1
00:00:03,269 --> 00:00:05,472
The coastal deserts 
of Peru were home to

2
00:00:05,505 --> 00:00:10,844
elaborate civilizations 
long before the Incas arrived.

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00:00:10,877 --> 00:00:12,245
Ah, that would 
be something,

4
00:00:12,278 --> 00:00:14,147
you know if they 
found something.

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00:00:14,180 --> 00:00:16,883
Treasures from the 
colossal to the minute

6
00:00:16,916 --> 00:00:20,086
can still be found

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00:00:20,086 --> 00:00:26,593
as well as ancient traditions 
that are still in practice.

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Funding for 
        The Desert Speaks

9
00:00:31,564 --> 00:00:34,534
was provided by 
Desert Program Partners,

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00:00:34,567 --> 00:00:37,570
representing concerned viewers 
making a financial commitment

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00:00:37,570 --> 00:00:41,041
to the education about and 
preservation of deserts.

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00:00:41,074 --> 00:00:43,410
And by the 
Stonewall Foundation.

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00:00:43,443 --> 00:00:46,179
Additional funding provided by 
The Nature Conservancy.

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00:00:50,717 --> 00:01:15,909
♪ music ♪

15
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Along much of the coast 
of northern Peru,

16
00:01:21,514 --> 00:01:24,918
it rains only in El Niño years.

17
00:01:24,951 --> 00:01:28,021
The landscape is dry and 
barren but it's dotted

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00:01:28,054 --> 00:01:31,458
with prehistoric cities 
whose architecture is

19
00:01:31,491 --> 00:01:35,495
monumental on an 
international scale.

20
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The pyramids of adobe 
tower over the countryside

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00:01:39,399 --> 00:01:42,268
and conceal treasures of 
gold and silver

22
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equaled only in ancient Egypt.

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This is possible because 
of the emergence of

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hydraulic societies 
governed by complex

25
00:01:52,145 --> 00:01:58,551
and powerful bureaucracies.

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These ancient 
civilizations are

27
00:02:00,787 --> 00:02:02,622
clustered along rivers 
running down from the

28
00:02:02,655 --> 00:02:05,358
Andes of northern Peru.

29
00:02:05,391 --> 00:02:07,127
No one knows their 
history better than

30
00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:10,964
my archeologist friend 
Axel Neilsen.

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00:02:10,997 --> 00:02:17,637
Our first stop is at the 
eroded pyramid city of Túcume.

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One of the distinctive 
characteristics of

33
00:02:23,409 --> 00:02:27,147
developments in the 
coastal valleys of the

34
00:02:27,180 --> 00:02:32,051
Andes is the concentration 
of population in urban center.

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00:02:32,085 --> 00:02:39,359
And this is related to the 
high circumscription

36
00:02:39,392 --> 00:02:42,195
And this is related to the 
high circumscription

37
00:02:42,228 --> 00:02:46,065
of resources in these areas.

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00:02:46,099 --> 00:02:48,301
The development of life in 
this area depends on the

39
00:02:48,334 --> 00:02:50,670
exploitation of the sea 
and the exploitation of

40
00:02:50,703 --> 00:02:54,607
agriculture through 
intensive irrigation.

41
00:02:54,607 --> 00:02:57,243
Hey, Axel, why'd you 
bring me up here?

42
00:02:57,243 --> 00:02:59,979
Well, you know, the city 
is so big that unless we

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00:02:59,979 --> 00:03:02,415
go up a hill like this 
one, we won't be able to

44
00:03:02,448 --> 00:03:04,851
appreciate the size of it.

45
00:03:04,884 --> 00:03:06,452
Well, and it's the 
only hill around.

46
00:03:06,486 --> 00:03:08,521
Yeah.

47
00:03:08,521 --> 00:03:11,157
Well, all the other 
elevations you see are

48
00:03:11,157 --> 00:03:17,030
artificially made, are 
adobe mounds and pyramids.

49
00:03:17,063 --> 00:03:19,399
The Chimú, this is the 
kingdom that developed

50
00:03:19,432 --> 00:03:21,935
right before the expansion 
of the Inca in the

51
00:03:21,968 --> 00:03:25,572
northern coastal valleys 
of Peru, took irrigation

52
00:03:25,605 --> 00:03:28,908
to the highest 
level of complexity.

53
00:03:28,908 --> 00:03:30,643
They developed canals that 
would bring water from

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00:03:30,643 --> 00:03:35,982
one valley to the next.

55
00:03:36,015 --> 00:03:38,585
And imagine at the time 
there were more people

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00:03:38,618 --> 00:03:43,289
around so probably the fields 
were even larger than today.

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00:03:43,289 --> 00:03:45,225
And the whole thing, 
probably the landscape

58
00:03:45,258 --> 00:03:47,627
then resembled what 
it is now, right?

59
00:03:47,660 --> 00:03:51,130
Yes, probably very similar.

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00:03:51,164 --> 00:03:54,067
These mounds and pyramids 
were used as the sites of

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00:03:54,100 --> 00:03:57,837
palaces and burial 
grounds for the rulers.

62
00:03:57,837 --> 00:04:01,140
The city flourished 
around 1300.

63
00:04:01,174 --> 00:04:03,743
The site was probably 
abandoned by the time the

64
00:04:03,776 --> 00:04:08,047
Spanish conquered the area, 
which was around 1532 or 33.

65
00:04:08,047 --> 00:04:10,516
Tradition has it that 
Túcume was founded by one

66
00:04:10,550 --> 00:04:14,087
of the 12 grandsons 
of Naylamp.

