Lost Cities of the Amazon (2020): Season 1, Episode 2 - Rise of a Superpower - full transcript
Narrator:
THE AMAZON RAINFOREST...
A BREATHTAKING NATURAL WONDER.
IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN SEEN
AS A PRISTINE WILDERNESS,
HOME TO NO MORE THAN
A HANDFUL 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.
...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.
...AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM.
FOR THE PEOPLE LIVING HERE,
IT WAS A CATASTROPHIC EVENT.
AND PEOPLE JUST RAN AWAY.
Narrator:
IT'S A DANGEROUS PLACE,
BUT EMERGING FROM
THE RAINFOREST TODAY
IS THE GREATEST HUMAN STORY
THAT'S NEVER BEEN TOLD.
[ ALL SHOUTING ]
♪
ACROSS THE AMAZON RAINFOREST,
ARCHEOLOGISTS TODAY ARE MAKING
INCREDIBLE DISCOVERIES...
CHECK THIS BABY.
Narrator: ...TRACES OF A ONCE GREAT
CIVILIZATION LOST IN THE JUNGLE.
MARK ROBINSON IS ONE OF
HUNDREDS OF SCIENTISTS
TRYING TO SOLVE A MYSTERY.
HOW DID THESE LOST CIVILIZATIONS
EVER FLOURISH
IN SUCH A HOSTILE JUNGLE?
HIS MISSION STARTS BY TRACING
THE FOOTSTEPS
OF THE EARLIEST HUMANS
TO EVER REACH THE AMAZON.
SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THE FIRST
HUMANS TO REACH THE AMERICAS
MADE AN EPIC MIGRATION
ACROSS ASIA.
AT LEAST 15,000 YEARS AGO,
THEY CROSSED AN ANCIENT LAND
BRIDGE FROM SIBERIA TO ALASKA
BEFORE TRAVELING DOWN
THROUGH NORTH AMERICA
AND FINALLY CROSSING
THROUGH THE NARROW DARléN GAP
TO LAND IN MODERN-DAY COLOMBIA.
THAT'S WHERE MARK
BEGINS HIS SEARCH FOR CLUES.
UNTIL NOW, ANY ATTEMPTS TO FIND
EVIDENCE OF THE FIRST AMAZONIANS
HERE IN COLOMBIA
HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE.
FOR THE LAST 50 YEARS,
MUCH OF THE COUNTRY
HAS BEEN A NO-GO ZONE
FOR ARCHEOLOGISTS
AS A BRUTAL CIVIL WAR PLAYED OUT
BETWEEN THE COLOMBIAN GOVERNMENT
AND A REBEL GROUP
KNOWN AS THE FARC.
BUT A RECENT PEACE AGREEMENT
IS ALLOWING MARK
AND A TEAM
OF COLOMBIAN ARCHEOLOGISTS
TO EXPLORE THE JUNGLES
ONCE MORE.
♪
MARK TARGETS THE CLIFFS OF
SERRANíA LA LINDOSA,
A SERIES OF SPECTACULAR
ROCKY OUTCROPS
BURSTING OUT OF THE JUNGLE
ON THE NORTHWEST FRINGE
OF THE AMAZON.
EARLY HUMANS
WOULD HAVE BEEN ATTRACTED
TO PROMINENT LANDSCAPE FEATURES
LIKE THIS,
SO IT'S THE PERFECT PLACE
TO LOOK FOR TRACES
OF HUMAN ACTIVITY.
♪
♪
WHAT MARK FINDS DECORATING
THE ROCK WALLS
TAKES HIM BY SURPRISE.
HUNDREDS OF DRAWINGS
PAINTED IN RED OCHER.
STRANGE, INTRICATE PATTERNS...
ANIMALS, PLANTS, HUMAN FIGURES.
IT ALL LOOKS PREHISTORIC,
BUT WHO PAINTED IT?
MARK HAS STUDIED
SIMILAR PAINTINGS BEFORE.
HE CAN SPOT CLUES
THAT TELL HIM WHAT THEY MEAN.
♪
WHO PAINTED THESE IMAGES?
MARK SCOURS THE STRANGE DESIGNS
FOR CLUES.
THE WEIRD GEOMETRIC SHAPES
COULD BE THE SEEDS OF PLANTS.
MARK HAS DISCOVERED WHAT THESE
ROCK ARTISTS WERE EATING.
THEY PAINTED A VIRTUAL MENU
ON THE WALLS.
AND IT REVEALS THESE PEOPLE
WERE HUNTER-GATHERERS.
MARK SEARCHES FOR MORE CLUES.
[ SINGING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE ]
[ WHOOPING ]
♪
IN MANY PARTS OF
THE AMAZON TODAY,
DANCE IS STILL A POWERFUL MEANS
OF EXPRESSION.
FOR THE KUIKURO PEOPLE
OF BRAZIL'S XINGU REGION,
EVERY STAGE OF LIFE
HAS A RITUAL ATTACHED TO IT.
THEY DANCE TO CELEBRATE
A CHIEF,
A SUCCESSFUL HUNT,
A GOOD HAUL OF FISH,
AND THE RIPENING OF FRUIT.
TO MARK THE COMING OF PUBERTY,
TO HONOR THE DEAD,
AND TO WARD OFF DISEASE.
DANCE IS A VITAL PART
OF THEIR TRADITION...
A WAY TO TELL STORIES
FROM THEIR PAST
AND TO PASS ON THEIR HISTORY
TO FUTURE GENERATIONS.
A LEGACY CHIEF AFUKAKá KUIKURO
IS DETERMINED WILL CONTINUE.
MARK WANTS TO KNOW IF
THE FIRST ROOTS OF SOCIETIES
LIKE THE KUIKURO CAN BE TRACED
TO THESE PAINTED CLIFFS.
FIRST HE MUST FIND OUT
HOW OLD THEY ARE.
BUT THERE'S A PROBLEM.
RADIOCARBON DATING WON'T WORK.
♪
BUT THERE'S HOPE
OF FINDING AN ANSWER,
BECAUSE LAST YEAR,
MARK AND HIS TEAM EXPLORED
EVEN DEEPER INTO THE FOREST.
WHAT THEY FOUND
WAS JAW DROPPING.
THERE ISN'T JUST
ONE PAINTED WALL.
INCREDIBLY, THEY HAVE IDENTIFIED
ANOTHER 16 SITES,
AND EVEN MORE MAY LAY
HIDDEN IN THE JUNGLE.
THERE COULD BE TENS OF THOUSANDS
OF IMAGES OUT THERE,
AND ANY ONE OF THEM COULD REVEAL
WHO PAINTED THESE CLIFFS
AND WHEN.
TO FIND OUT IF THESE PAINTINGS
REALLY ARE THE WORK
OF THE FIRST AMAZONIANS,
MARK NEEDS TO
HUNT FOR MORE CLUES.
THAT MEANS TREKKING DEEPER
INTO THE RAINFOREST
TO REACH NEW
AND UNEXPLORED SITES.
Narrator:
WHEN THE FIRST EUROPEANS
ARRIVED IN THE AMAZON
500 YEARS AGO,
THEY CLAIMED TO HAVE SEEN
ENDLESS CITIES
STRETCHING FOR MILES
ALONG THE RIVERBANKS.
BUT LATER, EXPLORERS SAW
NO TRACE OF ANY CIVILIZATION...
JUST A FEW SCATTERED
NOMADIC TRIBES.
IT SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE
THAT A VAST POPULATION
COULD EVER FLOURISH HERE
IN ONE OF THE MOST REMOTE,
HOSTILE PLACES ON EARTH.
BUT ACROSS THE AMAZON,
SCIENTISTS ARE NOW
UNCOVERING EVIDENCE
THAT THOSE EARLY REPORTS
MAY HAVE BEEN RIGHT.
ARCHEOLOGIST MARK ROBINSON
IS ON A MISSION TO TRACE
THAT ONCE GREAT CIVILIZATION
BACK TO ITS VERY EARLIEST ROOTS.
HIDDEN IN THE COLOMBIAN JUNGLE
ON THE NORTHERN FRINGES
OF THE AMAZON,
HE'S FOUND A SERIES
OF SPECTACULAR
PREHISTORIC PAINTINGS.
BUT CAN HE PROVE
THEY ARE THE WORK
OF THE VERY FIRST HUMANS
TO SET FOOT IN SOUTH AMERICA?
♪
♪
♪
IT'S TIME TO CLIMB HIGHER.
♪
♪
HIDDEN AMONG THE THOUSANDS
OF PICTURES,
MARK FINDS SOMETHING STRANGE.
