1 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,060 you 2 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,000 you 3 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,000 you 4 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:02,120 you 5 00:02:11,319 --> 00:02:19,080 In 1909 the Phoenix Gazette ran a cover page story about the Smithsonian 6 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:26,560 Institution discovering caverns in the Grand Canyon that contained Egyptian and 7 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:28,560 Hindu and Buddhist artifacts 8 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:31,240 also in these caverns 9 00:02:31,439 --> 00:02:36,960 Were discovered swords and statues and hundreds of mummies 10 00:02:56,560 --> 00:03:00,560 Why did the people of the southwest mummify the dead? 11 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:10,560 Was the ancient southwest part of a vast trading network that went down to Mexico a... 12 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:16,560 What happened to these people? Why did they abandon these cities? And where did they go? 13 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:21,560 These are some of the questions that were asked by the people of the southwest 14 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:30,560 These are some of the questions that we'll explore in this episode of Lost Cities and... 15 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:46,560 The history of Arizona and the American Southwest is as much of a mystery today as... 16 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:51,560 These ruins in northern Arizona are called Wupatki 17 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:56,560 It's near the Grand Canyon and what we see here is a ball court 18 00:03:56,560 --> 00:04:00,560 This is one of the most northern ball courts in all of the Americas 19 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:09,560 But ball courts are found in Mexico and Guatemala as far south as Nicaragua and Co... 20 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:15,560 And we find ball courts here in northern Arizona near to the Grand Canyon 21 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:20,560 There's a ball court at Wupatki National Monument 22 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:25,560 It's the farthest north ball court on the North American continent 23 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:31,560 And the Hopi had a huge trade network with the Maya 24 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:39,560 So the ball court tradition stretches down into the Maya territory thousands of miles... 25 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:44,560 And there was a big trade network between the Hopi and the Maya 26 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:52,560 In fact, there have been found many parrots and macaws buried in northern Arizona 27 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:59,560 Which proves that the trade network was very strong around 1100 A.D. 28 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:08,560 Archaeologists wonder about the connections between northern Arizona and central Arizo... 29 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:13,560 What contact did they have with the Toltecs, the Aztecs and the Mayans? 30 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:23,560 Did some of the turquoise and jade and metals that the Aztecs and Mayans and Toltecs use... 31 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:29,560 Some of the answers may be found here at Wupatki and other areas near the Grand Canyon 32 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:49,560 There would seem to be many connections between the ancient Egyptians and the... 33 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:52,560 For one thing, they both hunted with boomerangs 34 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:55,560 They also mummified the dead 35 00:05:55,560 --> 00:06:03,560 Many of their religions were similar too in the sense of sun worshipping and very simi... 36 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:08,560 Many people claim today that there are connections between the Hopis and the Zunis 37 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:15,560 And many oriental and Egyptian cultures including Japanese and the ancient Hindus ... 38 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:07,459 The Hopi 39 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:22,560 The Hopi 40 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:23,560 The Hopi 41 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:24,560 The Hopi 42 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:25,560 The Hopi 43 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:26,560 The Hopi 44 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:27,560 The Hopi 45 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:28,560 The Hopi 46 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:29,560 The Hopi 47 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:30,560 The Hopi 48 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:31,560 The Hopi 49 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:32,560 The Hopi 50 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:41,560 The Hopi Sipapuni is very close to this reputed site of the lost Egyptian city in ... 