Out of Egypt (2009–…): Season 1, Episode 3 - Sins of the City - full transcript

Cooney: OUR ANCESTORS
TRADED LIFE IN THE OPEN

FOR CROWDS AND CONGESTION.

WHY?

WHEN, FOR MOST PEOPLE,
LIFE BECAME TOUGHER?

ONCE CITIES APPEARED,
THERE WAS NO GOING BACK.

WE'RE STILL PAYING THE PRICE
IN THE SINS OF THE CITY.

I'M KARA COONEY,

AN EGYPTOLOGIST
ON A WORLDWIDE QUEST.

I LOOK AT HUMAN BEHAVIOR,

BOTH PAST AND PRESENT,

THROUGH THE LENS
OF ANCIENT EGYPT.



AND THE MORE I TRAVEL THE WORLD,
THE MORE SIMILARITIES I SEE.

EXPLORING WHY WE ARE WHO WE ARE

OFTEN LEADS ME...

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

THIS IS THE MODERN-DAY CITY
OF LUXOR.

AS WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD,

THE MAJORITY
OF EGYPT'S POPULATION

LIVES IN CROWDED CITIES
LIKE THIS.

BUT IT WASN'T ALWAYS THIS WAY.

NOT LONG
BEFORE THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS

BEGAN BUILDING
THEIR GREATEST MONUMENTS EVER,

THE VERY CONCEPT OF A CITY
WOULD'VE BEEN UNHEARD OF.

CITIES ARE
A RELATIVELY RECENT INVENTION.

[ BIRDS CHIRPING,
HOOVES PATTERING ]



HUMANS HAD ALWAYS BEEN
HUNTER-GATHERERS

LIVING IN SMALL,
MOBILE FAMILY GROUPS.

THEY HAD FEW POSSESSIONS.

THEY MOVED WITH THE SEASONS,
TRACKED GAME,

AND FORAGED
FOR FRUIT AND VEGETABLES.

BUT TODAY, MORE THAN HALF
THE WORLD'S POPULATION

LIVES IN CONGESTED
URBAN CENTERS.

SO, WHEN AND WHY
DID CITIES START?

WHAT CONDITIONS LED POPULATIONS
TO SETTLE DOWN AND BUILD UP?

IT DIDN'T HAPPEN
ALL OF A SUDDEN.

THE FIRST STEP WAS AGRICULTURE.

SUCCESSFUL FARMING
MEANT STAYING IN ONE PLACE.

FARMING ALSO PRODUCED
A REAL SURPLUS OF FOOD

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY.

EXTRA FOOD MEANT
THAT WHILE THE FARMERS FARMED

SOME PEOPLE
COULD DO OTHER THINGS.

IT LOOKS IDYLLIC,

BUT EVEN IN EGYPT,
WHERE THE NILE SOIL IS SO RICH,

FARMING IS A DIFFICULT LIFE.

IN MANY WAYS, IT WAS EASIER
FOR EARLY PEOPLE TO BE MOBILE...

TO FOLLOW THE MIGRATIONS
OF THE ANIMALS THEY HUNTED

AND TO FORAGE FOR VEGETABLES
AND PLANTS IN THE WILD.

AS NATURAL AS IT SEEMS TO US
TO GROW OUR OWN FOOD,

SETTLING DOWN
INTO FARMS AND INTO CITIES

WAS A RADICAL MOVE
IN HUMAN HISTORY.

IT'S CALLED
THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION...

THE PERIOD IN HUMAN HISTORY

WHEN PEOPLE WERE TIED
TO THE LAND FOR THE FIRST TIME.

AND WHEN THAT HAPPENED,

EVERYTHING ABOUT HUMAN SOCIETY
CHANGED.

EGYPT HAS SOME OF THE OLDEST
EVIDENCE OF FARMING ON EARTH

IN A PLACE CALLED THE FAIYUM,

ABOUT 80 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF CAIRO.

MUCH OF THE FAIYUM
BORDERS THE NILE RIVER.

IT'S FERTILE LAND,
IDEAL FOR FARMING.

BUT OVER THE MILLENNIA,
THE NILE HAS SHIFTED ITS COURSE.

LAND THAT IN ANCIENT TIMES
WAS NOURISHED

BY THE RIVER AND A HUGE LAKE

IS NOW BARREN DESERT.

IT'S IN ONE
OF THESE ARID REGIONS

WHERE MY COLLEAGUE
WILLEKE WENDRICH

HAS RECENTLY UNEARTHED EVIDENCE

OF AN ANCIENT FARMING COMMUNITY
DATING TO 5500 B.C.E....

3,000 YEARS BEFORE
THE FIRST PYRAMIDS WERE BUILT.

IS IT FAIR TO SAY
THAT THESE TRENCHES REPRESENT

THE FIRST SETTLEMENT IN EGYPT,

THE FIRST EVIDENCE
OF SETTLEMENT,

OR DO WE HAVE
EARLIER SETTLEMENTS?

IT'S... THERE MAY HAVE BEEN
EARLIER SETTLEMENTS,

BUT WE HAVEN'T FOUND THEM.

SO THIS IS REALLY
THE EARLIEST EVIDENCE

THAT WE HAVE FOR SETTLEMENTS.

AND IT'S NOT A SETTLEMENT
AS YOU WOULD EXPECT,

WITH STREETS AND HOUSES.

WILLEKE'S TEAM STUDIES

LAYERS OF MATERIAL
DEPOSITED BY PEOPLE OVER TIME.

IT'S CALLED STRATIGRAPHY.

DARK LAYERS OF ASH REVEAL

THAT THE ANCIENT SETTLERS BUILT
FIRES IN PERMANENT HEARTHS.

THIS TELLS US THAT PEOPLE LIVED
ON THIS SPOT FOR DECADES...

SOMETHING THEY COULD ONLY DO

IF THEY HAD CONTROL
OVER THEIR FOOD SOURCE.

AND THE ONLY WAY
TO HAVE HAD THAT CONTROL

WAS TO RAISE CROPS AND ANIMALS

INSTEAD OF HUNTING
AND GATHERING.

THEY'RE NOT ONLY DOING WHEAT
AND BARLEY, SO, AGRICULTURE.

BUT THEY ALSO HAVE SHEEPS,
THEIR GOATS, THEIR PIGS.

WE FOUND A LOT OF PIG, AS WELL.

THE FUNNY THING ABOUT PIGS
IS THAT THEY DON'T LIKE TO WALK.

SO PIGS TEND TO POINT
AT SETTLED...

LIVING.

SO, WHY DID THESE ANCIENT PEOPLE
CHOOSE TO SETTLE DOWN,

PLANT CROPS,
AND BUILD A COMMUNITY?

MAYBE CHANGES IN THE CLIMATE
MADE FARMING POSSIBLE...

OR PERHAPS FARMING BECAME
NECESSARY TO FEED MORE PEOPLE...

OR MAYBE SOME PEOPLE FIGURED OUT

THAT GROWING
AND CONTROLLING FOOD

GAVE THEM POWER OVER OTHERS.

IT'S HARD TO SAY EXACTLY

WHAT CAUSED THE HUMAN LEAP
TO AGRICULTURE.