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00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,356
This is a mythical 
character that arrived

68
00:04:16,389 --> 00:04:19,425
from the sea on a raft.

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00:04:19,425 --> 00:04:22,662
And he commanded all his 
12 grandsons to found a

70
00:04:22,695 --> 00:04:26,466
city, each one of them, 
and this sort of parallels

71
00:04:26,499 --> 00:04:29,669
archeological evidence 
that shows that the polity

72
00:04:29,702 --> 00:04:33,072
of Lambayeque developed 
out of several, probably

73
00:04:33,072 --> 00:04:36,709
10 or 12, independent 
city states.

74
00:04:36,709 --> 00:04:39,178
And looking at the 
intensity of agriculture

75
00:04:39,212 --> 00:04:41,948
around here, you 
can realize why the

76
00:04:41,981 --> 00:04:44,884
construction and 
coordination of irrigation

77
00:04:44,884 --> 00:04:47,854
systems must have been a real 
important political concern.

78
00:04:47,887 --> 00:04:50,690
Yeah, the life comes from 
the people who run the water.

79
00:04:50,723 --> 00:04:53,760
I've heard that before.

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00:04:53,793 --> 00:04:59,299
In addition to pyramids 
Túcume has grand mesquites

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00:04:59,332 --> 00:05:02,635
and living representatives 
of an ancient race

82
00:05:02,635 --> 00:05:08,141
of medicinal dogs.

83
00:05:08,174 --> 00:05:11,244
This gnarly old mesquite 
here maybe one of the

84
00:05:11,277 --> 00:05:14,480
ancestors of our mesquites 
in the southwest.

85
00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:17,317
In the central and 
southern Andes there are

86
00:05:17,350 --> 00:05:19,719
more than 30 species of 
mesquites, most of them trees.

87
00:05:19,752 --> 00:05:22,021
And none of them have any 
straight lumber just like

88
00:05:22,021 --> 00:05:24,724
ours, but all of 
them have character.

89
00:05:24,757 --> 00:05:26,993
That's the way 
mesquites are.

90
00:05:27,026 --> 00:05:27,794
Chala!

91
00:05:27,827 --> 00:05:29,228
Ven!

92
00:05:29,262 --> 00:05:30,596
(whistling)

93
00:05:30,630 --> 00:05:31,764
Chimú dogs.

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00:05:31,764 --> 00:05:33,132
Chala.

95
00:05:33,132 --> 00:05:35,401
Aren't these amazing dogs?

96
00:05:35,401 --> 00:05:37,270
But these are apparently, 
these are pre-Columbian breed.

97
00:05:37,303 --> 00:05:39,372
Yeah, they are 
called Chimú.

98
00:05:39,405 --> 00:05:41,441
Like Chimú, which was the 
name of the civilization

99
00:05:41,474 --> 00:05:43,309
that was here at the 
time of the conquest.

100
00:05:43,309 --> 00:05:44,777
They're amazingly 
affectionate.

101
00:05:44,777 --> 00:05:46,379
Look at that.

102
00:05:46,412 --> 00:05:48,781
Look she's got a Mohawk.

103
00:05:48,781 --> 00:05:50,550
She's, and then they 
got this one little bit.

104
00:05:50,583 --> 00:05:55,054
They are the 
most loving dog.

105
00:05:55,054 --> 00:05:57,623
Yeah, that's my ear.

106
00:05:57,657 --> 00:06:02,428
She likes to be in 
laps, she's a lap dog.

107
00:06:04,964 --> 00:06:07,433
The same people who built 
Túcume constructed a host of

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00:06:07,433 --> 00:06:11,270
pyramids throughout the area, 
including one at Sipán.

109
00:06:11,304 --> 00:06:14,340
Inside that pyramid, 
huaqueros, or grave

110
00:06:14,340 --> 00:06:17,477
robbers, discovered a 
trove of gold and silver

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00:06:17,510 --> 00:06:22,915
artifacts that exceeded 
anyone's imagination.

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00:06:22,915 --> 00:06:25,318
You know, David, I think 
that the royal tombs of

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00:06:25,351 --> 00:06:27,587
Sipán are the most 
fantastic discovery in the

114
00:06:27,620 --> 00:06:30,056
history of Peruvian 
archeology.

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00:06:30,089 --> 00:06:31,524
Well, I think I the 
history of the New World.

116
00:06:31,557 --> 00:06:33,192
I don't think there's 
anything like it.

117
00:06:33,192 --> 00:06:34,827
Yeah, I think that 
would be fair to say.

118
00:06:34,827 --> 00:06:36,829
The whole building here, 
and it's a huge investment

119
00:06:36,829 --> 00:06:39,031
by both Peruvian 
government, I think

120
00:06:39,065 --> 00:06:41,401
international funds too, 
dedicated to the discovery

121
00:06:41,434 --> 00:06:43,336
of one tomb.

122
00:06:43,369 --> 00:06:45,671
Yes, actually a series of 
tombs, you know, it's the

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00:06:45,705 --> 00:06:48,875
Lord of Sipán and 
his predecessors.

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00:06:48,908 --> 00:06:51,210
This is the first time 
that the royal tomb of the

125
00:06:51,210 --> 00:06:52,979
Moche was found intact by 
archeologists before the

126
00:06:53,012 --> 00:06:54,514
looters got there.

127
00:06:54,547 --> 00:06:56,482
And what a discovery.

128
00:06:56,482 --> 00:07:02,021
Can you imagine 
finding this?

129
00:07:02,021 --> 00:07:05,892
Wow, that would 
be something.

