1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:03,603 --> 00:00:07,273 NARRATOR: Hidden in the world's iconic monuments, 3 00:00:07,340 --> 00:00:11,111 is an incredible ancient knowledge of the sun. 4 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 5 00:00:12,412 --> 00:00:14,681 DR. FABIO SILVA: This connection with the sun and the sky, 6 00:00:14,748 --> 00:00:16,483 is actually timeless. 7 00:00:16,950 --> 00:00:20,487 NARRATOR: Twice a year, as light breaks across the Earth, 8 00:00:20,553 --> 00:00:23,323 their secrets are revealed. 9 00:00:23,390 --> 00:00:26,626 DR. SARAH KLASSEN: This entire space is engineered around 10 00:00:26,693 --> 00:00:28,061 this one moment in time. 11 00:00:30,630 --> 00:00:35,402 NARRATOR: Across thousands of years and unrelated civilizations, 12 00:00:36,603 --> 00:00:41,674 ancient monuments unite in perfect alignment to the sun. 13 00:00:45,078 --> 00:00:47,647 On the same single day, 14 00:00:47,714 --> 00:00:49,416 The Equinox. 15 00:00:49,482 --> 00:00:52,052 TORE LOMSDALEN: They go and build this fantastic temple, 16 00:00:52,118 --> 00:00:55,255 unique in the world, so there must be a driving force. 17 00:00:56,022 --> 00:00:59,392 NARRATOR: Each a miracle of engineering and astronomy. 18 00:01:00,927 --> 00:01:03,029 DR. EFROSYNI BOUTSIKAS: With the technology that they had at the time, 19 00:01:03,096 --> 00:01:05,465 it's amazing how much they could have achieved. 20 00:01:06,332 --> 00:01:08,601 NARRATOR: But how did the ancient astronomers 21 00:01:08,668 --> 00:01:10,670 create this global event? 22 00:01:11,638 --> 00:01:14,641 The human race in a simultaneous 23 00:01:14,707 --> 00:01:18,411 celebration of the sun on the Equinox. 24 00:01:29,722 --> 00:01:33,059 It's 6:15 a.m. in Cambodia. 25 00:01:33,526 --> 00:01:36,329 Today is the Equinox. 26 00:01:36,396 --> 00:01:39,399 An event that happens only twice a year, 27 00:01:39,466 --> 00:01:45,138 when day and night are almost the same length all over the world. 28 00:01:45,438 --> 00:01:48,475 South East Asia waits for the sun. 29 00:01:49,576 --> 00:01:54,781 Huge crowds gather at the world famous temple of Angkor Wat. 30 00:01:55,448 --> 00:02:01,154 They've come to witness an ancient but spectacular special effect. 31 00:02:02,856 --> 00:02:05,225 The sun is up and rising, 32 00:02:05,525 --> 00:02:08,361 just to the east behind the central tower. 33 00:02:10,430 --> 00:02:14,300 But the real moment of truth is still to come. 34 00:02:21,274 --> 00:02:22,308 ♪♪ 35 00:02:25,411 --> 00:02:27,413 (crowd cheering) 36 00:02:29,849 --> 00:02:31,951 DR. BOUTSIKAS: The sun is important in all cultures, 37 00:02:32,018 --> 00:02:33,953 particularly in ancient cultures, 38 00:02:34,020 --> 00:02:37,590 because the sun is the thing that allows people to survive. 39 00:02:37,657 --> 00:02:40,026 Without the sun there is no survival. 40 00:02:40,093 --> 00:02:42,962 It's not a coincidence that it has been deified 41 00:02:43,029 --> 00:02:45,365 in ancient cultures throughout the globe. 42 00:02:45,899 --> 00:02:49,836 DR. SILVA: We still find this connection very deep. 43 00:02:50,537 --> 00:02:54,440 Every society that we have studied all over the world and since pre-history 44 00:02:54,507 --> 00:02:58,578 seems to have had an interest in the sun, the moon or the stars. 45 00:03:00,813 --> 00:03:03,816 NARRATOR: And on the Equinox, our human obsession 46 00:03:03,883 --> 00:03:06,019 with the sun is revealed... 47 00:03:06,486 --> 00:03:09,055 in ancient sites around the world. 48 00:03:11,191 --> 00:03:14,894 2000 miles to the west, the windows of the Indian temple 49 00:03:14,961 --> 00:03:17,230 of Sree Padmanabhaswamy 50 00:03:17,297 --> 00:03:20,700 frame the setting sun with exquisite precision. 51 00:03:25,138 --> 00:03:28,975 In Egypt more visual fireworks from the setting sun, 52 00:03:29,642 --> 00:03:32,412 as it merges into the shoulder of the sphinx, 53 00:03:32,679 --> 00:03:35,949 with the Pyramid of Khafre directly behind. 54 00:03:37,584 --> 00:03:40,954 In Europe, the megalithic temples of Mnajdra 55 00:03:41,020 --> 00:03:44,224 predate the pyramids by 1,000 years. 56 00:03:44,891 --> 00:03:49,829 Here too is a solar phenomenon that occurs only on the Equinox. 57 00:03:53,633 --> 00:03:56,970 In the Americas, at Chichén Itzá in Mexico, 58 00:03:57,670 --> 00:04:02,875 dating back 1,000 years, an hour long light show 59 00:04:02,942 --> 00:04:08,281 as a snake in shadow form slithers down the side of the snake god's temple. 60 00:04:09,582 --> 00:04:14,254 Peoples from different continents, centuries and cultures 61 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:17,257 all independently celebrated the sun. 62 00:04:20,193 --> 00:04:23,830 DR. SILVA: They were keen observers of natural cycles, 63 00:04:23,896 --> 00:04:26,599 keen observers of what was happening in the sky. 64 00:04:27,066 --> 00:04:32,138 And they built that knowledge into these structures themselves. 65 00:04:33,072 --> 00:04:35,174 DR. BOUTSIKAS: When we examine these sites, 66 00:04:35,241 --> 00:04:39,078 what we see is not just the skill that these cultures had, 67 00:04:39,479 --> 00:04:45,251 but also the importance of time and astronomy and the sun in human life. 68 00:04:45,718 --> 00:04:51,090 It's mind boggling that they had the capability to make these monuments. 69 00:04:51,991 --> 00:04:54,727 NARRATOR: In the modern world, it's easy to forget 70 00:04:54,794 --> 00:04:57,063 that since the dawn of humanity, 71 00:04:57,130 --> 00:05:00,466 every culture on Earth has relied on the sun. 72 00:05:01,167 --> 00:05:05,138 DR. SILVA: Prehistoric societies, before the invention of writing or farming, 73 00:05:05,204 --> 00:05:07,807 we're already interested in the sky. 74 00:05:07,874 --> 00:05:10,476 And we find evidence for that all over the world. 75 00:05:11,544 --> 00:05:14,047 NARRATOR: Astronomy was the first science. 76 00:05:14,847 --> 00:05:19,018 Only astronomy makes a reliable calendar possible. 77 00:05:19,719 --> 00:05:22,689 DR. BOUTSIKAS: You can't perform agriculture farming practices, 78 00:05:22,755 --> 00:05:24,324 you can't sew, you can't plow 79 00:05:24,390 --> 00:05:27,060 unless you know what time in the year it is. 80 00:05:27,393 --> 00:05:32,565 They had to know the movement of the sun in order to be able to-to survive. 81 00:05:35,368 --> 00:05:37,770 NARRATOR: In summer, the northern hemisphere 82 00:05:37,837 --> 00:05:42,008 tilts towards the sun... and the days are longer. 