0:00:07 > 0:00:10South America is the perfect place to keep secrets.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15Its jungles, mountain ranges and river systems
0:00:15 > 0:00:17are daunting obstacles for any explorer.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22It is a continent that has beguiled adventurers for centuries.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29"Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges -
0:00:29 > 0:00:35"Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!"
0:00:35 > 0:00:38Kipling's poem is especially apt because this is Colombia,
0:00:38 > 0:00:40the land of El Dorado.
0:00:40 > 0:00:45Home of the legendary kingdom of gold that, in the 16th century,
0:00:45 > 0:00:49lured the conquistadors ever deeper into the heart of South America.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54I'm Jago Cooper
0:00:54 > 0:00:58and, as an archaeologist who specialises in South America,
0:00:58 > 0:01:01I've always been fascinated by the secrets and mysteries
0:01:01 > 0:01:04buried deep in these awe-inspiring and forbidding landscapes.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08The history of this continent
0:01:08 > 0:01:10has been dominated by stories of the Inca
0:01:10 > 0:01:12and the Spanish conquistadors...
0:01:14 > 0:01:15..but in this series,
0:01:15 > 0:01:18I'll be exploring an older, forgotten past...
0:01:19 > 0:01:22..travelling from the coast to the clouds
0:01:22 > 0:01:24in search of ancient civilisations
0:01:24 > 0:01:27as significant an impressive as anywhere else on earth.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32Here, in what's now Colombia,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36lived two of the most extraordinary societies in the New World.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40The Muisca and Tairona shared language and beliefs
0:01:40 > 0:01:43that underpinned their cultures for 1,000 years,
0:01:43 > 0:01:46but it was their exquisite gold artefacts,
0:01:46 > 0:01:48infused with intriguing meanings,
0:01:48 > 0:01:52which drew European invaders into their remote lands.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56In this programme, I'll be discovering
0:01:56 > 0:01:59how two extraordinary cultures rose to power,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02what the gold that so bedazzled the Spanish conquistadors
0:02:02 > 0:02:04really meant to these people,
0:02:04 > 0:02:07and how it was that fate and circumstance
0:02:07 > 0:02:10would see the Muisca and Tairona take very different paths
0:02:10 > 0:02:12into the future.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32The beaches of Colombia's Caribbean coast are beautiful -
0:02:32 > 0:02:35almost a cliche of a tropical paradise...
0:02:37 > 0:02:41..but, for me, its rich past is what makes this place so special.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45History flows through Colombia.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49For 12,000 years, it was a corridor connecting the Pre-Colombian
0:02:49 > 0:02:53populations of Central America, the Caribbean, Amazon and Andes,
0:02:53 > 0:02:56and 1,000 years before the Spanish arrived,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59the Chibcha-speaking culture from Central America
0:02:59 > 0:03:01spread southwards to this land.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Chibcha was a language shared by different communities
0:03:08 > 0:03:12scattered across part of Central America and what is now Colombia.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18Around 700 AD, two of these communities expanded
0:03:18 > 0:03:20into highly organised societies,
0:03:20 > 0:03:22skilled in agriculture and gold working.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26One of those cultures, the Tairona,
0:03:26 > 0:03:29established themselves in the mountains of the Caribbean coast.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33Another, the Muisca, settled 500 miles to the south.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37They developed independently for centuries,
0:03:37 > 0:03:39free from outside interference,
0:03:39 > 0:03:43but in 1492, that began to change.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46Christopher Columbus discovered the New World for the Spanish,
0:03:46 > 0:03:50and, in the years that followed, the Conquistadors' influence spread,
0:03:50 > 0:03:54threatening the existence of the continent's indigenous cultures.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00In 1537, conquistador Jimenez de Quesada set off in search
0:04:00 > 0:04:05of an overland route to the newly discovered Inca homeland of Peru.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08With an army of 800 conquistadors,
0:04:08 > 0:04:11he struck deep into the heart of Colombia...
0:04:11 > 0:04:13with no idea of what he was about to find.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20The expedition took more than a year to carve its way through the jungle,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23up to the high plains and valleys of the interior.
0:04:23 > 0:04:29One of Quesada's men described the journey like this...
0:04:29 > 0:04:33"We endured a great many hardships on the journey to the new kingdom.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35"As much from having to slash new paths
0:04:35 > 0:04:37"through the mountains and hills,
0:04:37 > 0:04:40"as from hunger and sickness.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43"And we arrived in this kingdom naked, barefoot
0:04:43 > 0:04:46"and burdened by the weight of our own weapons,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50"all of which had caused the deaths of a great many Spanish."
0:04:58 > 0:05:02Three quarters of the Spaniards died on the nightmare journey...
0:05:03 > 0:05:07..those that survived found themselves in a new and alien world.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14The Muisca were one of the largest indigenous societies
0:05:14 > 0:05:15in the whole of South America.
0:05:22 > 0:05:23From the mountain tops,
0:05:23 > 0:05:26their territory stretched beyond the horizon,
0:05:26 > 0:05:28occupying an area larger than Switzerland...
0:05:30 > 0:05:33..a land where gold seemed to be everywhere,
0:05:33 > 0:05:36but a society unlike anything the Spanish had seen before.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41The Muisca weren't ruled by a supreme leader
0:05:41 > 0:05:44in the same way as the Inca and Aztec empires.
0:05:44 > 0:05:49In the Muisca world, no one person had absolute control.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Instead, the Muisca territory was organised
0:05:52 > 0:05:53into two large federations -
0:05:53 > 0:05:57one in the north and one here, in the south.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59When the conquistadors arrived,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02the Muisca population is estimated to have been about
0:06:02 > 0:06:04half a million people,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07most of whom were living in small villages.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09The Spanish chose one of those villages
0:06:09 > 0:06:11as the site of their first town,
0:06:11 > 0:06:15and that town has grown into Colombia's sprawling capital city -
0:06:15 > 0:06:17Bogota.
0:06:22 > 0:06:23In the 16th century,
0:06:23 > 0:06:27Muisca settlements were spread all across this valley,
0:06:27 > 0:06:29but little evidence of them is left here today.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35So if I'm really to understand how Muisca society operated,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39I need to look outside the city and travel 30 miles to the north,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42to one of the few remaining Muisca sites still standing.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58One of the big problems with trying to understand
0:06:58 > 0:07:00how the Muisca society operated
0:07:00 > 0:07:04is the fact that very little remains of their architectural structures.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07They built with wood, which has since rotted away,
0:07:07 > 0:07:10so there simply aren't the houses, temples
0:07:10 > 0:07:12and meeting places left to find
0:07:12 > 0:07:14that we can study and understand them better.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23Except in this place, where the Muisca broke from tradition
0:07:23 > 0:07:25and built from stone.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29The Spanish named it El Infiernito - Little Hell -
0:07:29 > 0:07:32because they believed the rituals practised here
0:07:32 > 0:07:34were the work of the devil.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38Archaeologist Carl Langebaek has carried out many excavations
0:07:38 > 0:07:39around El Infiernito.