51 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:49,560 A lot of people claim to know where it's at but it hasn't actually been rediscovered 52 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:07,560 The Hopi 53 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:15,560 There is a lot of correspondences between the Egyptians and the Hopi culture 54 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:18,560 There are a lot of linguistic correspondences 55 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:22,560 For instance, the word for star is sohu in the Hopi language 56 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:26,560 And the word for the Orion constellation is sahu 57 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:29,560 So it's virtually identical, those two words 58 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:37,560 The Hopi 59 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:49,560 This Olmec statue out of basalt is extremely unusual 60 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:51,560 It looks very Egyptian to me 61 00:07:51,560 --> 00:08:00,560 And in fact, notice that he's apparently wearing the false beard that we associate ... 62 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:10,560 Other parts of his head too seem to be Egyptian type pharaonic headdress that he'... 63 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:17,560 Various southwestern Indian traditions place the Sipapu as a place of emergence 64 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:24,560 Most traditions place it up in the San Luis Valley near the base of the sacred mountai... 65 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:26,560 Or Blanca Peak we call it today 66 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:28,560 Which is the White Mountain 67 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:31,560 Or it's called the sacred Black sash medicine belt 68 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:36,559 And that Sipapu is shared by the Rio Grande offshoots of the Anasazi 69 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:41,559 The Hopi are different and they place their place of emergence in the little Colorado... 70 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:43,559 Near this sacred salt mound 71 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:48,559 And I find it very intriguing that this is also the location, the supposed location 72 00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:55,559 Where a cavern of probably immense value of Egyptian artifacts was allegedly found 73 00:08:55,559 --> 00:09:01,559 And cleaned out by the Smithsonian over a matter of months back in 1909 74 00:09:01,559 --> 00:09:05,559 And then the Smithsonian has denied that they ever were there 75 00:09:05,559 --> 00:09:07,559 That they had an explorer there 76 00:09:07,559 --> 00:09:09,559 I guess the guy's name was Jordan 77 00:09:09,559 --> 00:09:19,559 So I find it very interesting that there should be a very close proximity connectio... 78 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:23,559 And this particular alleged cavern of Egyptian artifacts 79 00:09:23,559 --> 00:09:25,559 And the little Colorado River gorge 80 00:09:25,559 --> 00:09:34,559 A lot of spiritual elders believe that the Sipapuni, the place of emergence was... 81 00:09:34,559 --> 00:09:36,559 They're not real sure about exactly where 82 00:09:36,559 --> 00:09:40,559 It might have been Egypt, it might have been Jerusalem 83 00:09:40,559 --> 00:09:48,559 But there are tales that have the Hopi coming from the Middle East to the New World 84 00:09:48,559 --> 00:09:58,559 These ruins here near the Grand Canyon may have been part of the network of trading... 85 00:09:58,559 --> 00:10:08,559 And trading centers that had to do with the early Chinese and Egyptian, Hindu and... 86 00:10:08,559 --> 00:10:11,559 That were coming into the southwest and going to the Grand Canyon 87 00:10:12,559 --> 00:10:18,559 There is an artifact that the Hopi used, it's called a manko 88 00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:27,559 And it's very similar to the Wainman-Dixon relics found in the north shaft of the... 89 00:10:27,559 --> 00:10:32,559 So these two artifacts are virtually identical 90 00:10:32,559 --> 00:10:36,559 And they both resemble the constellation Taurus 91 00:10:36,559 --> 00:10:41,559 The V-shaped bulls horns of Taurus 92 00:10:41,559 --> 00:10:50,559 Is it possible that the area of Wupatki was part of a center for a necropolis in the... 93 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:56,559 That contained hundreds of mummy, as the Gazette article in 1909 claimed? 94 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:34,559 Music 95 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:41,559 As you drive through the deserts of southern Arizona, you start seeing these billboards... 96 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:43,559 What is the thing? 97 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:51,559 Well, it turns out that the thing has something to do with our quest for the... 98 00:11:51,559 --> 00:11:53,559 Let's find out what it is 99 00:11:53,559 --> 00:11:59,559 Music 100 00:11:59,559 --> 00:12:01,559 This is the thing 101 00:12:01,559 --> 00:12:06,559 The thing is a mummy of a woman and a child 102 00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:13,559 And supposedly it is from the Grand Canyon Flagstaff area of northern Arizona 103 00:12:13,559 --> 00:12:20,559 Is it possible that the thing is one of the mummies taken out of the Egyptian treasure... 