IT COULD BE THE CLUE
HE'S BEEN LOOKING FOR.
FURTHER ALONG THE CLIFF FACE
ARE OTHER EXTINCT ANIMALS...
AN ANCIENT CAMEL-LIKE CREATURE
AND A GIANT SLOTH
SURROUNDED BY HUMAN HUNTERS.
ONE IMAGE SURPRISES MARK
MOST OF ALL.
MASTODONS WERE PREHISTORIC
RELATIVES
OF ELEPHANTS AND MAMMOTHS.
AND THEY DID ONCE LIVE
ON THE FRINGES OF THE AMAZON.
ALTHOUGH IT'S A ROUGH IMAGE,
IT'S VITAL EVIDENCE
TO HELP MARK DATE THE PAINTINGS.
THESE PAINTINGS WERE MADE
BY HUMANS
WHO LIVED ALONGSIDE
THE GIANT PREHISTORIC CREATURES,
ANIMALS THAT ARE NOW EXTINCT.
THEY MUST HAVE BEEN PAINTED
AT LEAST 12,000 YEARS AGO
WHEN HUMANS WERE TAKING
SOME OF THEIR FIRST STEPS
INTO THE AMAZON.
♪
MARC HAS FOUND TRACES OF SOME OF
THE FIRST HUMAN LIFE
IN THE AMAZON HERE IN COLOMBIA.
THESE PAINTINGS WERE MADE
RIGHT AT THE START
OF THE NEW STONE AGE,
PERHAPS A THOUSAND YEARS
BEFORE THE DAWN OF AGRICULTURE
IN THE FERTILE CRESCENT
OF THE MIDDLE EAST.
BUT IF AMAZON HISTORY BEGAN HERE
AT THE NORTHERN FRINGE
OF THE FOREST,
HOW DEEP INTO THE JUNGLE
DID THOSE EARLY
HUNTER-GATHERERS GET.
IN BRAZIL, ARCHEOLOGIST
EDITHE PEREIRA BELIEVES
SHE HAS FOUND AN ANSWER.
MORE THAN TWO AND A HALF
THOUSAND MILES FROM COLOMBIA,
CLOSE TO A TOWN
CALLED MONTE ALEGRE
ON THE BANKS
OF THE AMAZON RIVER,
A SERIES OF CLIFFS CONCEAL
AN ANCIENT CAVE
KNOWN AS
CAVERNA DA PEDRA PINTADA...
THE CAVE OF THE PAINTED ROCK.
DEEP INSIDE THE CAVES,
EDITH HAS DISCOVERED
SOMETHING INCREDIBLE.
LIKE THE ART IN COLOMBIA,
THE OCHER PAINTINGS THEMSELVES
CAN'T BE RADIOCARBON DATED.
BUT THESE ARTISTS
LEFT BEHIND VITAL CLUES,
BECAUSE WHILE THEY WORKED,
THEY SPILLED PAINT,
AND SOME OF THAT PAINT
FELL AROUND THEIR CAMPFIRES.
WITH ANCIENT CHARCOAL,
EDITH WAS ABLE TO USE
RADIOCARBON DATING
TO FIND OUT HOW LONG AGO
THE ROCK ARTIST
REACHED THIS CAVE RIGHT AT
THE HEART OF THE AMAZON FOREST.
THESE CAVES WERE PAINTED
AT ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME TIME
AS THE CLIFFS IN COLOMBIA
MORE THAN 1,000 MILES AWAY.
EARLY HUMANS MUST HAVE
SPREAD QUICKLY
THROUGH THE AMAZON RAINFOREST,
LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS
FOR NEW JUNGLE SOCIETIES
RIGHT FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.
BUT HOW DID THAT PRIMITIVE
HUNTER-GATHERER SOCIETY
EVER BECOME A SOPHISTICATED
CIVILIZATION IN THE JUNGLE,
ONE THAT THRIVED
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS
BEFORE THE EUROPEANS ARRIVED?
FAR TO THE SOUTH ON THE FLOOD
PLAINS OF BOLIVIA,
COULD THESE MYSTERIOUS
MANMADE JUNGLE ISLANDS
PROVIDE THE ANSWER?
♪
Narrator: ARCHEOLOGISTS HAVE
TRACED THE ROOTS
OF AMAZON SOCIETY TO COLOMBIA
AT LEAST 12,000 YEARS AGO
AND FOUND EVIDENCE
THAT THEY SPREAD QUICKLY INTO
THE HEART OF THE RAINFOREST.
NOW, ACROSS THE AMAZON,
THEY ARE UNCOVERING EVIDENCE
THAT THOSE EARLY
HUNTER-GATHERERS
EVENTUALLY FLOURISHED
INTO A GREAT CIVILIZATION.
BUT HOW THEY MADE
THAT MAJOR TRANSITION
IN SUCH A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT
IS ONE OF THE GREATEST
MYSTERIES OF THE AMAZON.
AND IT'S A MYSTERY
EARTH SCIENTIST
UMBERTO LOMBARDO
IS DETERMINED TO SOLVE.
HIS MISSION HAS TAKEN HIM
INTO THE LOWLANDS
OF NORTHERN BOLIVIA...
TO THE LLANOS DE MOJOS,
A VAST EXPANSE
OF TROPICAL FLOODPLAIN
COVERING AN AREA
THE SIZE OF ILLINOIS.
♪
♪
FOR SIX MONTHS OF THE YEAR
IN THE DRY SEASON,
THESE PLAINS BAKE HARD
UNDER A RELENTLESS SUN.
BUT FLOWING THROUGH
THIS ARID LAND ARE RIVERS
CARRYING WATER FROM THE ANDES
DOWN INTO THE AMAZON BASIN.
AND WHEN THE WET SEASON BEGINS,
THE RIVERS BURST
THEIR BANKS, DROWNING
THE LOW-LYING PLAINS
FOR HALF OF THE YEAR.
TODAY, THIS HARSH ENVIRONMENT
IS A LAND OF COWBOYS AND CATTLE.
BUT SCATTERED ACROSS THE PLAINS
ARE MYSTERIOUS CLUES
TO A MUCH OLDER SOCIETY.
STRANGE ISLANDS OF FOREST.
♪
UMBERTO SPOTS SOMETHING
VERY STRANGE
ABOUT THE GROUND
THE TREES ARE GROWING ON.
[ THUDDING ]
♪
INCREDIBLY, THE BEDROCK
OF THE FOREST ISLAND IS FORMED
FROM A MASSIVE PILE
OF DISCARDED SNAIL SHELLS.
UMBERTO BELIEVES THAT SNAILS
WERE A MAJOR PART
OF THE ANCIENT HUMAN DIET
HERE IN THE FLOODPLAINS.
AND HE THINKS THAT THE FIRST
PEOPLE TO SETTLE HERE
BUILT THEIR HOMES
ON TOP OF THEIR LEFTOVER MEALS.
AT FIRST, THE MOUNDS
WERE SIMPLY TRASH PILES.
BUT EVENTUALLY THEY GREW HIGHER
THAN THE ANNUAL FLOODS,
OVER MANY CENTURIES,
THE SNAIL SHELLS GREW HIGHER AND
HIGHER UNTIL BUSHES AND TREES
BEGAN TO GROW
ON THE FERTILE MOUNDS.
THE NEW ISLANDS OF THE FOREST
OFFERED SHELTER
FROM THE SUN AND SAFETY
FROM THE FLOODS...
THE PERFECT PLACE
TO BUILD A HOME.
♪
THEY MAY HAVE BEEN MAN-MADE,
BUT DID PEOPLE EVER SETTLE
FOR GOOD ON THE ISLANDS?
WERE THESE
THE ACCIDENTAL FOUNDATIONS
OF THE FIRST
SETTLED AMAZON SOCIETY?
UMBERTO AND A TEAM
OF ARCHEOLOGISTS
MAY HAVE FOUND THE ANSWER
BY DIGGING DEEP
INTO THE CORE OF THE MOUND.
IN AMONGST
THE DISCARDED SHELLS...
HUMAN BURIALS.
♪
♪
UMBERTO'S DISCOVERY
IS A STROKE OF LUCK
BECAUSE IN AMAZONIA, HARSH,
ACIDIC SOILS MEAN
THAT BURIED BONES
ARE RARELY PRESERVED.
BUT ON THE FOREST ISLANDS,
CHEMICAL DEPOSITS
FROM ALL OF THE CRUSHED
SNAIL SHELLS
HAVE COATED THE BONES IN A
THICK, PROTECTIVE MINERAL LAYER.