83 00:05:42,075 --> 00:05:46,779 In winter, it's tilted away and it's cold and dark. 84 00:05:47,747 --> 00:05:52,285 But when the seasons change, the sun is directly over the equator, 85 00:05:52,885 --> 00:05:56,622 and both halves of the planet face our star equally. 86 00:05:57,957 --> 00:06:04,130 Everywhere on Earth, day and night are almost the same length, 12 hours. 87 00:06:04,564 --> 00:06:08,034 DR. SILVA: The word Equinox comes from the Latin equinotium, 88 00:06:08,101 --> 00:06:14,040 which encapsulates the idea that the night has the same length as the day. 89 00:06:14,374 --> 00:06:17,009 DR. BOUTSIKAS: You come out of the darkness of the winter 90 00:06:17,076 --> 00:06:21,481 and your days now from the Equinox onwards start to grow and become longer, 91 00:06:21,547 --> 00:06:23,082 because light brings life. 92 00:06:23,449 --> 00:06:27,854 The Equinox is the reaffirmation that the world is waking, 93 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:30,556 the cosmos is waking up again, the Earth is waking up again. 94 00:06:31,124 --> 00:06:34,026 And your survival can carry on. 95 00:06:36,195 --> 00:06:40,066 NARRATOR: Ancient civilizations develop the astronomical knowledge 96 00:06:40,133 --> 00:06:42,568 to plot the sun's movements with precision. 97 00:06:43,069 --> 00:06:48,541 And then, the engineering skills to celebrate those movements in stone. 98 00:06:49,475 --> 00:06:53,112 The mystery is, how did they do it? 99 00:06:56,783 --> 00:06:59,619 For archaeologist Dr. Sarah Klassen, 100 00:06:59,685 --> 00:07:04,690 the alignment with the sun at the Equinox is one of the most spectacular features 101 00:07:05,024 --> 00:07:07,460 of the temple at Angkor Wat. 102 00:07:09,328 --> 00:07:15,368 Sarah is using new technology to discover the secrets of ancient structures. 103 00:07:16,536 --> 00:07:18,171 DR. KLASSEN: This is a total station 104 00:07:18,237 --> 00:07:21,374 and we use it in the field to collect very high precision, 105 00:07:21,641 --> 00:07:24,677 uh, geographical locations for points of interest. 106 00:07:25,244 --> 00:07:28,648 So we can use it for architecture, like here at Angkor Wat. 107 00:07:28,714 --> 00:07:33,453 And we can then load into a computer to understand how the temple was built, 108 00:07:33,519 --> 00:07:37,023 what angles, what the different lengths are between the different features. 109 00:07:38,090 --> 00:07:39,859 NARRATOR: The temple of Angkor Wat 110 00:07:39,926 --> 00:07:44,864 was built 800 years ago by Emperor Suryavarman II, 111 00:07:45,164 --> 00:07:47,700 and stood at the heart of his empire. 112 00:07:48,768 --> 00:07:50,470 DR. KLASSEN: You can tell that the ancient Khmer 113 00:07:50,536 --> 00:07:53,973 were extremely sophisticated when it came to their engineering, 114 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:56,509 both in terms of the scale and the precision 115 00:07:56,576 --> 00:07:58,778 of the types of things that they engineered. 116 00:08:02,582 --> 00:08:04,517 NARRATOR: It's on the Equinox that this 117 00:08:04,584 --> 00:08:06,486 sophistication becomes clear. 118 00:08:07,453 --> 00:08:10,990 Angkor is aligned towards the rising Equinox sun. 119 00:08:14,227 --> 00:08:17,330 One set of grid lines runs north to south. 120 00:08:17,396 --> 00:08:22,301 The others run west to east into the rising Equinox sun. 121 00:08:23,035 --> 00:08:26,272 From the western gate, a dead straight avenue 122 00:08:26,339 --> 00:08:29,208 leads directly to the heart of the temple. 123 00:08:30,076 --> 00:08:35,548 But modern measurements reveal that the alignment is not quite due east. 124 00:08:41,287 --> 00:08:43,823 DR. KLASSEN: The one thing that's really unusual about Angkor 125 00:08:43,890 --> 00:08:47,360 is it's not built exactly on the cardinal directions. 126 00:08:47,660 --> 00:08:49,829 It's actually half a degree off. 127 00:08:50,763 --> 00:08:53,399 NARRATOR: For these ancient masters of geometry , 128 00:08:53,466 --> 00:08:56,869 half a degree would be a huge margin of error. 129 00:08:56,936 --> 00:08:59,872 But in fact, it's no mistake. 130 00:09:00,172 --> 00:09:04,443 It's a deliberate stroke of mathematical genius. 131 00:09:04,510 --> 00:09:06,646 DR. KLASSEN: It's actually quite ingenious. 132 00:09:06,712 --> 00:09:09,315 We think they did this so that during the Equinox 133 00:09:09,382 --> 00:09:13,419 the sun would rise directly over that central temple. 134 00:09:15,922 --> 00:09:18,124 NARRATOR: The trick is that the Equinox sun 135 00:09:18,190 --> 00:09:19,792 rises at due east. 136 00:09:20,860 --> 00:09:24,263 But in the minutes it takes to rise to the height of the tower, 137 00:09:24,730 --> 00:09:30,403 it also moves right across the sky. Half a degree off due east. 138 00:09:31,504 --> 00:09:33,573 If the tower was due east, 139 00:09:33,639 --> 00:09:36,709 the sun would be out of line when it reached the top. 140 00:09:37,209 --> 00:09:40,446 So the architect's solution was simple. 141 00:09:40,513 --> 00:09:46,919 They rotated the entire layout to compensate by exactly half a degree. 142 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:49,789 DR. SILVA: To create an alignment between 143 00:09:49,855 --> 00:09:53,526 the western gate, the top of the tower and the sun 144 00:09:53,593 --> 00:09:56,629 on the day of the Equinox, is a huge amount of skill. 145 00:09:58,030 --> 00:09:59,932 NARRATOR: Eight centuries later, 146 00:09:59,999 --> 00:10:03,569 it's still a calculated, mathematical miracle. 147 00:10:03,903 --> 00:10:07,073 One that proves the Equinox was a vital moment 148 00:10:07,673 --> 00:10:10,276 for which the entire temple was constructed. 149 00:10:12,111 --> 00:10:15,715 DR. SILVA: The beauty of Angkor Wat, is in the mathematics of it. 150 00:10:16,048 --> 00:10:19,885 It looks and feels like everything was minutely planned and, 151 00:10:19,952 --> 00:10:23,723 and detailed to a mathematical level of precision. 152 00:10:24,457 --> 00:10:26,392 DR. KLASSEN: After working here for over five years, 153 00:10:26,459 --> 00:10:29,328 it's really exciting to kind of finally be here for this moment, 154 00:10:29,395 --> 00:10:31,464 that this entire structure was built around. 155 00:10:36,869 --> 00:10:40,573 The energy of the crowd, all the excitement of everyone being here, 156 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:42,408 it's a very special moment. 