0:07:40 > 0:07:46Walking through this site, it is a very strange place.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50It is indeed a unique place in Muisca culture -
0:07:50 > 0:07:52there is no place like this.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56There's some indication that in the last years before the Conquest,
0:07:56 > 0:08:01the Muisca elite was beginning to relate itself with the sun,
0:08:01 > 0:08:05and there are evidences here of an astronomic observatory
0:08:05 > 0:08:09that probably had something to do with following the path of the sun.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11Standing in the site,
0:08:11 > 0:08:15you can't ignore these giant phallic symbols in the landscape -
0:08:15 > 0:08:18what do you think the origin and meaning behind those is?
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Well, there is a lot of speculation, but I think it is safe to say
0:08:21 > 0:08:24that it has something to do with fertility,
0:08:24 > 0:08:26which, of course, is also related to the sun,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29and it's also related to the activities of the chiefs
0:08:29 > 0:08:31and religious specialists.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37Carl's investigations indicate that there was a deep connection
0:08:37 > 0:08:40between the Muisca and their environment.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44And while there was no king ruling over all Muiscan people,
0:08:44 > 0:08:47it seems each community did have leaders...
0:08:49 > 0:08:53..and the relationship between ordinary people and their chiefs
0:08:53 > 0:08:55appears to have been an intriguing one.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Spanish documents clearly point to the fact
0:09:00 > 0:09:03that there was no notion of private property.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07There was the notion of communal property, yes -
0:09:07 > 0:09:09the lands belonged to the community.
0:09:09 > 0:09:14I think the chiefs were the guardians of precious objects -
0:09:14 > 0:09:20gold, precious stones, food, cotton, things like that -
0:09:20 > 0:09:27but I think that there are no good evidences of properties...
0:09:27 > 0:09:29in the hands of chiefs.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31What do you think that tells us about day-to-day life
0:09:31 > 0:09:33of the Muiscans here?
0:09:33 > 0:09:37Well, the prestige of the chief was very much related
0:09:37 > 0:09:41to the ability of providing good feasts to the community.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45When the Spanish arrived, they described this...tradition
0:09:45 > 0:09:49among the Muisca to pay taxes to the chiefs,
0:09:49 > 0:09:54but when we investigated about what the meaning of paying taxes...
0:09:54 > 0:09:59was providing food that, actually, was transformed by the family
0:09:59 > 0:10:01and the wives of the chief,
0:10:01 > 0:10:07to provide feastings, feasts, to the members of the community.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13Carl's excavations have revealed another, unexpected, twist
0:10:13 > 0:10:18to the unusual relationship between the people and their leaders.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20At his lab, he showed me two skeletons,
0:10:20 > 0:10:24unearthed at a Muisca site south of Bogota,
0:10:24 > 0:10:28dating from the 1300s to the arrival of the Spanish in the 1500s.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32Altogether, some 700 skeletons were found,
0:10:32 > 0:10:36and genetic analysis of the remains has helped archaeologists understand
0:10:36 > 0:10:38how Muisca society operated.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44We have focused our analysis on trying to identify differences
0:10:44 > 0:10:50between the so-called rich people and the so-called poor people.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54People with a lot of stuff in their burials, like sea shells and gold,
0:10:54 > 0:10:58and things like that, and other people without offerings.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01And what lessons do you think you've started to learn from that?
0:11:01 > 0:11:04Well, I think one of the most important lessons is that,
0:11:04 > 0:11:08yes, there was social differentiation, of course,
0:11:08 > 0:11:10but it was not inherited.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14We have carried out genetic studies on the members of the elite,
0:11:14 > 0:11:17the members of the community buried with stuff,
0:11:17 > 0:11:21and there are no relatives among them, and that's very interesting.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24If you are telling me that it's not genetic and not inherited,
0:11:24 > 0:11:26how do you think power is earned?
0:11:26 > 0:11:31Well, I think every single shred of evidence
0:11:31 > 0:11:35points to the fact that power was negotiated.
0:11:35 > 0:11:41Powerful people had to convince other people with good arguments,
0:11:41 > 0:11:46not just by inheritance or the use of force.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53This remarkable research makes the Muisca
0:11:53 > 0:11:56seem almost democratic, to modern eyes.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00There must have been an incredible sense of community,
0:12:00 > 0:12:03but this site also points to a society whose every move
0:12:03 > 0:12:06was governed by their relationship with their gods.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14Legend tells, that here at the Tequendama Falls,
0:12:14 > 0:12:16the Muiscan god, Bochica,
0:12:16 > 0:12:19saved the people from drowning during a rainstorm
0:12:19 > 0:12:23by splitting apart the mountain and letting the flood waters drain away,
0:12:23 > 0:12:25but what Bochica could not prevent
0:12:25 > 0:12:29was the Spanish onslaught that was just about to rain down
0:12:29 > 0:12:30on the Muiscan people.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39What had caught the eyes of Quesada and his men was Muiscan gold.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42Everyone, commoner or chief, in every village and town,
0:12:42 > 0:12:46seemed to have artefacts crafted from the precious metal.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Rumours quickly spread far beyond the New World
0:12:49 > 0:12:52that there was a vast city of gold, somewhere in the mountains.
0:12:54 > 0:12:59The legend of El Dorado was born, and, in the years that followed,
0:12:59 > 0:13:02waves of treasure-seekers descended on South America
0:13:02 > 0:13:04in search of the fabled land.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11But El Dorado wasn't a place - it was a person.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16The literal translation is The Golden One - a ruler so rich
0:13:16 > 0:13:19that it was said he covered himself in gold dust every morning
0:13:19 > 0:13:23and washed it off in a sacred lake each night.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25One conquistador told the story thus...
0:13:26 > 0:13:30"He went about all covered with powdered gold,
0:13:30 > 0:13:33"as casually as if it was powdered salt.
0:13:33 > 0:13:38"For it seemed to him, that to wear any other finery was less beautiful.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42"And to put on ornaments or arms made of gold, worked by hammering,
0:13:42 > 0:13:46"stamping or by other means, was a common and vulgar thing."