♪
♪
♪
UMBERTO KNOWS THAT MANY
PREHISTORIC SOCIETIES BURIED
THEIR DEAD
BENEATH THEIR HOMES.
SO THESE REMAINS COULD MEAN
THAT EARLY AMAZONIANS
WERE BUILDING SETTLED
COMMUNITIES ON THESE MOUNDS.
AND THE SKULLS ARE FULL
OF CLUES
THAT TELL UMBERTO EVEN MORE
ABOUT HOW THEY SURVIVED HERE.
♪
♪
BUT BEST OF ALL, RADIOCARBON
DATING SHOWS UMBERTO
WHEN THESE PEOPLE LIVED.
♪
♪
IT'S AN INCREDIBLE DISCOVERY.
THESE BONES ARE BEYOND ANCIENT.
WHILE EUROPE WAS STILL IN
THE STONE AGE, 1,000 YEARS
BEFORE THE GREAT PYRAMIDS
OF EGYPT WERE BUILT,
2,000 YEARS
BEFORE THE RISE OF THE MAYA,
THE FIRST AMAZON SOCIETIES
WERE CLAIMING
SOUTH AMERICA AS THEIR OWN.
IN THE LLANOS DE MOJOS,
THEY LEARN TO CHANGE
THE WORLD AROUND THEM
TO CREATE SHELTER,
SECURITY, AND FOOD,
AND TO CREATE A NETWORK
OF FOREST ISLANDS
THAT FORMED ONE OF THE AMAZON'S
VERY FIRST SOCIETIES.
BUT WHAT HAPPENED
TO THESE FOREST-ISLAND PEOPLE?
IN SEARCH OF AN ANSWER,
UMBERTO TAKES SOIL SAMPLES
FROM THE FLOODPLAIN
AROUND THE FOREST ISLANDS.
♪
♪
BENEATH THE MODERN BLACK SOIL
IS A THICK LAYER OF SEDIMENT...
THE TELLTALE SIGN
OF AN ANCIENT FLOOD EVENT.
BELOW THAT SEDIMENT,
UMBERTO FINDS
WHAT HE'S LOOKING FOR.
♪
ANOTHER LAYER OF BLACK SOIL
THAT HE BELIEVES FORMED
AT THE TIME
THE FOREST-ISLAND DWELLERS
WERE LIVING HERE.
♪
♪
THE SOIL CORES SHOW THAT
AFTER PEOPLE HAD LIVED HERE
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS,
THE RIVER CHANGED ITS COURSE,
DROWNING THE ENTIRE AREA BENEATH
AT LEAST 3 FEET OF WATER.
♪
♪
TO THE NORTH LAY
THE AMAZON RAINFOREST ITSELF.
THE FLOODPLAIN SOCIETY
HAD LEARNED
TO TRANSFORM THEIR ENVIRONMENT
TO CREATE PERMANENT HOMES.
COULD THEY DO THE SAME
IN THE HOSTILE JUNGLE?
♪
♪
Narrator: ARCHEOLOGISTS HAVE
TRACED THE PATH OF EARLY HUMANS
FROM THE FRINGES OF THE JUNGLE
IN NORTHERN COLOMBIA
TO THE FLOODPLAINS OF BOLIVIA.
BUT HOW DID THEY MAKE THE LEAP
INTO THE HOSTILE FOREST ITSELF
TO LAY THE FOUNDATIONS FOR
A FUTURE JUNGLE CIVILIZATION?
IN THE WEST OF BRAZIL,
ON THE BANKS OF THE UPPER AMAZON
AND NOT FAR
FROM THE TOWN OF TEFé
IS A SMALL RIVERSIDE COMMUNITY
CALLED BOM JESUS DA PONTA
DE CASTANHA.
♪
THE VILLAGE IS SURROUNDED
BY RAINFOREST,
WHICH PROVIDES THE COMMUNITY
WITH ALMOST ALL THE FOOD
THEY NEED.
BUT THAT PRESENTS
ECOLOGIST CAROLINA LEVIS
AND ARCHAEOBOTANIST
MARIANA CASSINO
WITH A MYSTERY...
...BECAUSE MOST JUNGLE SOIL
IS NOWHERE NEAR FERTILE ENOUGH
TO GROW CROPS IN.
SO HOW COULD A VILLAGE,
LET ALONE A WHOLE CIVILIZATION,
FEED THEMSELVES HERE
IN THE JUNGLE?
CAROLINA AND MARIANA
SEARCH THE FOREST FOR CLUES.
♪
THERE IS SOMETHING UNUSUAL
ABOUT THE FOREST HERE.
♪
THE FOREST AROUND THE VILLAGE
IS DENSELY PACKED WITH FRUIT
AND NUT TREES.
IN THE WILD, THEY NEVER GROW
THIS CLOSE TOGETHER.
♪
THE WEIRDEST THING
IS THE SHEER NUMBER
OF ANCIENT TOWERING BRAZIL NUT
TREES AROUND THE VILLAGE
GROWING IN CLUSTERS
KNOWN AS STANDS.
♪
♪
♪
THE SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THAT MUCH
OF THE JUNGLE AROUND HERE
WAS ACTUALLY PLANTED
BY ANCIENT AMAZONIANS.
LOCAL GUIDE JUCELINO KNOWS
HOW VILLAGERS STILL PLANT TREES.
♪
♪
CAROLINA AND MARIANA BELIEVE
THAT ANCIENT POPULATIONS
SELECTED
AND NURTURED THE BEST TREE
SPECIES FOR CENTURIES,
CREATING A BOUNTIFUL
SUPPLY OF FOOD.
[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]
♪
Woman: MM-HMM.
♪
EVEN SO, A HUGE CIVILIZATION
CAN'T SURVIVE
JUST ON FRUITS AND NUTS.
BACK IN THE VILLAGE CENTER,
CAROLINA AND MARIANA ARE
SEARCHING FOR EVEN MORE CLUES.
CUIDADO.
[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]
THE LOCALS HAVE TOLD CAROLINA
AND MARIANA THAT THE FOUNDERS
OF THIS MODERN VILLAGE
CHOSE THE SITE VERY CAREFULLY.
[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]
AND ONE THING
IN PARTICULAR LED THEM HERE...
THE COLOR OF THE SOIL.
[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]
♪
♪
MOST AMAZON SOILS ARE YELLOW
OR RED
AND USELESS FOR GROWING CROPS.
BUT AROUND THE VILLAGE,
THE TOPSOIL
IS UNUSUALLY DARK AND FERTILE.
♪
LUCKILY, THE MYSTERIOUS SOIL
IS ALSO PACKED WITH CLUES...
FRAGMENTS OF ANCIENT POTTERY.
♪
♪
THIS SOIL IS MAN-MADE,
TRANSFORMED INTO A SUPER-COMPOST
BY ANCIENT PEOPLE
DIGGING CHARCOAL AND FOOD
WASTE INTO THE GROUND.
♪
THE EXCAVATIONS HAVE SHOWN
THESE SOILS
HAVE BEEN TRANSFORMED
OVER A THOUSAND YEARS
OR MORE TO CREATE
A FERTILE OASIS IN THE JUNGLE.
AND IT'S NOT JUST HERE THAT
THE BLACK EARTH IS BEING FOUND.
♪
♪
SO FAR,
SCIENTISTS HAVE IDENTIFIED
OVER 1,000 BLACK EARTH SITES
THROUGHOUT THE AMAZON,
AND BY MAPPING THE TREES
THAT TYPICALLY GROW
IN THESE FERTILE SOILS,
THE STAGGERING EXTENT OF HUMAN
TRANSFORMATION OF THE AMAZON
CAN BE REVEALED...
SOLVING THE MYSTERY
OF HOW LARGE POPULATIONS
COULD SURVIVE IN THE JUNGLE.
♪
♪
ACROSS THE AMAZON,
SCIENTISTS ARE DISCOVERING
THAT THE RAINFOREST IS ANYTHING
BUT AN UNTOUCHED WILDERNESS.
NOW WE KNOW VAST AREAS ARE THE
WORK OF ANCIENT AMAZONIANS
WHO LEARNED TO NURTURE AND SHAPE
THE JUNGLE ENOUGH
TO SUPPORT A CIVILIZATION.
BUT NOW AN INCREDIBLE DISCOVERY
IS ADDING A NEW TWIST
TO THE HUMAN STORY
OF THE AMAZON.