157 00:10:43,576 --> 00:10:48,314 NARRATOR: A fraction, half a degree, makes all the difference. 158 00:10:54,620 --> 00:10:57,356 DR. SILVA: To actually capture the sun 159 00:10:57,423 --> 00:11:01,060 right at the top of the central tower of Angkor Wat... 160 00:11:01,127 --> 00:11:06,198 They were using the sun to make a statement about their own beliefs, 161 00:11:06,265 --> 00:11:10,102 and in this case, their own power and their place in the cosmos. 162 00:11:15,675 --> 00:11:17,576 ♪♪ 163 00:11:25,484 --> 00:11:28,954 (crowd cheering) 164 00:11:38,664 --> 00:11:40,466 DR. KLASSEN: The temples that we see today 165 00:11:40,533 --> 00:11:43,402 are not what the temple would have looked like in the past. 166 00:11:43,469 --> 00:11:46,639 The temple may have been coated entirely in gold, 167 00:11:46,706 --> 00:11:48,674 so you can imagine what it would look like 168 00:11:48,741 --> 00:11:51,177 with the sun rising over the central tower. 169 00:11:51,944 --> 00:11:54,346 A powerful moment to experience. 170 00:11:55,181 --> 00:12:00,619 NARRATOR: The Emperor's architects had got it right, to the last tiny detail. 171 00:12:07,426 --> 00:12:11,664 Angkor Wat is one of the world's greatest ancient sites. 172 00:12:11,731 --> 00:12:16,602 But just one of many across the Earth that celebrate the Equinox sun 173 00:12:16,669 --> 00:12:19,038 with a spectacular light show. 174 00:12:25,911 --> 00:12:28,514 As the Equinox sun leaves Cambodia, 175 00:12:28,581 --> 00:12:31,250 it continues its journey around the globe. 176 00:12:33,119 --> 00:12:37,556 In Kerala, 2000 miles to the west on the south coast of India, 177 00:12:38,090 --> 00:12:42,361 the crowds have to wait for sunset to witness the effect. 178 00:12:46,298 --> 00:12:49,835 The stunning temple of Sree Padmanabhaswamy 179 00:12:49,902 --> 00:12:54,807 has a beautifully carved tower dated 400 years after Angkor Wat. 180 00:13:01,547 --> 00:13:05,017 Through its series of precisely aligned windows, 181 00:13:05,084 --> 00:13:09,388 the Equinox sun sinks into the west like an elevator, 182 00:13:09,455 --> 00:13:13,092 lighting up stories at five minute intervals. 183 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:25,471 NARRATOR: Another quarter of the way around the world in ancient Egypt, 184 00:13:25,538 --> 00:13:31,110 the setting Equinox sun hits two of the most iconic structures on Earth. 185 00:13:31,644 --> 00:13:35,681 The Great Sphinx of Giza and the Pyramid of Khafre 186 00:13:35,748 --> 00:13:40,219 are both believed to have been built 4,500 years ago. 187 00:13:41,153 --> 00:13:45,691 On the Equinox, the setting sun merges into the Sphinx's shoulder 188 00:13:45,758 --> 00:13:48,160 with the Pyramid of Khafre behind. 189 00:13:48,828 --> 00:13:53,566 The alignment of all the Giza pyramids to the setting sun in the west 190 00:13:53,632 --> 00:13:58,637 is incredibly accurate, within 1/15th of a degree. 191 00:13:59,805 --> 00:14:03,809 The ancients may have achieved this using the simplest of tools. 192 00:14:04,310 --> 00:14:06,445 DR. SILVA: One possible way of orienting structures 193 00:14:06,512 --> 00:14:09,014 to the point of the compass is using the Indian circle method. 194 00:14:11,217 --> 00:14:14,386 This method consists of an upright pole 195 00:14:14,453 --> 00:14:18,090 and observing the shadow that is cast by the sun 196 00:14:18,157 --> 00:14:20,192 between sunrise and sunset. 197 00:14:21,627 --> 00:14:25,197 And you would mark the movement of this shadow on the ground. 198 00:14:26,332 --> 00:14:29,902 Then you would take a rope of the same length 199 00:14:29,969 --> 00:14:32,571 as the wooden pole that you used, 200 00:14:32,872 --> 00:14:36,909 and you would tie it around the pole and draw this circle on the ground. 201 00:14:38,644 --> 00:14:41,247 These intersect at two points, 202 00:14:41,313 --> 00:14:43,949 and if you draw a line between these two points 203 00:14:44,016 --> 00:14:47,086 you've got a line that is marking the east-west direction. 204 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:51,523 When you look at it from above it does seem to fit perfectly 205 00:14:51,590 --> 00:14:53,259 with the point of the compass. 206 00:14:55,060 --> 00:15:00,532 This method is so simple and so powerful, so accurate that... 207 00:15:00,866 --> 00:15:04,370 it could actually be used by any society anywhere in the world. 208 00:15:07,239 --> 00:15:09,375 NARRATOR: On the day of the Equinox, 209 00:15:09,441 --> 00:15:12,711 the sun's journey continues onwards onto Europe. 210 00:15:14,413 --> 00:15:17,016 Bathing the Mediterranean and light. 211 00:15:18,684 --> 00:15:22,554 On the island of Malta, something incredible is happening. 212 00:15:22,855 --> 00:15:26,358 The rays of dawn penetrate a pre-historic temple, 213 00:15:26,659 --> 00:15:31,630 a 1,000 years older than the pyramids, with breathtaking precision, 214 00:15:35,134 --> 00:15:38,604 striking the center of the ancient alter dead on. 215 00:15:40,205 --> 00:15:44,209 DR. SILVA: They were specifically targeting the Equinox. 216 00:15:44,610 --> 00:15:49,281 Pinpointing the exact position of sunrise at the Equinox is incredibly difficult. 217 00:15:49,348 --> 00:15:54,153 And that makes it even more amazing that some societies did manage to do that. 218 00:15:56,588 --> 00:15:59,758 NARRATOR: It's a miracle of astronomy and architecture, 219 00:15:59,825 --> 00:16:03,162 made five and a half thousand years ago. 220 00:16:05,631 --> 00:16:08,567 DR. SILVA: The people in Malta were building these 221 00:16:08,634 --> 00:16:11,570 fantastic great massive structures, 222 00:16:11,637 --> 00:16:15,607 and building so many of them on such a small archipelago, 223 00:16:15,674 --> 00:16:18,677 that this is unheard of anywhere else in the world. 224 00:16:19,578 --> 00:16:24,350 NARRATOR: The temple at Mnajdra is one of the oldest temples in the world. 225 00:16:26,218 --> 00:16:32,524 Built with stones weighing 30 tons each, the equivalent of five elephants. 226 00:16:33,492 --> 00:16:36,128 DR. SILVA: They clearly were not that primitive, 227 00:16:36,195 --> 00:16:39,064 they clearly have the skills, the ability, the know-how. 228 00:16:40,199 --> 00:16:44,336 It's fantastic to think that this was built to align with the Equinox. 