104 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:39,559 Music 105 00:12:39,559 --> 00:12:47,559 So now we have seen that the thing is in fact a mummy and a child from the Flagstaff and... 106 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:58,559 Is it possible that these artifacts are from the Egyptian caves in the Grand Canyon... 107 00:12:58,559 --> 00:13:10,559 Music 108 00:13:10,559 --> 00:13:13,559 This is the Little Colorado River Gorge 109 00:13:13,559 --> 00:13:19,559 It was here that the Mormon pioneer Seth Tanner would prospect 110 00:13:19,559 --> 00:13:27,559 He would come up from Cameron in the Navajo Nation area and move up through the Little... 111 00:13:27,559 --> 00:13:32,559 Prospecting, looking for gold, panning in the river 112 00:13:32,559 --> 00:13:41,559 As he went farther west, he came to the junction of the Little Colorado River Gorg... 113 00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:50,559 There at the junction of the Little Colorado River Gorge and the Grand Canyon are the... 114 00:13:50,559 --> 00:13:59,559 Today this area is reserved only for the Hopi Indians and tourists are not allowed to go... 115 00:13:59,559 --> 00:14:09,559 But this is the area that the mysterious Seth Tanner was exploring when he discovered a... 116 00:14:09,559 --> 00:14:18,559 Inside this cave were objects, possibly statues, artifacts and mummies that the Ho... 117 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:24,559 But Seth Tanner saw these things inside this secret cavern 118 00:14:24,559 --> 00:14:30,559 Because Seth Tanner had seen what was inside the sacred Hopi caverns 119 00:14:30,559 --> 00:14:36,559 They blinded him and kept him captive in a cave for many years 120 00:14:36,559 --> 00:14:42,559 A photo still exists of Seth Tanner as a blinded old man 121 00:14:42,559 --> 00:14:48,559 But what he saw in those caves has never been divulged and is still a secret today 122 00:14:51,559 --> 00:14:56,559 The area where this cavern system is said to exist is right before the river 123 00:14:56,559 --> 00:15:01,559 I think the river curves around from the north rim, curves around 124 00:15:01,559 --> 00:15:06,559 And then does a jog back to the south, down towards the main body of the canyon 125 00:15:06,559 --> 00:15:13,559 It's in that area, at least from my research, that's where I would suspect that it would be 126 00:15:13,559 --> 00:15:16,559 It's very inaccessible, it's extremely hard to get to 127 00:15:16,559 --> 00:15:24,559 There's quite a number of good websites that actually people have taken expeditions,... 128 00:15:24,559 --> 00:15:27,559 It takes several days to get to if you're hiking 129 00:15:27,559 --> 00:15:33,559 But it is on the eastern side of the canyon, on the north side of the river 130 00:15:33,559 --> 00:15:41,559 I think the desolation of the area has prevented any hard finding of this,... 131 00:15:41,559 --> 00:15:45,559 Because it is a very dangerous place to go hiking 132 00:15:45,559 --> 00:15:50,559 Experienced hikers have been swept away to their deaths and their bodies never found ... 133 00:15:50,559 --> 00:15:57,559 So it's a real hard place to be, to find, to make your way around 134 00:16:04,559 --> 00:16:13,559 The Hopi Indians have a number of prophecies concerning the end of the fourth world, th... 135 00:16:14,559 --> 00:16:21,559 One of these prophecies claims that spider webs will run across their land 136 00:16:21,559 --> 00:16:29,559 And we can see that today with the power lines that are running all across the Hopi... 137 00:16:29,559 --> 00:16:34,559 And Navajo Indian Reservation here in northeast Arizona 138 00:16:35,559 --> 00:16:42,559 Two of these cycles have occurred in this current world that we're in 139 00:16:42,559 --> 00:16:51,559 The Maya, similar to the Hopi and other southwestern Indians, have a tradition tha... 140 00:16:51,559 --> 00:17:02,559 According to the Hopi, the world was destroyed by fire, by ice, and we're at th... 141 00:17:02,559 --> 00:17:04,559 I think fire, wind, and ice 142 00:17:04,559 --> 00:17:08,559 And this particular world, according to the Hopi, is going to be destroyed by the eart... 143 00:17:08,559 --> 00:17:17,559 The warrior twins are in the ground right now holding Pallulukang, who is the primordial... 144 00:17:17,559 --> 00:17:22,559 And because the people have decided to turn their back on tradition, on ceremony 145 00:17:22,559 --> 00:17:27,559 The warrior twins are going to abdicate responsibility for keeping Pallulukang in... 146 00:17:27,559 --> 00:17:31,559 He will spasm four times and the earth will flip over four times 147 00:17:31,559 --> 00:17:33,559 That is the Hopi version 148 00:17:33,559 --> 00:17:38,559 Now the Maya have a very similar interpretation of this particular time cycle 149 00:17:38,559 --> 00:17:45,559 And two of these calendars have clicked over like this in the last 3,200 years 150 00:17:45,559 --> 00:17:51,559 And whenever this particular conjunction, or turning over, clicking over from one cycle... 151 00:17:51,559 --> 00:17:54,559 There are cataclysmic changes that occur in the world 152 00:17:54,559 --> 00:18:00,559 And so that is where the interpretation that the world is going to end in the pop cultu... 153 00:18:00,559 --> 00:18:05,559 Because the two cycles prior to this, that this has happened, there has been cataclys... 