IT UNDERMINES ONE OF
THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL BELIEFS
ABOUT THE ENIGMATIC PEOPLE
OF THE AMAZON...
THAT THEY ALL SHARE
ONE FAMILY TREE
THAT GOES BACK TO NORTH AMERICA.
AT LEAST 15,000 YEARS AGO.
DO THESE EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE
ACTUALLY HAVE ROOTS
SOMEWHERE ELSE?
♪
♪
Narrator: IN BRAZIL, PALEOANTHROPOLOGIST
ELLA AL-SHAMAHI IS ON HER WAY
TO MEET AN EXTRAORDINARY
INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY,
THE SURUí.
RECENT RESEARCH HAS REVEALED
THAT THEY HOLD THE KEY
TO SOLVING ONE OF
THE GREATEST MYSTERIES
IN THE RISE OF
AMAZON CIVILIZATIONS.
WHERE DID THEY ALL COME FROM?
SO, WOULD YOU CALL THIS
A FRONTIER TOWN?
YEAH, A FRONTIER TOWN.
MORE OR LESS, YEAH.
ELLA IS TRYING TO DISCOVER
WHETHER THE SURUí THEMSELVES
CAN SHED ANY LIGHT
ON THE MYSTERY
OF HOW THEIR ANCIENT ANCESTORS
FIRST ARRIVED IN THE AMAZON.
SO, BASICALLY, THIS WHOLE AREA
USED TO BE INDIGENOUS TERRITORY.
YEAH, THE WHOLE AREA,
THE WHOLE STATE.
IT WAS VIRGIN RAINFOREST,
I MEAN, IF YOU CAN SAY THAT.
YEAH.
TO REACH THEM,
SHE HAS TO TRAVEL
THROUGH MILES OF OPEN FARMLAND.
LIKE MANY OF TODAY'S
AMAZONIAN PEOPLE,
THE SURUí FACE THE CONSTANT
THREAT OF DEFORESTATION.
BUT IT'S NOT JUST
THEIR TERRITORY AND CULTURE
THAT ARE AT STAKE...
IT'S THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY
OF HOW THEIR ANCESTORS
ARRIVED IN THE AMAZON.
♪
THERE THEY ARE.
HI.
[ SPEAKING
FOREIGN LANGUAGE ]
[ SPEAKING
NATIVE LANGUAGE ]
SO NICE TO MEET YOU.
CHIEF ALMIR SURUí WELCOMES
ELLA INTO THE VILLAGE
TO MEET HIS FAMILY.
THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT.
OKAY.
SO, IS THIS...
WALK THROUGH THERE.
HI.
AH, YOUR BROTHER.
HI. ELLA. ELLA.
ELLA HAS COME HERE TO SHARE
A REVELATION
WITH THE SURUí.
SCIENTISTS
STUDYING BLOOD SAMPLES
COLLECTED FROM THEM IN THE 1960s
HAVE FOUND THAT SURUí DNA
TELLS A REMARKABLE STORY
ABOUT THEIR ANCESTRY.
BUT NO ONE HAS EVER TOLD THEM.
♪
- [ LAUGHS ]
- HEY.
HI.
HI.
♪
CAN I ASK WHEN AND HOW WAS
YOUR BLOOD TAKEN?
♪
♪
DID YOU EVER HEAR
FROM THEM AGAIN?
DID YOU EVER GET
ANY RESULTS FROM THEM?
♪
Narrator: CHIEF ALMIR
GATHERS HIS COMMUNITY
TO HEAR
WHAT ELLA HAS COME TO TELL THEM.
HI.
SO, IF I DO IT
THIS WAY...
Chief Almir:
[ SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE ]
HOW MANY OF YOU ARE REALLY
FAMILIAR WITH THIS MAP?
THERE'S SOMETHING
REALLY INTERESTING
ABOUT YOURSELVES, ACTUALLY.
THE SURUí.
IT TURNS OUT THAT YOU,
UNLIKE MOST OTHER INDIGENOUS
GROUPS IN SOUTH AMERICA...
YOU SHARE SOME DNA,
SOME ANCESTRY
WITH PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA.
♪
IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN BELIEVED
THAT EVERY INDIGENOUS GROUP
IN THE AMAZON
CAN TRACE THEIR FAMILY TREE BACK
TO THE SAME ANCIENT ANCESTORS
WHO ARRIVED IN SOUTH AMERICA
AT LEAST 12,000 YEARS AGO.
BUT DNA FROM THE SURUí
AND JUST TWO OTHER TRIBES
TELLS A DIFFERENT STORY.
IT HAS A DISTINCTIVE SIGNATURE
THAT IS ONLY FOUND
IN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
FROM THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS,
PAPUA NEW GUINEA, AND AUSTRALIA.
IT MEANS THAT
YOU'RE VERY UNIQUE.
IT MEANS THAT THERE'S SOMETHING
REALLY INTERESTING
GOING ON WITH YOU.
AND THERE'S A SIGN OF ANCESTRY
IN YOU
THAT REALLY IS
IS VERY UNIQUE AND VERY SPECIAL.
THE SURUíS' ANCIENT ANCESTORS
MUST COME FROM A DIFFERENT PLACE
AND A DIFFERENT TIME FROM ALMOST
EVERY OTHER TRIBE IN THE AMAZON.
SOMEHOW THEY ARE CONNECTED
TO AUSTRALIA.
AND THE AMAZON FAMILY TREE
IS MUCH MORE COMPLICATED
THAN WE EVER REALIZED.
BUT IT SEEMS THE REVELATION
IS NOT AS MUCH OF A SURPRISE
TO THE SURUí AS ELLA EXPECTED.
♪
IF I DO IT THIS WAY...
Narrator: PALEOANTHROPOLOGIST
ELLA AL-SHAMAHI HAS REVEALED
TO THE SURUí PEOPLE THAT THEY
SHARE AN ANCESTRAL LINK
WITH INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS,
MAKING THEM UNIQUE
FROM OTHER AMAZONIAN TRIBES.
BUT AS THE NEWS SINKS IN,
IT SEEMS THE IDEA
THAT THEY HAVE EXOTIC ANCESTRY
FROM A FAR-OFF LAND
IS LESS OF A REVELATION
TO THE SURUí THAN ELLA EXPECTED.
♪
♪
THE SURUí HAVE MADE A CONNECTION
BETWEEN THEIR OWN
ANCESTRAL STORIES
AND THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE.
ARE YOU SURPRISED
BY THAT?
♪
♪
SCIENTISTS ARE ONLY BEGINNING
TO UNRAVEL
THE GREAT MYSTERY
OF THE AMAZON'S HUMAN STORY.
BUT THE SURUí REVEAL
THAT SURVIVING INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
HAVE A CRUCIAL ROLE TO PLAY.
THEIR ANCIENT CULTURES
CONTAIN CLUES
THAT CAN HELP SOLVE THE MYSTERY.
AND ELLA REALIZES THAT
UNLESS THEIR WAY OF LIFE
CAN BE PROTECTED,
THAT KNOWLEDGE MAY DISAPPEAR
FOREVER.
Al-Shamahi:
SO, THIS HAS BEEN
A COMPLETELY PROFOUND
EXPERIENCE, ACTUALLY.
WE, THE OUTSIDE WORLD,
I THINK, HAVE TO GIVE THEM
SO MUCH MORE RESPECT.
AND WE SCIENTISTS
ALSO HAVE TO GIVE THEM
SO MUCH MORE RESPECT AND HELP,
BECAUSE IF WE LET THE LOGGERS
AND THE MINERS WIN,
WE WILL HAVE LOST
ONE OF THE MOST FASCINATING
PIECES OF THE JIGSAW PUZZLE
WHEN IT COMES
TO AMAZONIAN HISTORY,
ONE OF THE MOST ANCIENT PEOPLE,
AND IT WOULD JUST BE
ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATING.
[ THUNDER CRASHES ]
♪
Narrator: ARCHEOLOGISTS TODAY
ARE DISCOVERING
HOW THE EARLIEST HUMANS LEARNED
TO SHAPE THE AMAZON
RAINFOREST AROUND THEM,
LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS
FOR A GREAT CIVILIZATION
IN THE JUNGLE.
THEIR DISCOVERIES
ARE REVOLUTIONIZING
OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THIS
REMARKABLE ENVIRONMENT
AND OF THE FUTURE
OF ITS INDIGENOUS PEOPLE,
WHO SHAPED THE FOREST,
BUT NOW FIGHT TO PRESERVE
THOUSANDS OF YEARS
OF UNBROKEN HERITAGE.