130
00:07:05,925 --> 00:07:08,461
You know if I found 
something like this I would

131
00:07:08,494 --> 00:07:10,363
know I'm close to a king 
because this was the crown.

132
00:07:10,396 --> 00:07:11,697
This was his crown.

133
00:07:11,731 --> 00:07:12,865
Solid gold.

134
00:07:12,865 --> 00:07:14,734
Yes.

135
00:07:14,767 --> 00:07:16,536
And this is another 
important emblem

136
00:07:16,569 --> 00:07:18,204
of the Lord of Sipán.

137
00:07:18,237 --> 00:07:19,972
These were worn 
by warriors only.

138
00:07:19,972 --> 00:07:22,108
These are like a 
coxal protector.

139
00:07:22,141 --> 00:07:24,544
This was hanging from the 
waist of every warrior.

140
00:07:24,577 --> 00:07:26,779
So they had a king warrior 
and that was the key

141
00:07:26,779 --> 00:07:27,914
that this was the top?

142
00:07:27,947 --> 00:07:29,449
Yes.

143
00:07:29,482 --> 00:07:31,150
There was nobody 
higher than this.

144
00:07:31,150 --> 00:07:33,286
Exactly and warrior 
emblems were very

145
00:07:33,319 --> 00:07:35,688
important as 
signs of power.

146
00:07:35,721 --> 00:07:38,357
As you see in this staff 
the image you have there

147
00:07:38,391 --> 00:07:41,127
engraved represents a 
warrior with a prisoner who

148
00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:49,001
is naked and you know deprived 
of his weapons and uniform.

149
00:07:49,001 --> 00:07:52,171
When they found all these 
emblems they knew this was

150
00:07:52,171 --> 00:07:54,674
a king and the most 
important thing, I mean

151
00:07:54,707 --> 00:07:56,776
for a long time these 
emblems have been known

152
00:07:56,809 --> 00:08:00,646
from murals and 
paintings and pottery.

153
00:08:00,646 --> 00:08:02,281
In other things that 
they had found.

154
00:08:02,281 --> 00:08:04,417
Exactly and archeologists 
thought these were

155
00:08:04,450 --> 00:08:06,752
mythical characters, but 
when they found the tomb

156
00:08:06,786 --> 00:08:08,888
of the Lord of Sipán, they 
suddenly realized that

157
00:08:08,921 --> 00:08:12,291
these were the emblems 
of real people.

158
00:08:12,291 --> 00:08:13,993
Wow, in other words this 
isn't just a story,

159
00:08:14,026 --> 00:08:16,062
this is the real guy.

160
00:08:16,095 --> 00:08:19,131
Yeah, this was one of the 
keys of this discovery.

161
00:08:19,165 --> 00:08:21,634
Apart from the 
astonishment of this

162
00:08:21,667 --> 00:08:24,337
discovery, what were the 
archeologists finding out

163
00:08:24,370 --> 00:08:26,239
when they saw this?

164
00:08:26,272 --> 00:08:29,308
Well, I think one of the 
most eloquent expressions

165
00:08:29,308 --> 00:08:31,777
of the power of the Lord 
of Sipán is that when he

166
00:08:31,811 --> 00:08:35,882
went to the grave he took with 
him several people.

167
00:08:35,915 --> 00:08:39,318
For instance, they found 
eight people that were

168
00:08:39,318 --> 00:08:43,689
sacrificed to go to the 
tomb with the Lord of Sipán.

169
00:08:43,689 --> 00:08:46,559
One of them, the first 
was a, a soldier that was

170
00:08:46,592 --> 00:08:49,028
scarred in the tomb.

171
00:08:49,061 --> 00:08:50,897
He had amputated his two 
feet so he wouldn't leave

172
00:08:50,930 --> 00:08:53,900
his post guarding the tomb.

173
00:08:53,933 --> 00:08:56,369
That'll slow 
him down, yeah.

174
00:08:56,402 --> 00:08:58,271
Yeah, this is one of the 
finest pieces they found

175
00:08:58,304 --> 00:09:00,006
in the tomb.

176
00:09:00,039 --> 00:09:01,173
Gold on one side and 
silver on the other.

177
00:09:01,207 --> 00:09:02,608
Silver.

178
00:09:02,608 --> 00:09:04,577
And they say this 
represents a duality, you

179
00:09:04,610 --> 00:09:05,912
know, gold associated 
with the sun, and silver

180
00:09:05,945 --> 00:09:07,780
associated with the moon.

181
00:09:07,813 --> 00:09:09,749
Look at this.

182
00:09:09,782 --> 00:09:12,218
This is was one of the 
chest pieces that the body

183
00:09:12,251 --> 00:09:15,421
was wearing in the coffin.

184
00:09:15,454 --> 00:09:16,989
Look at the thousands and 
thousands of pieces of shell.

185
00:09:16,989 --> 00:09:18,658
Spondylus from Ecuador?

186
00:09:18,691 --> 00:09:20,259
Yes, and malachite 
probably.

187
00:09:20,259 --> 00:09:24,030
Yeah.

188
00:09:24,063 --> 00:09:25,731
These are the ears posts 
that the priest

189
00:09:25,731 --> 00:09:28,000
was wearing in the grave.

190
00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:29,602
And a nose, I don't know, 
what would you call that?

191
00:09:29,635 --> 00:09:31,837
A narigara.

192
00:09:31,871 --> 00:09:33,639
Yeah, but there's not a 
good English word for it,

193
00:09:33,639 --> 00:09:35,408
but that would cover 
his nose real well.