0:13:52 > 0:13:55If El Dorado was a person, did he exist?
0:14:04 > 0:14:06In the heart of Bogota's bustling streets,
0:14:06 > 0:14:11one place offers a clue to the origins of this most enduring myths.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15So we're just going to the Gold Museum,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18which, over the years, has built up the largest collection
0:14:18 > 0:14:20of pre-Colombian gold artefacts in the country.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43Bogota's gold museum is packed with fantastic treasures,
0:14:43 > 0:14:45but perhaps the most incredible of all
0:14:45 > 0:14:48is the magnificent golden raft of the Muisca.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Archaeologist Juan Pablo Quintero explained
0:14:58 > 0:15:04that it appears to capture a moment in an ancient waterborne ceremony -
0:15:04 > 0:15:06the very embodiment of the El Dorado legend.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Who do you think that character is in the centre of the raft?
0:15:12 > 0:15:16It is probably the chief, a representation of a chief.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20It's well dressed, you can see the ornaments,
0:15:20 > 0:15:22it's bigger than the other characters -
0:15:22 > 0:15:25it's a high-ranking character, so, probably, it was the chief.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31The chief stands in the middle of the raft,
0:15:31 > 0:15:34surrounded by 12 smaller characters,
0:15:34 > 0:15:37all of them are adorned in gold ornaments and feathers.
0:15:37 > 0:15:42Some carry musical instruments or wear jaguar masks.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46The smaller ones on the edge of the raft appear to be rowers.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50So if we start to think about the El Dorado myth,
0:15:50 > 0:15:52this myth of a man dressed in gold,
0:15:52 > 0:15:56do you think this raft proves that to be correct?
0:15:56 > 0:15:58It does not prove it directly.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01I mean, that's not direct evidence
0:16:01 > 0:16:03or archaeological evidence of the myth,
0:16:03 > 0:16:07but it is very suggestive that it's a raft
0:16:07 > 0:16:10and it represents an important ritual.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14So you cannot think anything else but El Dorado myth.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20But other, less literal, interpretations of the myth
0:16:20 > 0:16:23are held by the descendants of the Muisca.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27They keep ancient traditions alive at Laguna Guatavita,
0:16:27 > 0:16:31a sacred lake in the heart of Muisca territory, northeast of Bogota.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Watching over the lake today, and waiting to greet me,
0:16:37 > 0:16:40is one of those descendants, Enrique Gonzalez.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43To welcome me to the lake,
0:16:43 > 0:16:47Enrique performed a greeting by blowing on a conch shell.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58Shells like this come from the coast more than 500 miles away
0:16:58 > 0:17:00and were highly prized by the ancient Muisca.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05As the sound of the conch reverberated around the lake,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08I asked Enrique what the golden raft meant to him.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12Para usted, piensa que esto estuvo una cosa que ha pasado aca?
0:17:14 > 0:17:16HE SPEAKS IN SPANISH
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Evidence supports Enrique's explanation,
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Spanish chroniclers described ceremonies taking place here,
0:17:41 > 0:17:45and small amounts of gold have been discovered in the area.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49Like many myths, El Dorado may contain a kernel of truth.
0:17:49 > 0:17:54It supports the suggestion that the Muiscan people, unlike the Spanish,
0:17:54 > 0:17:57valued gold in spiritual rather than monetary terms.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01HE SPEAKS IN SPANISH
0:18:43 > 0:18:45It was great talking to Enrique.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48He gives a real sense of connection between the ceremonies,
0:18:48 > 0:18:52which were carried out here at the lake, and the people of the Muisca.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55In a way, the way he talks about the Muisca of the modern day
0:18:55 > 0:18:58and the connection they feel for the ancient Muisca,
0:18:58 > 0:19:03it provides a sense of identity that is completely connected to place,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06and it makes you feel like this place is special.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Whatever the truth about El Dorado,
0:19:14 > 0:19:17archaeologists have discovered another dimension to the role
0:19:17 > 0:19:20that gold played in the culture.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24When the Muisca raft was found in a cave south of Bogota, in the 1970s,
0:19:24 > 0:19:29it was inside a pot containing small, flat, gold figurines,
0:19:29 > 0:19:30known as Tunjos.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35Many of these objects are displayed behind glass at the Gold Museum,
0:19:35 > 0:19:39but Juan Pablo has arranged for the vaults to be opened
0:19:39 > 0:19:40so I can take a closer look...
0:19:42 > 0:19:45..and it's immediately obvious that each of them
0:19:45 > 0:19:47represents a different character.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51I really like that level of detail
0:19:51 > 0:19:53you can see on each particular artefact,
0:19:53 > 0:19:55and each of them is very individual in how they are made.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58How do you think the different elements that you see
0:19:58 > 0:20:01is representative of different people?
0:20:01 > 0:20:05You can see, like, the chiefs, you can see the priest...
0:20:05 > 0:20:08Here, this one have, if you see,
0:20:08 > 0:20:11it has a head in their hand...
0:20:11 > 0:20:15so that's telling you that's a warrior.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21There are other noticeable differences in the Tunjos.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27You see the difference between that colour and that colour.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29Here you can see there is more gold,
0:20:29 > 0:20:34but in this more brown one is because it has a lot of copper,
0:20:34 > 0:20:38more than this one, and that is not by chance,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41they decided to do that way.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48Mixing gold with copper in different proportions,
0:20:48 > 0:20:52Muisca goldsmiths could vary the colour of the finished Tunjo,
0:20:52 > 0:20:56and, unusually for gold artefacts, the Tunjos have flaws,
0:20:56 > 0:20:59spurs of excess metal and unpolished surfaces.
0:21:02 > 0:21:03What were these Tunjos for
0:21:03 > 0:21:06and what was their real value to Muisca society?
0:21:08 > 0:21:12If the Muiscans had valued Tunjos as ornaments or jewellery,
0:21:12 > 0:21:14you would expect them to have a fine finish
0:21:14 > 0:21:18and you might also expect to find them buried with their owners
0:21:18 > 0:21:19as grave goods.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24Archaeologists studying Muisca gold face a common problem...
0:21:25 > 0:21:27..most of the gold was acquired from looters,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30in the years when selling to the Gold Museum was legal.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33As a result,
0:21:33 > 0:21:36much of the archaeological context has been lost,
0:21:36 > 0:21:39but the looters' stories are consistent.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43The Tunjos weren't found in tombs but in rivers and lakes,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46on mountain tops and in caves.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51The land north of Bogota is riddled with caves -
0:21:51 > 0:21:54just the sort of place where Tunjos were found.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57I met archaeologist Roberto Lleras Perez,
0:21:57 > 0:22:01an expert on Muisca gold-working and belief systems.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05Thinking about metal within Muisca society,
0:22:05 > 0:22:08what were the Muiscan using gold for?