♪
♪
♪
♪
THE AMAZON RAINFOREST...
A BREATHTAKING NATURAL WONDER.
IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN SEEN
AS A PRISTINE WILDERNESS,
HOME TO NO MORE THAN
A HANDFUL 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.
...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.
...AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM.
FOR THE PEOPLE LIVING HERE,
IT WAS A CATASTROPHIC EVENT.
AND PEOPLE JUST RAN AWAY.
Narrator:
IT'S A DANGEROUS PLACE,
BUT EMERGING FROM
THE RAINFOREST TODAY
IS THE GREATEST HUMAN STORY
THAT'S NEVER BEEN TOLD.
[ ALL SHOUTING ]
♪
ACROSS THE AMAZON RAINFOREST,
ARCHEOLOGISTS TODAY ARE MAKING
INCREDIBLE DISCOVERIES...
CHECK THIS BABY.
Narrator: ...TRACES OF A ONCE GREAT
CIVILIZATION LOST IN THE JUNGLE.
MARK ROBINSON IS ONE OF
HUNDREDS OF SCIENTISTS
TRYING TO SOLVE A MYSTERY.
HOW DID THESE LOST CIVILIZATIONS
EVER FLOURISH
IN SUCH A HOSTILE JUNGLE?
HIS MISSION STARTS BY TRACING
THE FOOTSTEPS
OF THE EARLIEST HUMANS
TO EVER REACH THE AMAZON.
SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THE FIRST
HUMANS TO REACH THE AMERICAS
MADE AN EPIC MIGRATION
ACROSS ASIA.
AT LEAST 15,000 YEARS AGO,
THEY CROSSED AN ANCIENT LAND
BRIDGE FROM SIBERIA TO ALASKA
BEFORE TRAVELING DOWN
THROUGH NORTH AMERICA
AND FINALLY CROSSING
THROUGH THE NARROW DARléN GAP
TO LAND IN MODERN-DAY COLOMBIA.
THAT'S WHERE MARK
BEGINS HIS SEARCH FOR CLUES.
UNTIL NOW, ANY ATTEMPTS TO FIND
EVIDENCE OF THE FIRST AMAZONIANS
HERE IN COLOMBIA
HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE.
FOR THE LAST 50 YEARS,
MUCH OF THE COUNTRY
HAS BEEN A NO-GO ZONE
FOR ARCHEOLOGISTS
AS A BRUTAL CIVIL WAR PLAYED OUT
BETWEEN THE COLOMBIAN GOVERNMENT
AND A REBEL GROUP
KNOWN AS THE FARC.
BUT A RECENT PEACE AGREEMENT
IS ALLOWING MARK
AND A TEAM
OF COLOMBIAN ARCHEOLOGISTS
TO EXPLORE THE JUNGLES
ONCE MORE.
♪
MARK TARGETS THE CLIFFS OF
SERRANíA LA LINDOSA,
A SERIES OF SPECTACULAR
ROCKY OUTCROPS
BURSTING OUT OF THE JUNGLE
ON THE NORTHWEST FRINGE
OF THE AMAZON.
EARLY HUMANS
WOULD HAVE BEEN ATTRACTED
TO PROMINENT LANDSCAPE FEATURES
LIKE THIS,
SO IT'S THE PERFECT PLACE
TO LOOK FOR TRACES
OF HUMAN ACTIVITY.
♪
♪
WHAT MARK FINDS DECORATING
THE ROCK WALLS
TAKES HIM BY SURPRISE.
HUNDREDS OF DRAWINGS
PAINTED IN RED OCHER.
STRANGE, INTRICATE PATTERNS...
ANIMALS, PLANTS, HUMAN FIGURES.
IT ALL LOOKS PREHISTORIC,
BUT WHO PAINTED IT?
MARK HAS STUDIED
SIMILAR PAINTINGS BEFORE.
HE CAN SPOT CLUES
THAT TELL HIM WHAT THEY MEAN.
♪
WHO PAINTED THESE IMAGES?
MARK SCOURS THE STRANGE DESIGNS
FOR CLUES.
THE WEIRD GEOMETRIC SHAPES
COULD BE THE SEEDS OF PLANTS.
MARK HAS DISCOVERED WHAT THESE
ROCK ARTISTS WERE EATING.
THEY PAINTED A VIRTUAL MENU
ON THE WALLS.
AND IT REVEALS THESE PEOPLE
WERE HUNTER-GATHERERS.
MARK SEARCHES FOR MORE CLUES.
[ SINGING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE ]
[ WHOOPING ]
♪
IN MANY PARTS OF
THE AMAZON TODAY,
DANCE IS STILL A POWERFUL MEANS
OF EXPRESSION.
FOR THE KUIKURO PEOPLE
OF BRAZIL'S XINGU REGION,
EVERY STAGE OF LIFE
HAS A RITUAL ATTACHED TO IT.
THEY DANCE TO CELEBRATE
A CHIEF,
A SUCCESSFUL HUNT,
A GOOD HAUL OF FISH,
AND THE RIPENING OF FRUIT.
TO MARK THE COMING OF PUBERTY,
TO HONOR THE DEAD,
AND TO WARD OFF DISEASE.
DANCE IS A VITAL PART
OF THEIR TRADITION...
A WAY TO TELL STORIES
FROM THEIR PAST
AND TO PASS ON THEIR HISTORY
TO FUTURE GENERATIONS.
A LEGACY CHIEF AFUKAKá KUIKURO
IS DETERMINED WILL CONTINUE.
MARK WANTS TO KNOW IF
THE FIRST ROOTS OF SOCIETIES
LIKE THE KUIKURO CAN BE TRACED
TO THESE PAINTED CLIFFS.
FIRST HE MUST FIND OUT
HOW OLD THEY ARE.
BUT THERE'S A PROBLEM.
RADIOCARBON DATING WON'T WORK.
♪
BUT THERE'S HOPE
OF FINDING AN ANSWER,
BECAUSE LAST YEAR,
MARK AND HIS TEAM EXPLORED
EVEN DEEPER INTO THE FOREST.
WHAT THEY FOUND
WAS JAW DROPPING.
THERE ISN'T JUST
ONE PAINTED WALL.
INCREDIBLY, THEY HAVE IDENTIFIED
ANOTHER 16 SITES,
AND EVEN MORE MAY LAY
HIDDEN IN THE JUNGLE.
THERE COULD BE TENS OF THOUSANDS
OF IMAGES OUT THERE,
AND ANY ONE OF THEM COULD REVEAL
WHO PAINTED THESE CLIFFS
AND WHEN.
TO FIND OUT IF THESE PAINTINGS
REALLY ARE THE WORK
OF THE FIRST AMAZONIANS,
MARK NEEDS TO
HUNT FOR MORE CLUES.
THAT MEANS TREKKING DEEPER
INTO THE RAINFOREST
TO REACH NEW
AND UNEXPLORED SITES.
Narrator:
WHEN THE FIRST EUROPEANS
ARRIVED IN THE AMAZON
500 YEARS AGO,
THEY CLAIMED TO HAVE SEEN
ENDLESS CITIES
STRETCHING FOR MILES
ALONG THE RIVERBANKS.
BUT LATER, EXPLORERS SAW
NO TRACE OF ANY CIVILIZATION...
JUST A FEW SCATTERED
NOMADIC TRIBES.
IT SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE
THAT A VAST POPULATION
COULD EVER FLOURISH HERE
IN ONE OF THE MOST REMOTE,
HOSTILE PLACES ON EARTH.
BUT ACROSS THE AMAZON,
SCIENTISTS ARE NOW
UNCOVERING EVIDENCE
THAT THOSE EARLY REPORTS
MAY HAVE BEEN RIGHT.
ARCHEOLOGIST MARK ROBINSON
IS ON A MISSION TO TRACE
THAT ONCE GREAT CIVILIZATION
BACK TO ITS VERY EARLIEST ROOTS.
HIDDEN IN THE COLOMBIAN JUNGLE
ON THE NORTHERN FRINGES
OF THE AMAZON,
HE'S FOUND A SERIES
OF SPECTACULAR
PREHISTORIC PAINTINGS.
BUT CAN HE PROVE
THEY ARE THE WORK
OF THE VERY FIRST HUMANS
TO SET FOOT IN SOUTH AMERICA?
♪
♪
♪
IT'S TIME TO CLIMB HIGHER.
♪
♪
HIDDEN AMONG THE THOUSANDS
OF PICTURES,
MARK FINDS SOMETHING STRANGE.