154 00:18:05,559 --> 00:18:14,559 There appears to be a connection between the Hopi end of the world, shall we say, or en... 155 00:18:14,559 --> 00:18:20,559 Martin Gushwissamo, who is the last traditional elder, considered the last... 156 00:18:20,559 --> 00:18:25,559 There are some who are not well known, but Martin is the most well known of these... 157 00:18:25,559 --> 00:18:33,559 He has a very interesting folded up Mayan codices, or it's a piece of paper, it's... 158 00:18:33,559 --> 00:18:37,559 That has a series of Mayan glyphs on it 159 00:18:37,559 --> 00:18:47,559 And what he calls it, he says that this Mayan glyph is a pictorialization of the Hopi... 160 00:18:47,559 --> 00:18:52,559 And he sat down on several occasions and explained the progression 161 00:18:52,559 --> 00:19:00,559 And you see that humans, at the beginning, have roots going out of their backsides in... 162 00:19:00,559 --> 00:19:03,559 Or out of their feet into the ground when they're on their feet 163 00:19:03,559 --> 00:19:11,559 And as time progresses, the roots get smaller, and we are now at a time where we... 164 00:19:11,559 --> 00:19:14,559 But we're actually floating above the Earth 165 00:19:14,559 --> 00:19:20,559 And we're at the last two figures and glyphs on this long strip that he has 166 00:19:20,559 --> 00:19:29,559 Where a sergeant at arms is standing behind mankind with a club, and is about ready to... 167 00:19:29,559 --> 00:19:34,559 And punish us, and he equates this with the return of Chuwaii Brother 168 00:19:34,559 --> 00:19:41,559 Who has the last missing tablet that the Hopi are waiting to have returned to Hopi Land 169 00:19:41,559 --> 00:19:50,559 Now there's a similar version in the Mayan prophecy of this cycle's ending at this... 170 00:19:50,559 --> 00:19:58,559 And the Hopis have been waiting for the fulfillment of a number of prophecies that... 171 00:19:58,559 --> 00:20:03,559 And they are contained on a series of tablets that Grandfather Martin was a custodian of 172 00:20:03,559 --> 00:20:06,559 They're called the FireClan prophecy tablets 173 00:20:06,559 --> 00:20:11,559 He observed one of the last prophecies being fulfilled in 1989 174 00:20:11,559 --> 00:20:18,559 When during a snowstorm, the sacred purple flower of the Hopi came up through a snowb... 175 00:20:18,559 --> 00:20:23,559 And then at the same time, during the same storm, this pear tree bloomed outside of h... 176 00:20:23,559 --> 00:20:28,559 And he took this as fulfillment of this very important prophecy 177 00:20:28,559 --> 00:20:35,559 He immediately went to and called Governor Bruce King of New Mexico and arranged a pr... 178 00:20:35,559 --> 00:20:41,559 For reporters and brought out the prophecy tablets and really got in trouble back on ... 179 00:20:41,559 --> 00:20:44,559 In fact, they stripped him of the tablets eventually 180 00:20:44,559 --> 00:20:48,559 But he warned the world and he said the War of the Gourd of Ashes 181 00:20:48,559 --> 00:20:55,559 Which is the major conflict that's going to occur at the end of this world before Chuw... 182 00:20:55,559 --> 00:20:58,559 But this conflict, he warned, was going to start within the year 183 00:20:58,559 --> 00:21:03,559 And interestingly enough, I think nine or ten months later is when we invaded 184 00:21:03,559 --> 00:21:07,559 Or kicked Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait for invading Kuwait 185 00:21:07,559 --> 00:21:13,559 And he said that that was the start of this final, you know, conflagration that's goin... 186 00:21:28,559 --> 00:21:32,559 The Hopi Indians originally inhabited all of this area around the Grand Canyon 187 00:21:32,559 --> 00:21:40,559 But about 700 years ago, they abandoned these cities and moved to the three Hopi mesas t... 188 00:21:44,559 --> 00:21:50,559 So we have seen that there really is some kind of conflict going on in the city 189 00:21:50,559 --> 00:21:52,559 And that's why we're here today 190 00:21:53,559 --> 00:21:59,559 So we have seen that there really is some kind of a mystery in the Grand Canyon 191 00:21:59,559 --> 00:22:03,559 We've seen that there are ball courts in northern Arizona 192 00:22:03,559 --> 00:22:12,559 We have seen that a man named Seth Tanner was punished for finding a secret hidden place... 193 00:22:12,559 --> 00:22:18,559 We've also seen some of the mummies that have apparently come out of the Grand Canyon 194 00:22:19,559 --> 00:22:23,559 Our quest for lost cities and ancient mysteries continues 195 00:22:32,559 --> 00:22:39,559 The area between the Sol Rivers and the Gila River was once a huge area of the Ho'okam... 196 00:22:39,559 --> 00:22:45,559 Who built cement lined canals and irrigated the desert for miles all around 197 00:22:45,559 --> 00:22:50,559 They built large, multi-storied buildings out of concrete 198 00:22:50,559 --> 00:22:54,559 And they had ball courts, just like in Mexico 199 00:22:54,559 --> 00:22:59,559 And north, in Wapotki Ruins near the Grand Canyon 200 00:23:16,559 --> 00:23:24,559 Did the Ho'okam people have a trading network that went as far north as the Grand Canyon... 201 00:23:24,559 --> 00:23:32,559 Were they part of a worldwide sun kingdom network that was centered on ancient Egypt? 202 00:23:32,559 --> 00:23:38,559 Can it be that the ruins here at Casa Grande made out of concrete 203 00:23:38,559 --> 00:23:42,559 have something to do with the Egyptian presence in the Grand Canyon? 