194
00:09:35,441 --> 00:09:36,576
Yeah, it would insulate 
the Lord and his mouth

195
00:09:36,609 --> 00:09:39,478
from all the mortals.

196
00:09:39,512 --> 00:09:40,780
And here he is.

197
00:09:40,813 --> 00:09:42,214
That's him.

198
00:09:42,248 --> 00:09:43,749
This is him.

199
00:09:43,749 --> 00:09:46,419
That's his actual remains.

200
00:09:46,452 --> 00:09:49,355
Well, he's less impressive 
in death than he was in life.

201
00:09:49,388 --> 00:09:56,596
Yeah, I guess we're 
all similar in death.

202
00:09:56,629 --> 00:09:58,998
This painting is a 
reconstruction of how the

203
00:09:59,031 --> 00:10:02,168
funeral of the Lord of 
Sipán could have been.

204
00:10:02,201 --> 00:10:06,205
Here you see the visitors, 
the old people, directing

205
00:10:06,205 --> 00:10:08,908
the ceremony, the new lord 
already appointed that is

206
00:10:08,941 --> 00:10:11,877
directing the funeral and 
you see the coffins there

207
00:10:11,911 --> 00:10:15,047
with the sacrificed women 
and soldiers and servants

208
00:10:15,047 --> 00:10:20,252
that went into the tomb 
with the Lord of Sipán.

209
00:10:23,289 --> 00:10:25,424
One of the things that the 
Moche represented in their

210
00:10:25,424 --> 00:10:27,660
pottery were the 
different stages of life.

211
00:10:27,693 --> 00:10:29,495
For instance, they have 
pots where they show

212
00:10:29,528 --> 00:10:31,931
sexual relations, they 
show pots were they show

213
00:10:31,964 --> 00:10:34,300
birth, they show children, 
they show young people,

214
00:10:34,333 --> 00:10:37,703
warriors for instance, 
they show adults, farmers,

215
00:10:37,703 --> 00:10:41,240
they showed old people, 
and they also show the

216
00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:45,745
afterlife in the 
form of skeletons.

217
00:10:45,778 --> 00:10:48,614
The Moche were in my 
opinion among the best

218
00:10:48,614 --> 00:10:50,816
goldsmiths of the history 
of Peru and this is one

219
00:10:50,816 --> 00:10:52,284
of my favorite pieces.

220
00:10:52,318 --> 00:10:53,085
These are spiders.

221
00:10:53,085 --> 00:10:54,887
Yes.

222
00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:56,856
Each one of them 
represents a spider in its

223
00:10:56,889 --> 00:10:59,225
web and each one of these 
pieces has more than

224
00:10:59,258 --> 00:11:04,397
100 points of welding.

225
00:11:07,266 --> 00:11:09,969
This section shows 
recovered loot from Peru

226
00:11:10,002 --> 00:11:11,971
all over the world.

227
00:11:12,004 --> 00:11:13,873
Yeah, that's actually how 
the archeologists found

228
00:11:13,906 --> 00:11:15,975
out that there was an 
important tomb in Sipán

229
00:11:16,008 --> 00:11:18,544
because the looters didn't 
agree on their share of

230
00:11:18,577 --> 00:11:21,414
the loot so one of them 
went to the police and

231
00:11:21,447 --> 00:11:23,883
reported the other ones 
and that's how they police

232
00:11:23,916 --> 00:11:27,386
traced the existence 
of the tombs.

233
00:11:27,386 --> 00:11:29,422
There's just no 
honor among thieves.

234
00:11:29,455 --> 00:11:31,791
But this was worth 
apparently $600,000 on the

235
00:11:31,824 --> 00:11:33,225
international market 
in Philadelphia.

236
00:11:33,225 --> 00:11:35,061
The FBI recovered it.

237
00:11:35,094 --> 00:11:37,229
Yeah, this is one of the 
pieces they, they sold

238
00:11:37,229 --> 00:11:39,765
before the archeologists 
got to the site.

239
00:11:39,765 --> 00:11:42,034
You know the pieces were 
so valuable that during

240
00:11:42,034 --> 00:11:44,503
the excavations the 
archeologists had to be

241
00:11:44,503 --> 00:11:46,472
guarded the entire time by 
the army and the police

242
00:11:46,505 --> 00:11:49,442
to keep the looters away.

243
00:11:49,475 --> 00:12:03,456
(music playing)

244
00:12:09,595 --> 00:12:12,131
100 miles away from Sipán a

245
00:12:12,164 --> 00:12:14,400
different culture, 
the Moche, constructed

246
00:12:14,433 --> 00:12:17,737
pyramids 500 years 
earlier, even more vast

247
00:12:17,770 --> 00:12:22,108
than those built 
later in the north.

248
00:12:22,141 --> 00:12:25,144
The notion that the world 
is made of the interplay

249
00:12:25,177 --> 00:12:28,080
of opposites, and that 
opposite poles are

250
00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:30,483
necessary for the 
reproduction of life was a

251
00:12:30,516 --> 00:12:34,220
very important concept 
in Andean culture.

252
00:12:34,253 --> 00:12:36,422
You can see it here at 
Moche in the existence

253
00:12:36,455 --> 00:12:38,824
of two main temples.

254
00:12:38,824 --> 00:12:41,393
Huaca del Sol is a temple 
devoted to the sun and

255
00:12:41,427 --> 00:12:44,563
Huaca de la Luna, a temple 
devoted to the moon.

256
00:12:44,563 --> 00:12:46,799
In the funerary office of 
the Lord of Sipán where

257
00:12:46,832 --> 00:12:49,602
they combined silver, 
which was related

258
00:12:49,635 --> 00:12:52,671
symbolically to the moon 
and gold, symbolically

259
00:12:52,705 --> 00:13:00,379
related to the sun.