229 00:16:46,005 --> 00:16:47,473 NARRATOR: For the last ten years, 230 00:16:47,539 --> 00:16:50,142 archaeoastronomer Tore Lomsdalen 231 00:16:50,209 --> 00:16:53,912 has been focused on figuring out exactly how they did it. 232 00:16:56,548 --> 00:16:58,417 LOMSDALEN: Every time I come here, I'm amazed, 233 00:16:58,484 --> 00:17:01,186 and I think about the knowledge they must have. 234 00:17:01,253 --> 00:17:04,890 They go and build this fantastic temple, it's unique in the world, 235 00:17:04,957 --> 00:17:06,759 so there must be a driving force. 236 00:17:08,927 --> 00:17:12,231 NARRATOR: There are three separate temples at Mnajdra, 237 00:17:12,297 --> 00:17:14,900 arranged in a clover leaf shape. 238 00:17:15,300 --> 00:17:18,270 They're aligned in different directions, 239 00:17:18,337 --> 00:17:22,041 with one facing east to the Equinox dawn. 240 00:17:23,008 --> 00:17:26,378 LOMSDALEN: They knew what was going on in the sky. 241 00:17:26,945 --> 00:17:29,848 They oriented it towards the eastern horizon 242 00:17:29,915 --> 00:17:36,221 to be able to observe how the sun moved through a solar year. 243 00:17:37,523 --> 00:17:41,427 NARRATOR: As well as the days getting longer and shorter through the year, 244 00:17:41,493 --> 00:17:46,665 the precise spot on the horizon where the sun rises also moves. 245 00:17:47,433 --> 00:17:51,070 In December, it rises at its most southerly point. 246 00:17:54,573 --> 00:17:58,310 At mid-summer, it reaches the furthest north. 247 00:17:59,244 --> 00:18:05,050 The Equinox sunrise at due east will be right in the middle of the two extremes. 248 00:18:06,051 --> 00:18:10,489 DR. SILVA: That middle point would be close enough to the Equinox 249 00:18:10,556 --> 00:18:15,160 for them to build a structure that was aligned to it. 250 00:18:17,162 --> 00:18:20,699 NARRATOR: Tore believes the temple builders used this method 251 00:18:20,766 --> 00:18:23,702 to keep track of the sun throughout the year. 252 00:18:23,769 --> 00:18:27,372 That Mnajdra was a calendar built in stone. 253 00:18:27,673 --> 00:18:31,910 A tantalizing clue lies at the winter solstice position. 254 00:18:32,244 --> 00:18:35,948 LOMSDALEN: This hole could have been a marker 255 00:18:36,014 --> 00:18:39,318 for the builders when they build Mnajdra 256 00:18:39,384 --> 00:18:43,355 to align to the rising sun at the winter solstice. 257 00:18:43,422 --> 00:18:45,190 It's so perfectly aligned. 258 00:18:48,060 --> 00:18:51,463 NARRATOR: There may have been a similar marker for the Equinox. 259 00:18:51,530 --> 00:18:54,032 But this method isn't very accurate, 260 00:18:54,099 --> 00:18:58,537 especially on a steeply sloping cliff top like Mnajdra. 261 00:19:00,506 --> 00:19:05,844 By the time the sun is high enough to see, it already has drifted to one side. 262 00:19:07,613 --> 00:19:10,249 DR. SILVA: You are going to be finding a point 263 00:19:10,315 --> 00:19:12,885 that isn't exactly due east, 264 00:19:12,951 --> 00:19:17,156 it's going to be slightly to the left or slightly to the right of east, 265 00:19:17,222 --> 00:19:20,459 which builds in this error into the method. 266 00:19:21,860 --> 00:19:26,632 NARRATOR: This method was likely only used for the design of the first temple, 267 00:19:26,698 --> 00:19:30,736 believed to be a single chamber facing the horizon. 268 00:19:31,069 --> 00:19:35,707 The Equinox sun would have entered the temple at a slanting angle 269 00:19:35,774 --> 00:19:39,611 to hit the alter at one side, rather than dead on. 270 00:19:40,445 --> 00:19:45,017 But over time, the temple was rebuilt with new astronomical knowledge. 271 00:19:46,351 --> 00:19:47,986 LOMSDALEN: There was an evolution 272 00:19:48,053 --> 00:19:52,291 in the astronomical knowledge and development of the-- 273 00:19:52,357 --> 00:19:56,595 of how they wanted to have the temple oriented 274 00:19:56,662 --> 00:20:00,933 directly towards the Equinox sunrise. 275 00:20:02,467 --> 00:20:08,674 NARRATOR: And surprisingly, that new knowledge may have come at night. 276 00:20:17,115 --> 00:20:18,684 In Malta, 277 00:20:18,750 --> 00:20:21,753 the ancient astronomers needed a new method 278 00:20:21,820 --> 00:20:26,458 to align their temple precisely to the rising Equinox sun. 279 00:20:28,126 --> 00:20:31,730 The answer, it seems, lay in the stars. 280 00:20:32,264 --> 00:20:35,100 DR. SILVA: They were using particular stars 281 00:20:35,167 --> 00:20:40,505 that rise at the exact location as the sun rises at the Equinox 282 00:20:40,872 --> 00:20:45,143 as very accurate markers for this event. 283 00:20:45,978 --> 00:20:48,780 NARRATOR: Astronomers believe they used these pillars 284 00:20:48,847 --> 00:20:50,849 to mark their observations. 285 00:20:51,917 --> 00:20:54,186 There's a cluster of holes that's thought 286 00:20:54,253 --> 00:20:58,023 to represent the stars in the Pleiades constellation, 287 00:20:58,090 --> 00:21:00,626 also known as the Seven Sisters. 288 00:21:00,993 --> 00:21:04,162 They're bright and prominent in the night sky. 289 00:21:06,798 --> 00:21:10,636 By chance, the Pleiades rise at due east, 290 00:21:10,702 --> 00:21:13,405 the same place as the Equinox sun. 291 00:21:13,839 --> 00:21:16,942 But while the sunrise moves along the horizon, 292 00:21:17,009 --> 00:21:20,279 the stars come up in the same place every night, 293 00:21:20,646 --> 00:21:24,783 because they're 30 million times further away than the sun. 294 00:21:26,051 --> 00:21:27,719 DR. SILVA: Almost every night of the year 295 00:21:27,786 --> 00:21:29,988 you just spot where the Pleiades are rising 296 00:21:30,055 --> 00:21:34,092 and you will know the sun will rise at that exact spot 297 00:21:34,159 --> 00:21:35,594 on the days of the Equinox. 298 00:21:36,795 --> 00:21:38,697 NARRATOR: The showpiece of the new temple 299 00:21:38,764 --> 00:21:40,966 would be the huge central alter 300 00:21:41,033 --> 00:21:43,669 to catch the rising Equinox sun. 301 00:21:44,036 --> 00:21:47,105 LOMSDALEN: They develop more awareness 302 00:21:47,172 --> 00:21:53,645 and this whole temple was built to center around the Equinox. 303 00:21:57,582 --> 00:21:59,918 NARRATOR: It took more than 1,000 years 304 00:21:59,985 --> 00:22:01,920 to reach the final design. 305 00:22:02,621 --> 00:22:06,024 The alter was at the back of a completely new chamber, 306 00:22:06,558 --> 00:22:08,660 so deep into the temple, 307 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:14,199 the sun could never fully reach it, except on the Equinox. 