSTERY.

FISH IS GOOD. FISH IS GOOD.

SO, SHE'S CONTACTED AN EXPERT IN ANCIENT AMAZONIAN POTTERY

TO EXAMINE WHAT THEY'VE DISCOVERED.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

Man: Obrigada. Obrigada.

THE KOKAMAS' FUTURE NOW RESTS ON THIS MONUMENTAL DECISION.

¶

SO, I GUESS TODAY IS GOING TO BE REALLY DRAMATIC

AND I'M REALLY HOPING NOT TRAUMATIC FOR THE KOKAMA,

BECAUSE WE'VE ORGANIZED FOR A SPECIALIST IN AMAZONIAN POTTERY

TO COME DOWN AND TO ESSENTIALLY ASSESS

AND EXAMINE THE POTTERY

SO THAT THEY CAN TELL US

IF THE POTTERY IS ACTUALLY ANCIENT OR NOT.

Narrator: LOCAL ARCHEOLOGIST EDUARDO TOMANA

HAS NEARLY 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

IN VERIFYING ANCIENT AMAZONIAN ARTIFACTS,

LIKE PRE-COLUMBIAN POTTERY

MADE BEFORE THE SPANISH ARRIVED OVER 500 YEARS AGO.

TODAY, THE KOKAMA'S FUTURE RESTS ON A EDUARDO'S JUDGMENT.

[ SPEAKING FOREIGN ]

THE KOKAMA ARE EAGER TO GATHER THEIR POTTERY

FOR EDUARDO TO EXAMINE.

BUT HOW PREPARED ARE THEY IF IT TURNS OUT TO BE BAD NEWS?

FORGIVE ME FOR ASKING THIS,

BUT WHAT IF...

WHAT IF THEY'RE NOT AS OLD AS YOU HOPE THEY ARE?

¶

¶

NOW THAT ALL THE POTS HAVE BEEN GATHERED,

IT'S THE MOMENT OF TRUTH.

I'M STUDYING YOUR FACE, EDUARDO.

[ BOTH LAUGH ]

TRYING TO SEE IF I CAN SEE ANY CLUES.

WHAT SIGNS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?

IS THERE ANYTHING INTERESTING THAT YOU COULD TELL ME

MAYBE ABOUT THIS ONE?

OH, GOSH. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.

YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THAT.

Narrator: SO FAR, IT'S LOOKING GOOD.

BUT WHAT WILL EDUARDO MAKE OF THE PIECE

ELLA FOUND MOST INTERESTING?

ALRIGHT. THIS ONE.

MM...

YEAH.

UH-HUH.

SO, I GUESS THIS IS THE BIG MOMENT.

WHAT'S YOUR PROFESSIONAL OPINION?

SHUT UP!

IT'S AMAZING. REALLY? OH, MY GOSH.

I'M SO GLAD.

THE NEWS COULDN'T BE BETTER FOR THE KOKAMA PEOPLE.

SOME OF THE DESIGNS EVEN MATCH OTHER ANCIENT KOKAMA PIECES

EDUARDO HAS PREVIOUSLY STUDIED.

IT'S POWERFUL EVIDENCE THAT THE KOKAMA

HAVE BEEN LIVING ON THIS LAND FOR MORE THAN A THOUSAND YEARS.

EDUARDO,

YOU'RE BRAZILIAN.

DO YOU WANT TO TELL THEM THE GOOD NEWS?

YEAH! [ LAUGHS ]

THERE IT IS.

COME HERE AND GIVE US A HIGH FIVE.

THIS MEANS THE KOKAMAS' ANCESTORS MIGHT HAVE BEEN PART

OF THAT GREAT CIVILIZATION

THE SPANISH MISSIONARY CARVAJAL WITNESSED CENTURIES AGO.

IT'S AN OVERWHELMING AFFIRMATION FOR CHIEF ANILDO.

¶

STORIES LIKE THE KOKAMAS' HELP REWRITE THE HISTORY

OF THIS AMAZING PLACE.

FOR CENTURIES, THE AMAZON HAS BEEN PERCEIVED AS A WILDERNESS

WITH A FEW INDIGENOUS TRIBES.

BUT WE'RE NOW FINDING OUT THAT JUST A FEW HUNDRED YEARS AGO,

VAST SOCIETIES EXISTED IN THE AMAZON.

THEY WERE WELL-ORGANIZED,

BUILT ROADS, AND LIVED AMONG A SOCIAL HIERARCHY.

BUT HOW DID THEY GET HERE?

HOW DID THEY THRIVE IN SUCH A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT?

AND IF THERE WERE AS MANY AS 10 MILLION PEOPLE

LIVING IN THE ANCIENT AMAZON,

WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED TO THEM?

NEXT TIME --

THE SEARCH FOR EVIDENCE OF THE FIRST AMAZONIANS,

ENTERING DANGEROUS REBEL TERRITORIES IN COLOMBIA

TO DISCOVER ANCIENT ART...

THIS IS INCREDIBLE.

THERE'S SO MUCH HERE.

Narrator: ...TO BOLIVIA,

AND SOME OF THE OLDEST HUMAN REMAINS

EVER FOUND IN THE AMAZON,

DATING BACK THOUSANDS OF YEARS

BEFORE EVEN STONEHENGE WAS BUILT...

WE KNOW THEY ARE 6,000 YEARS OLD

AND THEY ARE AMONG THE OLDEST SKELETONS FROM AMAZONIA.

...AND FINALLY, TO ONE AMAZING TRIBE IN BRAZIL

WHOSE DNA SHOWS THEY COULD BE THE DESCENDANTS

OF THE VERY FIRST AMAZONIANS,

WHO JOURNEYED HERE FROM SOMEWHERE ENTIRELY UNEXPECTED.

THERE'S A SIGN OF ANCESTRY IN YOU THAT IS VERY UNIQUE

AND VERY SPECIAL.

¶

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