204 00:23:46,559 --> 00:23:53,559 The most popular game through all of the North and Central America was the ball game 205 00:23:53,559 --> 00:23:59,559 played on ball courts like this one here at Casa Grande in central Arizona 206 00:23:59,559 --> 00:24:03,559 Ball courts were used by the Mayans and the Toltecs and the Aztecs 207 00:24:03,559 --> 00:24:07,559 and by the Ho'okams and other peoples here in Arizona 208 00:24:07,559 --> 00:24:11,559 It was a game similar to soccer and basketball 209 00:24:11,559 --> 00:24:16,559 Down in Mexico, the game was typically played with a rubber ball 210 00:24:16,559 --> 00:24:21,559 taken from the rubber plants around the jungles of Central America 211 00:24:21,559 --> 00:24:28,559 These rubber balls were then brought up from Mexico here into central Arizona 212 00:24:28,559 --> 00:24:34,559 along with exotic feathers and other jungle items 213 00:24:34,559 --> 00:24:41,559 such as cocoa seeds and crystals, other things like that 214 00:24:41,559 --> 00:24:48,559 Curiously too, here in Arizona, the natives hunted with boomerangs 215 00:24:48,559 --> 00:24:54,559 Even though we think of boomerangs as an Australian Aboriginal weapon 216 00:24:54,559 --> 00:24:57,559 boomerangs were used all over the world 217 00:24:57,559 --> 00:25:01,559 and it's well known that the Egyptians hunted with boomerangs 218 00:25:01,559 --> 00:25:06,559 As did American Indians and people in Europe hunted with boomerangs as well 219 00:25:06,559 --> 00:25:09,559 Some of the oldest boomerangs that have ever been discovered 220 00:25:09,559 --> 00:25:14,559 were found in Poland and in Denmark as well as in Florida 221 00:25:18,559 --> 00:25:25,559 In the Valley of Kings near Luxor, Egypt is something similar to the Grand Canyon 222 00:25:25,559 --> 00:25:33,559 Ancient vaults cut into solid rock and inside them the mummies of kings and other import... 223 00:25:33,559 --> 00:25:40,559 Is it possible that what the 1909 Phoenix Gazette story was talking about 224 00:25:40,559 --> 00:25:46,559 of Egyptians in the Grand Canyon is something similar to what is found 225 00:25:46,559 --> 00:25:50,559 at the Valley of Kings in Luxor in southern Egypt? 226 00:25:55,559 --> 00:26:00,559 We saw the megalithic engineering in Egypt and Peru 227 00:26:00,559 --> 00:26:06,559 but here in Arizona, they built their cities out of concrete, much as we would do today 228 00:26:13,559 --> 00:26:18,559 This is the ancient site of Tuzigoot near Cottonwood, Arizona 229 00:26:18,559 --> 00:26:23,559 Like the Ho'ocum cities, it's a very ancient site 230 00:26:23,559 --> 00:26:29,559 Like the Ho'ocum cities, it too is built out of a kind of concrete or cement 231 00:26:29,559 --> 00:26:35,559 Tuzigoot is built by the Sinagua people, the people without water 232 00:26:35,559 --> 00:26:38,559 a people who we don't know who they were, they disappeared 233 00:26:38,559 --> 00:26:41,559 but we believe that they were related to the Ho'ocum 234 00:26:41,559 --> 00:26:44,559 and also to the Hopis of northern Arizona 235 00:26:44,559 --> 00:26:48,559 One of the reasons that Tuzigoot might have been here 236 00:26:48,559 --> 00:26:53,559 is that nearby in Jerome, Arizona on a mountain 237 00:26:53,559 --> 00:26:58,559 is the ancient mines used by the Aztecs 238 00:26:58,559 --> 00:27:01,559 that were then rediscovered in the 1800s 239 00:27:01,559 --> 00:27:06,559 and then mined as the modern Jerome copper mines 240 00:27:06,559 --> 00:27:11,559 In fact, the ancient Hopi trail coming from the Hopi mesas 241 00:27:11,559 --> 00:27:16,559 came down into this area right here to Tuzigoot 242 00:27:16,559 --> 00:27:21,559 and to the Blue Mountain where Jerome sits today 243 00:27:21,559 --> 00:27:26,559 So here we have evidence of ancient mining by the Ho'ocum 244 00:27:26,559 --> 00:27:31,559 and of the same kind of building techniques 245 00:27:31,559 --> 00:27:37,559 So it seems possible that the Ho'ocum had spread far into northern Arizona 246 00:27:37,559 --> 00:27:44,559 bringing their ball courts and other technology such as concrete with them 247 00:28:16,559 --> 00:28:19,559 Woo! 248 00:29:16,559 --> 00:29:36,559 Music 249 00:29:36,559 --> 00:29:41,559 This is the famous Metropolitan Center of T.O.T. Wacan 250 00:29:41,559 --> 00:29:44,559 about an hour north of Mexico City 251 00:29:44,559 --> 00:29:48,559 It's famous for its giant pyramid of the sun 252 00:29:48,559 --> 00:29:51,559 and giant pyramid of the moon 253 00:29:51,559 --> 00:29:54,559 It also has a pyramid of Quetzalcoatl 254 00:29:55,559 --> 00:30:01,559 No one knows who built this giant pyramid complex 255 00:30:01,559 --> 00:30:05,559 It was thought by the Aztecs to have been built by giants 256 00:30:05,559 --> 00:30:07,559 at the beginning of the earth 257 00:30:07,559 --> 00:30:12,559 Today, archaeologists think that possibly 258 00:30:12,559 --> 00:30:16,559 this entire area was huge hydrological work 259 00:30:16,559 --> 00:30:22,559 and all of the plazas around the pyramids were flooded with water 260 00:30:22,559 --> 00:30:27,559 It's possible that T.O.T. Wacan, much like Tijuana in Bolivia 261 00:30:27,559 --> 00:30:30,559 was a huge metallurgical area 262 00:30:30,559 --> 00:30:37,559 washing ores out and making iron and copper and other metals 263 00:30:37,559 --> 00:30:40,559 for use by the Olmecs and the Taltecs 264 00:30:42,559 --> 00:30:46,559 Music 265 00:30:46,559 --> 00:30:51,559 Behind me is the pyramid of the sun here at T.O.T. Wacan 266 00:30:51,559 --> 00:30:55,559 It's the third largest known pyramid in the world 267 00:30:55,559 --> 00:31:00,559 after the Great Pyramid at Giza and the Great Pyramid at Cholula 268 00:31:00,559 --> 00:31:03,559 which is also here in Mexico 269 00:31:04,559 --> 00:31:09,559 The