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Well, gold was all-important for Muisca,
0:22:11 > 0:22:13especially for votive offerings.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16They were thrown into lakes, inside caves,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19like the one in which we are now,
0:22:19 > 0:22:23or placed in fields, sanctuaries, temples,
0:22:23 > 0:22:26the foundations of houses -
0:22:26 > 0:22:29wherever it was important to place an object
0:22:29 > 0:22:33that would restore equilibrium in cosmos.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36Try and explain Muiscan cosmology to me, then.
0:22:36 > 0:22:42Well, try to imagine the world as composed of opposite principles -
0:22:42 > 0:22:44opposite and complementary.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48So, first of all, you have man and woman,
0:22:48 > 0:22:53then you have day and night, then you have up and down.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56So if you understand the world in this sense,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59you understand also that there is an equilibrium.
0:22:59 > 0:23:06Now, the point here is to understand that this is made by the gods,
0:23:06 > 0:23:10but you, as a man, you can intervene in this equilibrium.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12So if there is any sort of alterations,
0:23:12 > 0:23:16say, for example, that you have three years in a row
0:23:16 > 0:23:19where there is no rain, you can intervene there.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21How do you do that?
0:23:21 > 0:23:26With votive offerings, because this is the way to restore this principle
0:23:26 > 0:23:29that has been lost or diminished in the earth,
0:23:29 > 0:23:33and then you have the equilibrium and the conditions for life again.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37So it seems the Tunjos' actual purpose
0:23:37 > 0:23:42was as a shining gift to the gods to redress the balance of nature.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47Do you think Muisca metalworking is unique,
0:23:47 > 0:23:49in the way that it's created in South America?
0:23:49 > 0:23:52No other society, as far as I know,
0:23:52 > 0:23:57dedicated over 50% of their production for votive offerings.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00I think it's quite unique.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03It's incredible that, with Muiscan metals,
0:24:03 > 0:24:06the entire lifetime of one object can be just days,
0:24:06 > 0:24:08cos it's created for a particular purpose,
0:24:08 > 0:24:10to go straight into the ground.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12It seems to be a waste of time,
0:24:12 > 0:24:16but then if you think that this were so important for society,
0:24:16 > 0:24:20much more important than having a beautiful woman
0:24:20 > 0:24:21wearing these objects,
0:24:21 > 0:24:26then you understand why so much trouble had to be assumed
0:24:26 > 0:24:28in order to produce these objects.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35To the Muisca, gold appears not to have had any intrinsic value,
0:24:35 > 0:24:38and if its value was purely spiritual,
0:24:38 > 0:24:41it seems likely that every aspect of its creation -
0:24:41 > 0:24:44its shape, colour and what it represented -
0:24:44 > 0:24:47would have been part of a sacred process.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50How it was made was therefore critically important.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57Today, the secrets of that ancient craftsmanship
0:24:57 > 0:25:00have been preserved in a highly unlikely setting.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17Goldsmith Omar Hurtado doesn't so much take his work home with him
0:25:17 > 0:25:18as live with it.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20In his apartment, in central Bogota,
0:25:20 > 0:25:23he has mastered the art of Muisca metalworking.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29It appears that the real skill is not in manipulating gold
0:25:29 > 0:25:31but in knowing how to mould beeswax -
0:25:31 > 0:25:34a process known as the lost-wax technique.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39Omar starts to shape the wax into a flat figurine.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44Muisca Tunjos were 2D representations of the human form.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48I asked Omar why the Muisca made flat Tunjos.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50Was it easier than making a 3D figure?
0:26:16 > 0:26:18The flat Tunjos were made more complex
0:26:18 > 0:26:22by adding on the intricate details of face, arms, legs
0:26:22 > 0:26:25and bodily ornaments with wire-like threads of wax.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29Omar told me something really interesting -
0:26:29 > 0:26:33these coloured waxes are industrial and represent different properties,
0:26:33 > 0:26:35different malleabilities that the wax has.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38To make one of these pieces, you need different types of wax
0:26:38 > 0:26:40with different types of malleability,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43and the Muisca used a whole range of different bees
0:26:43 > 0:26:46with different properties in their wax.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Omar's just using this one, which is industrial,
0:26:48 > 0:26:50because he doesn't have time to go out on Sunday
0:26:50 > 0:26:52and collect bees from all over Colombia,
0:26:52 > 0:26:53but it's a really interesting fact
0:26:53 > 0:26:56that the Muisca were cultivating different types of bees
0:26:56 > 0:26:58specifically for this process.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02Once the beeswax figurine is completed,
0:27:02 > 0:27:06Omar bends it over and adds a network of little tubes.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09The Tunjo will then be packed in clay
0:27:09 > 0:27:11and placed in an oven to evaporate the wax,
0:27:11 > 0:27:16leaving a mould into which the molten metal can be poured.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19The network of tubes ensures that the metal travels
0:27:19 > 0:27:21into every intricate detail of the figure.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25- Meter en el horno.- Perfecto. Ponemos?
0:27:25 > 0:27:29So our lovely little wax creation is now inside this piece of clay,
0:27:29 > 0:27:31which is going to go in the oven,
0:27:31 > 0:27:34and the wax will evaporate, leaving the mould.
0:27:34 > 0:27:39Once the wax has gone, molten metal can be poured into the empty mould.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43The Muisca could control the colour of the final piece
0:27:43 > 0:27:47by varying the relative quantities of copper and gold in the alloy.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53I love it that in an anonymous apartment block in Bogota,
0:27:53 > 0:27:57there's a guy wielding his acetylene torch, ready to burn the place down.
0:28:00 > 0:28:05Research suggests that the Muisca used fires rather than blowtorches!
0:28:05 > 0:28:08But it also tells us that those in charge of making these Tunjos
0:28:08 > 0:28:11were far more than just simple craftsmen.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14It's possible that the Tunjos were actually being made
0:28:14 > 0:28:16by the priests themselves -
0:28:16 > 0:28:20that Muisca priests were masters of both ritual knowledge
0:28:20 > 0:28:23and practical skill.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25Un poco caliente!