308 00:22:17,436 --> 00:22:22,307 Prehistoric humans sent a message we can still read today. 309 00:22:25,510 --> 00:22:28,313 LOMSDALEN (off screen): See the brightness, look how beautiful. 310 00:22:29,781 --> 00:22:34,052 NARRATOR: The Equinox sun still comes right down the central corridor 311 00:22:34,119 --> 00:22:36,955 to bathe the altar piece in light. 312 00:22:37,222 --> 00:22:38,890 LOMSDALEN (off screen): Look at the passage... 313 00:22:39,424 --> 00:22:40,992 All the sun is increasing. 314 00:22:43,428 --> 00:22:45,063 It's gone up 100% today. 315 00:22:45,964 --> 00:22:47,265 MAN (off screen): Whoa. 316 00:22:52,137 --> 00:22:56,775 NARRATOR: The light hits its target with extraordinary precision. 317 00:22:57,175 --> 00:23:02,414 DR. SILVA: At the Equinox, this corridor has just the right length 318 00:23:02,481 --> 00:23:04,449 to create this effect 319 00:23:04,516 --> 00:23:09,588 where the sunlight just hits the bottom of this altar in the back. 320 00:23:10,122 --> 00:23:13,058 It's fantastic that this was an intentional alignment. 321 00:23:18,130 --> 00:23:22,401 NARRATOR: Some of the first builders built for the Equinox. 322 00:23:26,505 --> 00:23:29,441 LOMSDALEN: 5,000 years ago, they made these temples. 323 00:23:29,975 --> 00:23:32,811 This is absolutely their altar and it's amazing. 324 00:23:36,448 --> 00:23:38,717 NARRATOR: Just one hour after Malta, 325 00:23:38,784 --> 00:23:44,423 the Equinox sun reaches across Europe to rise on stone age Ireland. 326 00:23:46,658 --> 00:23:50,061 1,500 miles from Malta, the same effect. 327 00:23:50,695 --> 00:23:54,933 The dawn light hits ancient stone at the back of a chamber, 328 00:23:55,734 --> 00:23:58,203 and a carved symbol of the sun. 329 00:23:59,571 --> 00:24:02,040 This is Loughcrew in County Meath, 330 00:24:02,307 --> 00:24:06,111 a stone age site like Malta and almost as old, 331 00:24:06,578 --> 00:24:09,481 dating back 5,000 years. 332 00:24:09,548 --> 00:24:13,084 A farming society was greeting the arrival of spring. 333 00:24:13,885 --> 00:24:18,290 DR. SILVA: They were building those relationships they had to the cosmos 334 00:24:18,356 --> 00:24:21,259 into the structures that they were building 335 00:24:21,326 --> 00:24:23,528 or into the art that they were painting. 336 00:24:24,863 --> 00:24:28,467 NARRATOR: The light descends to a second carved image of the sun. 337 00:24:29,534 --> 00:24:35,040 Prehistoric people marking the Equinox as a matter of life and death. 338 00:24:35,740 --> 00:24:37,442 DR. BOUTSIKAS: What you are basically doing 339 00:24:37,509 --> 00:24:42,280 is ensuring that the sun will shine or will do what it's supposed to do 340 00:24:42,347 --> 00:24:44,683 in order for your crops to grow. 341 00:24:44,749 --> 00:24:49,855 You're addressing the cosmos, um, in order to be able to ensure 342 00:24:49,921 --> 00:24:52,224 your own existence and your own survival. 343 00:24:58,630 --> 00:25:01,633 NARRATOR: The Equinox leaves Europe far behind. 344 00:25:02,300 --> 00:25:06,004 The dawn light races across the Atlantic Ocean, 345 00:25:06,071 --> 00:25:08,673 and finally hits America. 346 00:25:12,244 --> 00:25:14,613 In north western New Mexico, 347 00:25:14,679 --> 00:25:18,617 the sun climbs ever higher over endless desert. 348 00:25:22,220 --> 00:25:24,723 Archaeoastronomer Anna Sofaer, 349 00:25:24,789 --> 00:25:29,694 has been drawn to the Pueblo ruins of Chaco Canyon for more than 40 years. 350 00:25:32,030 --> 00:25:35,800 ANNA SOFAER: I am stunned by the beauty of Pueblo Bonito. 351 00:25:35,867 --> 00:25:37,435 It is so gorgeous. 352 00:25:37,502 --> 00:25:42,774 Look at just those doorways and the perfect right angles to the edges. 353 00:25:43,174 --> 00:25:46,745 Look at the way it's held up for so long. 354 00:25:47,078 --> 00:25:48,413 Isn't that incredible? 355 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:51,716 (laughs) That people built this 1,000 years ago. 356 00:25:52,317 --> 00:25:54,085 NARRATOR: This is ancient territory, 357 00:25:54,152 --> 00:25:58,857 spanning more than 30,000 square miles of the American south west. 358 00:25:58,924 --> 00:26:00,458 In the early 12th century, 359 00:26:00,525 --> 00:26:04,029 these were the lands of the ancestral Puebloan people. 360 00:26:04,095 --> 00:26:08,533 One of the most sophisticated civilizations of the ancient south west, 361 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,102 who believe they'd been lead here from the north, 362 00:26:11,169 --> 00:26:13,605 the spiritual home of their ancestors. 363 00:26:14,072 --> 00:26:17,509 The ancestral Puebloans reshaped the canyon 364 00:26:17,576 --> 00:26:22,180 with hundreds of structures that seem to grow organically from the rock. 365 00:26:22,581 --> 00:26:26,184 And their obsession with the Equinox lead them to construct 366 00:26:26,251 --> 00:26:30,822 one the greatest single buildings of ancient America, 367 00:26:30,889 --> 00:26:34,225 the iconic Pueblo Bonito. 368 00:26:39,297 --> 00:26:42,601 In the brutal high desert landscape of New Mexico, 369 00:26:42,667 --> 00:26:48,173 archaeoastronomer Anna Sofaer explores a mysterious ancient structure. 370 00:26:49,808 --> 00:26:52,243 This is Pueblo Bonito, 371 00:26:52,644 --> 00:26:56,481 one of the biggest single buildings in ancient North America. 372 00:26:56,848 --> 00:27:01,386 Built in a place too barren to support the numbers who could live here. 373 00:27:05,190 --> 00:27:09,995 SOFAER: This room shows you how large the interior rooms of Bonito were. 374 00:27:10,295 --> 00:27:13,431 We're standing on the top of the first story 375 00:27:13,498 --> 00:27:15,500 and we are in the second story, 376 00:27:15,567 --> 00:27:22,107 and then above those vigas, those wood posts you see the third story. 377 00:27:22,173 --> 00:27:25,176 And you get a little look at what was the fourth story. 378 00:27:25,243 --> 00:27:27,779 So it's a massive building. 379 00:27:28,246 --> 00:27:32,917 NARRATOR: The sheer scale sparks the greatest mystery of Pueblo Bonito. 380 00:27:33,518 --> 00:27:37,889 Thousands came, but very few stayed to live. 381 00:27:37,956 --> 00:27:40,725 SOFAER: It's really difficult to think of people living here. 382 00:27:40,792 --> 00:27:45,263 If you imagine, two stories above you, you're enclosed. 383 00:27:45,330 --> 00:27:47,899 You cannot have a fire. You can't have a hearth. 384 00:27:48,433 --> 00:27:50,869 It's a great puzzle, what were they doing? 