260
00:13:00,379 --> 00:13:02,715
That's Huaca del Sol.

261
00:13:02,748 --> 00:13:06,285
This is the largest adobe 
made monument in the

262
00:13:06,318 --> 00:13:09,188
entire New World and what 
you see now is only one

263
00:13:09,221 --> 00:13:11,590
fifth of what it 
was originally.

264
00:13:11,590 --> 00:13:13,459
It kind of breaks 
your heart.

265
00:13:13,492 --> 00:13:15,327
It was deliberately 
destroyed by Spaniards

266
00:13:15,327 --> 00:13:18,564
placer mining it for gold.

267
00:13:18,597 --> 00:13:21,267
Yeah, they diverted the 
Rio Moche, you know the

268
00:13:21,300 --> 00:13:25,538
Moche River, to erode 
this side of the monument.

269
00:13:25,571 --> 00:13:29,475
It took a lot of bricks 
to build these huacas.

270
00:13:29,508 --> 00:13:32,044
Well, they have estimated 
that for Huaca del Sol,

271
00:13:32,077 --> 00:13:34,380
which is the biggest one, 
they used 100 million bricks.

272
00:13:34,413 --> 00:13:36,248
100 million bricks.

273
00:13:36,248 --> 00:13:38,384
Just in that building.

274
00:13:38,417 --> 00:13:41,754
So they got 500 workers, 
each one has to make 200,000.

275
00:13:41,787 --> 00:13:43,789
That's, that's right.

276
00:13:43,789 --> 00:13:45,357
That's a big task.

277
00:13:45,357 --> 00:13:47,293
Yeah, that's 
a lot of work.

278
00:13:47,326 --> 00:13:49,028
Each brick has a different 
distinctive mark and they

279
00:13:49,061 --> 00:13:51,797
have detected about a 
hundred different marks,

280
00:13:51,797 --> 00:13:55,734
which probably means that 
different communities were

281
00:13:55,768 --> 00:13:58,838
contributing their labor 
to the construction of the

282
00:13:58,871 --> 00:14:01,240
monument and they left 
their distinctive mark

283
00:14:01,273 --> 00:14:03,309
for it to be remembered.

284
00:14:03,342 --> 00:14:07,313
They had already paid 
their taxes, you see?

285
00:14:11,083 --> 00:14:12,818
You recognize 
this character?

286
00:14:12,818 --> 00:14:15,054
Looks like a jaguar?

287
00:14:15,087 --> 00:14:16,388
So, yeah.

288
00:14:16,388 --> 00:14:17,690
It is a jaguar?

289
00:14:17,723 --> 00:14:21,193
Like human and 
feline traits.

290
00:14:21,193 --> 00:14:24,330
They call it Ai Apaec.

291
00:14:24,363 --> 00:14:28,300
This is the first state to 
arise in the ancient Andes

292
00:14:28,300 --> 00:14:32,171
and it integrated between 
around 600 kilometers off

293
00:14:32,204 --> 00:14:36,742
the coastal valleys of 
Peru for over 600 years.

294
00:14:36,775 --> 00:14:38,110
.it's an iguana.

295
00:14:38,143 --> 00:14:39,912
It's an iguana, huh?

296
00:14:39,945 --> 00:14:42,448
And it's, look, it's 
holding a trophy head.

297
00:14:42,481 --> 00:14:44,516
So it's, yeah, a head 
that's been decapitated

298
00:14:44,550 --> 00:14:46,485
from the body.

299
00:14:46,485 --> 00:14:49,521
Yeah, decapitation is 
one of the major icons

300
00:14:49,555 --> 00:14:53,425
throughout Andean history.

301
00:14:53,425 --> 00:14:56,295
It looks like a 
octopus on the mural.

302
00:14:56,328 --> 00:14:58,797
Well, you know, I think 
that's again the god

303
00:14:58,831 --> 00:15:02,468
Ai Apaec which is represented 
sometimes fused,

304
00:15:02,501 --> 00:15:05,871
as a human fused with 
different animals.

305
00:15:05,871 --> 00:15:07,473
In this case it's an 
octopus, sometimes it's

306
00:15:07,506 --> 00:15:13,078
a feline, a fox, a vulture.

307
00:15:13,078 --> 00:15:15,147
God, this gives us a 
little idea what

308
00:15:15,180 --> 00:15:16,682
the original outside 
looked like.

309
00:15:16,715 --> 00:15:18,050
Yeah, look.

310
00:15:18,083 --> 00:15:19,351
Iguanas on the top.

311
00:15:19,351 --> 00:15:20,753
And then spiders.

312
00:15:20,786 --> 00:15:22,888
Spiders, yeah.

313
00:15:22,888 --> 00:15:24,423
Just like, you remember 
the gold necklace of one

314
00:15:24,456 --> 00:15:25,557
of the lords of Sipán?

315
00:15:25,591 --> 00:15:27,693
Yes, yes.

316
00:15:27,726 --> 00:15:29,228
And then there are these 
guys doing some kind of

317
00:15:29,261 --> 00:15:30,796
ritual dance 
all in a line.

318
00:15:30,829 --> 00:15:32,598
Yeah, and they are carrying.

319
00:15:32,631 --> 00:15:34,333
Look, it goes all the way 
around here.

320
00:15:34,366 --> 00:15:35,467
Yeah, they are carrying 
maces so they,

321
00:15:35,467 --> 00:15:39,405
they had to be warriors.