IT COULD BE THE CLUE
HE'S BEEN LOOKING FOR.
FURTHER ALONG THE CLIFF FACE
ARE OTHER EXTINCT ANIMALS...
AN ANCIENT CAMEL-LIKE CREATURE
AND A GIANT SLOTH
SURROUNDED BY HUMAN HUNTERS.
ONE IMAGE SURPRISES MARK
MOST OF ALL.
MASTODONS WERE PREHISTORIC
RELATIVES
OF ELEPHANTS AND MAMMOTHS.
AND THEY DID ONCE LIVE
ON THE FRINGES OF THE AMAZON.
ALTHOUGH IT'S A ROUGH IMAGE,
IT'S VITAL EVIDENCE
TO HELP MARK DATE THE PAINTINGS.
THESE PAINTINGS WERE MADE
BY HUMANS
WHO LIVED ALONGSIDE
THE GIANT PREHISTORIC CREATURES,
ANIMALS THAT ARE NOW EXTINCT.
THEY MUST HAVE BEEN PAINTED
AT LEAST 12,000 YEARS AGO
WHEN HUMANS WERE TAKING
SOME OF THEIR FIRST STEPS
INTO THE AMAZON.
♪
MARC HAS FOUND TRACES OF SOME OF
THE FIRST HUMAN LIFE
IN THE AMAZON HERE IN COLOMBIA.
THESE PAINTINGS WERE MADE
RIGHT AT THE START
OF THE NEW STONE AGE,
PERHAPS A THOUSAND YEARS
BEFORE THE DAWN OF AGRICULTURE
IN THE FERTILE CRESCENT
OF THE MIDDLE EAST.
BUT IF AMAZON HISTORY BEGAN HERE
AT THE NORTHERN FRINGE
OF THE FOREST,
HOW DEEP INTO THE JUNGLE
DID THOSE EARLY
HUNTER-GATHERERS GET.
IN BRAZIL, ARCHEOLOGIST
EDITHE PEREIRA BELIEVES
SHE HAS FOUND AN ANSWER.
MORE THAN TWO AND A HALF
THOUSAND MILES FROM COLOMBIA,
CLOSE TO A TOWN
CALLED MONTE ALEGRE
ON THE BANKS
OF THE AMAZON RIVER,
A SERIES OF CLIFFS CONCEAL
AN ANCIENT CAVE
KNOWN AS
CAVERNA DA PEDRA PINTADA...
THE CAVE OF THE PAINTED ROCK.
DEEP INSIDE THE CAVES,
EDITH HAS DISCOVERED
SOMETHING INCREDIBLE.
LIKE THE ART IN COLOMBIA,
THE OCHER PAINTINGS THEMSELVES
CAN'T BE RADIOCARBON DATED.
BUT THESE ARTISTS
LEFT BEHIND VITAL CLUES,
BECAUSE WHILE THEY WORKED,
THEY SPILLED PAINT,
AND SOME OF THAT PAINT
FELL AROUND THEIR CAMPFIRES.
WITH ANCIENT CHARCOAL,
EDITH WAS ABLE TO USE
RADIOCARBON DATING
TO FIND OUT HOW LONG AGO
THE ROCK ARTIST
REACHED THIS CAVE RIGHT AT
THE HEART OF THE AMAZON FOREST.
THESE CAVES WERE PAINTED
AT ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME TIME
AS THE CLIFFS IN COLOMBIA
MORE THAN 1,000 MILES AWAY.
EARLY HUMANS MUST HAVE
SPREAD QUICKLY
THROUGH THE AMAZON RAINFOREST,
LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS
FOR NEW JUNGLE SOCIETIES
RIGHT FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.
BUT HOW DID THAT PRIMITIVE
HUNTER-GATHERER SOCIETY
EVER BECOME A SOPHISTICATED
CIVILIZATION IN THE JUNGLE,
ONE THAT THRIVED
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS
BEFORE THE EUROPEANS ARRIVED?
FAR TO THE SOUTH ON THE FLOOD
PLAINS OF BOLIVIA,
COULD THESE MYSTERIOUS
MANMADE JUNGLE ISLANDS
PROVIDE THE ANSWER?
♪
Narrator: ARCHEOLOGISTS HAVE
TRACED THE ROOTS
OF AMAZON SOCIETY TO COLOMBIA
AT LEAST 12,000 YEARS AGO
AND FOUND EVIDENCE
THAT THEY SPREAD QUICKLY INTO
THE HEART OF THE RAINFOREST.
NOW, ACROSS THE AMAZON,
THEY ARE UNCOVERING EVIDENCE
THAT THOSE EARLY
HUNTER-GATHERERS
EVENTUALLY FLOURISHED
INTO A GREAT CIVILIZATION.
BUT HOW THEY MADE
THAT MAJOR TRANSITION
IN SUCH A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT
IS ONE OF THE GREATEST
MYSTERIES OF THE AMAZON.
AND IT'S A MYSTERY
EARTH SCIENTIST
UMBERTO LOMBARDO
IS DETERMINED TO SOLVE.
HIS MISSION HAS TAKEN HIM
INTO THE LOWLANDS
OF NORTHERN BOLIVIA...
TO THE LLANOS DE MOJOS,
A VAST EXPANSE
OF TROPICAL FLOODPLAIN
COVERING AN AREA
THE SIZE OF ILLINOIS.
♪
♪
FOR SIX MONTHS OF THE YEAR
IN THE DRY SEASON,
THESE PLAINS BAKE HARD
UNDER A RELENTLESS SUN.
BUT FLOWING THROUGH
THIS ARID LAND ARE RIVERS
CARRYING WATER FROM THE ANDES
DOWN INTO THE AMAZON BASIN.
AND WHEN THE WET SEASON BEGINS,
THE RIVERS BURST
THEIR BANKS, DROWNING
THE LOW-LYING PLAINS
FOR HALF OF THE YEAR.
TODAY, THIS HARSH ENVIRONMENT
IS A LAND OF COWBOYS AND CATTLE.
BUT SCATTERED ACROSS THE PLAINS
ARE MYSTERIOUS CLUES
TO A MUCH OLDER SOCIETY.
STRANGE ISLANDS OF FOREST.
♪
UMBERTO SPOTS SOMETHING
VERY STRANGE
ABOUT THE GROUND
THE TREES ARE GROWING ON.
[ THUDDING ]
♪
INCREDIBLY, THE BEDROCK
OF THE FOREST ISLAND IS FORMED
FROM A MASSIVE PILE
OF DISCARDED SNAIL SHELLS.
UMBERTO BELIEVES THAT SNAILS
WERE A MAJOR PART
OF THE ANCIENT HUMAN DIET
HERE IN THE FLOODPLAINS.
AND HE THINKS THAT THE FIRST
PEOPLE TO SETTLE HERE
BUILT THEIR HOMES
ON TOP OF THEIR LEFTOVER MEALS.
AT FIRST, THE MOUNDS
WERE SIMPLY TRASH PILES.
BUT EVENTUALLY THEY GREW HIGHER
THAN THE ANNUAL FLOODS,
OVER MANY CENTURIES,
THE SNAIL SHELLS GREW HIGHER AND
HIGHER UNTIL BUSHES AND TREES
BEGAN TO GROW
ON THE FERTILE MOUNDS.
THE NEW ISLANDS OF THE FOREST
OFFERED SHELTER
FROM THE SUN AND SAFETY
FROM THE FLOODS...
THE PERFECT PLACE
TO BUILD A HOME.
♪
THEY MAY HAVE BEEN MAN-MADE,
BUT DID PEOPLE EVER SETTLE
FOR GOOD ON THE ISLANDS?
WERE THESE
THE ACCIDENTAL FOUNDATIONS
OF THE FIRST
SETTLED AMAZON SOCIETY?
UMBERTO AND A TEAM
OF ARCHEOLOGISTS
MAY HAVE FOUND THE ANSWER
BY DIGGING DEEP
INTO THE CORE OF THE MOUND.
IN AMONGST
THE DISCARDED SHELLS...
HUMAN BURIALS.
♪
♪
UMBERTO'S DISCOVERY
IS A STROKE OF LUCK
BECAUSE IN AMAZONIA, HARSH,
ACIDIC SOILS MEAN
THAT BURIED BONES
ARE RARELY PRESERVED.
BUT ON THE FOREST ISLANDS,
CHEMICAL DEPOSITS
FROM ALL OF THE CRUSHED
SNAIL SHELLS
HAVE COATED THE BONES IN A
THICK, PROTECTIVE MINERAL LAYER.