385 00:27:55,540 --> 00:28:00,845 What we're looking at is a site that was built for religious purposes, 386 00:28:00,912 --> 00:28:03,314 for very powerful beliefs. 387 00:28:03,381 --> 00:28:07,218 And those beliefs are based on a relationship with the cosmos. 388 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:12,123 NARRATOR: They came to Chaco Canyon to worship the sun. 389 00:28:14,325 --> 00:28:17,595 Paul Pino is an elder of the Laguna Pueblo, 390 00:28:18,029 --> 00:28:23,134 a modern community directly descended from the original Puebloans. 391 00:28:24,069 --> 00:28:26,805 PAUL PINO: The culture that created Bonito, 392 00:28:27,272 --> 00:28:29,174 that culture is not gone. 393 00:28:29,874 --> 00:28:34,412 It continues today in the Pueblos here in New Mexico. 394 00:28:35,146 --> 00:28:38,783 (drums beating, chanting) 395 00:28:40,385 --> 00:28:46,091 My grandchildren are part of that culture, 396 00:28:46,858 --> 00:28:48,526 living every single day. 397 00:28:48,593 --> 00:28:54,365 They're a part of it, and they will pass that onto their children. 398 00:28:55,033 --> 00:28:58,369 NARRATOR: Cameras are not permitted inside Pueblo ceremonies, 399 00:28:58,436 --> 00:29:02,273 but in this rare footage, worshipers are leaving a kiva, 400 00:29:02,340 --> 00:29:06,611 a circular underground structure where rituals and meetings are held. 401 00:29:07,045 --> 00:29:10,081 PINO: I believe that when the people lived here, 402 00:29:10,148 --> 00:29:15,887 they performed a lot of their ceremonies much the same as the ceremonies 403 00:29:15,954 --> 00:29:17,789 that we do today. 404 00:29:18,323 --> 00:29:22,527 There's that continuity from the past to the present. 405 00:29:23,862 --> 00:29:28,166 NARRATOR: Pueblo Bonito alone has 36 kivas, 406 00:29:28,233 --> 00:29:31,269 with room for up to 50 people in each. 407 00:29:33,304 --> 00:29:37,509 The Puebloans saw order in the way the sun moved, 408 00:29:38,143 --> 00:29:41,112 and mapped it onto Pueblo Bonito. 409 00:29:42,013 --> 00:29:48,186 On the Equinox, the sun rises in the east at the end of the enclosing wall. 410 00:29:51,022 --> 00:29:56,227 Sunset happens in the west at the other end of the enclosing wall. 411 00:29:57,929 --> 00:30:00,865 SOFAER: This wall, that's the exterior wall 412 00:30:00,932 --> 00:30:02,801 of the building on the south side, 413 00:30:02,867 --> 00:30:08,206 is so exactly east-west that on the nights on Equinox 414 00:30:08,273 --> 00:30:13,144 you can view the sun setting on the trajectory of this wall. 415 00:30:21,719 --> 00:30:23,188 NARRATOR: And Pueblo Bonito 416 00:30:23,254 --> 00:30:27,592 is only the largest building in an entire ritual landscape. 417 00:30:28,126 --> 00:30:31,229 The whole canyon marks the Equinox. 418 00:30:32,430 --> 00:30:37,001 There are 14 great kivas, like Casa Rinconada. 419 00:30:37,635 --> 00:30:43,541 The giant circles could each take 400 people, almost 6,000 in all. 420 00:30:44,709 --> 00:30:49,013 SOFAER: The kiva is so important in the ancient Chaco culture. 421 00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:52,984 This is the ceremonial site for most of their activities 422 00:30:53,051 --> 00:30:54,786 that were related to the sun. 423 00:30:55,954 --> 00:30:58,590 NARRATOR: The kiva had a heavy earthen roof. 424 00:30:59,224 --> 00:31:02,894 In the dark interior, worshipers would only see the sun 425 00:31:02,961 --> 00:31:05,263 through the niches in the walls. 426 00:31:05,330 --> 00:31:08,466 SOFAER: It was organized to the cardinal directions: 427 00:31:08,533 --> 00:31:10,368 north, south, east, west. 428 00:31:10,435 --> 00:31:14,405 Over there, the north side of the building has a rectangular structure 429 00:31:14,472 --> 00:31:19,177 with two doorways that are aligned to the rising of the Equinox sun. 430 00:31:20,578 --> 00:31:24,549 NARRATOR: Everything is aligned to the compass within a few degrees. 431 00:31:25,216 --> 00:31:30,054 The doorways of this rectangular structure open east and west, 432 00:31:30,355 --> 00:31:34,525 so the rising Equinox sunrise shines through both 433 00:31:34,592 --> 00:31:40,899 and floods the interior with light, two days a year until the end of time. 434 00:31:41,366 --> 00:31:43,368 PINO: The sky and the Earth were created 435 00:31:43,434 --> 00:31:44,969 at the same time in our belief. 436 00:31:45,336 --> 00:31:48,306 The sun was created to give light to the world, 437 00:31:48,373 --> 00:31:53,077 so the sun and the Earth work together to provide nourishment for the people. 438 00:31:54,145 --> 00:31:58,416 NARRATOR: The Equinox sun bursts into kivas across the canyon. 439 00:31:59,517 --> 00:32:01,986 PINO: It must have been, at this height, 440 00:32:02,053 --> 00:32:03,955 something phenomenal to see. 441 00:32:04,989 --> 00:32:07,558 DR. BOUTSIKAS: What we are exploring are sites 442 00:32:07,625 --> 00:32:11,529 where people were gathering in order to have this experience of space, 443 00:32:11,596 --> 00:32:13,765 but also this connection with the cosmos. 444 00:32:14,632 --> 00:32:16,167 PINO: The alignments represent 445 00:32:16,234 --> 00:32:19,170 a particular order in how things are done. 446 00:32:19,938 --> 00:32:26,010 And sometimes in this modern age, that order is missing. 447 00:32:26,377 --> 00:32:29,647 And we mess up our world. 448 00:32:31,916 --> 00:32:37,155 NARRATOR: The Pueblo marked the Equinox with one final spectacular display. 449 00:32:38,423 --> 00:32:40,692 This is Fajada Butte. 450 00:32:41,059 --> 00:32:43,995 A scared overlook, where most likely, 451 00:32:44,062 --> 00:32:48,333 only the elite astronomers of their civilization could ever go. 452 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:53,271 On its side, Anna found three sandstone slabs, 453 00:32:53,338 --> 00:32:57,275 appearing to be set by hand against the rock face. 454 00:32:58,543 --> 00:33:01,779 There was a spiral pattern carved into the rock. 455 00:33:02,380 --> 00:33:08,619 She was just in time to watch a dagger of sunlight appear from nowhere. 456 00:33:08,686 --> 00:33:10,154 SOFAER: The precision of that 457 00:33:10,221 --> 00:33:14,092 within a few minutes of noon, I think it's four minutes of solar noon. 458 00:33:14,959 --> 00:33:18,029 NARRATOR: On the west face, another spiral pattern: 459 00:33:18,096 --> 00:33:19,831 this time a double. 