BUT WHATEVER INSPIRED IT,
THIS FARMING SETTLEMENT

APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN OCCUPIED
FOR 500 YEARS.

SO LIFE MUST HAVE BEEN GOOD.

IT'S EASY IF YOU KNOW
WHERE YOUR RESOURCES ARE.

SO, YOU HAVE ONE SPOT,
AND FROM THERE,

YOU CAN GO AND YOU KNOW
WHERE TO FIND STUFF.

YOU HAVE THIS WONDERFUL LAKE,
WHICH IS PLENTIFUL OF FISH.

SO, YOU HAVE A WELL-BALANCED
WAY OF LIVING.

THIS SITE
IS THE EARLIEST FARMING VILLAGE

EVER FOUND IN EGYPT.

BUT IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD,

THE MOVE TO SETTLE DOWN BEGAN
THOUSANDS OF YEARS EARLIER.

[ BIRDS CHIRPING ]

IN CENTRAL TURKEY,

A MASSIVE PROTECTIVE STRUCTURE
HAS BEEN ERECTED

OVER ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST
IMPORTANT ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGS

AND THE LARGEST NEOLITHIC SITE
EVER FOUND...

THE SETTLEMENT OF CATALHOYUK.

PEOPLE BEGAN TO SETTLE HERE

ALMOST 2,000 YEARS
BEFORE THE FIRST FARMERS

APPEARED ALONG THE NILE.

CATALHOYUK WAS FIRST DISCOVERED
IN THE LATE 1950s.

ARCHAEOLOGIST KARIS EKLUND

HAS AGREED TO TAKE ME
THROUGH THIS REMARKABLE SITE.

Cooney: THERE'S TONS
OF LAYERS HERE.

THIS PLACE WAS OCCUPIED
FOR A WHILE.

DO YOU GUYS KNOW HOW LONG?

YEAH, IT WAS OCCUPIED
CONTINUOUSLY

FOR ABOUT 1,400 YEARS.

THEY FIRST SETTLED HERE
IN 7400 B.C.E.

AND THEY ABANDONED THE SITE
ABOUT 6000 B.C.E.

AND HOW MANY PEOPLE
ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

POPULATION ESTIMATES VARY
BETWEEN 3,000 TO 8,000 PEOPLE,

AND IT PROBABLY CHANGED
OVER TIME.

SO, THE SITE IS NOT ONLY OLDER

BUT MUCH, MUCH BIGGER
THAN THE FAIYUM SITE IN EGYPT.

THIS IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S
VERY FIRST CITIES.

[ BIRDS CHIRPING ]

THE HOMES AT CATALHOYUK
WERE BUILT

FROM MUD BRICK, OR ADOBE,
IN RECTANGULAR SHAPES.

WOODEN POSTS SUPPORTED ROOFS
MADE FROM PACKED MUD AND REEDS.

EACH BUILDING
HAD ONE, TWO, OR THREE ROOMS

SEPARATED BY THINNER WALLS.

WE LOOK AT A PLACE LIKE THIS,
PEOPLE LIVING IN FOUR WALLS,

AND IT SEEMS COMPLETELY NORMAL.

BUT, IN A WAY,
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY RADICAL

FOR PEOPLE WHO USED TO
BE FREE AND MOBILE,

MOVING ABOUT THE COUNTRYSIDE,

TO CRAMP THEMSELVES INTO
THIS KIND OF A LIVING SPACE.

YEAH, AND THE HOUSES
THAT THEY LIVED IN HERE, TOO,

ARE A LOT DIFFERENT THAN THE
HOUSES THAT WE LIVE IN TODAY.

THEY'RE MUCH SMALLER,
FOR ONE THING.

THERE'S ACTUALLY NO ROOM

IN BETWEEN
THE WALLS OF THE HOUSES.

THEY BUILT THEIR HOMES
SO CLOSE TOGETHER,

SOMETIMES THEY SHARED WALLS,

SOMETIMES THEY'RE
ONLY CENTIMETERS APART.

SO THEN THERE WERE NO STREETS.

AND WE THINK THAT THEY MOVED
ABOUT ON THE ROOFTOPS

AND DESCENDED INTO HOMES
THROUGH HOLES IN THE CEILINGS.

HOMES PROBABLY ACCOMMODATED
8 TO 10 PEOPLE EACH

AND WERE CLUSTERED
NEXT TO EACH OTHER

LIKE A HONEYCOMB.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE UNEARTHED

18 LAYERS OF CONSTRUCTION
AT CATALHOYUK...

A DEPTH OF NEARLY 7 STORIES.

THE AVERAGE LIFE SPAN OF
A BUILDING WAS ABOUT 80 YEARS.

AND WHEN PEOPLE WERE READY
TO ABANDON A BUILDING,

THEY WENT THROUGH
A VERY SPECIAL PROCESS.

THEY FIRST CLEANED
THE WHOLE HOUSE.

THEY SCRUBBED THE FLOORS.
THEY SCRUBBED THE WALLS.

THEY DISMANTLED THE ROOF,
TOOK OUT THE POSTS,

AND THEY COLLAPSED
THE UPPER HALVES OF THE WALLS.

THEN THEY VERY CAREFULLY

FILLED IN THE REST
OF THE BUILDING WITH DIRT,

AND THEY BUILT THE NEXT HOUSE
DIRECTLY ON TOP.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HERE
HAVE FOUND FOUR HOUSES

DIRECTLY ALIGNED
OVER AN EARLIER ONE

WITH THE WALLS,
OVENS, AND HEARTHS

IN EXACTLY THE SAME PLACE.

SO IN THIS ANCIENT CITY,

THERE'S A REMARKABLE CONTINUITY
OVER TIME.

THERE ARE SEVERAL THEORIES
ABOUT WHO LIVED AT CATALHOYUK.

SOME ARCHAEOLOGISTS THINK
THEY WERE ALL FARMERS

WHO WORKED THE RICH FLOODPLAINS
SURROUNDING THE CITY.

BUT OTHERS THINK
AT LEAST SOME OF THE RESIDENTS

MAY HAVE BEEN FREE
TO PURSUE OTHER OCCUPATIONS

BECAUSE THERE WAS PLENTY
OF SURPLUS FOOD.

IF YOU THINK ABOUT ALL OF THE
FUNCTIONS OF A MODERN TOWN...

CHURCHES, CEMETERIES,

INDUSTRIAL ZONES OR FACTORIES,
RESIDENCES...

AT CATALHOYUK, WHAT WE SEE
IS ALL OF THOSE PLACES

BROUGHT INTO ONE PLACE,
INTO THE HOME.

THEY'RE BURYING THEIR DEAD
UNDERNEATH THE FLOORS.

THEY'RE COOKING AND EATING
AND LIVING IN THE MAIN ROOM.

SO EVERYBODY'S LEADING
THEIR OWN DISCRETE LIFE

PACKED INTO THIS TOWN.

YEAH, BUT AT THE SAME TIME,
OF COURSE, YOU HAVE THIS BALANCE

BECAUSE YOU'RE ALSO LIVING
IN A COMMUNITY

WITH 5,000 OTHER PEOPLE.

FOR THE RESIDENTS OF CATALHOYUK,

THIS DENSE LIFESTYLE BROUGHT
DRAMATIC NEW CHALLENGES,

LIKE HOW TO COPE WITH
HUMAN WASTE, FILTH, AND DISEASE.