0:28:26 > 0:28:28So there's our little piece.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32The wax has all melted away and also it's still flexed right round,
0:28:32 > 0:28:33and these tubes of metal,
0:28:33 > 0:28:36which have been used to pour in the metal into the mould,
0:28:36 > 0:28:38we'll have to cut those off
0:28:38 > 0:28:41and then we'll bend him back out and finish him off.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45HE SPEAKS SPANISH
0:28:45 > 0:28:49Seeing this process up close, you can see why the Muisca pieces
0:28:49 > 0:28:50had these rough edges
0:28:50 > 0:28:53and these little bits of metal still stuck on the sides -
0:28:53 > 0:28:57the remnants of those tubes of metal coming down to fill the cast.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24Gold's malleability made it the ideal material
0:29:24 > 0:29:28for creating a wide variety of small but intricate objects.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31Offerings to the gods were frequent,
0:29:31 > 0:29:34and so vast amounts of gold must have been needed.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36Given the importance of gold,
0:29:36 > 0:29:41the Spanish expected to find mines throughout Muiscan territory,
0:29:41 > 0:29:43but it doesn't occur naturally here.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46All Muiscan gold had to be brought in from elsewhere.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49So how did they acquire so much of it?
0:30:05 > 0:30:06In Villa de Leyva's market,
0:30:06 > 0:30:11people from the surrounding area come to buy food and other produce.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14500 hundred years ago, the scene would have been similar...
0:30:14 > 0:30:17with the difference that the Muisca didn't use money.
0:30:17 > 0:30:21Spanish chronicles describe a thriving barter system.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29Trade was crucial for Muiscan society.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32It gave them the chance to get the produce they needed,
0:30:32 > 0:30:34of gold and cotton from the lowlands,
0:30:34 > 0:30:35and bring it up here to the highlands,
0:30:35 > 0:30:37where they could work it into secondary products
0:30:37 > 0:30:39that they could sell on.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46The Muisca economy was geared towards transforming raw materials,
0:30:46 > 0:30:49brought in from outside, into finished products.
0:30:51 > 0:30:52Cotton was used to make blankets
0:30:52 > 0:30:55that could then be traded in gold-producing regions,
0:30:55 > 0:30:58beyond Muisca territory, for the precious metal...
0:31:01 > 0:31:05..but there was one commodity that the Muisca did have in abundance...
0:31:05 > 0:31:07a precious mineral so valuable
0:31:07 > 0:31:10that it could be exchanged directly for gold.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30In the hills north of Bogota are the mines of Nemocon,
0:31:30 > 0:31:34where deep below the ground lie rich deposits
0:31:34 > 0:31:36of one of the Muisca's greatest assets.
0:31:36 > 0:31:41Not precious gems or coal but a mineral vital for life itself...
0:31:41 > 0:31:42salt.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47Deep underground and far from the coast
0:31:47 > 0:31:49isn't where I would expect to find salt,
0:31:49 > 0:31:53but 100 million years ago, an ancient sea existed here.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57When the waters evaporated, they left behind vast plains of salt.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00Tectonic activity later raised these mountains,
0:32:00 > 0:32:03and the salt flats were folded into the rocks,
0:32:03 > 0:32:06trapping huge pockets of the mineral beneath the earth.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11Y entonces, tienes esta evidencia de la tipo de mina
0:32:11 > 0:32:13que esta...estaban haciendo la Muisca?
0:32:13 > 0:32:16Si, o sea, literalmente, encima de la mina...
0:32:16 > 0:32:20My guide Edwin explained that in modern times,
0:32:20 > 0:32:22miners bored deep into the mountains
0:32:22 > 0:32:26in search of the salt, but the Muisca didn't need to dig.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31Rain would fall through hills of salt, like this one,
0:32:31 > 0:32:33and they would collect the salt water from the streams
0:32:33 > 0:32:35at the bottom of the hill,
0:32:35 > 0:32:37pour the water into big clay jars
0:32:37 > 0:32:41and heat them up to evaporate off the water.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44Gradually, these clay pots would fill with salts,
0:32:44 > 0:32:47and they'd smash them and be left with a salt cake.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57Salt cake production became a major industry for the Muisca,
0:32:57 > 0:33:01giving them the economic power to amass the gold that they needed...
0:33:05 > 0:33:09..but the Muisca's great strength would also expose them to danger.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15It was salt cakes being traded up and down the Magdalena River,
0:33:15 > 0:33:17and the sort of production,
0:33:17 > 0:33:19the industrial production that it showed,
0:33:19 > 0:33:23that drew the conquistadors up into the Muisca heartlands.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30A Spanish chronicler recorded the moment
0:33:30 > 0:33:34when conquistador Jimenez de Quesada decided to change course.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38"Seeing the excellent nature of the land,
0:33:38 > 0:33:41"and how the Indians always brought us salt...
0:33:41 > 0:33:43"which they packed into large blocks,
0:33:43 > 0:33:46"Jimenez decided to try to seek its source."
0:33:47 > 0:33:51The salt trail led the Spanish directly to the Muisca.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56With a fragmented structure of chiefdoms
0:33:56 > 0:33:59in the northern and southern confederations,
0:33:59 > 0:34:02the Muisca were unable to mount serious resistance
0:34:02 > 0:34:03to the conquistadors.
0:34:06 > 0:34:07In a little over a year,
0:34:07 > 0:34:11the whole of Muisca territory was under Spanish control.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14Violence and Old World diseases took their toll,
0:34:14 > 0:34:16and the population crashed.
0:34:17 > 0:34:21The Muisca were a people with a completely different value system
0:34:21 > 0:34:22to their Spanish conquerors.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24A people in tune with their environment
0:34:24 > 0:34:26and the world around them,
0:34:26 > 0:34:30communities held together by rituals and celebrations,
0:34:30 > 0:34:33and a society for whom the real value of gold
0:34:33 > 0:34:36was in what it could achieve by being offered to the gods.
0:34:41 > 0:34:45But the Muisca were so completely overrun by the invaders
0:34:45 > 0:34:49that contemporary echoes of their past are hard to find -
0:34:49 > 0:34:50unless you know where to look.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02Buena! Buena! Buena, companiero!
0:35:05 > 0:35:07THEY CHEER
0:35:09 > 0:35:10This is Tejo.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13It's actually the national sport of Colombia
0:35:13 > 0:35:14and one of the few pieces of Muiscan identity
0:35:14 > 0:35:17that has survived into modern Colombia.
0:35:17 > 0:35:22The idea is to get this piece of iron within this circular ring.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28But even this game is dominated by a Spanish influence.