460 00:33:20,765 --> 00:33:22,834 SOFAER: It has a dagger of light 461 00:33:22,900 --> 00:33:26,738 going up through the right lobe. Again, noon Equinox. 462 00:33:27,438 --> 00:33:29,140 DR. SILVA: What makes Chaco canyon unique 463 00:33:29,207 --> 00:33:30,708 with respect to the Equinox, 464 00:33:30,775 --> 00:33:35,046 is that it shifts the emphasis from the sunrise or the sunset 465 00:33:35,113 --> 00:33:36,981 and puts it at noon. 466 00:33:37,048 --> 00:33:38,516 SOFAER: It's like clockwork. 467 00:33:38,583 --> 00:33:41,719 It's like all of that is happening at once. 468 00:33:41,786 --> 00:33:43,955 The sun dagger site marks Equinox. 469 00:33:44,022 --> 00:33:46,791 These two sites mark Equinox noon. 470 00:33:46,858 --> 00:33:50,628 It's the same that we see in the buildings, the same people, 471 00:33:50,695 --> 00:33:55,733 the same mindset to align themselves to the sun, the power of the sun. 472 00:33:57,969 --> 00:34:00,238 NARRATOR: 1,500 miles from Chaco, 473 00:34:00,304 --> 00:34:04,642 the Maya built structures that dwarfed even Pueblo Bonito. 474 00:34:05,009 --> 00:34:09,113 And they created the greatest solar effect of all: 475 00:34:09,180 --> 00:34:13,351 the climax of the sun's entire journey. 476 00:34:18,990 --> 00:34:22,660 In the ancient city of Chichén Itzá, in Mexico, 477 00:34:22,727 --> 00:34:25,763 thousands of people have gathered from far and near. 478 00:34:29,133 --> 00:34:31,903 In a few hour's time at this ancient pyramid, 479 00:34:31,969 --> 00:34:34,539 they will witness quite possibly 480 00:34:34,605 --> 00:34:40,178 the single most spectacular effect ever created with the Equinox sun. 481 00:34:40,711 --> 00:34:44,415 DR. SILVA: This is not your average alignment to sunrise of sunset. 482 00:34:44,482 --> 00:34:47,785 This is a complicated 3D effect 483 00:34:47,852 --> 00:34:51,055 that involves the light of the sun hours before it sets 484 00:34:51,355 --> 00:34:57,161 to construct this dynamic shadow play that is uniquely Mayan. 485 00:34:59,564 --> 00:35:01,232 NARRATOR: A 1,000 years ago, 486 00:35:01,299 --> 00:35:06,737 the vast Maya empire was centered here, in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. 487 00:35:07,038 --> 00:35:11,209 But their civilization was already 3,000 years old. 488 00:35:11,275 --> 00:35:15,079 It has become a byword for sophisticated learning, 489 00:35:15,146 --> 00:35:20,518 astronomical knowledge and above all, stunning buildings. 490 00:35:22,420 --> 00:35:27,258 This is called El Caracol, Spanish for "The Snail," 491 00:35:27,325 --> 00:35:29,460 because of its distinctive shape. 492 00:35:30,394 --> 00:35:33,064 DR. SILVA: It has this dome shape at the top. 493 00:35:33,131 --> 00:35:37,468 When you look at it from our modern, Western perspective, 494 00:35:37,535 --> 00:35:39,303 it looks just like an observatory. 495 00:35:39,670 --> 00:35:43,541 So maybe people were sitting there inside this structure, 496 00:35:43,608 --> 00:35:47,512 looking for the sun or the moon or the planets. 497 00:35:48,179 --> 00:35:51,849 NARRATOR: For site director, Marco Antonio Santos Ramirez, 498 00:35:51,916 --> 00:35:55,887 El Caracol was a central importance to the Maya. 499 00:35:57,188 --> 00:36:00,024 MARCO ANTONIO SANTOS RAMIREZ: The astronomers would be in here all the time, 500 00:36:00,091 --> 00:36:02,260 and they were looked after by many people, 501 00:36:02,326 --> 00:36:04,695 because they were the specialists. 502 00:36:04,762 --> 00:36:09,901 For century after century, there was a continuous recording 503 00:36:09,967 --> 00:36:12,870 of all astronomical phenomena. 504 00:36:12,937 --> 00:36:16,274 DR. BOUTSIKAS: Astronomical observations and knowledge 505 00:36:16,340 --> 00:36:20,311 was restricted to, uh, specific elites, for example. 506 00:36:20,378 --> 00:36:24,448 And by doing that, what the Mayans achieved to do is maintain power. 507 00:36:24,515 --> 00:36:29,020 So your power was maintained through the knowledge of how the sky operated. 508 00:36:30,521 --> 00:36:33,257 NARRATOR: By the time Chichén Itzá was built, 509 00:36:33,324 --> 00:36:37,328 Maya astronomers already knew exactly how the sun, 510 00:36:37,395 --> 00:36:39,764 moon and planets would move. 511 00:36:39,830 --> 00:36:42,767 El Caracol is not so much an observatory, 512 00:36:42,833 --> 00:36:45,770 as a calendar made in stone. 513 00:36:45,836 --> 00:36:49,106 The slits in the walls were deliberately placed 514 00:36:49,173 --> 00:36:53,544 to record the passing of the sun on certain vital days. 515 00:36:54,178 --> 00:37:00,418 A pair of slits records a specific sunset on the Equinox or the Solstice. 516 00:37:00,785 --> 00:37:06,190 RAMIREZ: These alignments were used to establish 517 00:37:06,257 --> 00:37:08,426 which time of the year they were in. 518 00:37:08,793 --> 00:37:13,297 NARRATOR: Marco's colleagues have been capturing the effects throughout the year. 519 00:37:13,364 --> 00:37:19,670 Reconstructing the detailed knowledge base that the Maya had built up over centuries. 520 00:37:21,706 --> 00:37:24,809 RAMIREZ: See how the sun was coming in these doors 521 00:37:24,875 --> 00:37:29,213 to register these lines of light 522 00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:35,786 that mark the specific times they want to register. 523 00:37:37,088 --> 00:37:38,489 It may look very simple, 524 00:37:39,223 --> 00:37:41,125 because all you are seeing is a line of light, 525 00:37:41,192 --> 00:37:44,729 but to get to this, there is an ancestral knowledge 526 00:37:44,795 --> 00:37:46,597 going through many generations. 527 00:37:46,664 --> 00:37:49,333 NARRATOR: The Maya knew the Equinox was vital 528 00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:51,469 for the survival of crops. 529 00:37:51,535 --> 00:37:53,971 RAMIREZ: In the case of the Equinox, 530 00:37:55,473 --> 00:37:58,442 it was an important and symbolic moment, 531 00:37:58,509 --> 00:38:03,114 because the dry season is the death season, 532 00:38:03,180 --> 00:38:06,217 and the rainy season is the life season. 533 00:38:06,284 --> 00:38:10,388 And it's probably marking the end of one, 534 00:38:10,454 --> 00:38:12,590 and the start of another one. 535 00:38:15,559 --> 00:38:17,561 NARRATOR: To guarantee their survival, 536 00:38:17,628 --> 00:38:22,300 the Maya believed the gods had to be placated at the Equinox. 