322
00:15:39,438 --> 00:15:43,108
While the Moche pyramids 
stressed verticality,

323
00:15:43,108 --> 00:15:46,478
20 miles away and more than 
500 years later the Chimús

324
00:15:46,478 --> 00:15:49,581
built on a horizontal 
scale unequaled

325
00:15:49,615 --> 00:15:54,153
anywhere else in the world.

326
00:15:54,186 --> 00:15:58,157
Chan Chan was the capital 
of the Chimú kingdom.

327
00:15:58,190 --> 00:16:01,927
It was the second largest 
state in the pre-Hispanic

328
00:16:01,927 --> 00:16:06,165
Andes, second only 
to the Inca Empire.

329
00:16:06,198 --> 00:16:08,400
Axel, I can hardly 
conceive how vast this

330
00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:12,171
complex called 
Chan Chan is.

331
00:16:12,204 --> 00:16:16,642
I heard it's 14 square 
kilometers and you can

332
00:16:16,675 --> 00:16:19,878
see, this for instance, 
this is just one plaza of

333
00:16:19,912 --> 00:16:24,116
one of the nine palaces 
and that doesn't count

334
00:16:24,149 --> 00:16:27,386
the commoner residence area.

335
00:16:27,419 --> 00:16:29,688
Where all the, all the 
working folk lived?

336
00:16:29,688 --> 00:16:32,057
Yes, mostly specialized 
artisan like goldsmiths

337
00:16:32,057 --> 00:16:35,694
and potters and weavers.

338
00:16:35,694 --> 00:16:38,797
What's most confusing is 
that as vast as it is,

339
00:16:38,797 --> 00:16:40,899
there's no high point that 
we have today where

340
00:16:40,933 --> 00:16:43,135
you can see your way out.

341
00:16:43,168 --> 00:16:45,537
It's like a maze 
that never ends.

342
00:16:45,537 --> 00:16:47,673
Yes, that's a, that's 
a sharp contrast

343
00:16:47,706 --> 00:16:49,274
with the Moche architecture.

344
00:16:49,308 --> 00:16:50,943
Yeah, those huge pyramids.

345
00:16:50,976 --> 00:16:53,545
Pyramids.

346
00:16:53,545 --> 00:16:56,682
And it was inhabited by 
near 40 or 50 thousand people.

347
00:16:56,715 --> 00:17:00,686
All of them were rulers 
or nobility or part of the

348
00:17:00,719 --> 00:17:04,590
courts of the rulers or 
servants and specialized

349
00:17:04,623 --> 00:17:08,427
artisans that lived in special 
quarters within the city.

350
00:17:08,460 --> 00:17:11,730
It is all made of adobe 
and it has characteristic

351
00:17:11,730 --> 00:17:17,336
wall decorations 
made of mud.

352
00:17:17,369 --> 00:17:20,739
Chan Chan has these miles 
of walls with these sort

353
00:17:20,739 --> 00:17:23,242
of embossed three-dimensional 
designs on them.

354
00:17:23,275 --> 00:17:25,277
Amazing!

355
00:17:25,310 --> 00:17:27,079
I would say this is the most 
famous characteristic

356
00:17:27,112 --> 00:17:28,280
of the city.

357
00:17:28,313 --> 00:17:30,549
Uh-huh.

358
00:17:30,582 --> 00:17:33,218
All the palaces are decorated 
with this kind of technique.

359
00:17:33,218 --> 00:17:36,889
And if you look at the motifs, 
most of them refer to the sea.

360
00:17:36,922 --> 00:17:40,793
You see fish for instance 
and this step-like motif

361
00:17:40,826 --> 00:17:43,128
is a representation 
of water.

362
00:17:43,128 --> 00:17:44,963
So there would be 
fish in the waves.

363
00:17:44,997 --> 00:17:47,232
In the waves.

364
00:17:47,232 --> 00:17:50,302
And this friezes here 
represent not wafers

365
00:17:50,335 --> 00:17:52,938
but nets, fishing nets.

366
00:17:52,971 --> 00:17:54,206
Fishing nets.

367
00:17:54,239 --> 00:17:56,442
Well, it makes 
sense, yeah.

368
00:17:56,475 --> 00:17:57,576
I'd have figured it out 
sooner or later but,

369
00:17:57,609 --> 00:18:00,045
yeah, you're right.

370
00:18:00,045 --> 00:18:03,248
The economy of Chan Chan, 
like most states in the

371
00:18:03,248 --> 00:18:06,919
Peruvian coast, was 
based on a combination of

372
00:18:06,952 --> 00:18:11,790
maritime resources, which 
it's clearly reflected in

373
00:18:11,790 --> 00:18:14,793
the emphasis that the 
iconography of Chan Chan

374
00:18:14,793 --> 00:18:18,397
puts on the sea and fish 
and, and sea fowl and

375
00:18:18,430 --> 00:18:22,134
in intensive agricultural.

376
00:18:22,167 --> 00:18:24,670
And the Chimú developed 
the most ambitious

377
00:18:24,703 --> 00:18:29,441
irrigation projects to be 
carried on the coast of Peru.

378
00:18:29,441 --> 00:18:32,945
The city of Chan Chan 
got its water from the aquifer.

379
00:18:32,978 --> 00:18:36,548
They built these wells 
and there are more than a

380
00:18:36,548 --> 00:18:39,685
hundred of these spread 
throughout the city.

381
00:18:39,718 --> 00:18:44,323
At some point they run 
out of low ground, in the city.

382
00:18:44,356 --> 00:18:47,493
At that point they built 
these inter-valley canals

383
00:18:47,526 --> 00:18:50,963
that would bring water to this 
valley from other valleys.

384
00:18:50,996 --> 00:18:53,732
And that not only allowed 
them to expand their

385
00:18:53,732 --> 00:18:56,301
agricultural fields but 
also by feeding more water

386
00:18:56,301 --> 00:18:59,271
into the valley, they 
raised the water table.

387
00:18:59,304 --> 00:19:02,774
So they were able to expand the 
city into higher ground.

388
00:19:02,808 --> 00:19:05,177
Boy, they were. Think 
of that project.

389
00:19:05,210 --> 00:19:08,847
They were a hydraulic 
society of the first rank.

390
00:19:08,847 --> 00:19:11,617
Although more than a 
century and a half of

391
00:19:11,650 --> 00:19:14,186
research has been 
conducted on the

392
00:19:14,219 --> 00:19:16,889
archeology of Peru, the 
archeological heritage of

393
00:19:16,922 --> 00:19:20,659
this country is so rich 
and so vast, that we still

394
00:19:20,692 --> 00:19:24,163
know very little about the 
complexity and the history

395
00:19:24,196 --> 00:19:29,835
of pre-Hispanic 
peoples in this area.

396
00:19:29,868 --> 00:19:32,204
Unfortunately, although 
there is a lot of

397
00:19:32,237 --> 00:19:34,339
archeological research 
being done in Peru, both

398
00:19:34,339 --> 00:19:38,010
by Peruvian archeologists 
and foreign expeditions,

399
00:19:38,043 --> 00:19:41,480
the destruction of the 
cultural heritage of this

400
00:19:41,513 --> 00:19:45,050
country in the hands of 
huaqueros or looters, is

401
00:19:45,083 --> 00:19:49,688
so intense that I feel we 
are going to lose a lot of

402
00:19:49,721 --> 00:19:54,126
that evidence before we 
can know more about the past.

403
00:19:54,159 --> 00:20:00,599
(music playing)

404
00:20:00,632 --> 00:20:02,768
The coastal people, like their

405
00:20:02,801 --> 00:20:05,237
eco-successors, are still 
with us along Peru's

406
00:20:05,270 --> 00:20:08,774
coast, carrying on their 
ancient traditions.

407
00:20:08,807 --> 00:20:11,310
Their reed boats, which 
they call caballitos del

408
00:20:11,343 --> 00:20:19,418
mar, little sea horses, are made 
from a reed called totora.

409
00:20:19,451 --> 00:20:22,721
The caballitos and totora 
were first developed by

410
00:20:22,754 --> 00:20:26,491
the late pre-ceramic populations 
of the coast of Peru.

411
00:20:26,525 --> 00:20:29,962
This is about 5000 years 
ago, the time right before

412
00:20:29,995 --> 00:20:33,065
the introduction 
of agriculture.

413
00:20:33,098 --> 00:20:36,101
The exploitation of sea 
resources was the key to

414
00:20:36,134 --> 00:20:39,504
the economy of the 
time and the caballitos

415
00:20:39,538 --> 00:20:43,242
probably meant a very 
important change in that

416
00:20:43,275 --> 00:20:45,744
economy because a lot of 
people do fish away from

417
00:20:45,777 --> 00:20:49,047
the sea shore, and 
therefore to tap into the

418
00:20:49,047 --> 00:20:52,818
very rich sea resources 
that are brought to this

419
00:20:52,851 --> 00:20:56,688
coast by the 
Current of Humboldt.

420
00:20:56,688 --> 00:20:59,725
Barbudo, Lisa, Raya, 
  Tachema, Lisa, Idorna y Suco.

421
00:20:59,758 --> 00:21:06,198
These are some of 
the different kinds of fish.

422
00:21:06,231 --> 00:21:09,067
My grandfathers were 
fisherman,

423
00:21:09,067 --> 00:21:11,403
my father 
was a fisherman.

424
00:21:11,436 --> 00:21:13,805
It's a lifestyle that gets 
passed on from generation

425
00:21:13,805 --> 00:21:18,076
to generation.

426
00:21:18,076 --> 00:21:19,811
The Incas were 
also fishermen.

427
00:21:19,811 --> 00:21:22,748
It's passed on through 
many generations.

428
00:21:22,781 --> 00:21:27,753
They were very 
important for sea trade.

429
00:21:27,786 --> 00:21:30,956
They were very 
important for sea trade.

430
00:21:30,989 --> 00:21:33,892
They used caballitos and 
totora and totora rafts to

431
00:21:33,892 --> 00:21:37,296
trade all along the coast 
of Peru up to Ecuador and

432
00:21:37,329 --> 00:21:43,135
down the coast some 1000 
kilometers away from here

433
00:21:43,168 --> 00:21:45,737
where they controlled 
several islands off the

434
00:21:45,737 --> 00:21:50,342
shore of, of 
Nazca and Paracas.

435
00:22:01,620 --> 00:22:03,722
It is surprising that 
the tradition of making

436
00:22:03,755 --> 00:22:05,924
caballitos and totora has 
survived with not many

437
00:22:05,924 --> 00:22:11,963
changes for 5000 years.

438
00:22:14,933 --> 00:22:18,103
And it still provides the 
basis of subsistence for

439
00:22:18,136 --> 00:22:23,008
many families in 
northern Peru.

440
00:22:23,041 --> 00:22:24,710
I brought the totora seeds 
from Chan Chan

441
00:22:24,743 --> 00:22:27,045
to plant my totoral.

442
00:22:27,045 --> 00:22:29,548
Most of totorales in Chan 
Chan are gone, but now

443
00:22:29,581 --> 00:22:32,417
there are more 
around here.

444
00:22:32,417 --> 00:22:37,723
Many more totorales 
than back in Chan Chan.

445
00:22:42,761 --> 00:22:46,498
Each family in  La Menchaca 
has a plot or two or three

446
00:22:46,531 --> 00:22:49,935
where they maintain their 
supply of totora, which is

447
00:22:49,968 --> 00:22:52,537
the reed from which 
they make their boats.

448
00:22:52,537 --> 00:22:55,040
They maintain these 
very carefully and have

449
00:22:55,073 --> 00:22:58,043
maintained them in the 
family for generations.

450
00:22:58,076 --> 00:23:00,278
They cut the reeds just 
above the water line so

451
00:23:00,312 --> 00:23:03,215
that they will grow back 
into long strips that they

452
00:23:03,248 --> 00:23:05,917
can then use to 
make their boats.

453
00:23:05,917 --> 00:23:08,019
Every few years, however, 
they find it necessary to

454
00:23:08,053 --> 00:23:10,922
dig out the plants by the 
roots and plant shoots so

455
00:23:10,922 --> 00:23:14,092
that they will have an 
unending supply of the

456
00:23:14,092 --> 00:23:23,268
caballitos del mar, the 
little horse of the sea.

457
00:23:23,301 --> 00:23:25,771
All the fishermen make 
their own caballitos.

458
00:23:25,804 --> 00:23:33,612
Right here, there are 
35 fishermen working.

459
00:23:33,645 --> 00:23:36,248
When the ocean's 
calm, we fish all day.

460
00:23:36,281 --> 00:23:38,216
When it's not, we don't.

461
00:23:38,216 --> 00:23:40,285
It impossible to manage 
the boat and fish at the

462
00:23:40,318 --> 00:23:45,791
same time which 
battling big waves.

463
00:23:45,824 --> 00:23:48,393
Here it's our custom to share 
the catch amongst families.

464
00:23:48,393 --> 00:23:50,762
Some days I might not have 
anything, but they do,

465
00:23:50,762 --> 00:23:52,831
so they're help me out.

466
00:23:52,864 --> 00:23:54,332
That's how related 
families survive together.

467
00:23:54,366 --> 00:23:57,402
It's our custom.

468
00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:04,409
Of course, the Incas made 
their own caballitos and

469
00:24:04,409 --> 00:24:07,212
their patachos, sometimes 
they went far out from

470
00:24:07,245 --> 00:24:08,880
shore to the islands 
because they couldn't

471
00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:10,949
find fish along the coast.

472
00:24:10,982 --> 00:24:15,220
That's the way it was.

473
00:24:15,253 --> 00:24:23,628
♪ music ♪

474
00:24:23,628 --> 00:24:26,698
The desert civilizations 
of ancient

475
00:24:26,731 --> 00:24:30,202
coastal Peru, rose and 
fell over the millennia,

476
00:24:30,235 --> 00:24:34,306
mostly as a result 
of climate change or conquest.

477
00:24:34,339 --> 00:24:37,676
Today we are learning more about 
these brilliant empires.

478
00:24:37,709 --> 00:24:40,645
The greatest impediment to 
increased understanding is

479
00:24:40,645 --> 00:24:43,648
the greed of international 
art collectors and the

480
00:24:43,648 --> 00:24:49,654
complicity of 
the huaqueros.

481
00:24:49,654 --> 00:24:51,923
Together they deprive 
Peruvians of their

482
00:24:51,923 --> 00:24:54,526
patrimony and the rest of 
the world of some of its

483
00:24:54,559 --> 00:24:59,030
greatest art treasures.

484
00:25:02,467 --> 00:25:04,903
Only three gates that 
cross the wall. In the

485
00:25:04,936 --> 00:25:07,672
mountaintop cloud forests 
of northern Peru lie

486
00:25:07,672 --> 00:25:11,877
monumental remnants of 
pre-Incan civilizations.

487
00:25:11,910 --> 00:25:16,114
In the towns you can find 
stunning artifacts that

488
00:25:16,114 --> 00:25:23,755
testify to the complexity 
of those societies.

489
00:25:23,788 --> 00:25:27,993
And out on the streets you 
can find peculiar hats.

490
00:25:28,026 --> 00:25:30,562
Next time on The 
         Desert Speaks .

491
00:25:32,964 --> 00:25:35,267
This drawing that is a 
replica of one found on a

492
00:25:35,300 --> 00:25:39,471
vessel represents a king 
which has the emblems that

493
00:25:39,504 --> 00:25:41,907
were found in the tomb of 
what they call the Lord of

494
00:25:41,940 --> 00:25:45,143
Sipán, the coxal protector 
for instance or the crown

495
00:25:45,143 --> 00:25:47,312
and this other person 
which they called the

496
00:25:47,345 --> 00:25:50,715
priest which is handing 
a cup to the king.

497
00:25:50,715 --> 00:25:53,151
They found the tomb of 
this person too holding

498
00:25:53,151 --> 00:25:57,322
a cup in his right hand.

499
00:25:57,355 --> 00:26:00,225
And this is the cup he was 
holding in his right hand.

500
00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:03,828
Funding for 
        The Desert Speaks

501
00:26:03,862 --> 00:26:06,431
was provided by 
Desert Program Partners,

502
00:26:06,464 --> 00:26:09,367
representing concerned viewers 
making a financial commitment

503
00:26:09,367 --> 00:26:12,704
to the education about and 
preservation of deserts.

504
00:26:12,737 --> 00:26:14,839
And by the 
Stonewall Foundation.