♪
♪
♪
UMBERTO KNOWS THAT MANY
PREHISTORIC SOCIETIES BURIED
THEIR DEAD
BENEATH THEIR HOMES.
SO THESE REMAINS COULD MEAN
THAT EARLY AMAZONIANS
WERE BUILDING SETTLED
COMMUNITIES ON THESE MOUNDS.
AND THE SKULLS ARE FULL
OF CLUES
THAT TELL UMBERTO EVEN MORE
ABOUT HOW THEY SURVIVED HERE.
♪
♪
BUT BEST OF ALL, RADIOCARBON
DATING SHOWS UMBERTO
WHEN THESE PEOPLE LIVED.
♪
♪
IT'S AN INCREDIBLE DISCOVERY.
THESE BONES ARE BEYOND ANCIENT.
WHILE EUROPE WAS STILL IN
THE STONE AGE, 1,000 YEARS
BEFORE THE GREAT PYRAMIDS
OF EGYPT WERE BUILT,
2,000 YEARS
BEFORE THE RISE OF THE MAYA,
THE FIRST AMAZON SOCIETIES
WERE CLAIMING
SOUTH AMERICA AS THEIR OWN.
IN THE LLANOS DE MOJOS,
THEY LEARN TO CHANGE
THE WORLD AROUND THEM
TO CREATE SHELTER,
SECURITY, AND FOOD,
AND TO CREATE A NETWORK
OF FOREST ISLANDS
THAT FORMED ONE OF THE AMAZON'S
VERY FIRST SOCIETIES.
BUT WHAT HAPPENED
TO THESE FOREST-ISLAND PEOPLE?
IN SEARCH OF AN ANSWER,
UMBERTO TAKES SOIL SAMPLES
FROM THE FLOODPLAIN
AROUND THE FOREST ISLANDS.
♪
♪
BENEATH THE MODERN BLACK SOIL
IS A THICK LAYER OF SEDIMENT...
THE TELLTALE SIGN
OF AN ANCIENT FLOOD EVENT.
BELOW THAT SEDIMENT,
UMBERTO FINDS
WHAT HE'S LOOKING FOR.
♪
ANOTHER LAYER OF BLACK SOIL
THAT HE BELIEVES FORMED
AT THE TIME
THE FOREST-ISLAND DWELLERS
WERE LIVING HERE.
♪
♪
THE SOIL CORES SHOW THAT
AFTER PEOPLE HAD LIVED HERE
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS,
THE RIVER CHANGED ITS COURSE,
DROWNING THE ENTIRE AREA BENEATH
AT LEAST 3 FEET OF WATER.
♪
♪
TO THE NORTH LAY
THE AMAZON RAINFOREST ITSELF.
THE FLOODPLAIN SOCIETY
HAD LEARNED
TO TRANSFORM THEIR ENVIRONMENT
TO CREATE PERMANENT HOMES.
COULD THEY DO THE SAME
IN THE HOSTILE JUNGLE?
♪
♪
Narrator: ARCHEOLOGISTS HAVE
TRACED THE PATH OF EARLY HUMANS
FROM THE FRINGES OF THE JUNGLE
IN NORTHERN COLOMBIA
TO THE FLOODPLAINS OF BOLIVIA.
BUT HOW DID THEY MAKE THE LEAP
INTO THE HOSTILE FOREST ITSELF
TO LAY THE FOUNDATIONS FOR
A FUTURE JUNGLE CIVILIZATION?
IN THE WEST OF BRAZIL,
ON THE BANKS OF THE UPPER AMAZON
AND NOT FAR
FROM THE TOWN OF TEFé
IS A SMALL RIVERSIDE COMMUNITY
CALLED BOM JESUS DA PONTA
DE CASTANHA.
♪
THE VILLAGE IS SURROUNDED
BY RAINFOREST,
WHICH PROVIDES THE COMMUNITY
WITH ALMOST ALL THE FOOD
THEY NEED.
BUT THAT PRESENTS
ECOLOGIST CAROLINA LEVIS
AND ARCHAEOBOTANIST
MARIANA CASSINO
WITH A MYSTERY...
...BECAUSE MOST JUNGLE SOIL
IS NOWHERE NEAR FERTILE ENOUGH
TO GROW CROPS IN.
SO HOW COULD A VILLAGE,
LET ALONE A WHOLE CIVILIZATION,
FEED THEMSELVES HERE
IN THE JUNGLE?
CAROLINA AND MARIANA
SEARCH THE FOREST FOR CLUES.
♪
THERE IS SOMETHING UNUSUAL
ABOUT THE FOREST HERE.
♪
THE FOREST AROUND THE VILLAGE
IS DENSELY PACKED WITH FRUIT
AND NUT TREES.
IN THE WILD, THEY NEVER GROW
THIS CLOSE TOGETHER.
♪
THE WEIRDEST THING
IS THE SHEER NUMBER
OF ANCIENT TOWERING BRAZIL NUT
TREES AROUND THE VILLAGE
GROWING IN CLUSTERS
KNOWN AS STANDS.
♪
♪
♪
THE SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THAT MUCH
OF THE JUNGLE AROUND HERE
WAS ACTUALLY PLANTED
BY ANCIENT AMAZONIANS.
LOCAL GUIDE JUCELINO KNOWS
HOW VILLAGERS STILL PLANT TREES.
♪
♪
CAROLINA AND MARIANA BELIEVE
THAT ANCIENT POPULATIONS
SELECTED
AND NURTURED THE BEST TREE
SPECIES FOR CENTURIES,
CREATING A BOUNTIFUL
SUPPLY OF FOOD.
[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]
♪
Woman: MM-HMM.
♪
EVEN SO, A HUGE CIVILIZATION
CAN'T SURVIVE
JUST ON FRUITS AND NUTS.
BACK IN THE VILLAGE CENTER,
CAROLINA AND MARIANA ARE
SEARCHING FOR EVEN MORE CLUES.
CUIDADO.
[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]
THE LOCALS HAVE TOLD CAROLINA
AND MARIANA THAT THE FOUNDERS
OF THIS MODERN VILLAGE
CHOSE THE SITE VERY CAREFULLY.
[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]
AND ONE THING
IN PARTICULAR LED THEM HERE...
THE COLOR OF THE SOIL.
[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]
♪
♪
MOST AMAZON SOILS ARE YELLOW
OR RED
AND USELESS FOR GROWING CROPS.
BUT AROUND THE VILLAGE,
THE TOPSOIL
IS UNUSUALLY DARK AND FERTILE.
♪
LUCKILY, THE MYSTERIOUS SOIL
IS ALSO PACKED WITH CLUES...
FRAGMENTS OF ANCIENT POTTERY.
♪
♪
THIS SOIL IS MAN-MADE,
TRANSFORMED INTO A SUPER-COMPOST
BY ANCIENT PEOPLE
DIGGING CHARCOAL AND FOOD
WASTE INTO THE GROUND.
♪
THE EXCAVATIONS HAVE SHOWN
THESE SOILS
HAVE BEEN TRANSFORMED
OVER A THOUSAND YEARS
OR MORE TO CREATE
A FERTILE OASIS IN THE JUNGLE.
AND IT'S NOT JUST HERE THAT
THE BLACK EARTH IS BEING FOUND.
♪
♪
SO FAR,
SCIENTISTS HAVE IDENTIFIED
OVER 1,000 BLACK EARTH SITES
THROUGHOUT THE AMAZON,
AND BY MAPPING THE TREES
THAT TYPICALLY GROW
IN THESE FERTILE SOILS,
THE STAGGERING EXTENT OF HUMAN
TRANSFORMATION OF THE AMAZON
CAN BE REVEALED...
SOLVING THE MYSTERY
OF HOW LARGE POPULATIONS
COULD SURVIVE IN THE JUNGLE.
♪
♪
ACROSS THE AMAZON,
SCIENTISTS ARE DISCOVERING
THAT THE RAINFOREST IS ANYTHING
BUT AN UNTOUCHED WILDERNESS.
NOW WE KNOW VAST AREAS ARE THE
WORK OF ANCIENT AMAZONIANS
WHO LEARNED TO NURTURE AND SHAPE
THE JUNGLE ENOUGH
TO SUPPORT A CIVILIZATION.
BUT NOW AN INCREDIBLE DISCOVERY
IS ADDING A NEW TWIST
TO THE HUMAN STORY
OF THE AMAZON.
IT UNDERMINES ONE OF
THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL BELIEFS
ABOUT THE ENIGMATIC PEOPLE
OF THE AMAZON...