0:35:28 > 0:35:32The Spanish decided to liven it up by putting some gunpowder here,
0:35:32 > 0:35:34which you've got to try and hit and explode.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45Today, in a country with around 85 different ethnic groups,
0:35:45 > 0:35:49Muiscan blood and culture survive only as faint echoes.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51We lost this one, but I'll think we'll start another game.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56The Muisca had fallen, but they were not alone.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10Further north, along the Magdalena River,
0:36:10 > 0:36:12lived another connected culture -
0:36:12 > 0:36:13the Tairona.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16Their future would be very different.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20I'm making my way towards the mountains
0:36:20 > 0:36:24of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, along the Caribbean coast,
0:36:24 > 0:36:25to find out how and why.
0:36:30 > 0:36:32Rivers are the life blood of trade,
0:36:32 > 0:36:36allowing goods to flow freely between the coast and the interior.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43For the Muisca, the Magdalena had been the source
0:36:43 > 0:36:44of much of their gold,
0:36:44 > 0:36:48but some of that precious metal was also traded north to the Tairona.
0:36:50 > 0:36:52The Tairona shared gold-working skills
0:36:52 > 0:36:54and a language with the Muisca,
0:36:54 > 0:36:57but they lived in a very different environment.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01Did they also share the same beliefs?
0:37:07 > 0:37:09This is the land of the Tairona.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12From here, on the Caribbean coast,
0:37:12 > 0:37:16the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta rises up to 5,700 metres -
0:37:16 > 0:37:18the highest coastal range in the world.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21High up in those mountains are scattered
0:37:21 > 0:37:23the lost cities of the Tairona.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28Archaeology in this sort of terrain,
0:37:28 > 0:37:32where everything is covered by a thick carpet of vegetation,
0:37:32 > 0:37:34is enormously difficult.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38New discoveries are rare,
0:37:38 > 0:37:42but in the 1970s, a flood of Tairona gold and other artefacts
0:37:42 > 0:37:45started to appear on the black market -
0:37:45 > 0:37:49the first clues that looters were working on a new Tairona site.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53When archaeologists reached the location, high in the mountains,
0:37:53 > 0:37:54they were amazed.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57It was the largest and most impressive Tairona site
0:37:57 > 0:37:58ever discovered.
0:37:58 > 0:38:03It was given the name Ciudad Perdida - the Lost City.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15Getting to Ciudad Perdida on foot is a three-day hike
0:38:15 > 0:38:17through these dense-forested mountains.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22Today, I'm hitching a lift with the Colombian army,
0:38:22 > 0:38:25and it's giving me a wonderful perspective on the Lost City.
0:38:29 > 0:38:31From the air, I can really appreciate the size
0:38:31 > 0:38:34and remoteness of this site.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37So many of the South American sites are in straight lines,
0:38:37 > 0:38:39but this site clings to the mountainside,
0:38:39 > 0:38:41using the contours of the hills.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48I can see the terraces covered in vegetation -
0:38:48 > 0:38:51it only leaves to the imagination how big this site must be.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57To put Cuidad Perdida in perspective,
0:38:57 > 0:39:00archaeologists have estimated that it is ten times larger
0:39:00 > 0:39:04than the famous Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08Even though most of it is hidden by thick vegetation,
0:39:08 > 0:39:10it's still breathtaking -
0:39:10 > 0:39:12when you consider the effort that was needed
0:39:12 > 0:39:14to build a city in this terrain.
0:39:15 > 0:39:19Archaeologists have only just begun to scratch the surface,
0:39:19 > 0:39:21but they are finding some really exciting evidence
0:39:21 > 0:39:23of what this place was once like.
0:39:25 > 0:39:29Santiago Giraldo is leading the excavations.
0:39:29 > 0:39:31What dates does this site have do you think?
0:39:31 > 0:39:36Well, the earliest date that we have here is a 650 AD date,
0:39:36 > 0:39:39and that's what I found during my research.
0:39:39 > 0:39:41Those dates really resonate with me,
0:39:41 > 0:39:44this idea that we're getting lots of cultures rising up,
0:39:44 > 0:39:46these Chibcha-speaking cultures,
0:39:46 > 0:39:48and it's a very similar time period to when the Muisca rise up.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52The time when these periods are rising up maps out quite well,
0:39:52 > 0:39:57say, with the classic period of Mesoamerica.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00The Maya collapse around 900 to 1,000 AD,
0:40:00 > 0:40:02but these guys just keep on going.
0:40:04 > 0:40:08It's thought that Cuidad Perdida was occupied for almost 1,000 years,
0:40:08 > 0:40:11existing in parallel with Muisca society.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15But while very little remains of Muisca architecture,
0:40:15 > 0:40:19here the Tairona structures have lasted remarkably well,
0:40:19 > 0:40:22leaving clear evidence of how they were constructed.
0:40:24 > 0:40:28So here we have a classic Tairona wall.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30The stone shows up really nicely.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33You get this real nice-faced edge coming down. Looks really good.
0:40:33 > 0:40:35- And this stuff goes on for miles?- Yeah.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38Looking at the steepness of these mountain slopes,
0:40:38 > 0:40:40how do you think that the Tairona coped with that,
0:40:40 > 0:40:42with their architecture?
0:40:42 > 0:40:46So, really, what's at a premium here, for these societies,
0:40:46 > 0:40:49is flat areas, and what they were doing with all the terracing
0:40:49 > 0:40:53was actually creating flat, liveable space.
0:40:53 > 0:40:57Now, one of the main difficulties is that these people used no mortar,
0:40:57 > 0:41:01so what they did was a combination of masonry and rammed earth,
0:41:01 > 0:41:04and that's what makes them incredibly stable,
0:41:04 > 0:41:08and also the fact that they overlapped one terrace to the other,
0:41:08 > 0:41:10so you create step-like platforms.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13And that's what really creates stability
0:41:13 > 0:41:15in an area such as this one,
0:41:15 > 0:41:18because you've got over 4,000 millimetres of rainfall,
0:41:18 > 0:41:21and that means that a terrace can be washed away
0:41:21 > 0:41:23if it's not really stable.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30Working in harmony with the landscape,
0:41:30 > 0:41:33the Tairona created a thriving city.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38It's extraordinary that salt, cotton and gold from the lowlands
0:41:38 > 0:41:41were traded up here, around 1,000 metres above sea level.
0:41:46 > 0:41:50These stone terraces provided stable foundations
0:41:50 > 0:41:52for large, wooden structures
0:41:52 > 0:41:55that must have been at the centre of communal life in the city.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02These platforms look fantastic - the size of them, the monumentality.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05Do you think this a particularly special part of the site?