Cooney: AT CATALHOYUK IN TURKEY,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS
HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR YEARS

TO EXCAVATE
THESE NEOLITHIC HOUSES,

SOME OF THEM
OVER 9,000 YEARS OLD.

THEY'VE RECONSTRUCTED
ONE OF THE ANCIENT HOMES,

AND THEY CALL IT
THE EXPERIMENTAL HOUSE.

COME ON DOWN, KARIS.

IT GIVES US A GLIMPSE
OF WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE

IN ONE OF THE WORLD'S
VERY FIRST CITIES.

WE'VE GOT
THE ENTRANCE HOLE HERE.

PEOPLE WOULD'VE COME DOWN

ON A LADDER
OR SOME SORT OF STAIRS.

WE'VE GOT THE OVEN
DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH THE DOOR

TO LET THE SMOKE OUT.

AND THE DOOR
REALLY WOULD'VE BEEN

THE ONLY SOURCE
OF VENTILATION OR LIGHT

BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE
ANY EVIDENCE OF WINDOWS.

AND IT'S NOT THAT DARK.
IT'S PRETTY BRIGHT.

WHEN YOU WHITEWASH ALL OF THIS,

IT REFLECTS OFF OF HERE
AND IT CREATES A BRIGHT ROOM.

HOUSES LIKE THIS
CONTAINED HEAVY GRINDSTONES,

A CLEAR INDICATION

THAT THE PEOPLE DEPENDED
ON GRAINS AND BEANS FOR FOOD...

FOODS THAT NEEDED
TO BE PROCESSED

BEFORE THEY COULD BE EATEN.

ONE INTERESTING THING
ABOUT THE DIET

IS THAT EACH HOUSE HAD
ITS OWN STORAGE CAPACITY.

SO THEY WERE
STORING THEIR OWN FOOD,

AND THEY WERE PREPARING
THEIR OWN FOOD.

YOU NEED BIG
GRINDING MATERIALS LIKE THIS

TO ACTUALLY BE ABLE
TO EAT THE FOOD.

SO THESE PEOPLE
CAN'T JUST PICK UP AND GO.

THEY'D HAVE TO MOVE
ALL OF THIS MATERIAL,

AND YOU CAN'T TAKE THIS
WITH YOU.

THIS IS IMMOVABLE PROPERTY.

YEAH, THEY'RE DEFINITELY
COMMITTED TO STAYING HERE.

AND WE SEE THAT PARTICULARLY
IN THE ARTWORK, TOO.

THIS IS A REPLICA
OF AN ORIGINAL HERE.

YEAH, THIS IS A REPLICA
OF A PAINTING.

IT'S BEEN INTERPRETED
IN DIFFERENT WAYS.

SOME SAY THAT THIS HERE
IS A VOLCANO.

IT'S CALLED HASAN DAGI,

AND ON CLEAR DAYS,
YOU CAN SEE IT FROM THE SITE.

SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT IT'S
THE ERUPTION OF A VOLCANO...

AND THAT THESE BLOCKS HERE

REPRESENT THE HOUSES
OF CATALHOYUK.

AN ALTERNATE INTERPRETATION
IS THAT THIS IS A LEOPARD SKIN,

BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT LEOPARDS
WERE VERY IMPORTANT.

LIFE IN CATALHOYUK

APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN
EFFICIENT AND RELIABLE.

THESE ANCIENT PEOPLE
CLEARLY HAD WORKED OUT

HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY STAY
IN ONE PLACE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY

OVER TIME.

BUT WITH THE FIRST DENSE
HUMAN SETTLEMENTS IN HISTORY

CAME A NUMBER
OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.

WITH A POPULATION OF 5,000

LIVING IN THE SAME SPACE
YEAR AFTER YEAR,

NEVER MOVING
TO A CLEANER LOCATION,

HYGIENE WAS BOUND TO SUFFER.

AND ALTHOUGH IT'S HARD TO SEE
IN THE SKELETAL REMAINS,

INFECTIOUS DISEASES

AND PARASITES
LIKE TAPEWORMS AND LICE

WERE PROBABLY RAMPANT.

THE MOVE TO CITY LIFE
WAS A SLIPPERY SLOPE.

SO, WHAT ABOUT TRASH?
HOW DID THEY DEAL WITH IT HERE?

SO, THEY ACTUALLY THREW AWAY
THEIR TRASH ON SITE.

THERE WERE SOME SPACES
IN BETWEEN THE BUILDINGS

THAT WE NOW CALL MIDDEN AREAS
OR TRASH-REFUSE AREAS.

THIS IS WHERE THEY DISPOSED
OF ALL OF THEIR DOMESTIC WASTE,

THE HUMAN WASTE.

IT MUST'VE BEEN REALLY SMELLY.
IT MUST'VE BEEN...

IT PROBABLY WAS,
AND WE WONDER ABOUT THAT.

IT PROBABLY SMELLED.
IT PROBABLY ATTRACTED FLIES.

MICE PROBABLY LIVED
IN THE LITTLE SPACES

IN BETWEEN THE BUILDINGS.

WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE DOWNSIDES,

LIKE INFECTIONS,
DISEASE, AND VERMIN,

LIFE IN THE CROWDED AND CRAMPED
CONDITIONS OF CATALHOYUK

HARDLY SEEMS LIKE
A STEP FORWARD.

SO, WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE

BEFORE THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION,
BEFORE PERMANENT SETTLEMENTS?

ONE WAY TO UNDERSTAND
IS TO FIND A CULTURE

THAT STILL FOLLOWS
A HUNTER-GATHERER EXISTENCE.

THERE ARE VERY FEW
OF THESE PEOPLE LEFT,

AND MOST OF THEM LIVE
IN REMOTE, INACCESSIBLE PLACES.

BUT, FORTUNATELY,
THERE ARE PEOPLE

WITH A LIVING MEMORY
OF THIS LIFESTYLE

MUCH CLOSER TO HOME.

THE STATE OF OREGON IS WHERE
THE PLATEAU TRIBES LIVE...

THE UMATILLA, THE CAYUSE,
AND THE WALLA WALLA.

THESE NATIVE AMERICANS

STILL PRACTICE
HUNTING AND GATHERING.

ALTHOUGH THEY LIVE
IN PERMANENT TOWNS AND CITIES

MOST OF THE TIME,

FOR SEVERAL WEEKS EACH YEAR
IN THE SPRING AND FALL,

THEY LEAVE THE URBAN WORLD
BEHIND

AND RETURN
TO THE MOBILE LIFESTYLE

OF THEIR ANCESTORS.

BRIAN CONNER AND KEN HALL
ARE TRIBAL HUNTERS.

WHY DO PEOPLE OF TRIBAL DESCENT

STILL TRY TO LIVE
IN THE OLD WAYS,

AS A HUNTER-GATHERER?

IF YOU CAN HAVE
ONE PERSON BEHIND

THAT CAN STILL
SPEAK THE LANGUAGE,

STILL KNOWS
HOW TO HUNT AND GATHER,

STILL KNOWS THE CUSTOMS...

OUT OF MAYBE 100,
IF YOU HAVE ONE PERSON THERE

THAT CAN STILL DO THAT,
THEN IT'S ALIVE.

Cooney:
BOBBIE CONNER IS DIRECTOR

OF THE
TRIBAL CULTURAL INSTITUTE,

WHERE SHE TEACHES THE OLD WAYS
TO NEW GENERATIONS.

NOW, THE PLATEAU TRIBES
HAVE BEEN IN THIS AREA,

YOU THINK,
FOR ABOUT 10,000 YEARS?

AT LEAST 10,000 YEARS.

AND THEY NEVER LIVED IN CITIES?

THEY ALWAYS LIVED
IN SMALLER SETTLEMENTS?

WE LIVED IN VILLAGES
ALONG RIVERS AND CANYONS

AND SHELTERED AREAS
IN THE WINTER, ESPECIALLY,

AND THEN MIGRATED

TO VARIOUS LOCATIONS
OF OUR FOOD SOURCES

AS THE SEASONS CHANGED.

MIGRATING TO RESOURCES
MEANT TRAVELING LIGHT,

ESPECIALLY
WHEN IT CAME TO SHELTERS.

MARJORIE WAHENEKA
HAS BEEN HUNTING AND GATHERING

SINCE SHE WAS A CHILD.

ONE OF THE WORDS THAT ALWAYS
COMES TO MIND OUT OF PEOPLE

IS "NOMADIC."

IT'S CORRECT IN A WAY,

BUT NOT REALLY, BECAUSE WE
WEREN'T JUST TRAVELING AROUND.

WE HAD PURPOSE
WITH THE TRAVELING.

IT'S MORE MIGRATORY.
YES, IT WAS MORE...

THERE WAS A PURPOSE
OF FOOD GATHERING.

THE PERFECT SHELTER
FOR THIS MOBILE LIFESTYLE

WAS THE TEPEE.

THE PLATEAU TRIBES
USUALLY TRAVELED

IN FAMILY GROUPS
OF ABOUT 25 PEOPLE.

CLEVER!

THE WOMEN OF THE TRIBES

WERE RESPONSIBLE
FOR BUILDING THE TEPEES.

THIS ONE WILL GO RIGHT THERE.

YOU GUYS MAKE THIS LOOK SO EASY.

EACH TEPEE HOUSED
FIVE OR SIX FAMILY MEMBERS.

EXPERIENCED BUILDERS

COULD ERECT A TEPEE
IN ABOUT 20 MINUTES.

THAT WAS MY BEST ONE SO FAR.
THAT WAS GOOD.

HOW HIGH DO I HAVE TO GO?

Waheneka: ALL THE WAY UP.
[ LAUGHS ]

SOMETIMES THE GIRLS
COULD ACTUALLY SHIMMY...

UP THERE... YOU KNOW, UP THERE.

Bobbie: OR STAND ON
EACH OTHER'S SHOULDERS.

I THINK SHE'S NEEDING THE CHAIR.

I NEED A CHAIR!

IT'S THE FIRST TIME I'VE EVER
SAID THAT IN MY WHOLE LIFE.

BUT I'M NOT TALL ENOUGH.
[ LAUGHS ]

COME ON. THERE YOU ARE. YAY.

MARJORIE, THIS DIDN'T TAKE
THAT LONG TO PUT TOGETHER.

AND I'M JUST THINKING OF
HOW THIS COMPARES TO CITY LIFE,

WHEN EVERYONE'S
ALL CRAMMED TOGETHER

INTO THESE PERMANENT STRUCTURES.

THIS WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN
A BAD WAY TO LIVE AT ALL.

NO, IT WOULDN'T.

AND WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE.
WE WERE ALWAYS ACTIVE.

SO, YOU'RE HUNTING, YOU'RE
GATHERING, YOU'RE RIDING HORSES,

YOU'RE CAMPING EVERY NOW
AND THEN IN TEPEES LIKE THIS.

IT'S A VERY HEALTHY
LIFESTYLE.
VERY HEALTHY.

IT WASN'T UNTIL
THE NON-INDIAN CAME IN

THAT WE STARTED DEVELOPING
ALL OF THESE DISEASES,

ALL OF THESE THINGS
THAT RESTRICTED

THE LENGTH OF OUR LIFE.

[ BIRDS CHIRPING ]

THE NEW DISEASES RESTRICTED

MORE THAN JUST THE LENGTH
OF THE INDIANS' LIVES.

THE MOVEMENT OF WHITE SETTLERS
INTO THE WEST

ALMOST DESTROYED
A WHOLE WAY OF LIFE.

THE NEWCOMERS WANTED LAND,
AND THEY WANTED TO OWN IT.

NOW, AS FARMERS AND GRAZERS
MOVED IN,

DID THEY BUILD A LOT OF FENCES

AND SHUT DOWN THE HUNTING
THAT YOU GUYS WERE DOING?

Hall: IT CHANGED IT.
IT WAS A WHOLE NEW CONCEPT.

WE COULDN'T GET INTO AN AREA
WE USUALLY WENT SEASONALLY.

AND THEN WE HAD TO
GO SOMEPLACE ELSE,

AND THAT JUST CREATED
MORE CONFLICT.

THOUGH ON A MUCH SMALLER SCALE
AND FOR ONLY PART OF THE YEAR,

THE PLATEAU TRIBES OF OREGON
WILL CARRY ON

AS LONG AS THERE ARE
ROOTS AND BERRIES TO GATHER

AND HERDS TO HUNT.

THE LIFESTYLE
THAT WE DID HAVE...

IT WAS THOUSANDS OF YEARS
PROVEN.

THIS COUNTRY HERE IS ONLY
A COUPLE HUNDRED YEARS OLD.

AND THE STRUGGLES
THAT ARE GOING ON GLOBALLY,

WE MIGHT END UP GOING RIGHT BACK
TO WHAT WE STILL KNOW.

SO, IF EVERYTHING GOES TO HELL
IN A HANDBASKET,

YOU GUYS KNOW THAT
YOU'RE GONNA BE OKAY.

WE KNOW WHAT WE HAVE TO DO.

WELL, I'M COMING UP HERE.

[ LAUGHTER ]

I'M GONNA START
WALKING TO OREGON.

WE'LL ADOPT YOU.
YOU'LL ADOPT ME?

CAN I HUNT? I WOULD SUCK AT IT.

[ BIRDS CHIRPING ]

Cooney: HUMANS LIVED AS
HUNTER-GATHERERS FOR MILLENNIA.

IT WASN'T THAT THEY LACKED

THE KNOWLEDGE
OR THE SKILL TO FARM.

THEY KNEW THAT IF YOU PLANTED
A SEED IN THE GROUND,

IT WOULD GROW.

BUT THEY ALSO UNDERSTOOD
THAT A MOBILE LIFESTYLE

ALLOWED THEM A RICH, HEALTHY,
AND FLEXIBLE WAY

TO ADAPT TO THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

SO, WHY DID THIS CHANGE?

NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH
INTO ANCIENT BONES MAY TELL US.

Cooney: THIS IS TEL AVIV
UNIVERSITY IN ISRAEL,

HOME TO THE SKELETAL REMAINS

OF SOME OF THE EARLIEST HUMANS
IN THE MEDITERRANEAN.

I'VE COME HERE TO FIND OUT
HOW LIFE IN TOWNS AND CITIES

AFFECTED PEOPLE'S HEALTH
7,000 TO 9,000 YEARS AGO.

USING HIGH- AND LOW-TECH
METHODS,

SCIENTISTS CAN LEARN A LOT

FROM THE BONES
OF ANCIENT SETTLERS.

ISRAEL HERSHKOVITZ

IS A LEADING
PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGIST.

HUMAN-BONE ANALYSIS
IS A VITAL PART OF HIS STUDIES.

LONG BONES LIKE ARMS AND LEGS

REVEAL A LOT
ABOUT NUTRITION AND DISEASE.

BUT JUST ONE SMALL TOOTH

CAN TELL
THE LIFE-AND-DEATH STORY

OF AN ANCIENT HUMAN BEING.

TEETH CAN TELL YOU
ABOUT EVERYTHING.

DR. HERSHKOVITZ HAS STUDIED
THOUSANDS OF SPECIMENS

FROM THE LATE
HUNTER-GATHERER PERIOD

CALLED THE NATUFIAN

AND THE FIRST FARMERS
OF THE EARLY NEOLITHIC.

THROUGH MICROSCOPIC ANALYSIS
AND CHEMICAL TESTING,

HE'S DETERMINED KEY DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN THE TWO LIFESTYLES.

ACCORDING TO HIS STUDY,

NEOLITHIC SETTLERS,
ESPECIALLY WOMEN,

GENERALLY LIVED
LONGER AND LESS VIOLENT LIVES

THAN THEIR
HUNTER-GATHERER ANCESTORS.

SO, AT FIRST,
IT SEEMS THAT LIVING IN A TOWN

WAS ACTUALLY SAFER AND EASIER.

BUT LIFE
IN PERMANENT SETTLEMENTS

CAME AT A HIGH PRICE...

MORE STRESS FROM REPETITIVE
PHYSICAL LABOR LIKE FARMING...

AND WORSE.

TUBERCULOSIS WAS ONLY
ONE OF THE NEW DISEASES

CONNECTED TO CITY LIFE.

ILLNESSES LIKE
MEASLES, SMALL POX,

INFLUENZA, CHOLERA, MALARIA,
AND BUBONIC PLAGUE

COULD SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE
IN A CITY.

IF MOVING
TO PERMANENT SETTLEMENTS

MEANT MORE DISEASE
AND, FOR MANY, A HARDER LIFE,

WHY DID PEOPLE DO IT?

WHAT WAS THE BENEFIT?

THE BEST EVIDENCE
TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS

COMES FROM ONE OF THE VERY FIRST
CITIES IN THE WORLD.

THIS IS THE MODERN CITY
OF JERICHO.

TODAY ABOUT 20,000 PEOPLE
LIVE HERE

IN THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
NEAR THE DEAD SEA.

JERICHO IS BELIEVED TO BE

ONE OF THE OLDEST CONTINUOUSLY
INHABITED CITIES ON EARTH,

FIRST ESTABLISHED
AROUND 10,000 YEARS AGO,

PROBABLY EVEN BEFORE
THE FIRST SETTLEMENT

AT CATALHOYUK.

I'M CLIMBING UP
ON THE OLDEST WALL

THAT WE KNOW OF IN HISTORY.

IT'S OVER 9,000 YEARS OLD,
MAY EVEN BE OLDER.

AND IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE MUCH,

BUT IT GOES DOWN ANOTHER METER,
MAYBE ANOTHER METER AND A HALF.

BUT IT'S NOT JUST THAT.

IT'S CONNECTED TO THIS HUGE,
ROUND MONUMENTAL TOWER

THAT HAS A STAIRCASE
IN THE MIDDLE OF IT...

PROBABLY THE FIRST STAIRCASE
IN ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY.

MOST ARCHAEOLOGISTS THINK

THAT A WALL LIKE THIS
AND A TOWER LIKE THIS

ARE BUILT FOR DEFENSE.

IN CITIES,
THERE WAS SOMETHING TO DEFEND...

STORED FOOD SUPPLIES

AND ALL THE FIXTURES
OF SETTLED LIFE.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY,

THERE WAS SOMETHING
BEYOND YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY

TO PROTECT.

JERICHO WAS A VIBRANT,
BUSTLING NEOLITHIC COMMUNITY.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS THINK
THAT EACH HOUSEHOLD

WOULD HAVE AMASSED THINGS
OF VALUE OVER THE SEASONS...

STOCKPILES OF FOOD
LIKE GRAINS AND OIL

AND CRAFTED GOODS.

AND IT ALL NEEDED
TO BE DEFENDED.

RESIDENTS WOVE BASKETS...

CREATED TEXTILES ON A LOOM...

OR TANNED ANIMAL HIDES
INTO LEATHER.

OTHERS GROUND GRAIN
AND BAKED BREAD...

AMONG THE MOST TIME-CONSUMING
AND BACKBREAKING TASKS

IN THE ANCIENT HOUSEHOLD.

PRECISELY BECAUSE JERICHO
WAS A RESOURCE-RICH COMMUNITY,

THE MASSIVE WALLS
SURROUNDING THE CITY

WERE PROBABLY BUILT TO PROTECT
THESE VALUABLE COMMODITIES.

WHEN HUNTER-GATHERERS
HAD TROUBLE,

THEY COULD QUICKLY MOVE ON,

BUT THE NEW CITY DWELLERS
DIDN'T HAVE THAT FLEXIBILITY.

THEY HAD TO STAND AND FIGHT.

AVI GOPHER SPECIALIZES
IN THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION.

BECAUSE YOU'RE
ALWAYS MOVING AROUND.

YOU'RE GOING
TO WHERE YOUR GRAINS ARE,

YOU'RE GOING TO WHERE
THE ANIMALS ARE.

TO SHARE EQUALLY
AND TO USE EVERYTHING.

AND WITH POLITICS
INEVITABLY COME POWER STRUGGLES

OVER THE OWNERSHIP OF LAND...

A CONCEPT RARELY SEEN
WITH HUNTER-GATHERERS.

[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]

WHAT WAS ONCE SHARED

SUDDENLY BECOMES A SOURCE
OF COMPETITION, CONFLICT,

AND WAR.

AND THAT WASN'T
THE ONLY SOURCE OF TROUBLE.

SOME PEOPLE
INEVITABLY WERE BETTER

AT PRODUCING AND PROTECTING
SURPLUS FOODS THAN OTHERS.

WHEN PEOPLE SETTLED DOWN,
THEY BEGAN TO AMASS WEALTH.

THIS CHANGED
THE ENTIRE SOCIAL SYSTEM,

CREATING SOMETHING ELSE
HUMANS HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE...

RICH AND POOR.

AS VILLAGES BECAME TOWNS
AND TOWNS BECAME CITIES,

THE WEALTH AND POWER
OF THE EMERGING RULING CLASS

REACHED NEW HEIGHTS.

AND ONCE THAT GENIE
WAS OUT OF THE BOTTLE,

THERE WAS NO PUTTING IT BACK.

Cooney: IN EARLY CITIES
LIKE CATALHOYUK

AND PROBABLY ALSO JERICHO,

THERE WAS LITTLE DIFFERENCE
IN SIZE OR LUXURY

BETWEEN HOUSES.

SO IT APPEARS
THAT THERE WAS NO WEALTHY ELITE.

BUT OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS,
AS CITIES EVOLVED,

THE IDEA OF RICH AND POOR

AND THE GAP
BETWEEN HAVES AND HAVE-NOTS

BECAME FAMILIAR AND ACCEPTED
ALL OVER THE WORLD.

THIS IS THE ANCIENT CITY
OF EPHESUS.

ORIGINALLY A GREEK TRADING
COLONY ON THE TURKISH COAST,

IT BECAME PART
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

IN THE 2nd CENTURY B.C.E.

IT WAS A PLACE
FOR WEALTHY MERCHANTS,

MIDDLE-CLASS CRAFTSMAN,
AND DIRT-POOR SLAVES.

EPHESUS WAS ESTABLISHED
BY THE GREEKS

IN THE 4th CENTURY B.C.E.

UNDER THE ROMANS, IT GREW

TO BECOME A LEADING PORT
ON THE AEGEAN SEA

WITH A POPULATION
OF OVER HALF A MILLION.

IT WAS CLEARLY
A STUNNING CITY...

A METROPOLIS WITH MARBLE-PAVED
STREETS AND MARKETPLACES,

A BEAUTIFUL LIBRARY
HOLDING 12,000 SCROLLS,

AND AN IMMENSE AMPHITHEATER

SEATING MORE
THAN 20,000 SPECTATORS.

EPHESUS HAD ALL THE MARKERS
OF A FULL-FLEDGED MODERN CITY...

MONUMENTAL BUILDINGS,
A DIVERSE POPULATION,

JOBS THAT DEFINE SOCIAL STATUS,

AND A RULING ELITE

WHO LIVED IN OPULENT HOMES
LIKE THIS.

I'M WALKING
THROUGH ANCIENT VILLAS

IN THE CITY OF EPHESUS,

AND THIS IS AMAZINGLY
WELL-PRESERVED.

YOU'VE GOT MOSAIC FLOORS,
YOU'VE GOT WALL PAINTINGS,

ATRIUMS, FOUNTAINS...

ALL THE KINDS OF THINGS
THAT THE ELITES

WOULD'VE SURROUNDED
THEMSELVES WITH.

YOU CAN SEE OTHER ROOMS

THAT WOULD'VE BEEN USED
FOR ENTERTAINING...

ROOMS THAT HAVE RICH MOSAICS
AND BEAUTIFUL WALL PAINTINGS

THAT JUST POP WITH COLOR.

THE DIVIDE BETWEEN RICH AND POOR
IN EPHESUS IS EASY TO SEE.

THAT'S BECAUSE HERE,

AS IN CITIES
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD,

THE RULES HAD CHANGED.

THE FEW HAD DETERMINED

HOW TO EXTRACT TAXES AND LABOR
FROM THE MANY,

AND THEY BECAME RICH DOING IT.

THERE'S EVIDENCE OF
THIS EXPLOITATIVE RELATIONSHIP

EVERYWHERE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD,

INCLUDING AT
AN AMAZINGLY WELL-PRESERVED

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
IN SOUTH AMERICA.

I'M ON THE PERUVIAN COAST

AT AN ANCIENT SITE
CALLED CHAN CHAN.

FROM AROUND THE YEAR 1000
TO 1450,

THIS WAS A SPRAWLING CITY.

AT ITS HEIGHT,
OVER 30,000 PEOPLE LIVED HERE,

ALL PART OF A COMPLEX EMPIRE
CALLED THE CHIMú.

CHAN CHAN WAS THE CENTER
OF IMPERIAL POWER,

WHERE CHIMú KINGS
RULED A VAST EMPIRE.

AT THE CENTER OF THE CITY
WAS A COMPLEX

OF IMPERIAL PALACES
SURROUNDED BY HIGH WALLS.

THESE SEPARATED
THE ROYAL AND ELITE CLASSES,

PHYSICALLY AND SYMBOLICALLY,

FROM THE COMMONERS.

BUT THE ELITE
ALSO DEPENDED ON THE COMMONERS

FOR THE FRUITS OF THEIR LABOR.

CRAFTSMEN SUPPLIED THEM

WITH FINE TAPESTRIES,
TEXTILES, POTTERY,

AND FINISHED METAL GOODS.

THEY DELIVERED THESE
EXTRAVAGANT GOODS TO THE PALACE.

BUT AS PEOPLE OF LOWER STATUS,

THEY WERE DENIED FREE ACCESS
TO THE ROYAL SPACES WITHIN.

WHAT AT FIRST GLANCE
APPEARS TO BE NOTHING MORE

THAN A MAZE
OF DECORATIVE ADOBE WALLS

IS, IN FACT, A SERIES
OF ELABORATE BARRIERS

DESIGNED TO RESTRICT ENTRY

TO AREAS WHERE CHAN CHAN'S
RICHES WERE STORED.

ARCHAEOLOGIST JASON TOOHEY

SHOWS ME THE EVIDENCE
OF SOCIAL INEQUALITY

IN THIS CITY.

THE ACCESS TO THIS AREA,

BECAUSE IT'S IN THE CENTER
OF THE PLAZA,

WOULD'VE BEEN
TIGHTLY CONTROLLED.

SO, WE'RE AT THE CENTER OF IT,

AND I NOTICE THERE'S
ALL OF THESE TWISTY,
TURNY LITTLE PASSAGES.

THE WALLS WOULD'VE
BEEN REALLY HIGH.

IT'S HARD
TO GET INTO THIS SPACE.

YOU'RE CONTROLLING
HIGH-COST GOODS

AND MAKING SURE
THAT PEOPLE DON'T TAKE IT

AND THAT YOU'RE DOLING OUT
WHAT GOES WHERE.

ABSOLUTELY.

THE EMPIRE WENT TO GREAT LENGTHS

TO MAKE ACCESSING

THESE INNER AREAS OF STORAGE
OF HIGH-QUALITY GOODS

VERY DIFFICULT.

MOVEMENT INSIDE WHAT
WOULD'VE BEEN VERY HIGH WALLS

WOULD'VE BEEN VERY CONTROLLED,
VERY SLOW.

THE CHIMú BELIEVED
THAT SOCIAL STATUS

HAD BEEN DETERMINED
BY CREATION ITSELF.

ACCORDING TO THEIR MYTHS,

THE SUN GOD POPULATED THE EARTH
WITH THREE EGGS...

GOLD FOR THE RULING ELITE...

SILVER FOR THEIR WIVES...

AND COPPER FOR EVERYONE ELSE.

"EVERYONE ELSE" BELONGED
OUTSIDE THE PALACE WALLS.

CHAN CHAN WAS A CITY OF KINGS,

BUT IT MUST ALSO HAVE BEEN
A CITY OF THE DESPERATELY POOR.

SO, WE'RE OUTSIDE
THE PALACE WALLS,

AND IMMEDIATELY I CAN SEE THE
DIFFERENCE IN THE ARCHITECTURE.

THIS IS THE REMAINS
OF A STRUCTURE.

YOU CAN TELL
THAT THIS IS ARCHITECTURE.