537 00:38:22,366 --> 00:38:27,405 And at Chichén Itzá, one of the most powerful gods was Kukulkan: 538 00:38:27,471 --> 00:38:31,642 a winged serpent who flew ahead of the rain god Chac, 539 00:38:31,709 --> 00:38:33,678 bringing in the wet season, 540 00:38:34,211 --> 00:38:38,382 as his tail moved the wind and swept the Earth clean. 541 00:38:40,017 --> 00:38:46,724 The Maya built their pyramid in his name and carved his image into its façade. 542 00:38:47,458 --> 00:38:49,960 RAMIREZ: Kukulkan is a creator god, 543 00:38:50,027 --> 00:38:55,399 creator of time, universe, men, corn and fire. 544 00:38:55,466 --> 00:38:58,969 It's like a rebirth, 545 00:38:59,036 --> 00:39:03,341 a fight between these two forces: life and death. 546 00:39:04,075 --> 00:39:05,710 NARRATOR: At the Equinox, 547 00:39:05,776 --> 00:39:09,747 Kukulkan will be celebrated with a spectacular light show. 548 00:39:15,319 --> 00:39:17,254 On the day of the Equinox, 549 00:39:17,321 --> 00:39:21,492 tourists at Chichén Itzá wait for the spectacular moment 550 00:39:21,559 --> 00:39:24,562 that marks the arrival of the new season. 551 00:39:25,062 --> 00:39:26,464 GROUP: Kukulkan. 552 00:39:27,198 --> 00:39:29,900 NARRATOR: It's now just minutes away 553 00:39:29,967 --> 00:39:31,869 and tension is rising. 554 00:39:32,670 --> 00:39:35,406 Clouds threaten to ruin the crucial moment. 555 00:39:36,907 --> 00:39:41,879 The crowd prays they'll see the true extent of Maya religious power. 556 00:39:42,580 --> 00:39:46,350 DR. SILVA: To create this effect is very complicated 557 00:39:46,851 --> 00:39:51,122 and yet they've done this almost 1,000 years ago 558 00:39:51,188 --> 00:39:54,959 without any of modern mathematics or computer technology. 559 00:40:01,265 --> 00:40:07,204 RAMIREZ: All the people are around Kukulkan pyramid waiting for that moment. 560 00:40:07,905 --> 00:40:09,774 NARRATOR: The pyramids key feature 561 00:40:09,840 --> 00:40:13,043 is this sloping edge on the north west corner. 562 00:40:13,110 --> 00:40:18,115 Each of the steps protrudes a little in a triangle-shaped bump. 563 00:40:18,182 --> 00:40:23,421 The Maya realize that these would cast shadows on the nearby staircase 564 00:40:23,487 --> 00:40:26,624 and they could use them to conjure their illusion. 565 00:40:27,958 --> 00:40:32,630 RAMIREZ: Here is where we will see the 566 00:40:32,696 --> 00:40:36,801 formation of the light and shadow triangles. 567 00:40:37,334 --> 00:40:40,404 NARRATOR: The whole effect will happen in three dimensions. 568 00:40:40,471 --> 00:40:44,008 The sun is moving in a curve across the sky. 569 00:40:44,074 --> 00:40:47,445 The edge is sloping down and sideways 570 00:40:47,511 --> 00:40:51,215 and the staircase is a flat plain at a different angle. 571 00:40:51,282 --> 00:40:56,086 So the Maya architects had to solve a highly complex problem. 572 00:40:56,153 --> 00:40:58,456 DR. SILVA: This must have required amazing skills. 573 00:40:58,522 --> 00:41:03,761 What they must have done is create a small scale 3D model, 574 00:41:03,828 --> 00:41:09,033 made of maybe wood or clay, and actually go out there 575 00:41:09,099 --> 00:41:12,470 and use the actual light of the sun on the day of the Equinox 576 00:41:12,536 --> 00:41:16,774 to cast light on this model and play with it 577 00:41:16,841 --> 00:41:20,244 until they found exactly the effect they were looking for. 578 00:41:21,612 --> 00:41:24,748 NARRATOR: The basic shadow was a line of triangles, 579 00:41:24,815 --> 00:41:28,185 but if the Maya changed the shape of the sloping edge, 580 00:41:28,252 --> 00:41:31,155 it would change the shape of the shadow. 581 00:41:31,922 --> 00:41:35,993 They could use their model to get the effect they wanted. 582 00:41:40,431 --> 00:41:43,868 NARRATOR: The Equinox moment is almost here. 583 00:41:43,934 --> 00:41:48,405 RAMIREZ: As the sun sinks to the west, 584 00:41:48,472 --> 00:41:52,142 the light and shadow triangles will start forming. 585 00:41:55,379 --> 00:41:56,881 NARRATOR: We cannot be certain 586 00:41:56,947 --> 00:42:00,518 what effect it must have had on the watching Maya people. 587 00:42:03,053 --> 00:42:07,391 It must have been part wonder, part terror. 588 00:42:08,092 --> 00:42:13,063 RAMIREZ: At this moment, they are starting to show up. 589 00:42:23,974 --> 00:42:28,112 NARRATOR: Kukulkan himself had appeared on the face of the Earth. 590 00:42:28,379 --> 00:42:31,882 It's not the shadows that count, but the light. 591 00:42:32,182 --> 00:42:37,621 The brilliant outline of a serpent's body slithering down the staircase 592 00:42:37,688 --> 00:42:40,724 to join his head at the base. 593 00:42:40,791 --> 00:42:43,694 RAMIREZ: They've come to see this, the descent of Kukulkan 594 00:42:43,761 --> 00:42:47,264 and how it fertilizes Mother Earth. 595 00:42:47,932 --> 00:42:52,269 NARRATOR: For the Maya, this was the ultimate expression of the Equinox. 596 00:42:52,336 --> 00:42:56,173 Kukulkan had descended to Earth to banish the dry season 597 00:42:56,240 --> 00:42:59,310 and bring rain and new life. 598 00:43:04,748 --> 00:43:11,789 RAMIREZ: How wonderful it is that the ancestral knowledge can still be seen. 599 00:43:12,489 --> 00:43:14,158 DR. SILVA: In modern society, 600 00:43:14,224 --> 00:43:17,027 we have lost touch with the environment that's around us 601 00:43:17,094 --> 00:43:18,762 and that includes the sky. 602 00:43:19,196 --> 00:43:21,799 But in particular we've lost touch with the Equinoxes, 603 00:43:21,865 --> 00:43:24,835 which would be the true moments of transition 604 00:43:24,902 --> 00:43:27,705 between the warm half of the year and the cold half of the year. 605 00:43:32,176 --> 00:43:34,044 NARRATOR: Leaving Mexico, 606 00:43:34,111 --> 00:43:36,614 the sun passes over the Pacific Ocean 607 00:43:36,680 --> 00:43:39,583 and finishes its Equinox journey. 608 00:43:39,650 --> 00:43:42,720 Civilizations long forgotten, 609 00:43:42,786 --> 00:43:46,991 unknown to one another celebrated this day. 610 00:43:47,057 --> 00:43:51,161 For the ancients, the sun was the giver of life. 611 00:43:51,228 --> 00:43:54,465 First they needed to understand its journey, 612 00:43:54,531 --> 00:43:57,234 then they wanted to harness its power. 613 00:43:57,301 --> 00:44:02,840 Developing the first knowledge of astronomy and engineering to do it. 614 00:44:02,906 --> 00:44:04,775 Chasing the Equinox, 615 00:44:04,842 --> 00:44:08,679 the ancient astronomers created a cosmic magic. 616 00:44:08,746 --> 00:44:09,947 Captioned by Point.360