0:42:05 > 0:42:09Oh, absolutely. We've got the main feasting gathering area over there,
0:42:09 > 0:42:12and excavation work that I did in 2006,
0:42:12 > 0:42:16what we found was that most of the trash that was being deposited
0:42:16 > 0:42:20was drinking cups, serving jars and big trays.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24That pretty much spells out feasts and feasting, for the most part.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28Then you've got adjacent structures that probably served as kitchens.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31What do you think the role of that feasting was here?
0:42:31 > 0:42:33Do you think it's display or chiefly status?
0:42:33 > 0:42:35As in most human societies,
0:42:35 > 0:42:39the politics of commensality are exceedingly important.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43They are extremely, extremely important just for creating allies.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46There's work feasts, there's...
0:42:46 > 0:42:49When you've got a new trading partner coming in,
0:42:49 > 0:42:52of course, you want to impress him.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55Ritual feasts strengthened social relationships
0:42:55 > 0:42:59within the Chibcha-speaking community and beyond.
0:42:59 > 0:43:02During the 16th century, we found evidence that chiefs here
0:43:02 > 0:43:04were actually trading gold objects for wine
0:43:04 > 0:43:08with French and English pirates that were bringing in wine.
0:43:08 > 0:43:11So feasting definitely played a hugely important role
0:43:11 > 0:43:13in these societies.
0:43:22 > 0:43:26A variety of different produce was grown at different elevations,
0:43:26 > 0:43:30but these bountiful slopes were steep and thick with vegetation.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35Moving large quantities any distance
0:43:35 > 0:43:36must have been a real challenge.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43To see how they did it, I'm heading back down to the coast.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03As with the Muisca, the secret of Tairona success
0:44:03 > 0:44:06came from their mastery of their environment.
0:44:07 > 0:44:11Centuries-old routes once connected all Tairona settlements.
0:44:11 > 0:44:15This network of pathways, hundreds of miles long, allowed people
0:44:15 > 0:44:19to transport goods back and forth between the coast and the mountains.
0:44:24 > 0:44:26The path I'm following leads to Pueblito,
0:44:26 > 0:44:31a Tairona settlement first inhabited almost 1,500 years ago.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36I've come to meet anthropologist Lorena Aja Eslava, who has been
0:44:36 > 0:44:40investigating the significance of the paths and what they can tell us.
0:44:42 > 0:44:44THEY SPEAK IN SPANISH
0:45:07 > 0:45:10But the paths weren't simply an indication
0:45:10 > 0:45:12of population size and mobility -
0:45:12 > 0:45:16they were designed to, literally, support Tairona society.
0:45:16 > 0:45:17THEY SPEAK IN SPANISH
0:46:26 > 0:46:29So, like the Muisca, the Tairona were perfectly in tune
0:46:29 > 0:46:32with their environment, knowing how to use its resources
0:46:32 > 0:46:35without damaging the world around them.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38Evidence that this was a spiritual connection
0:46:38 > 0:46:41is preserved in one of the rocks near the centre of the town,
0:46:41 > 0:46:44where priests gathered to predict the future.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49These pools for divination were used by the Tairona.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52They would drop a bead inside the water
0:46:52 > 0:46:55and watch how the bubbles came up.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58That would help them with complex decisions they were due to make.
0:47:07 > 0:47:10Archaeologists believe that many of those decisions
0:47:10 > 0:47:14would be connected to the Tairona's worship of the natural world.
0:47:14 > 0:47:17Just as there is evidence of sun worship among the Muisca,
0:47:17 > 0:47:19so too was the sun revered by the Tairona.
0:47:23 > 0:47:24All objects that captured
0:47:24 > 0:47:27or reflected the light of the sun were valued -
0:47:27 > 0:47:31shimmering water, shiny stones, snow-capped mountains
0:47:31 > 0:47:34and the glinting colours of the forest.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37One material in particular didn't just reflect light,
0:47:37 > 0:47:41it was the same colour as the sun as well - gold.
0:47:41 > 0:47:42Just like the Muisca,
0:47:42 > 0:47:46whose gold gave rise to the legend of El Dorado,
0:47:46 > 0:47:49the Tairona held the precious metal in high esteem.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55Under the guidance of archaeologist Juanita Saenz Samper,
0:47:55 > 0:48:00museum curators are cleaning Tairona artefacts.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02What's immediately striking about these objects
0:48:02 > 0:48:05is that they have been burnished and polished smooth -
0:48:05 > 0:48:09quite unlike the rough-edged artefacts made by the Muisca.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12Looking at these pieces of Tairona metal,
0:48:12 > 0:48:14what are the similarities and differences
0:48:14 > 0:48:16between Muisca and Tairona metalwork?
0:48:16 > 0:48:19Well, there are a lot of differences.
0:48:19 > 0:48:24You know, because the Muisca people didn't polish their pieces,
0:48:24 > 0:48:30and these Tairona people were so great polishing and finishing
0:48:30 > 0:48:35every single detail, because they just used it for another thing.
0:48:35 > 0:48:40The Muisca Tunjos were not used for wearing on you,
0:48:40 > 0:48:44and these kind of...objects were used to wear...
0:48:44 > 0:48:47were used to say, "Hey, I'm the boss!"
0:48:47 > 0:48:51Muiscan goldsmiths made offerings to the gods.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54Tairona gold also had spiritual value,
0:48:54 > 0:48:57because it reflected the sun that gave life,
0:48:57 > 0:49:00but rather than make unique pieces, like the Muisca,
0:49:00 > 0:49:02the Tairona craftsmen perfected symbols
0:49:02 > 0:49:06that were reproduced time and time again.
0:49:06 > 0:49:10- What were the important symbols of the Tairona culture?- Well, birds.
0:49:10 > 0:49:15Birds with open wings, which are these ones
0:49:15 > 0:49:18and also the bat man.
0:49:18 > 0:49:24The bat man is a very important symbolic icon in Tairona iconography.
0:49:27 > 0:49:31Creatures, like the bat man - half human, half animal -
0:49:31 > 0:49:33are common in Tairona art.
0:49:33 > 0:49:37It feels like another illustration of the close connection
0:49:37 > 0:49:41between the human and natural worlds.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44So it seems that the link between gold and nature
0:49:44 > 0:49:49was just as important to the Tairona as it was to the Muisca,
0:49:49 > 0:49:53but Tairona craftsmanship wasn't just restricted to gold.
0:49:53 > 0:49:56At the University of Magdalena, in Santa Marta,
0:49:56 > 0:49:58archaeologist Angelica Nunez
0:49:58 > 0:50:01is working on a collection of remarkable ceramic objects.