YEAH, BUT IT'S NOTHING LIKE,
OBVIOUSLY, THE PALACE.

SIDE, SIDE, SIDE. YEP.

IF WE LOOK AROUND US,

WE CAN TELL THE ROUGH OUTLINE
OF BUILDINGS, RIGHT?

BUT THERE'S ABSOLUTELY
NOTHING GRANDIOSE

ABOUT WHAT'S OUT HERE.

OUT HERE IS WHERE

THE COARSE ADOBE HOMES
AND WORKSHOPS

OF CHAN CHAN'S ARTISANS
ONCE STOOD.

THIS IS A HALLMARK

OF ANCIENT CITIES
AROUND THE WORLD.

MOST OF THEIR POPULATIONS
WERE CONTROLLED BY AN ELITE FEW.

AND IT WAS A TRAP.

THESE PEOPLE WEREN'T LIVING
AS WELL AS THOSE PEOPLE.

BUT WHAT ARE THEY GONNA DO?
THEY'RE TIED TO THIS CITY.

AND THERE'S REALLY
NOWHERE ELSE FOR THEM TO GO.

RIGHT, AFTER A CERTAIN POINT,
THERE ARE VERY FEW OPTIONS

FOR PEOPLE TO ESCAPE
A SYSTEM LIKE THIS

OF, IN THIS CASE,

EXTREME SOCIAL SEPARATION,
ECONOMIC SEPARATION.

I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE
LOOKING AT THIS MIGHT SAY,

"OH, WELL,
YOU SHOULD JUST GO OUT

AND BE A HUNTER-GATHERER AGAIN.

THERE, YOU HAVE EQUAL STATUS."

BUT THIS ISN'T SOMETHING THAT
YOU CAN JUST GO BACK OUT AND DO

BECAUSE THE MEMORY IS NOT THERE

TO REMEMBER HOW TO HUNT
FOR YOURSELF OR TO GATHER.

RIGHT.

REGIONAL EMPIRES LIKE THE CHIMú

DEVELOPED IN MANY PARTS
OF THE NEW WORLD

WITH THE ELITE CLASS BELIEVING
IT WAS INVINCIBLE.

BUT THAT WAS AN ILLUSION.

SOMETIMES THEIR POWER AND REACH
COULD BE SURPRISINGLY FRAGILE.

Cooney: IN THE 16th CENTURY,
SPANISH EXPLORERS

CAME UPON AN ASTOUNDING SIGHT

IN THE JUNGLES
OF SOUTHERN MEXICO,

AN ABANDONED CITY FILLED WITH
MAGNIFICENT STONE STRUCTURES...

PYRAMIDS, TEMPLES, AND PALACES.

THE LOCAL MAYA PEOPLE
CALLED THE RUINS "OTOLUM,"

MEANING
"LAND WITH STRONG HOUSES."

THE SPANISH NAME "PALENQUE"
MEANS "FORTIFICATION."

ALTHOUGH THE NAME
EVOKES STRENGTH,

PALENQUE, LIKE MOST CITIES
THROUGHOUT HISTORY,

WAS DESTINED TO FAIL.

COLOSSAL STONE TEMPLES

LIKE THIS ONE
IN PALENQUE, MEXICO,

WERE BUILT BY POWERFUL KINGS

WHO COULD MUSTER THE MANPOWER
AND THE RESOURCES

OF AN ENTIRE REGION.

THOSE KINGS, ALONG WITH
A MASSIVE EXPLOITED WORKFORCE,

TRANSFORMED PALENQUE
INTO A THRIVING CITY-STATE

THAT FLOURISHED
BETWEEN THE YEARS 400 AND 800.

AT THE CITY'S HEIGHT,

ABOUT 7,000 PEOPLE
WERE CRAMMED INTO A SMALL AREA.

THE KINGS CONTINUED TO BUILD
MORE AND MORE GRAND STRUCTURES,

BROADCASTING
THEIR RIGHT TO RULE.

RECENT MAPPING HAS IDENTIFIED
NEARLY 1,500 BUILDINGS,

AND ARCHAEOLOGISTS SAY THEY'VE
ONLY UNEARTHED A SMALL FRACTION

OF THE GRAND CEREMONIAL CITY.

FOR FIVE CENTURIES,

THE FARMLANDS AND JUNGLE
SURROUNDING PALENQUE

WERE ABLE TO PROVIDE
ENOUGH FOOD AND RESOURCES

FOR THE CITY TO GROW

AND FOR ITS POPULATION
TO PROSPER.

THE LOCATION WAS GOOD.

ARCHAEOLOGIST BENITO VENEGAS
STUDIES PALENQUE.

SO IT'S NATURALLY PROTECTED.
IT'S A SAFER SPACE.

BUT SOMETHING WENT WRONG.

AS IN VIRTUALLY EVERY ANCIENT
CITY ALL OVER THE WORLD,

THE POWER STRUCTURE COLLAPSED
AND ITS BUILDINGS BECAME RUINS.

PALENQUE WAS ABANDONED
IN LESS THAN 100 YEARS.

BY 900, THE JUNGLE HAD BEGUN
TO RECLAIM THE GRAND CITY.

WHAT CAUSED
THIS APOCALYPTIC FALL?

THE TREES WERE USED FOR FUEL

TO MAKE STUCCO
FOR THE MASSIVE STONE BUILDINGS.

ONE TON OF STUCCO REQUIRED
BURNING THREE TONS OF TIMBER.

WOOD WAS PLENTIFUL
BUT ONLY FOR A WHILE.

WHEN CONSUMPTION
OUTPACED SUPPLY,

THE JUNGLE AROUND PALENQUE
DISAPPEARED.

AND WITHOUT ROOTS TO HOLD IT,

THE JUNGLE'S TOPSOIL
QUICKLY ERODED AWAY.

AS COMPETITION
FOR RESOURCES INCREASED,

PALENQUE SAW
ITS SHARE OF WARFARE.

AND THERE'S ALSO EVIDENCE

OF DEVASTATING DROUGHT
IN THE 9th CENTURY.

IT'S NOW BELIEVED THAT
THE ULTIMATE DEATH OF THIS CITY,

LIKE ANCIENT CITIES EVERYWHERE,

WAS BECAUSE
IT EXPANDED BEYOND THE LIMITS

OF ITS NATURAL RESOURCES.

WHEN A CITY GROWS TOO FAR
TOO FAST,

COLLAPSE IS INEVITABLE.

AROUND THE SAME TIME PALENQUE
WAS FALLING,

A CITY ON THE OTHER SIDE
OF THE WORLD

WAS ACHIEVING PROMINENCE.

BETWEEN
THE 9th AND 15th CENTURIES,

THE ANCIENT CITY OF ANGKOR
IN CAMBODIA

WAS A VIBRANT,
SPRAWLING METROPOLIS...

FILLED WITH MAGNIFICENT TEMPLES,
SHRINES, AND PALACES,

AS WELL AS THOUSANDS OF HOMES

TO ACCOMMODATE
A MASSIVE POPULATION.

ANGKOR WAS THE CAPITAL
OF THE KHMER EMPIRE,

THE LARGEST AND MOST POWERFUL
IN SOUTHEAST ASIA.