THAT THEY ALL SHARE
ONE FAMILY TREE
THAT GOES BACK TO NORTH AMERICA.
AT LEAST 15,000 YEARS AGO.
DO THESE EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE
ACTUALLY HAVE ROOTS
SOMEWHERE ELSE?
♪
♪
Narrator: IN BRAZIL, PALEOANTHROPOLOGIST
ELLA AL-SHAMAHI IS ON HER WAY
TO MEET AN EXTRAORDINARY
INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY,
THE SURUí.
RECENT RESEARCH HAS REVEALED
THAT THEY HOLD THE KEY
TO SOLVING ONE OF
THE GREATEST MYSTERIES
IN THE RISE OF
AMAZON CIVILIZATIONS.
WHERE DID THEY ALL COME FROM?
SO, WOULD YOU CALL THIS
A FRONTIER TOWN?
YEAH, A FRONTIER TOWN.
MORE OR LESS, YEAH.
ELLA IS TRYING TO DISCOVER
WHETHER THE SURUí THEMSELVES
CAN SHED ANY LIGHT
ON THE MYSTERY
OF HOW THEIR ANCIENT ANCESTORS
FIRST ARRIVED IN THE AMAZON.
SO, BASICALLY, THIS WHOLE AREA
USED TO BE INDIGENOUS TERRITORY.
YEAH, THE WHOLE AREA,
THE WHOLE STATE.
IT WAS VIRGIN RAINFOREST,
I MEAN, IF YOU CAN SAY THAT.
YEAH.
TO REACH THEM,
SHE HAS TO TRAVEL
THROUGH MILES OF OPEN FARMLAND.
LIKE MANY OF TODAY'S
AMAZONIAN PEOPLE,
THE SURUí FACE THE CONSTANT
THREAT OF DEFORESTATION.
BUT IT'S NOT JUST
THEIR TERRITORY AND CULTURE
THAT ARE AT STAKE...
IT'S THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY
OF HOW THEIR ANCESTORS
ARRIVED IN THE AMAZON.
♪
THERE THEY ARE.
HI.
[ SPEAKING
FOREIGN LANGUAGE ]
[ SPEAKING
NATIVE LANGUAGE ]
SO NICE TO MEET YOU.
CHIEF ALMIR SURUí WELCOMES
ELLA INTO THE VILLAGE
TO MEET HIS FAMILY.
THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT.
OKAY.
SO, IS THIS...
WALK THROUGH THERE.
HI.
AH, YOUR BROTHER.
HI. ELLA. ELLA.
ELLA HAS COME HERE TO SHARE
A REVELATION
WITH THE SURUí.
SCIENTISTS
STUDYING BLOOD SAMPLES
COLLECTED FROM THEM IN THE 1960s
HAVE FOUND THAT SURUí DNA
TELLS A REMARKABLE STORY
ABOUT THEIR ANCESTRY.
BUT NO ONE HAS EVER TOLD THEM.
♪
- [ LAUGHS ]
- HEY.
HI.
HI.
♪
CAN I ASK WHEN AND HOW WAS
YOUR BLOOD TAKEN?
♪
♪
DID YOU EVER HEAR
FROM THEM AGAIN?
DID YOU EVER GET
ANY RESULTS FROM THEM?
♪
Narrator: CHIEF ALMIR
GATHERS HIS COMMUNITY
TO HEAR
WHAT ELLA HAS COME TO TELL THEM.
HI.
SO, IF I DO IT
THIS WAY...
Chief Almir:
[ SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE ]
HOW MANY OF YOU ARE REALLY
FAMILIAR WITH THIS MAP?
THERE'S SOMETHING
REALLY INTERESTING
ABOUT YOURSELVES, ACTUALLY.
THE SURUí.
IT TURNS OUT THAT YOU,
UNLIKE MOST OTHER INDIGENOUS
GROUPS IN SOUTH AMERICA...
YOU SHARE SOME DNA,
SOME ANCESTRY
WITH PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA.
♪
IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN BELIEVED
THAT EVERY INDIGENOUS GROUP
IN THE AMAZON
CAN TRACE THEIR FAMILY TREE BACK
TO THE SAME ANCIENT ANCESTORS
WHO ARRIVED IN SOUTH AMERICA
AT LEAST 12,000 YEARS AGO.
BUT DNA FROM THE SURUí
AND JUST TWO OTHER TRIBES
TELLS A DIFFERENT STORY.
IT HAS A DISTINCTIVE SIGNATURE
THAT IS ONLY FOUND
IN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
FROM THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS,
PAPUA NEW GUINEA, AND AUSTRALIA.
IT MEANS THAT
YOU'RE VERY UNIQUE.
IT MEANS THAT THERE'S SOMETHING
REALLY INTERESTING
GOING ON WITH YOU.
AND THERE'S A SIGN OF ANCESTRY
IN YOU
THAT REALLY IS
IS VERY UNIQUE AND VERY SPECIAL.
THE SURUíS' ANCIENT ANCESTORS
MUST COME FROM A DIFFERENT PLACE
AND A DIFFERENT TIME FROM ALMOST
EVERY OTHER TRIBE IN THE AMAZON.
SOMEHOW THEY ARE CONNECTED
TO AUSTRALIA.
AND THE AMAZON FAMILY TREE
IS MUCH MORE COMPLICATED
THAN WE EVER REALIZED.
BUT IT SEEMS THE REVELATION
IS NOT AS MUCH OF A SURPRISE
TO THE SURUí AS ELLA EXPECTED.
♪
IF I DO IT THIS WAY...
Narrator: PALEOANTHROPOLOGIST
ELLA AL-SHAMAHI HAS REVEALED
TO THE SURUí PEOPLE THAT THEY
SHARE AN ANCESTRAL LINK
WITH INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS,
MAKING THEM UNIQUE
FROM OTHER AMAZONIAN TRIBES.
BUT AS THE NEWS SINKS IN,
IT SEEMS THE IDEA
THAT THEY HAVE EXOTIC ANCESTRY
FROM A FAR-OFF LAND
IS LESS OF A REVELATION
TO THE SURUí THAN ELLA EXPECTED.
♪
♪
THE SURUí HAVE MADE A CONNECTION
BETWEEN THEIR OWN
ANCESTRAL STORIES
AND THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE.
ARE YOU SURPRISED
BY THAT?
♪
♪
SCIENTISTS ARE ONLY BEGINNING
TO UNRAVEL
THE GREAT MYSTERY
OF THE AMAZON'S HUMAN STORY.
BUT THE SURUí REVEAL
THAT SURVIVING INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
HAVE A CRUCIAL ROLE TO PLAY.
THEIR ANCIENT CULTURES
CONTAIN CLUES
THAT CAN HELP SOLVE THE MYSTERY.
AND ELLA REALIZES THAT
UNLESS THEIR WAY OF LIFE
CAN BE PROTECTED,
THAT KNOWLEDGE MAY DISAPPEAR
FOREVER.
Al-Shamahi:
SO, THIS HAS BEEN
A COMPLETELY PROFOUND
EXPERIENCE, ACTUALLY.
WE, THE OUTSIDE WORLD,
I THINK, HAVE TO GIVE THEM
SO MUCH MORE RESPECT.
AND WE SCIENTISTS
ALSO HAVE TO GIVE THEM
SO MUCH MORE RESPECT AND HELP,
BECAUSE IF WE LET THE LOGGERS
AND THE MINERS WIN,
WE WILL HAVE LOST
ONE OF THE MOST FASCINATING
PIECES OF THE JIGSAW PUZZLE
WHEN IT COMES
TO AMAZONIAN HISTORY,
ONE OF THE MOST ANCIENT PEOPLE,
AND IT WOULD JUST BE
ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATING.
[ THUNDER CRASHES ]
♪
Narrator: ARCHEOLOGISTS TODAY
ARE DISCOVERING
HOW THE EARLIEST HUMANS LEARNED
TO SHAPE THE AMAZON
RAINFOREST AROUND THEM,
LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS
FOR A GREAT CIVILIZATION
IN THE JUNGLE.
THEIR DISCOVERIES
ARE REVOLUTIONIZING
OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THIS
REMARKABLE ENVIRONMENT
AND OF THE FUTURE
OF ITS INDIGENOUS PEOPLE,
WHO SHAPED THE FOREST,
BUT NOW FIGHT TO PRESERVE
THOUSANDS OF YEARS
OF UNBROKEN HERITAGE.
♪
♪
♪
♪