pyramid measures 220 meters on each side of the base 270 00:31:09,559 --> 00:31:12,559 and it is currently 70 meters high 271 00:31:14,559 --> 00:31:19,559 It's not really known who built T.O.T. Wacan or really how old it is 272 00:31:19,559 --> 00:31:25,559 Many archaeologists believe that T.O.T. Wacan was built around 100 A.D. 273 00:31:25,559 --> 00:31:30,559 although there is evidence that these pyramids are much older than that 274 00:31:30,559 --> 00:31:36,559 and were built as far away as 1000 or 1500 B.C. 275 00:31:36,559 --> 00:31:43,559 The Great Pyramid of the Sun at T.O.T. Wacan was actually built over a natural cave 276 00:31:43,559 --> 00:31:47,559 and this cave was in a cloverleaf shape 277 00:31:47,559 --> 00:31:54,559 and some archaeologists believe that a natural spring emanated out of this cave 278 00:31:54,559 --> 00:31:59,559 and water flowed out of the Great Pyramid of the Sun 279 00:31:59,559 --> 00:32:03,559 and into the streets of T.O.T. Wacan 280 00:32:03,559 --> 00:32:08,559 In this theory, T.O.T. Wacan was a water city 281 00:32:08,559 --> 00:32:11,559 and water was all over the city 282 00:32:11,559 --> 00:32:14,559 and instead of walking between the pyramids 283 00:32:14,559 --> 00:32:19,559 a visitor would have to go from building to building in a boat 284 00:32:20,559 --> 00:32:25,559 One reason why T.O.T. Wacan might have been a giant hydrological works 285 00:32:25,559 --> 00:32:29,559 was that this was an ore processing area 286 00:32:29,559 --> 00:32:33,559 Water was diverted into certain areas 287 00:32:33,559 --> 00:32:37,559 ore was washed by the water 288 00:32:37,559 --> 00:32:44,559 and then copper and silver and gold and other metals were extracted from the ore 289 00:32:44,559 --> 00:32:46,559 here at T.O.T. Wacan 290 00:33:00,559 --> 00:33:04,559 The pyramids here at T.O.T. Wacan are huge 291 00:33:04,559 --> 00:33:07,559 nearly the size of some of the pyramids in Egypt 292 00:33:07,559 --> 00:33:11,559 however, the pyramids in Egypt are megalithic 293 00:33:11,559 --> 00:33:16,559 they're built out of giant blocks of granite and limestone 294 00:33:16,559 --> 00:33:20,559 Here at T.O.T. Wacan, the pyramids are large 295 00:33:20,559 --> 00:33:22,559 but they're built out of smaller stones 296 00:33:22,559 --> 00:33:26,559 something a little bit more easy to accomplish really 297 00:33:29,559 --> 00:33:31,559 T.O.T. Wacan 298 00:33:59,559 --> 00:34:01,559 T.O.T. Wacan 299 00:34:09,559 --> 00:34:12,559 This is the Great Pyramid of Cholula 300 00:34:12,559 --> 00:34:16,559 it's the largest structure in all of Mexico 301 00:34:16,559 --> 00:34:20,559 This pyramid was only discovered in 1910 302 00:34:20,559 --> 00:34:23,559 when they were building an insane asylum here 303 00:34:23,559 --> 00:34:28,559 Up until that time, they thought that this giant pyramid 304 00:34:28,559 --> 00:34:32,559 was just a hill covered with dirt 305 00:34:32,559 --> 00:34:35,559 in fact, they built a church on top of it 306 00:34:35,559 --> 00:34:39,559 but today we know that the Great Pyramid of Cholula 307 00:34:39,559 --> 00:34:42,559 is the largest pyramid in Mexico 308 00:34:42,559 --> 00:34:46,559 and the second largest pyramid in the world 309 00:34:46,559 --> 00:34:49,559 after the Great Pyramid of Egypt 310 00:34:50,559 --> 00:34:54,559 This pyramid is dedicated to Quetzalcoatl 311 00:34:54,559 --> 00:34:59,559 and in fact, exactly how this pyramid came to be covered 312 00:34:59,559 --> 00:35:04,559 completely in dirt to look like a hill is still a mystery 313 00:35:04,559 --> 00:35:09,559 One of the explanations is that this pyramid was so sacred 314 00:35:09,559 --> 00:35:13,559 to the ancient Mexicans that when the Spanish invaded 315 00:35:13,559 --> 00:35:16,559 they didn't want this pyramid destroyed 316 00:35:16,559 --> 00:35:20,559 and so in a few weeks they went through tremendous effort 317 00:35:20,559 --> 00:35:23,559 to bury the pyramid 318 00:35:24,559 --> 00:35:27,559 We can see from this section of the pyramid 319 00:35:27,559 --> 00:35:30,559 where Mexican archaeologists have restored it 320 00:35:30,559 --> 00:35:34,559 we get a good idea of what the pyramid originally looked like 321 00:35:34,559 --> 00:35:36,559 when it was being used 322 00:35:36,559 --> 00:35:41,559 and in fact, it not only was gigantically huge 323 00:35:41,559 --> 00:35:44,559 but beautifully spectacular as well 324 00:35:46,559 --> 00:35:56,559 Music 325 00:35:56,559 --> 00:35:59,559 One of the things about the Great Pyramid here of Cholula 326 00:35:59,559 --> 00:36:02,559 is that archaeologists say that it was constructed 327 00:36:02,559 --> 00:36:06,559 over an ancient spring and that water poured out of the pyramid 328 00:36:06,559 --> 00:36:12,559 This is also what we are theorizing happened with the pyramids at Teotihuacan 329 00:36:12,559 --> 00:36:15,559 that water also was coming out of the pyramid 330 00:36:15,559 --> 00:36:18,559 and flooding that ancient city 331 00:36:21,559 --> 00:36:26,559 So follow me as we go deep inside the Great Pyramid of Cholula 332 00:36:26,559 --> 00:36:30,559 Mexican archaeologists have actually cut these tunnels 333 00:36:30,559 --> 00:36:36,559 inside of the pyramid so that they could go deep into the core 334 00:36:36,559 --> 00:36:40,559 and see if there were any tombs or natural caverns 335 00:36:40,559 --> 00:36:44,559 They wanted to see how the pyramid was constructed 336 00:36:44,559 --> 00:36:48,559 and as we get deeper inside we will see many side passages 337 00:36:48,559 --> 00:36:51,559 some going