EACH NEW KHMER RULER
EXPANDED THE CITY

UNTIL IT EVENTUALLY COVERED
OVER 1,000 SQUARE MILES.

IT'S THE LARGEST PREINDUSTRIAL
CITY EVER DISCOVERED...

LARGER THAN ALL FIVE BOROUGHS
OF NEW YORK CITY.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS ATTRIBUTE
THIS REMARKABLE GROWTH

TO THE CITY'S HIGHLY
SOPHISTICATED WATER SYSTEM.

IN THE YEAR 2000,
RADAR IMAGES FROM NASA

REVEALED AN INTRICATE NETWORK
OF CANALS AND RESERVOIRS.

THIS AMAZING FEAT
OF DESIGN AND ENGINEERING

CAPTURED WATER
DURING THE ANNUAL MONSOON...

THEN DISTRIBUTED IT
DURING THE DRY MONTHS

FOR DRINKING AND IRRIGATION.

THE WATER SYSTEM WORKED SO WELL

THAT ANGKOR CONTINUED
TO GROW UNCHECKED

UNTIL THE POPULATION
HAD EXCEEDED ONE MILLION.

IRONICALLY,
THE ELABORATE WATERWORKS

THAT ALLOWED ANGKOR
TO GROW SO BIG

ALSO PROBABLY LED
TO ITS DOWNFALL.

OVER THE CENTURIES,
IT BECAME HARDER AND HARDER

TO MAINTAIN
THE COLOSSAL INFRASTRUCTURE.

AS THE WATER SYSTEM
DISINTEGRATED,

PUNISHING DROUGHTS
ADDED TO THE CRISIS.

THE WEAKENED CITY

BECAME INCREASINGLY VULNERABLE
TO INVADERS,

WHO TOOK FULL ADVANTAGE.

THE CAUSES OF THE COLLAPSE
AND ABANDONMENT OF ANGKOR

MIRROR THOSE OF PALENQUE

AND ALMOST ALL
OTHER ANCIENT CITIES.

OVERPOPULATION,
UNCHECKED GROWTH,

AND THE RAPID DEPLETION
OF RESOURCES

EVENTUALLY LED THESE CITIES
TO FAIL...

A GRIM LESSON ABOUT
THE LIMITATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY.

Cooney:
OVER THE LAST 10,000 YEARS,

CITIES HAVE GROWN FROM SIMPLE
COLLECTIONS OF MUD-BRICK HOUSES

TO COMPLEX WEBS
OF CONCRETE AND STEEL.

OUR MODERN URBAN LIFESTYLE
SEEMS UNSTOPPABLE.

BUT SINCE THE BEGINNING
OF THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION,

COUNTLESS CITIES HAVE FALLEN
UNDER THEIR OWN WEIGHT.

THESE SAME CHALLENGES
STILL PLAGUE

EVERY SINGLE CITY
IN THE WORLD TODAY.

AS METROPOLITAN POPULATIONS
CONTINUE TO EXPLODE,

CRIME, EXPLOITATION,
AND MALNUTRITION

STILL DOMINATE THE URBAN SCENE.

DIVISIONS BETWEEN RICH AND POOR

WERE OBVIOUS IN ANCIENT CITIES
LIKE EPHESUS OR CHAN CHAN.

THEY'RE OBVIOUS
IN MODERN CITIES, TOO.

IT SEEMS
TO BE THE NATURE OF CITIES

TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER
IN A BIG, CROWDED SPACE,

THEN SPLIT THEM UP

ACCORDING TO
ETHNICITY, OCCUPATION,

RELIGION, AND STATUS.

JERUSALEM
IS ONE OF THESE CITIES,

WHERE A DENSELY PACKED,
DIVIDED POPULATION

COMPETES FOR LIMITED RESOURCES.

NIMROD LUZ HAS STUDIED
THESE CONFLICTS IN JERUSALEM

FOR OVER 20 YEARS.

THIS IS THE CHRISTIAN QUARTER.

AND THE MUSLIM QUARTER IS HERE.

THESE DISTINCT COMMUNITIES
ALL LIVE ON TOP OF EACH OTHER,

PACKED TOGETHER.

THIS IS THE RENOVATED
JEWISH QUARTER.

AND TO FINISH THE LOOKOUT,

THIS IS THE SMALL
ARMENIAN QUARTER.

THE SPACE FOR ACTUAL LIVING...

NIMROD BELIEVES THE PROBLEMS
CREATED BY THIS CLOSE PROXIMITY

ARE TYPICAL
OF CITY LIFE EVERYWHERE.

IT'S OVERWHELMING.

I FEEL... I WOULDN'T BE ABLE
TO FIGURE MY WAY AROUND HERE.

SO NOT ONLY DO I FEEL LOST,
I'M CONFUSED...

BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY LAYERS

OF RELIGION AND ETHNICITY
AND ARCHITECTURE.

I THINK THE KEY WORD
IS "OVERWHELMING."

THERE ARE PEOPLE
YOU DON'T TALK TO.

THERE ARE COMMUNITIES
YOU DON'T KNOW HOW THEY WORK,

WHERE THEY SHOP.

WHEN DIFFERENT PEOPLE
DON'T MINGLE

AND THEY DON'T KNOW
HOW TO REACT TO EACH OTHER,

THEY OPT FOR INDIFFERENCE.

EVERYTHING ABOUT SOCIAL
INTERACTION IS INTENSIFIED

IN THE PRESSURE COOKER
OF A CITY.

I'D SAY THAT THE DIFFERENCE

BETWEEN PASTORAL COMMUNITIES
AND URBAN COMMUNITIES

IS WHAT'S AT STAKE HERE.

AND IN THE URBAN COMMUNITIES,
THERE'S MUCH MORE AT STAKE.

THINGS ARE MUCH MORE COMPLEX,
MORE ELABORATE.

MORE DUG-IN. MORE DUG-IN, YEAH.

MODERN HUMANS HAVE BEEN AROUND

FOR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS
OF YEARS.

BUT WE DIDN'T START
LIVING IN CITIES

UNTIL LESS
THAN 10,000 YEARS AGO.

ALMOST ALL OF THE CITIES
OF ANTIQUITY HAVE FALLEN.

NEW ONES HAVE REPLACED THEM...

MORE CITIES, BIGGER CITIES.

THERE'S NO END IN SIGHT.

THE URBAN PROBLEMS

OF SANITATION, DISEASE,
AND WATER SUPPLY

HAVE BEEN HELD IN CHECK

BY ADVANCES
IN MEDICINE AND ENGINEERING,

ALLOWING POPULATION NUMBERS
TO EXPLODE.

BUT ARE WE ON THE BRINK

OF A NEW ROUND
OF URBAN COLLAPSE?

THE EARTH HAS NEVER KNOWN
A HUMAN POPULATION THIS LARGE...

CLOSE TO 7 BILLION PEOPLE,

MOST OF THEM LIVING IN CITIES.

CLEAN DRINKING WATER
IS GROWING SCARCER...

DEADLY INFECTIOUS DISEASES
ARE ON THE RISE...

THE COMPETITION
FOR OIL, TREES, AND SPACE

HAS BECOME FIERCE...

VIOLENCE IS INCREASING.

COULD CITY LIFE
BE JUST A PASSING PHASE?