0:50:02 > 0:50:05THEY SPEAK IN SPANISH
0:50:23 > 0:50:27Thousands of different pieces of pottery have been collected here.
0:50:27 > 0:50:32They provide an invaluable insight into Tairona life and beliefs...
0:50:32 > 0:50:37and some of the symbols I saw in the gold artefacts are here too.
0:50:37 > 0:50:39THEY SPEAK IN SPANISH
0:51:11 > 0:51:15As ever, the connection with the natural world is very evident,
0:51:15 > 0:51:18but there's a particular piece of pottery that captured my attention.
0:51:18 > 0:51:21THEY SPEAK IN SPANISH
0:52:03 > 0:52:06Angelica's understanding of Tairona beliefs
0:52:06 > 0:52:08isn't based on the artefacts alone.
0:52:08 > 0:52:12She's been working closely with indigenous people
0:52:12 > 0:52:15who could be the last remaining link with the Tairona.
0:52:16 > 0:52:20I'm heading back into the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to visit them.
0:52:26 > 0:52:31The Kogi, an indigenous community of around 12,000 people,
0:52:31 > 0:52:35live in small mountain villages not far from the Tairona sites
0:52:35 > 0:52:37of Pueblito and Cuidad Perdida.
0:52:38 > 0:52:42Living separately from contemporary society,
0:52:42 > 0:52:44they've preserved their traditional way of life
0:52:44 > 0:52:47and they guard their independence fiercely.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49So it's a huge privilege
0:52:49 > 0:52:51to be invited into their village for the day.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56Most Kogi still speak a language derived from Chibcha,
0:52:56 > 0:52:59the tongue of the Tairona and the Muisca.
0:52:59 > 0:53:03My guide, Jacinto, is one of the very few who also speaks Spanish.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07I asked him if he felt that his people
0:53:07 > 0:53:09were connected to the Tairona.
0:53:09 > 0:53:11THEY SPEAK IN SPANISH
0:53:46 > 0:53:49Jacinto invited me to help in the building of a new house
0:53:49 > 0:53:52for the Mamas, the Kogi spiritual leaders.
0:53:53 > 0:53:57There's a deep cultural connection here with the environment,
0:53:57 > 0:54:00one that seems to echo the philosophy of the Tairona.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07I can easily imagine these houses sitting on the round stone terraces
0:54:07 > 0:54:10at Pueblito or Cuidad Perdida.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16One of the ceremonies that will be carried out in this house
0:54:16 > 0:54:20is the initiation ceremony when a boy turns into a man.
0:54:20 > 0:54:23At that point, they will be given a gourd and coca leaves,
0:54:23 > 0:54:26and, as you'll see, the men here all chew coca.
0:54:26 > 0:54:29This is an essential part of Kogi life.
0:54:31 > 0:54:33It's impossible to know
0:54:33 > 0:54:35whether the Tairona had the same rite of passage,
0:54:35 > 0:54:39but coca-chewing is recurs again and again in their pottery.
0:54:39 > 0:54:41The connections are clear to see.
0:54:44 > 0:54:47When Kogi men meet, they exchange coca leaves.
0:54:49 > 0:54:53They're repeatedly extracting lime from a gourd, known as a poporo,
0:54:53 > 0:54:56and wiping it across the wad of coca leaves in their mouths,
0:54:56 > 0:54:58to release the active ingredients.
0:54:59 > 0:55:04Cocaine is derived from the coca plant, but raw coca leaves
0:55:04 > 0:55:06don't have the same powerful narcotic effect.
0:55:09 > 0:55:11Kogi men chew it as a mild stimulant
0:55:11 > 0:55:15that helps them to communicate with their ancestors.
0:55:16 > 0:55:20These traditions, passed from generation to generation,
0:55:20 > 0:55:24continue the Kogis' deep spiritual connection with their environment.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29Everything that goes into the construction of these houses
0:55:29 > 0:55:31has to come from a seed.
0:55:31 > 0:55:35This is because they see themselves as seeds of the Sierra -
0:55:35 > 0:55:38that humans need to be nurtured and grown, just like plants.
0:55:38 > 0:55:41So in these houses we start to see a connection
0:55:41 > 0:55:43between how they are constructed
0:55:43 > 0:55:46and the Kogi idea that people and environment are one.
0:55:53 > 0:55:57The Kogi assert a sense of their own history and beliefs
0:55:57 > 0:56:00that is inseparable from the land -
0:56:00 > 0:56:02the same land that sustained the Tairona.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07SPEAKS CHIBCHA
0:56:58 > 0:57:01Today, Kogi culture is alive, in part,
0:57:01 > 0:57:04because of the protection offered by the mountains,
0:57:04 > 0:57:08the same mountains that protected the Tairona nearly 500 years ago.
0:57:10 > 0:57:12Unlike the Muisca,
0:57:12 > 0:57:15the Tairona were never completely overrun by the Spanish.
0:57:15 > 0:57:17The geography of their homeland made it difficult
0:57:17 > 0:57:21for the conquistadors to penetrate far, but Spanish colonisation
0:57:21 > 0:57:25of the valleys stifled trade between the villages and the mountains,
0:57:25 > 0:57:29and wave upon wave of Old World disease decimated the population.
0:57:32 > 0:57:37Eventually, all that remained of the Tairona were dwindling communities
0:57:37 > 0:57:38scattered in the mountains.
0:57:38 > 0:57:41They, and the Muisca, seemed to vanish...
0:57:43 > 0:57:44..but they didn't -
0:57:44 > 0:57:46from Bogota to the Sierra Nevada,
0:57:46 > 0:57:49I have witnessed the legacy of these cultures.
0:57:49 > 0:57:52It's still living in the remains of their architecture,
0:57:52 > 0:57:54in their artefacts, rich with meaning,
0:57:54 > 0:57:58in the gold that connected the Tairona and the Muisca
0:57:58 > 0:58:00to their spiritual beliefs.
0:58:01 > 0:58:07The Spanish, lured by the myth of El Dorado, plundered the gold,
0:58:07 > 0:58:11but they couldn't destroy the beliefs shared by the two cultures -
0:58:11 > 0:58:15beliefs that live on with the Kogi today -
0:58:15 > 0:58:17an unshakable faith in community
0:58:17 > 0:58:22and the value of their environment above all else...even gold.
0:58:22 > 0:58:26For me, these are the treasures Kipling wrote of,
0:58:26 > 0:58:27hidden behind the ranges.
0:58:53 > 0:58:56Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd