1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,900 Tonight, they've been called the world's greatest archaeological enigma. 2 00:00:08,900 --> 00:00:14,200 Everyone focuses on the Nazca lines because of just how mysterious they are. 3 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:20,320 2,000-year-old drawings so massive, they can only be seen from the air. 4 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,900 But what are they and why were they created? 5 00:00:23,900 --> 00:00:28,380 We know they didn't just appear out of thin air, but there is virtually no historical 6 00:00:28,380 --> 00:00:31,480 record of previous societies in Peru. 7 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:36,880 Now, we examine the top theories behind their mysterious origins. 8 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:41,720 Maybe the lines were ritual battlefields, but I don't think that's all they ever were. 9 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:46,780 They found a collection of severed heads, and this really suggests that the Nazca lines 10 00:00:46,780 --> 00:00:50,020 could be connected to ritual human sacrifice. 11 00:00:50,020 --> 00:00:54,260 This is why we think the Nazca lines may have been repurposed. 12 00:00:54,260 --> 00:00:58,260 Can new research finally unravel their secrets? 13 00:00:58,260 --> 00:01:01,940 Researchers make a shocking discovery, and if this theory is correct, they might have 14 00:01:01,940 --> 00:01:05,700 solved one of archaeology's greatest riddles. 15 00:01:05,700 --> 00:01:24,740 What is the true purpose of the Nazca lines? 16 00:01:24,740 --> 00:01:28,980 September 1926, Nazca Peru. 17 00:01:28,980 --> 00:01:35,580 Archaeologist Torribio Mejia Zespi leads an expedition in the Peruvian desert. 18 00:01:35,580 --> 00:01:40,140 Zespi and his team have been drawn here by a discovery of a giant underground acropolis 19 00:01:40,140 --> 00:01:42,620 full of hundreds of mummies. 20 00:01:42,620 --> 00:01:46,980 When most people think of mummies, they tend to think of Egyptian mummies, but in fact 21 00:01:46,980 --> 00:01:51,620 the oldest mummies in the world are from northern Chile and southern Peru. 22 00:01:51,740 --> 00:01:57,180 Leading back over 7,000 years, they're known as the Chinchoro mummies. 23 00:01:57,180 --> 00:02:01,900 Zespi examines some that are wrapped in thick layers of expertly woven cotton textiles, 24 00:02:01,900 --> 00:02:05,860 covered in vibrant images of mystical figures and animals. 25 00:02:05,860 --> 00:02:11,140 One day, while taking a break from his work, Zespi hikes up a nearby hill. 26 00:02:11,140 --> 00:02:15,100 He gets to the summit, looks out over the desert plain, and he's met with a stunning 27 00:02:15,100 --> 00:02:17,940 sight he can barely believe. 28 00:02:17,940 --> 00:02:22,540 Zespi sees a series of thick lines carved into the rocky desert. 29 00:02:22,540 --> 00:02:25,300 Some stretch as far as his eyes can see. 30 00:02:25,300 --> 00:02:30,860 These lines are incredibly long, perhaps miles, and they're straight as a ruler. 31 00:02:30,860 --> 00:02:35,380 At first, he thinks their trails are roads, but he notices that several of them plow right 32 00:02:35,380 --> 00:02:38,060 over the mountains and other rugged terrain. 33 00:02:38,060 --> 00:02:41,180 Not exactly what you would do if you were building a road. 34 00:02:41,180 --> 00:02:45,380 Eventually he realizes a lot of these are forming geometric shapes, you know, kind of 35 00:02:45,380 --> 00:02:49,900 standard rectangles, spirals, squares, triangles. 36 00:02:49,900 --> 00:02:54,060 Some of them as big as a football field to put it in perspective. 37 00:02:54,060 --> 00:02:59,860 Intrigued, Zespi puts his mummy research on hold to investigate. 38 00:02:59,860 --> 00:03:03,420 One of the things Zespi realizes would be useful is to get a better look at these from 39 00:03:03,420 --> 00:03:04,420 higher up. 40 00:03:04,420 --> 00:03:08,420 So he calls in the Peruvian Air Force to get that overall aerial view. 41 00:03:08,420 --> 00:03:11,140 They can fly over it, see what's really going on. 42 00:03:11,140 --> 00:03:14,500 When they reach altitude, the pilots can't believe their eyes. 43 00:03:14,500 --> 00:03:19,340 The lines and shapes cover an area that stretches for hundreds of square miles, far beyond what 44 00:03:19,340 --> 00:03:21,100 Zespi originally saw. 45 00:03:21,100 --> 00:03:28,300 There are spirals, zigzags, there are drawings of birds, spiders, monkeys, immense in scale. 46 00:03:28,300 --> 00:03:31,820 These images are impossible to see in their entirety from the ground. 47 00:03:31,820 --> 00:03:36,100 So the pilots realize they're probably the first people to ever truly witness the scale 48 00:03:36,100 --> 00:03:38,460 of this unusual formation. 49 00:03:38,460 --> 00:03:45,220 The strange markings become known as the Nazca Lines. 50 00:03:45,220 --> 00:03:48,500 When you look at how many lines are actually there, it's an incredible number. 51 00:03:48,500 --> 00:03:54,780 Over 800 lines total, hundreds of geometric shapes, and at least 100 animals are present 52 00:03:54,780 --> 00:03:56,180 in this whole area. 53 00:03:56,180 --> 00:04:00,540 Some of the lines are thousands of meters all the way up to 25 miles, and this is quite 54 00:04:00,540 --> 00:04:01,740 incredible. 55 00:04:01,740 --> 00:04:07,940 The precision of these lines is super impressive, even by modern survey standards, because many 56 00:04:07,940 --> 00:04:10,940 of them are just dead straight. 57 00:04:10,940 --> 00:04:16,060 And for 100 years now, ever since Zespi first spotted them, they've been a mystery. 58 00:04:16,060 --> 00:04:17,060 Who made them? 59 00:04:17,060 --> 00:04:18,060 When were they made? 60 00:04:18,060 --> 00:04:19,060 Why? 61 00:04:19,060 --> 00:04:20,560 What's the purpose of them? 62 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:24,620 Initially, it's believed the Inca are responsible. 63 00:04:24,620 --> 00:04:31,100 Beginning in the 12th century, the Incan Empire eventually rules a large area of South America 64 00:04:31,100 --> 00:04:35,180 until Spain conquers them in the 1530s. 65 00:04:35,180 --> 00:04:40,980 But scientists eventually date the lines to between 300 BC and 800 AD, which means all 66 00:04:40,980 --> 00:04:43,180 of them predate the Incas. 67 00:04:43,180 --> 00:04:49,060 In fact, some of the lines are almost 2,500 years old. 68 00:04:49,060 --> 00:04:53,220 We know they didn't just appear out of thin air, but there is virtually no historical 69 00:04:53,220 --> 00:04:58,260 record of previous societies in Peru, because the Incas, and later the Spanish, made it 70 00:04:58,260 --> 00:05:02,460 a policy to suppress and destroy every trace of the cultures they conquered. 71 00:05:02,460 --> 00:05:05,900 And so who built them remains one of the biggest mysteries. 72 00:05:05,900 --> 00:05:09,760 But how they were made is much easier to answer. 73 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:12,860 The ground is covered with a desert varnish. 74 00:05:12,860 --> 00:05:18,060 It's these small pebbles and rocks that have this black patina on them. 75 00:05:18,060 --> 00:05:22,180 When you scrape away this darker layer, you reveal a lighter layer underneath. 76 00:05:22,180 --> 00:05:24,780 It's a stark contrast, like a negative image. 77 00:05:24,780 --> 00:05:26,900 So that's the method they used. 78 00:05:26,900 --> 00:05:30,820 The region is also one of the driest on Earth. 79 00:05:30,820 --> 00:05:33,660 It receives only a millimeter of rain a year. 80 00:05:33,660 --> 00:05:39,500 And because there's no rain in this area, these lines were able to survive for thousands 81 00:05:39,500 --> 00:05:42,100 of years. 82 00:05:42,100 --> 00:05:49,260 After 13 years researching the lines, Zespi presents his findings at a conference in 1939. 83 00:05:49,260 --> 00:05:54,540 This conference is the first time that people from outside of Peru have heard of these lines. 84 00:05:54,540 --> 00:05:57,380 Zespi's work has been mostly cataloging and measuring them. 85 00:05:57,380 --> 00:06:01,780 He doesn't suggest an overarching purpose for the lines, but it gets a lot of people 86 00:06:01,780 --> 00:06:03,340 excited. 87 00:06:03,340 --> 00:06:07,620 Among those intrigued, a scholar named Paul Kosuck. 88 00:06:07,620 --> 00:06:13,260 Kosuck is a history professor from Long Island University in Brooklyn, and he's in Peru, 89 00:06:13,260 --> 00:06:17,580 studying pre-Columbian society and culture, particularly focused on their irrigation 90 00:06:17,580 --> 00:06:19,180 systems. 91 00:06:19,180 --> 00:06:25,140 Inspired by Zespi's work, Kosuck travels to Nazca to try and solve the puzzle. 92 00:06:25,140 --> 00:06:30,300 In June of 1941, he's charting several of the shapes in the vast desert plain. 93 00:06:30,300 --> 00:06:34,780 As he contemplates their purpose, he glances up at the setting sun and is struck with a 94 00:06:34,780 --> 00:06:36,220 sudden epiphany. 95 00:06:36,220 --> 00:06:41,620 Kosuck realizes that the line he's charting points directly at the sunset over the horizon. 96 00:06:41,620 --> 00:06:45,780 Kosuck has a revelation about what these lines could be. 97 00:06:45,780 --> 00:06:51,220 It's late June in Peru, just about the time of the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere. 98 00:06:51,220 --> 00:06:58,580 It strikes him that these lines could be an astronomical calendar. 99 00:06:58,580 --> 00:07:04,420 Kosuck returns to Lima with this incredible story of discovering what might be the largest 100 00:07:04,420 --> 00:07:10,220 astronomy textbook in the world etched into the sands of the desert. 101 00:07:10,220 --> 00:07:17,860 There, Kosuck consults with a German mathematician named Maria Reica to figure out more specifically 102 00:07:17,860 --> 00:07:20,220 what the calendar is tracking. 103 00:07:20,220 --> 00:07:25,660 So Reica works at the National Museum of Lima and is a restorer and she hears about this 104 00:07:25,660 --> 00:07:30,940 and really gets interested in exploring in much more detail how these figures could work 105 00:07:30,940 --> 00:07:33,540 from an astronomical perspective. 106 00:07:33,540 --> 00:07:40,500 On her first trip to Nazca in 1941, Reica identifies 16 lines that point directly at 107 00:07:40,500 --> 00:07:45,580 the rising or setting sun on the dates of the solstice. 108 00:07:45,580 --> 00:07:49,460 Reica also thinks she knows why the line's creators might have made this calendar to 109 00:07:49,460 --> 00:07:50,780 begin with. 110 00:07:50,780 --> 00:07:56,460 One of the things Reica did really well was track a large number of correlations between 111 00:07:56,460 --> 00:08:00,980 the different figures and different elements of astronomical importance. 112 00:08:00,980 --> 00:08:07,100 Two examples are a line on the spider figure that points to Orion and a set of lines on 113 00:08:07,100 --> 00:08:10,020 another figure that point to the Pleiades. 114 00:08:10,020 --> 00:08:14,380 Many ancient civilizations are based around agriculture and farming and knowing when to 115 00:08:14,380 --> 00:08:18,220 plant or when to harvest is vitally important. 116 00:08:18,220 --> 00:08:23,060 Even these times would coincide with atmospheric patterns like rain, but what do you do in 117 00:08:23,060 --> 00:08:26,260 a place where it never rains? 118 00:08:26,260 --> 00:08:30,460 Most of this region's water comes from periodic runoff from the surrounding mountains. 119 00:08:30,460 --> 00:08:35,900 So a farming culture with an environment with virtually no rainfall would rely heavily 120 00:08:35,900 --> 00:08:39,620 on a celestial calendar to determine planting times for their survival. 121 00:08:39,620 --> 00:08:42,300 When that water comes, you need to be ready. 122 00:08:42,300 --> 00:08:46,060 So one constellation you can use in this fashion is the Pleiades. 123 00:08:46,060 --> 00:08:50,580 When they show up in November, you know you're really close to the rainfall up in the mountains. 124 00:08:50,580 --> 00:08:53,860 You're about to get your runoff so you start your planting season. 125 00:08:53,860 --> 00:08:57,620 And when the Pleiades leave the sky later in the year, that's when you know it's time 126 00:08:57,620 --> 00:08:59,580 to start your harvest. 127 00:08:59,580 --> 00:09:06,740 Reica reports her findings to the press, providing the first published theory on the Nazca lines. 128 00:09:06,740 --> 00:09:11,700 To this day, Reica's interpretation of the lines dominates the public's perception of 129 00:09:11,700 --> 00:09:12,700 them. 130 00:09:12,700 --> 00:09:15,220 She's dubbed the Lady of the Lines. 131 00:09:15,220 --> 00:09:19,180 There's plenty of reason to believe this theory, because there are examples of many 132 00:09:19,180 --> 00:09:23,620 other prehistoric cultures of earthworks being constructed to aid in astronomical sightings 133 00:09:23,620 --> 00:09:25,500 and calendars. 134 00:09:25,500 --> 00:09:30,220 The famed Stonehenge may be one such example. 135 00:09:30,220 --> 00:09:35,740 In the 1960s, an astronomer named Gerald Hawkins calculated the positions of its standing stones 136 00:09:35,740 --> 00:09:40,660 using an early IBM computer and announced that the monument was designed to predict astronomical 137 00:09:40,660 --> 00:09:41,660 events. 138 00:09:41,660 --> 00:09:45,140 Reica's work was a sensation around the world and inspired a new branch of science known 139 00:09:45,140 --> 00:09:47,460 as Arceoastronomy. 140 00:09:47,460 --> 00:09:55,260 In 1968, Hawkins visits Nazca to study the lines, using the same computer-matching technique. 141 00:09:55,260 --> 00:10:01,380 In particular, what Hawkins looks at is 21 triangles and 70 or so lines and really ask, 142 00:10:01,380 --> 00:10:05,420 okay, how well correlated are these with astronomical phenomena? 143 00:10:05,420 --> 00:10:06,900 His conclusion? 144 00:10:06,900 --> 00:10:10,220 The connections Reica found were only coincidental. 145 00:10:10,220 --> 00:10:14,140 One of the issues is that there are just so many of the lines, and in such a large 146 00:10:14,140 --> 00:10:19,340 variety and in so many directions that to suggest all of them or even most of them are 147 00:10:19,340 --> 00:10:22,340 connected to astronomy is a clear stretch. 148 00:10:22,340 --> 00:10:25,740 Reica and Kossak, when they see the findings, they don't disagree with them. 149 00:10:25,740 --> 00:10:31,020 I mean, the computer findings are pretty solid, but they do point out that this isn't necessarily 150 00:10:31,020 --> 00:10:32,020 conclusive. 151 00:10:32,020 --> 00:10:36,140 It doesn't rule out that some of the lines aren't astronomical. 152 00:10:36,140 --> 00:10:40,260 They believe there are some alignments which are done on purpose to be used as a celestial 153 00:10:40,260 --> 00:10:45,460 calendar, but there must also be a much larger grand purpose to the design that they haven't 154 00:10:45,460 --> 00:10:50,420 figured out yet. 155 00:10:50,420 --> 00:10:57,420 When Peruvian archaeologist Toribio Zespi discovers the Nazca lines in 1926, the first 156 00:10:57,420 --> 00:11:01,020 thing that strikes him is their incredible scale. 157 00:11:01,020 --> 00:11:04,900 When you look at these shapes and features, they're so huge they can only be viewed from 158 00:11:04,900 --> 00:11:06,940 above and very high in the sky. 159 00:11:06,940 --> 00:11:11,540 So this does mean that the culture that built them would actually never be able to see them 160 00:11:11,540 --> 00:11:13,060 directly. 161 00:11:13,060 --> 00:11:17,220 We know there weren't planes or other flying vessels 2,500 years ago when the lines were 162 00:11:17,220 --> 00:11:22,900 first created, but somehow these people decided to craft designs meant to be seen from what, 163 00:11:22,900 --> 00:11:24,700 to them, would have been an impossible viewpoint. 164 00:11:24,700 --> 00:11:26,660 It doesn't make sense. 165 00:11:26,660 --> 00:11:31,300 Unless the lines were designed for another purpose. 166 00:11:31,300 --> 00:11:35,780 In 1968, Swiss author Eric Mondaniken claims he knows the reason. 167 00:11:35,780 --> 00:11:38,380 The lines aren't built for anyone on Earth. 168 00:11:38,380 --> 00:11:43,300 Instead, they're built as a landing guide to an extraterrestrial species that once visited 169 00:11:43,300 --> 00:11:48,060 the Nazca from the heavens. 170 00:11:48,060 --> 00:11:54,420 One of the first Europeans to see the lines is a magistrate named Louis de Monson in 1586. 171 00:11:54,420 --> 00:11:58,260 He initially suspects that they are traces of ancient roads, which of course we know 172 00:11:58,260 --> 00:11:59,940 isn't true these days. 173 00:11:59,940 --> 00:12:03,700 When he asks the locals about them, he's told of a legend. 174 00:12:03,700 --> 00:12:09,260 In very old times, the Nazcans were visited by people they call the Viracochas. 175 00:12:09,260 --> 00:12:12,900 They're referred to as saintly persons. 176 00:12:12,900 --> 00:12:17,380 The locals tell de Monson that the paths were actually built for them. 177 00:12:17,380 --> 00:12:21,940 Viracocha is also the name of a Nazcan god. 178 00:12:21,940 --> 00:12:26,660 This deity dates back to around 3000 BC and the legend says that he came from the sky 179 00:12:26,660 --> 00:12:30,540 in a golden boat from the other side of the Milky Way to be specific. 180 00:12:30,540 --> 00:12:34,860 In the oldest depictions, he's pictured with a cone-shaped skull and only four digits on 181 00:12:34,860 --> 00:12:37,100 his hands and feet. 182 00:12:37,100 --> 00:12:42,980 Mondaniken believes these legends are a reference to extraterrestrials. 183 00:12:42,980 --> 00:12:49,180 One of Mondaniken's key theses and beliefs is that the ancient people saw these extraterrestrials, 184 00:12:49,180 --> 00:12:51,220 these aliens as gods. 185 00:12:51,220 --> 00:12:56,620 Mondaniken believes that when the Viracochas, or aliens, first visit, they teach the Nazca 186 00:12:56,620 --> 00:12:59,100 people how to make these lines. 187 00:12:59,100 --> 00:13:04,300 The earliest lines are built as a landing pad or navigational marker, basically an airstrip 188 00:13:04,300 --> 00:13:06,460 for these alien ships. 189 00:13:06,460 --> 00:13:11,660 We don't know if these aliens ever made any return visits, but Mondaniken believes that 190 00:13:11,660 --> 00:13:16,220 eventually they stop coming and the Nazca decide to get creative. 191 00:13:16,220 --> 00:13:20,700 They want the Viracochas to return back as soon as possible, so they start building more 192 00:13:20,700 --> 00:13:23,620 and more elaborate Nazca lines. 193 00:13:23,620 --> 00:13:31,020 Mondaniken's 1968 book, Chariots of the Gods, turns the Nazca lines into an international 194 00:13:31,020 --> 00:13:32,700 phenomenon. 195 00:13:32,700 --> 00:13:36,940 When Mondaniken first came out with his book, this really generated a lot of interest, a 196 00:13:36,940 --> 00:13:38,740 lot of excitement, a lot of buzz. 197 00:13:38,740 --> 00:13:43,980 It was a very, very intriguing idea that maybe aliens had visited. 198 00:13:43,980 --> 00:13:48,520 And in fact, some people look at one of the Nazca geoglyphs in particular and believe it 199 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:51,940 may prove Mondaniken's theory. 200 00:13:51,940 --> 00:13:57,100 Soon as the astronaut, this figure covers nearly a hundred feet of a hillside overlooking 201 00:13:57,100 --> 00:13:58,500 the desert. 202 00:13:58,500 --> 00:14:02,140 Some call it the astronaut because it looks like it's wearing a space helmet, which of 203 00:14:02,140 --> 00:14:04,480 course is a modern interpretation. 204 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:07,660 Most historians refer to him as the owl man. 205 00:14:07,660 --> 00:14:11,100 It's a humanoid figure, but clearly not entirely human. 206 00:14:11,100 --> 00:14:17,460 It features large round eyes and it seems to be waving hello to someone in the skies. 207 00:14:17,460 --> 00:14:22,780 A thousand years after the creation of the Nazca astronaut, the Inca built the statue 208 00:14:22,780 --> 00:14:29,540 of Viracocha in Cusco, raising his right hand much like the astronaut. 209 00:14:29,540 --> 00:14:34,740 Scholars believe the Nazca astronaut could be an image of the same god. 210 00:14:34,740 --> 00:14:39,140 We don't currently have any way to know if the Nazca astronaut is an alien. 211 00:14:39,140 --> 00:14:44,140 There are no records from this society apart from the Nazca lines themselves. 212 00:14:44,460 --> 00:14:48,580 One ancient practice might offer more insight. 213 00:14:48,580 --> 00:14:51,900 Remember those ancient Peruvian mummies Zespay was examining? 214 00:14:51,900 --> 00:14:55,820 Well, shockingly, many of them have elongated skulls. 215 00:14:55,820 --> 00:15:00,420 Today it might be seen as a strange and disturbing look, but it's believed that the natives did 216 00:15:00,420 --> 00:15:04,580 this on purpose by attaching wooden boards to their infant's heads. 217 00:15:04,580 --> 00:15:07,780 Several mummies are even found with these boards still attached. 218 00:15:07,780 --> 00:15:11,220 The question is, why? 219 00:15:11,220 --> 00:15:16,860 We've seen Viracocha represented with an elongated head and many representations of aliens with 220 00:15:16,860 --> 00:15:18,580 a similar head shape. 221 00:15:18,580 --> 00:15:24,100 Well perhaps they're trying to emulate the appearance of their gods who had similar features. 222 00:15:24,100 --> 00:15:28,980 A 2017 discovery takes this claim a step further. 223 00:15:28,980 --> 00:15:34,420 Dr. Konstantin Korotkov, professor of biophysics at St. Petersburg Federal University, shows 224 00:15:34,420 --> 00:15:38,700 the press these mummies that he believes aren't human at all. 225 00:15:38,700 --> 00:15:42,060 They look like they're covered in plaster, but Korotkov explains this is just 226 00:15:42,060 --> 00:15:44,660 a calculation in protective material. 227 00:15:44,660 --> 00:15:50,380 They have elongated heads, large, round eyes, and just three digits on their hands and feet. 228 00:15:50,380 --> 00:15:56,580 He calls it, quote, another creature, different from anything else in our fossil record. 229 00:15:56,580 --> 00:16:01,620 These mummies are made famous by a web series claiming to investigate their authenticity. 230 00:16:01,620 --> 00:16:05,860 Millions of people watch as stupefied scientists declare them to be the genuine article. 231 00:16:05,860 --> 00:16:11,420 The body they examine is indeed organic and it dates back 1700 years. 232 00:16:11,420 --> 00:16:18,140 But when another team of scientists inspects the mummies, they're proven to be fake. 233 00:16:18,140 --> 00:16:25,340 They discovered that these were mummies that were modified for this hoax and really turns 234 00:16:25,340 --> 00:16:27,500 out to be quite disturbing. 235 00:16:27,500 --> 00:16:31,380 These bodies are made from real indigenous mummies which have been mutilated to make 236 00:16:31,380 --> 00:16:33,100 them look like aliens. 237 00:16:33,100 --> 00:16:37,220 Their ears and noses are sliced away and the alterations are covered up with a white 238 00:16:37,220 --> 00:16:39,460 plastery powder. 239 00:16:39,460 --> 00:16:43,660 But the other mummies with the elongated heads remain genuine. 240 00:16:43,660 --> 00:16:48,620 Those are humans who most definitely gave themselves an otherworldly appearance. 241 00:16:48,620 --> 00:16:49,620 Why? 242 00:16:49,620 --> 00:16:50,980 We don't know. 243 00:16:50,980 --> 00:16:53,900 I think everyone would like to know the answer to that question. 244 00:16:53,900 --> 00:16:58,500 Maybe they were trying to connect with another culture that once visited them from above. 245 00:16:58,500 --> 00:17:06,940 Or maybe they just heard stories of some visit from long ago and were inspired. 246 00:17:06,940 --> 00:17:14,780 Nazca Peru is home to two incredible ancient phenomena, the Nazca Lines and a necropolis 247 00:17:14,780 --> 00:17:19,820 of South American mummies several thousand years old. 248 00:17:19,820 --> 00:17:24,340 Everyone focuses on the Nazca Lines because of just how massive and perplexing they are. 249 00:17:24,780 --> 00:17:30,700 But we can't lose sight of the mummies because the two may be intricately linked. 250 00:17:30,700 --> 00:17:33,700 Mummification here dates back 7,000 years. 251 00:17:33,700 --> 00:17:37,340 That's a full 2,000 years before the first Egyptian mummies. 252 00:17:37,340 --> 00:17:43,140 In Egypt they used different techniques to dry out the body before they would wrap it. 253 00:17:43,140 --> 00:17:46,460 In this region they didn't do anything artificial. 254 00:17:46,460 --> 00:17:52,020 The mummies were able to preserve because this desert environment is so dry. 255 00:17:52,020 --> 00:17:58,380 In fact some of these mummies are way better preserved than what we even see in ancient Egypt. 256 00:17:58,380 --> 00:18:03,420 Dry conditions are one part of the reason, but the other is the technique they used. 257 00:18:03,420 --> 00:18:08,140 While the Egyptians used fine linen, the Nazca mummies are wrapped in very long thick cotton 258 00:18:08,140 --> 00:18:12,340 and wool textiles which are embroidered with a scale and quality that's unmatched by any 259 00:18:12,340 --> 00:18:14,260 other civilization. 260 00:18:14,260 --> 00:18:20,940 In 1983, Swiss historian Henri Stirling thinks he knows their secret. 261 00:18:20,940 --> 00:18:25,620 Stirling is an art historian and he realizes what it would take for these ancient people 262 00:18:25,620 --> 00:18:27,300 to craft these textiles. 263 00:18:27,300 --> 00:18:32,540 They would need a lot of space and huge long looms, essentially an ancient version of a 264 00:18:32,540 --> 00:18:35,820 factory to turn out this incredible amount of cloth. 265 00:18:35,820 --> 00:18:40,580 He looks around at what they have nearby and he determines the Nazca Lines might be the 266 00:18:40,580 --> 00:18:41,580 place. 267 00:18:42,580 --> 00:18:52,140 Stirling writes a book called Nazca, the key to the mystery which details his theory. 268 00:18:52,140 --> 00:18:56,260 One of the most stunning discoveries about these mummy wraps is that they are made from 269 00:18:56,260 --> 00:19:01,820 a single piece of cotton thread which can be dozens of miles long. 270 00:19:01,820 --> 00:19:07,740 This idea of a single thread is reflected in the way the Nazca Lines are created too. 271 00:19:07,740 --> 00:19:13,140 They are made with a single line which starts and ends in the same spot. 272 00:19:13,140 --> 00:19:16,660 So first, they need to make very long threads. 273 00:19:16,660 --> 00:19:20,860 Stirling believes they use the wide clearings within the geometric shapes as sacred spaces 274 00:19:20,860 --> 00:19:23,740 for spinning the cotton fibers into these threads. 275 00:19:23,740 --> 00:19:28,180 As the threads are made, Stirling thinks the weavers would lay them out along the Nazca 276 00:19:28,180 --> 00:19:30,300 Lines' animal designs. 277 00:19:30,300 --> 00:19:35,860 According to Peruvian beliefs, each animal carries a different significance. 278 00:19:35,860 --> 00:19:39,660 So depending on who they're burying, they would lay the thread in a different Nazca 279 00:19:39,660 --> 00:19:43,780 line to infuse it with the power of that family's chosen animal. 280 00:19:43,780 --> 00:19:46,860 For instance, the whale provides success in fishing. 281 00:19:46,860 --> 00:19:50,340 The hummingbird provides fertility. 282 00:19:50,340 --> 00:19:56,900 As far as the actual weaving, Stirling thinks this takes place within the Nazca Lines themselves. 283 00:19:56,900 --> 00:20:02,900 So Stirling had this idea that the Nazca Lines acted as a giant loom because there are these 284 00:20:02,900 --> 00:20:05,180 posts within the Nazca Lines. 285 00:20:05,180 --> 00:20:10,380 The people would take the thread and wind back and forth over the lines to create the 286 00:20:10,380 --> 00:20:12,100 textiles. 287 00:20:12,100 --> 00:20:15,160 There were posts found at the Nazca Lines. 288 00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:18,580 That's actually how scientists are able to date them in the first place. 289 00:20:18,580 --> 00:20:22,260 They test the remains of organic wooden posts discovered nearby. 290 00:20:22,260 --> 00:20:27,860 Stirling believes these posts could have been the framework to support this giant loom system. 291 00:20:27,860 --> 00:20:32,580 Stirling also finds a connection in the drawings themselves. 292 00:20:32,580 --> 00:20:38,020 So the designs on the mummy textiles are very similar to what we see in the Nazca Lines, 293 00:20:38,020 --> 00:20:41,700 a similar array of animals and plants. 294 00:20:41,700 --> 00:20:46,020 These ceremonial shapes might have been a part of the entire process from the weaving 295 00:20:46,020 --> 00:20:48,460 through to the end of the mummification. 296 00:20:48,460 --> 00:20:53,380 One single mummy shroud could have over a million stitches on the main panel and another 297 00:20:53,380 --> 00:20:56,380 800,000 or so on the borders. 298 00:20:56,380 --> 00:20:59,020 This is a huge collaborative effort. 299 00:20:59,020 --> 00:21:02,740 Even the mummies must have been a very sacred and important process to these people. 300 00:21:02,740 --> 00:21:06,940 So why not build a sacred and important site to do it? 301 00:21:06,940 --> 00:21:12,540 The Egyptian mummies were preserved and wrapped by priests and elaborate rituals inside impressive 302 00:21:12,540 --> 00:21:13,540 temples. 303 00:21:13,540 --> 00:21:17,060 This could have been a prehistoric version of the same thing. 304 00:21:17,060 --> 00:21:25,860 According to Stirling's theory, the operation may have expanded beyond mummies. 305 00:21:25,860 --> 00:21:30,700 The Nazca Lines mummy factory may have eventually become a textile factory serving the entire 306 00:21:30,700 --> 00:21:34,300 Andean coast and parts of the Highlands. 307 00:21:34,300 --> 00:21:38,060 It's interesting because while you can't grow many things in this environment, you 308 00:21:38,060 --> 00:21:39,220 can grow cotton. 309 00:21:39,220 --> 00:21:42,500 It's one of the only useful crops they could have had. 310 00:21:42,500 --> 00:21:44,980 You have to wonder, how did they survive? 311 00:21:44,980 --> 00:21:50,900 Well, if this was a place that could abundantly manufacture cloth, they could have traded it. 312 00:21:50,900 --> 00:21:54,460 But Stirling's theory is really based off of a lot of speculation. 313 00:21:54,460 --> 00:21:59,380 There's no archaeological evidence that any weaving was done on these lines. 314 00:21:59,380 --> 00:22:05,540 He probably saw the posts and just had this idea because textile production is so important 315 00:22:05,540 --> 00:22:07,020 in the Andes. 316 00:22:07,020 --> 00:22:10,940 And textiles, in fact, were more important than even some of the precious metals like 317 00:22:10,940 --> 00:22:13,860 gold. 318 00:22:13,860 --> 00:22:19,540 But a new discovery in 1987 challenges Stirling's theory. 319 00:22:19,540 --> 00:22:25,020 About two miles away from the Nazca Lines up on a high plateau is a ceremonial center 320 00:22:25,020 --> 00:22:26,900 called Kowachi. 321 00:22:26,900 --> 00:22:33,060 An Italian archaeologist named Giuseppe Orofici has been in charge of excavations there since 322 00:22:33,060 --> 00:22:34,900 1984. 323 00:22:34,900 --> 00:22:40,020 He's working closely with an American archaeologist, Helene Silverman. 324 00:22:40,020 --> 00:22:44,580 At Kowachi, Silverman and Orofici have found lots of chambers that we now believe to be 325 00:22:44,580 --> 00:22:49,420 workshops for making textiles, with remains of weaving materials found there. 326 00:22:49,420 --> 00:22:54,260 When Silverman first publishes her work in the Journal of Field Archaeology in 1988, 327 00:22:54,260 --> 00:22:58,220 she finds that Kowachi is the center for the production of these elaborate costumes worn 328 00:22:58,220 --> 00:23:01,420 by the Nazca priests and where the rituals are performed. 329 00:23:01,420 --> 00:23:07,580 In other words, Kowachi is the mummy and textile factory, not the Nazca Lines themselves. 330 00:23:07,580 --> 00:23:13,100 But some believe there's still a connection between the two locations. 331 00:23:13,100 --> 00:23:17,580 The Nazca Lines might not have been a mummy factory or textile factory, but they could 332 00:23:17,580 --> 00:23:21,220 have been a place to reflect while that process was happening nearby. 333 00:23:21,220 --> 00:23:26,420 The entire area, both the lines in the valley and Kowachi perched above, was most likely 334 00:23:26,420 --> 00:23:29,620 a place of pilgrimage for natives throughout the region. 335 00:23:29,620 --> 00:23:34,980 A kind of religious tourism site, which included a funeral parlor and textile trading. 336 00:23:34,980 --> 00:23:38,900 Visitors to Kowachi would have had a fine view of some of the Nazca Lines below, and I don't 337 00:23:38,900 --> 00:23:45,020 think that's a coincidence. 338 00:23:45,020 --> 00:23:51,140 Many scholars have studied the Nazca Lines and speculated about their mysterious designs. 339 00:23:51,140 --> 00:23:58,300 But it's not until 2019 that a Japanese research team takes a closer look at some of the animal 340 00:23:58,300 --> 00:23:59,940 patterns. 341 00:23:59,940 --> 00:24:05,940 Their findings unlock a new possible theory surrounding these shapes. 342 00:24:05,940 --> 00:24:10,260 The animals represented in the Nazca Lines are referred to as biomorphs. 343 00:24:10,260 --> 00:24:11,940 There's over 70 of these. 344 00:24:11,940 --> 00:24:18,220 They represent a wide range of animals, insects like spiders, monkeys, dogs, and a wide range 345 00:24:18,220 --> 00:24:19,380 of birds. 346 00:24:19,380 --> 00:24:24,300 The animals range in size from about 50 feet long up to over 1200 feet, almost as tall 347 00:24:24,300 --> 00:24:26,180 as the Empire State Building. 348 00:24:26,180 --> 00:24:31,380 For about 100 years after these were first discovered, no one really thought carefully 349 00:24:31,380 --> 00:24:32,500 about the animals. 350 00:24:32,500 --> 00:24:36,460 They just classified them and noticed, oh, there's animal biomorphs. 351 00:24:36,460 --> 00:24:41,900 The reality is that these animals are shocking because they don't exist in this area. 352 00:24:41,900 --> 00:24:47,780 And so really asking the question, why these animals, why here, becomes critical. 353 00:24:47,780 --> 00:24:53,020 Researchers from Hokkaido University in Japan attempt to answer these questions. 354 00:24:53,020 --> 00:24:57,500 For the first time ever, these Japanese researchers take a scientific approach to classifying the 355 00:24:57,500 --> 00:25:00,080 species depicted in the lines. 356 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:04,880 They want to identify precisely what species each drawing depicts and where it comes from, 357 00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:09,260 and then maybe they can find some sort of logic or pattern to figure out the reason. 358 00:25:09,260 --> 00:25:14,540 So one of the exciting things is there's at least 18 species that they're able to identify. 359 00:25:14,540 --> 00:25:18,860 There are a handful that they actually just can't associate or identify a particular species 360 00:25:18,860 --> 00:25:19,940 for. 361 00:25:19,940 --> 00:25:25,340 Along with a rather obvious monkey and llama, they identify a frigate bird, a pelican, a 362 00:25:25,340 --> 00:25:27,900 guano bird, and even a killer whale. 363 00:25:27,900 --> 00:25:32,500 The hummingbird, they identify as a hermit hummingbird, a species that lives only in 364 00:25:32,500 --> 00:25:36,520 the tropics and subtropics far to the north and east. 365 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:40,800 The animals that the Japanese classify are all from places with lots of water, like the 366 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:42,560 coast or rainy jungle. 367 00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:47,560 So sure enough, they seem to be identifying a pattern, and the team believes that water 368 00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:51,880 is the key to understanding the purpose of the lines. 369 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:58,080 Throughout history, early civilizations rely on an abundance of water to grow food. 370 00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:03,700 But the dry desert conditions of the Nazca region offer almost none. 371 00:26:03,700 --> 00:26:08,460 The very reason these lines have survived so long is because the area is so dry. 372 00:26:08,460 --> 00:26:11,060 It only gets rained for maybe 20 minutes a year. 373 00:26:11,060 --> 00:26:12,380 20 minutes. 374 00:26:12,380 --> 00:26:16,520 So what do you do in a place where you don't get any rain, yet you desperately need it? 375 00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:22,580 For many ancient societies, you pray. 376 00:26:22,580 --> 00:26:26,940 The Nazca are a priestly society, a deeply religious society. 377 00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:30,960 We know this from the huge religious complex at Kowachi, which is like the Vatican for the 378 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:33,760 Nazca people and the whole coast of Peru. 379 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:38,560 The geoglyphs that surround it seem connected to the complex and the rituals performed there. 380 00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:43,120 And the Japanese team believes all of it is centered around begging the gods for rain. 381 00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:46,080 The location of Kowachi is not an accident. 382 00:26:46,080 --> 00:26:52,200 There's actually a river that runs through the area, and across this stretch of desert, 383 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:54,560 the river runs underground. 384 00:26:54,560 --> 00:27:02,340 It only emerges above ground again as it enters the lowlands, right on the spot where Kowachi's located. 385 00:27:02,340 --> 00:27:06,700 This is where the water is given back to the people, and so this is where they establish 386 00:27:06,700 --> 00:27:09,940 their most important pilgrimage shrine. 387 00:27:09,940 --> 00:27:15,860 According to the Japanese team, many of the Nazca lines are arranged in a path that leads 388 00:27:15,860 --> 00:27:18,300 directly to Kowachi. 389 00:27:18,300 --> 00:27:21,900 They're guiding the people to their sacred place for water rituals. 390 00:27:21,900 --> 00:27:25,240 Follow along that pilgrimage route, they would be saying their prayers in the hopes 391 00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:28,440 that these mystical animals would bring along their region's rain. 392 00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:32,240 Keep in mind, they're not actually praying for the rain to fall in the desert. 393 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:33,600 That won't help them. 394 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:37,280 They're praying for it to fall in the surrounding highland and coastal areas where they plant 395 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:38,280 their fields. 396 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:42,400 They're also praying for the rain to come peacefully. 397 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:48,040 The climate along the Peruvian coast can be unpredictable and sometimes catastrophic, 398 00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:54,980 with wild deluges that cause landslides and flooding, wreaking havoc on the farmers. 399 00:27:54,980 --> 00:27:59,900 So the whole belief system with this pilgrimage along the Nazca lines is centered around creating 400 00:27:59,900 --> 00:28:03,900 a friendly, working relationship with the gods who control the weather. 401 00:28:03,900 --> 00:28:10,500 These gods are invoked and pleaded with within the sacred spaces of Kowachi and the biomorphs. 402 00:28:10,500 --> 00:28:18,040 The team identifies the same species on rock art, ceramics, and textiles from the area. 403 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:22,160 They even made musical instruments out of pottery. 404 00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:25,960 It must be quite an elaborate and celebratory process. 405 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:30,300 You can imagine hundreds of people in colorful costumes, performing ritual processions or 406 00:28:30,300 --> 00:28:33,960 dances along the Nazca lines, accompanied by drums and pan pipes. 407 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:36,560 It's quite a spectacle. 408 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:41,060 There seems to be one more connection between the lines and water. 409 00:28:41,060 --> 00:28:45,220 The last thing they find is that there are several rock altars at the edges of some of 410 00:28:45,220 --> 00:28:47,740 the clearings, right by the Nazca lines. 411 00:28:47,740 --> 00:28:53,640 And inside the altars, there are crayfish claws, crab skeletons, moss shells, the remains 412 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:57,660 of sea creatures here in the desert at 4,000 feet above sea level. 413 00:28:57,660 --> 00:28:59,160 That's a bit surprising. 414 00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:03,880 They're bringing these materials from the largest body of water, the ocean, as a way 415 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:07,120 of asking the gods for water. 416 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:10,120 Once again, this supports the Japanese theory. 417 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:14,460 The Nazca lines were a place for pilgrims to journey from all around in the hopes of 418 00:29:14,460 --> 00:29:22,720 summoning their most sacred resource. 419 00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:29,600 In 2019, Japanese scientists revealed their belief that the Nazca lines were created as 420 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:31,580 a prayer for rain. 421 00:29:31,580 --> 00:29:34,780 A plea that unfortunately failed. 422 00:29:34,780 --> 00:29:39,780 In the early 5th century, this culture suffers their most extreme drought of all. 423 00:29:39,780 --> 00:29:42,540 It's so bad that Kawachi is abandoned. 424 00:29:42,540 --> 00:29:45,860 There's no more sacred city for their rain and water rituals. 425 00:29:45,860 --> 00:29:47,820 No place for a pilgrimage. 426 00:29:47,820 --> 00:29:51,920 But after the drought, there are still artifacts and human remains that suggest people were 427 00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:54,080 still coming to the Nazca lines. 428 00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:57,700 So I think when you start to make theories about the Nazca lines and their purpose, you 429 00:29:57,700 --> 00:30:00,700 have to split them into two distinct periods. 430 00:30:00,700 --> 00:30:05,580 What were they used for before the drought and what were they used for after? 431 00:30:05,580 --> 00:30:09,860 I think before the drought, the 2019 theory about the prayers for rain is probably one 432 00:30:09,860 --> 00:30:11,420 of the best options. 433 00:30:11,420 --> 00:30:13,820 That seems to check all the boxes. 434 00:30:13,820 --> 00:30:20,820 As for their use after the drought, a scientist in the mid-1990s thinks he's figured it out. 435 00:30:20,820 --> 00:30:26,580 So in 1996, David Johnson, who is an American scientist, traveled down to this region. 436 00:30:26,580 --> 00:30:32,580 The heat is the first to really recognize these large, almost well-liked structures 437 00:30:32,580 --> 00:30:35,420 in the desert that we call Pukios. 438 00:30:35,420 --> 00:30:41,140 The Pukios are the spiral-shaped stone staircases around a hole that leads underground to stone-reinforced 439 00:30:41,140 --> 00:30:44,580 tunnels under the earth lined with waterproof clay. 440 00:30:44,580 --> 00:30:48,740 The locals really talk about these as connected to an irrigation system, a way of getting water 441 00:30:48,740 --> 00:30:50,420 to flow throughout the area. 442 00:30:50,420 --> 00:30:52,660 One of the interesting things is how old they are. 443 00:30:52,660 --> 00:30:56,900 They date back at least to the 6th century and they're really connected with the ending 444 00:30:56,900 --> 00:31:00,620 of this massive drought that decimated the area. 445 00:31:00,620 --> 00:31:04,820 Johnson realizes there's a connection between the Nazca lines and these Pukios and starts 446 00:31:04,820 --> 00:31:07,020 working on a theory of his own. 447 00:31:07,020 --> 00:31:11,700 He believes after the drought, the Nazca people repurpose their famous lines and created a 448 00:31:11,700 --> 00:31:19,700 map for one of the world's most sophisticated systems of water management. 449 00:31:19,700 --> 00:31:25,380 Johnson finds two underground water sources in the Nazca desert to support his theory. 450 00:31:25,380 --> 00:31:29,300 The first are rivers which flow down from the mountains before going underground through 451 00:31:29,300 --> 00:31:30,540 this region. 452 00:31:30,540 --> 00:31:34,820 The second are geological fault lines that run north to south that bring up their own 453 00:31:34,820 --> 00:31:37,140 water from deeper beneath the water table. 454 00:31:37,140 --> 00:31:40,540 When you look at this area, not only is it one of the driest, it's also one of the most 455 00:31:40,540 --> 00:31:45,460 seismically active areas and so there's actually a lot of fault lines in this region. 456 00:31:45,460 --> 00:31:49,940 Johnson notices lots of this area's ancient settlements are located right next to faults 457 00:31:49,940 --> 00:31:54,780 and that there's usually a Pukio system there in that spot to tap into its water source 458 00:31:54,780 --> 00:31:59,900 and right on top of the faults, in almost every case, he finds there are Nazca lines 459 00:31:59,900 --> 00:32:01,220 marking their paths. 460 00:32:01,220 --> 00:32:06,500 The geometric shapes were designed to track and locate underground water sources. 461 00:32:06,500 --> 00:32:11,860 So in this process, it's a way for the Nazca people to take control of the water instead 462 00:32:11,860 --> 00:32:16,980 of just leaving it up to chance as to whether or not rain or runoff will show up. 463 00:32:16,980 --> 00:32:21,420 These Pukios ensure a reliable supply of water year round, meaning they're able to turn 464 00:32:21,420 --> 00:32:27,580 this arid desert into arable farmland, strictly through their own ingenuity. 465 00:32:27,580 --> 00:32:31,460 This method is not just relegated to antiquity. 466 00:32:31,460 --> 00:32:35,980 Johnson is impressed that the locals are still using the system the Nazca created some 1500 467 00:32:35,980 --> 00:32:37,140 years later. 468 00:32:37,140 --> 00:32:40,700 There are around 30 of these Pukios still in use in the Nazca Valley. 469 00:32:40,700 --> 00:32:42,900 It really takes a lot of constant repair and work. 470 00:32:42,900 --> 00:32:48,020 So many are falling apart and you know are out of use, but they are still usable where 471 00:32:48,020 --> 00:32:49,860 they've been taken care of. 472 00:32:49,860 --> 00:32:58,700 Johnson shares his insight with archaeologist Donald Prue and hydrologist Stephen Mayby. 473 00:32:58,700 --> 00:33:04,020 From 1996 to 2000, they formed the Nazca Lines Project, plotting the course of several faults 474 00:33:04,020 --> 00:33:06,460 to look for correlations with the lines. 475 00:33:06,460 --> 00:33:09,660 And they're able to confirm Johnson's ideas. 476 00:33:09,660 --> 00:33:14,420 In almost every case they study, they find Nazca Lines charting the path of the faults 477 00:33:14,420 --> 00:33:17,940 and pointing to where the faults cross adjacent ridges. 478 00:33:17,940 --> 00:33:22,460 As they finished it, they really came away feeling like they had solved one of archaeology's 479 00:33:22,460 --> 00:33:24,340 greatest mysteries. 480 00:33:24,340 --> 00:33:28,980 If this theory is correct, the Nazcans have created a map of the underground water sources 481 00:33:28,980 --> 00:33:31,780 which they can now tap into to survive. 482 00:33:31,780 --> 00:33:35,420 It's like your local water utility map on a one-to-one scale. 483 00:33:35,420 --> 00:33:39,580 This is a complex but effective way of recording knowledge onto the earth for later generations 484 00:33:40,500 --> 00:33:41,500 to use. 485 00:33:41,500 --> 00:33:44,020 But what about the animal shapes? 486 00:33:44,020 --> 00:33:47,780 This is why we think the Nazca Lines may have been repurposed. 487 00:33:47,780 --> 00:33:53,540 The animal shapes began as symbolic prayers or offerings to bring rainfall. 488 00:33:53,540 --> 00:33:59,340 According to Johnson, they eventually become part of the system as well. 489 00:33:59,340 --> 00:34:03,780 While the most important mapping of the irrigation system is done with geometric shapes, Johnson 490 00:34:03,780 --> 00:34:07,820 writes that the animal figures might have been used to name the different water sources 491 00:34:07,860 --> 00:34:10,820 or indicate where they changed direction. 492 00:34:10,820 --> 00:34:16,740 These Pukios are an incredible achievement and the Nazca Lines are a huge part of what 493 00:34:16,740 --> 00:34:20,020 makes them function as a system. 494 00:34:20,020 --> 00:34:25,300 People still thrive in a desert area because of the knowledge they receive from the Lines. 495 00:34:25,300 --> 00:34:29,300 A map for survival written in the Thames. 496 00:34:29,780 --> 00:34:36,300 Over the last century, the world has marveled at the many impressive achievements of the 497 00:34:36,300 --> 00:34:38,100 Nazca people. 498 00:34:38,100 --> 00:34:43,100 The Lines themselves are incredible, but we can't forget about all of the other interesting 499 00:34:43,100 --> 00:34:46,700 artifacts and features that have been found in this region. 500 00:34:46,700 --> 00:34:50,980 There are some of the world's finest textiles with incredibly elaborate designs. 501 00:34:50,980 --> 00:34:52,980 There is beautifully made pottery. 502 00:34:52,980 --> 00:34:55,980 There are hundreds of mummies that are made of clay. 503 00:34:56,660 --> 00:35:00,660 And there's a centuries old underground water management system that works so well, it's 504 00:35:00,660 --> 00:35:02,660 still in use today. 505 00:35:02,660 --> 00:35:06,660 But there's also a much more disturbing discovery. 506 00:35:10,660 --> 00:35:15,660 About 90 years ago, Alfred Lewis-Crowbird, an anthropologist, was studying in the area 507 00:35:15,660 --> 00:35:19,660 and what he found was a collection of severed heads. 508 00:35:19,660 --> 00:35:24,660 So these heads are the ones that are used to make the most of the land. 509 00:35:24,660 --> 00:35:29,660 These heads are really well preserved, much like the mummies that we find in this region 510 00:35:29,660 --> 00:35:31,660 because of the lack of rain. 511 00:35:31,660 --> 00:35:36,660 But what's interesting about them is that they have holes in the center of their forehead. 512 00:35:36,660 --> 00:35:43,660 And what we think these holes were for is to put a string so that the head could be carried. 513 00:35:43,660 --> 00:35:48,660 Experts have long believed that these are trophy heads taken from rivals during war and 514 00:35:48,660 --> 00:35:50,660 then carried around and put on display. 515 00:35:50,660 --> 00:35:55,660 Some heads are even found next to full mummies and researchers believe that a person might be 516 00:35:55,660 --> 00:35:58,660 buried along with the trophy heads they collected in life. 517 00:35:59,660 --> 00:36:05,660 For nearly a century, these heads are thought to belong to enemies of the Nazca. 518 00:36:05,660 --> 00:36:11,660 But years later, a team of scientists in 2009 undertook some studies on these trophy heads 519 00:36:11,660 --> 00:36:17,660 by using strontium analysis, which can tell you where a person was originally born, 520 00:36:17,660 --> 00:36:23,660 and how that water in the ground was incorporated into their bones and into their teeth. 521 00:36:23,660 --> 00:36:26,660 They were able to tell where these heads originated. 522 00:36:26,660 --> 00:36:31,660 Come to find out the severed trophy heads come from other Nazcans. 523 00:36:32,660 --> 00:36:37,660 The finding leads some archaeologists to completely rethink the Nazca lines. 524 00:36:37,660 --> 00:36:42,660 We have a feeling the lines are linked to rituals or spirituality somehow. 525 00:36:42,660 --> 00:36:46,660 And we have a feeling they are linked to the precious resource of water. 526 00:36:46,660 --> 00:36:52,660 This new theory takes all of that into account, plus the fact that we now have evidence of local natives being beheaded. 527 00:36:52,660 --> 00:36:54,660 What does this mean? 528 00:36:54,660 --> 00:36:58,660 Well, according to archaeologists Donald Prue and Karina Kellner, 529 00:36:58,660 --> 00:37:04,660 what you have is a situation where the Nazca lines could be connected to ritual human sacrifice. 530 00:37:07,660 --> 00:37:12,660 If you examine the images on pottery and textiles from the Nazca, trophy heads are everywhere. 531 00:37:12,660 --> 00:37:15,660 Sometimes they are shown with plants sprouting from them, 532 00:37:15,660 --> 00:37:19,660 which indicate they were likely buried to increase agricultural fertility. 533 00:37:19,660 --> 00:37:22,660 As we know now, these are local Nazcans. 534 00:37:22,660 --> 00:37:27,660 They are not people from other areas, so they presumably were not taken in war or battle. 535 00:37:27,660 --> 00:37:34,660 These are people who freely participated in the process and in the ritual to help their own community. 536 00:37:34,660 --> 00:37:41,660 According to this theory, the venue for these rituals is the Nazca lines. 537 00:37:41,660 --> 00:37:46,660 When we look at the geometric figures, we realize there are these giant open spaces, 538 00:37:46,660 --> 00:37:51,660 and these are potentially the arenas for these ritual sacrifices, 539 00:37:51,660 --> 00:37:55,660 whether they were battles that were played out or other ritual actions. 540 00:37:55,660 --> 00:38:00,660 In the Andean culture, warfare is actually linked to fertility, 541 00:38:00,660 --> 00:38:05,660 and the losers of battle are sacrificed to the gods to help with that fertility. 542 00:38:05,660 --> 00:38:08,660 This is all part of the religious attempt to draw in water. 543 00:38:08,660 --> 00:38:13,660 As the team dates the trophy heads, they feel more confident about this theory, 544 00:38:13,660 --> 00:38:19,660 because right when the major drought hits the region, the number of trophy heads increases dramatically. 545 00:38:19,660 --> 00:38:23,660 They start doing this ritual more and more in desperation. 546 00:38:23,660 --> 00:38:30,660 In 2022, a Polish research team finds further proof to support this theory. 547 00:38:30,660 --> 00:38:35,660 This team tests hair samples from the Nazca trophy heads and finds that, before their deaths, 548 00:38:35,660 --> 00:38:39,660 the victims ingested San Pedro Cactus, which contains mescaline. 549 00:38:39,660 --> 00:38:44,660 Right before the victims were killed or sacrificed, as part of the ritual, 550 00:38:44,660 --> 00:38:47,660 they were given this loosening to prepare them. 551 00:38:47,660 --> 00:38:52,660 You find images of the San Pedro Cactus everywhere in Nazca iconography. 552 00:38:52,660 --> 00:38:54,660 This plant is clearly important to their religion, 553 00:38:54,660 --> 00:38:58,660 and now we have proof that it's involved in their rituals of taking trophy heads. 554 00:38:58,660 --> 00:39:04,660 The idea is that the Nazca would gather at the lines in these ritual spaces. 555 00:39:04,660 --> 00:39:08,660 They would participate in the rituals in just the hallucinogenic drug. 556 00:39:08,660 --> 00:39:13,660 This would put them in a translate state and prepare them to engage in the ritual battle. 557 00:39:13,660 --> 00:39:17,660 At the end of the battle, the trophy heads would then be buried 558 00:39:17,660 --> 00:39:21,660 with the hopes of inspiring the gods to bring water to the area. 559 00:39:21,660 --> 00:39:26,660 But this is far from the final word on the Nazca lines. 560 00:39:26,660 --> 00:39:31,660 Maybe the lines were ritual battlefields, but I don't think that's all they ever were. 561 00:39:31,660 --> 00:39:34,660 There's a good chance they serve multiple functions. 562 00:39:34,660 --> 00:39:35,660 It's like roads today. 563 00:39:35,660 --> 00:39:40,660 Yes, they move people from one place to another, but we also stage parades down them. 564 00:39:40,660 --> 00:39:42,660 We block them off for music festivals. 565 00:39:42,660 --> 00:39:45,660 We bury our water pipes beneath them. 566 00:39:45,660 --> 00:39:48,660 This seems like a more logical way to view the Nazca lines. 567 00:39:48,660 --> 00:39:51,660 Are we ever really going to know what the lines were used for? 568 00:39:51,660 --> 00:39:54,660 Probably not, and that's okay. That's what's exciting about them. 569 00:39:54,660 --> 00:40:00,660 But one thing we definitely know is the amazing feat of engineering that these lines represent. 570 00:40:00,660 --> 00:40:03,660 They were clearly very, very important to the people of the time. 571 00:40:03,660 --> 00:40:07,660 They cared deeply about them, went to great lengths to build them, 572 00:40:07,660 --> 00:40:15,660 and it was a real testament to human ingenuity, creativity, and our ability to build amazing things. 573 00:40:17,660 --> 00:40:23,660 Despite their 2,000-year-old history, more Nazca lines are still being discovered. 574 00:40:23,660 --> 00:40:28,660 A never-before-seen cat figure was found as recently as 2020. 575 00:40:29,660 --> 00:40:33,660 Perhaps new evidence can finally reveal their true purpose. 576 00:40:33,660 --> 00:40:35,660 I'm Lawrence Fishburne. 577 00:40:35,660 --> 00:40:39,660 Thank you for watching History's Greatest Mysteries.