up, some going down 338 00:36:51,559 --> 00:36:56,559 and even we will find some of the earlier inner layers of the pyramid 339 00:36:56,559 --> 00:36:59,559 when it was first constructed 340 00:36:59,559 --> 00:37:07,559 Music 341 00:37:07,559 --> 00:37:11,559 Mankind has never moved as much material and mass 342 00:37:11,559 --> 00:37:14,559 as what's over us right now 343 00:37:14,559 --> 00:37:18,559 We are deep inside the Great Pyramid of Cholula 344 00:37:18,559 --> 00:37:22,559 one of the largest edifices ever constructed in the world 345 00:37:22,559 --> 00:37:31,559 Music 346 00:37:31,559 --> 00:37:34,559 We are deep inside the Great Pyramid of Cholula here 347 00:37:34,559 --> 00:37:38,559 and in fact this is a crossroads of the tunnels 348 00:37:38,559 --> 00:37:42,559 One of the tunnels is going deep down inside the pyramid 349 00:37:42,559 --> 00:37:45,559 This is probably to the natural cave 350 00:37:45,559 --> 00:37:49,559 where there was originally a spring and water came out of 351 00:37:49,559 --> 00:37:53,559 This tunnel is going up towards the top 352 00:37:53,559 --> 00:37:56,559 must be going nearer to the apex 353 00:37:56,559 --> 00:37:59,559 You can see some of the outer levels 354 00:37:59,559 --> 00:38:03,559 of part of the original pyramid that was here before 355 00:38:03,559 --> 00:38:06,559 other pyramids were constructed over 356 00:38:06,559 --> 00:38:30,559 Music 357 00:38:30,559 --> 00:38:32,559 In the early 1940s 358 00:38:32,559 --> 00:38:36,559 University of California archaeologist Matthew Sterling 359 00:38:36,559 --> 00:38:40,559 discovered five colossal heads made out of basalt 360 00:38:40,559 --> 00:38:43,559 at LaVenta 361 00:38:43,559 --> 00:38:47,559 The largest of these heads weighs over 24 tons 362 00:38:47,559 --> 00:38:52,559 and was taken from a quarry over a hundred kilometers away 363 00:38:52,559 --> 00:38:55,559 It's assumed by modern archaeologists that the Olmecs 364 00:38:55,559 --> 00:38:58,559 did not know the use of the wheel 365 00:38:58,559 --> 00:39:13,559 Music 366 00:39:13,559 --> 00:39:18,559 Year after year archaeologists discover new things about the Olmecs 367 00:39:18,559 --> 00:39:21,559 pushing them farther back in time 368 00:39:21,559 --> 00:39:24,559 and deeper into the heart of Mexico 369 00:39:24,559 --> 00:39:27,559 Only recently archaeologists have discovered 370 00:39:27,559 --> 00:39:30,559 the oldest writing in the Americans 371 00:39:30,559 --> 00:39:32,559 which is Olmec 372 00:39:32,559 --> 00:39:36,559 Also they've discovered Olmec remains near Mexico City 373 00:39:36,559 --> 00:39:40,559 Music 374 00:39:40,559 --> 00:39:44,559 Notice here again how his hands are on his knees 375 00:39:44,559 --> 00:39:47,559 This is known as the Quizuo position 376 00:39:47,559 --> 00:39:52,559 He's wearing an unusual headdress with the ball in front 377 00:39:52,559 --> 00:39:55,559 It's possible that there was a snake here too 378 00:39:55,559 --> 00:39:58,559 This also would have been very Egyptian 379 00:39:58,559 --> 00:40:02,559 His headdress as well is very Egyptian 380 00:40:02,559 --> 00:40:06,559 It's a very fine and well-made statue 381 00:40:06,559 --> 00:40:15,559 Music 382 00:40:15,559 --> 00:40:37,559 Music 383 00:40:37,559 --> 00:40:55,559 Music 384 00:40:55,559 --> 00:40:59,559 We're on the great pyramid of the ancient city of Tula 385 00:40:59,559 --> 00:41:02,559 The Toltec capital 386 00:41:02,559 --> 00:41:06,559 These giant statues are called Atlanteans 387 00:41:06,559 --> 00:41:09,559 And they're actually pillars that once held the roof 388 00:41:09,559 --> 00:41:13,559 of a great temple dedicated to Quetzalcoatl 389 00:41:13,559 --> 00:41:18,559 Tula is about 60 miles north of Mexico City 390 00:41:18,559 --> 00:41:23,559 And it's one of the farthest north megalithic cities in Mexico 391 00:41:23,559 --> 00:41:30,559 The other Toltec capital was Chichen Itza in eastern Yucatan 392 00:41:30,559 --> 00:41:34,559 The Toltecs themselves are a mysterious group 393 00:41:34,559 --> 00:41:39,559 They're driving sometime around the time of Christ 394 00:41:39,559 --> 00:41:44,559 And then taking over much of Mexico from the Yucatan 395 00:41:44,559 --> 00:41:48,559 To even this area north of Mexico City 396 00:41:48,559 --> 00:41:51,559 Who were the Toltecs and where did they go? 397 00:41:51,559 --> 00:42:01,559 Music 398 00:42:01,559 --> 00:42:04,559 Who were the Toltecs? 399 00:42:04,559 --> 00:42:08,559 According to some archeologists, the Toltecs are the remains 400 00:42:08,559 --> 00:42:11,559 of the Phoenicians and Carthaginians 401 00:42:11,559 --> 00:42:15,559 After the Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage 402 00:42:15,559 --> 00:42:20,559 And with Rome finally conquering the Carthaginians 403 00:42:20,559 --> 00:42:24,559 Salting the earth at Carthage and controlling the Mediterranean 404 00:42:24,559 --> 00:42:29,559 The Toltecs, who were also the Carthaginians and Phoenicians 405 00:42:29,559 --> 00:42:33,559 Escaped across the Atlantic and came to their trading bases 406 00:42:33,559 --> 00:42:36,559 In the Yucatan and Mexico 407 00:42:36,559 --> 00:42:41,559 Here they created Tula, the new Toltec Phoenician capital 408 00:42:41,559 --> 00:42:44,559 North of Mexico City 409 00:42:44,559 --> 00:42:48,559 It's thought from here they also expanded into northern Mexico 410 00:42:48,559 --> 00:42:53,559 Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and other areas 411 00:42:53,559 --> 00:42:58,559 We find ball courts here at Tula just like we do in Arizona 412 00:42:58,559 --> 00:43:03,559 Is it possible that the Toltecs have something to do with 413 00:43:03,559 --> 00:43:07,559 The mysteries of the Grand Canyon and some of the mummies 414 00:43:07,559 --> 00:43:11,559 And Egyptian artifacts that were discovered there at the turn of the century? 415 00:43:11,559 --> 00:43:16,559 Music 416 00:43:16,559 --> 00:43:20,559 This Atlantean statue here at Tula 417 00:43:20,559 --> 00:43:25,559 Is holding in his right hand kind of an unusual 418 00:43:25,559 --> 00:43:28,559 Mysterious artifact 419 00:43:28,559 --> 00:43:34,559 Mainstream archaeologists think it's an atlatl, a spear thrower 420 00:43:34,559 --> 00:43:38,559 But the writer and Sumerian archaeologist Sitchin 421 00:43:38,559 --> 00:43:42,559 Thinks this was a plasma gun 422 00:43:42,559 --> 00:43:46,559 A kind of a rock melting device for mining 423 00:43:46,559 --> 00:43:51,559 Music 424 00:43:51,559 --> 00:43:56,559 Music 425 00:43:56,559 --> 00:43:59,559 This is the central plaza of Tula 426 00:43:59,559 --> 00:44:03,559 The ancient Toltec capital dedicated to Quetzalcoatl 427 00:44:03,559 --> 00:44:06,559 We can see here the central plaza 428 00:44:06,559 --> 00:44:10,559 And over on that side is one of the Toltec ball courts 429 00:44:10,559 --> 00:44:15,559 It's thought that the ball game using a rubber ball 430 00:44:15,559 --> 00:44:18,559 Originated with the Olmecs in southern Mexico 431 00:44:18,559 --> 00:44:22,559 The Mayas used the ball game, so did the Toltecs 432 00:44:22,559 --> 00:44:30,559 But ball courts like this are found as far north as the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona 433 00:44:30,559 --> 00:44:37,559 We know that the Ho-Ho-Kum Indians and others played the same ball game as the Toltecs 434 00:44:37,559 --> 00:44:46,559 Is it possible that the Toltec civilization expanded as far north as Utah and Colorado 435 00:44:46,559 --> 00:44:50,559 And the ball game being played in all of these areas 436 00:44:50,559 --> 00:44:54,559 Just like the Toltecs here north of Mexico City 437 00:44:54,559 --> 00:45:03,559 Music 438 00:45:03,559 --> 00:45:10,559 The founder of Tula was said to have been a light skinned man with a dark beard 439 00:45:10,559 --> 00:45:14,559 And he founded Tula as a peaceful society 440 00:45:14,559 --> 00:45:19,559 But later another group took over Tula and they worshiped a dark god 441 00:45:19,559 --> 00:45:24,559 And introduced again human sacrifice that Quetzalcoatl had forbidden 442 00:45:24,559 --> 00:45:28,559 This ruler then departed Tula and went to the east 443 00:45:28,559 --> 00:45:34,559 Promising that he would return one day and retake this ancient city 444 00:45:34,559 --> 00:45:48,559 Music 445 00:45:48,559 --> 00:45:54,559 When Cortez landed at Vera Cruz he was seemingly fulfilling this ancient Toltec... 446 00:45:54,559 --> 00:45:57,559 Of the return of their king 447 00:45:57,559 --> 00:46:01,559 Cortez was a light skinned man with a dark beard 448 00:46:01,559 --> 00:46:06,559 And the Aztecs thought that he was the returning god Quetzalcoatl 449 00:46:06,559 --> 00:46:13,559 It was the seemingly fulfilling of this prophecy that caused the downfall of the... 450 00:46:13,559 --> 00:46:17,559 And the ascent of the Spanish here in Mexico 451 00:46:17,559 --> 00:46:43,559 Music 452 00:46:43,559 --> 00:46:46,559 This is one of the Toltec ball courts 453 00:46:46,559 --> 00:46:53,559 Where they played a game that was kind of a cross between soccer and basketball 454 00:46:53,559 --> 00:47:12,559 Music 455 00:47:12,559 --> 00:47:17,559 Behind me here is the mysterious conical pyramid of Cuiquilco 456 00:47:17,559 --> 00:47:23,559 It's thought to be one of the oldest pyramids or structures in the valley of Mexico 457 00:47:23,559 --> 00:47:28,559 Archaeologists often date this as at least 2,000 years old 458 00:47:28,559 --> 00:47:34,559 However, it is covered partially by a lava flow 459 00:47:34,559 --> 00:47:42,559 And back in the 1920s geologists speculated that this lava flow was over 8,000 years old 460 00:47:42,559 --> 00:47:47,559 Since the pyramid had to be built before it was covered by a lava flow 461 00:47:47,559 --> 00:47:54,559 This would indicate that this pyramid is not 2,000 years old but over 8,000 years old 462 00:47:54,559 --> 00:48:00,559 Archaeologists do not know who to ascribe this ancient pyramid to 463 00:48:00,559 --> 00:48:06,559 It's actually so old that it may actually have been built by the Olmecs 464 00:48:06,559 --> 00:48:18,559 Recent excavations here in central Mexico have revealed that the Olmecs were indeed ... 465 00:48:18,559 --> 00:48:22,559 Is it possible that the ancient Olmecs built this pyramid? 466 00:48:22,559 --> 00:48:28,559 Music 467 00:48:28,559 --> 00:48:35,559 The history of Mexico and Central America is as much of an enigma today as it was to... 468 00:48:35,559 --> 00:48:48,559 Civilizations rose and fell, but modern archaeologists are reluctant to admit the... 469 00:48:48,559 --> 00:48:55,559 Music 470 00:48:55,559 --> 00:49:04,559 We've seen the megalithic monuments of the Olmecs, but we don't know who these people... 471 00:49:04,559 --> 00:49:09,559 Yet, our search for lost cities and ancient mysteries will continue 472 00:49:09,559 --> 00:49:19,559 Music 473 00:49:39,559 --> 00:49:44,559 Music 474 00:49:44,559 --> 00:49:54,559 Music 475 00:49:54,559 --> 00:50:01,559 Music 476 00:50:01,559 --> 00:50:11,559 Music 477 00:50:11,559 --> 00:50:21,559 Music 478 00:50:21,559 --> 00:50:26,559 Music 479 00:50:31,559 --> 00:50:39,559 Music