NARRATOR: High in the Andes Mountains,
more than 150 massive stone blocks
lie scattered on the ground.
GIORGIO A. TSOUKALOS: Puma Punku is one of the most enigmatic places
on planet Earth.
Some of the stone blocks are over a hundred tons.
NARRATOR: The ancient blocks are carved with incredible precision.
TRAVIS TAYLOR: It's an amazing piece of engineering
that is beyond its time.
NARRATOR: But the origins and purpose of Puma Punku
remain completely unknown.
Mainstream archaeology says that this site is
1,500 years old,
but anyone you talk to in that community
will tell you it's much, much older.
NARRATOR: Could new advancements in technology
finally help to solve a centuries-old puzzle
and offer proof of alien intervention on Earth?
ERICH VON DÄNIKEN: The locals say, "It was not us who made these platforms.
"It was the gods.
The gods who descended from the sky."
NARRATOR: There is a doorway
in the universe.
Beyond it is the promise of truth.
It demands we question everything
we have ever been taught.
The evidence is all around us.
The future is right before our eyes.
We are not alone.
We have never been alone.
High in the Andes Mountains,
Spanish explorer Pedro Cieza de León is
searching for the Inca capital of Qullasuyu.
Just south of Lake Titicaca,
at an elevation of nearly 13,000 feet,
he comes upon extraordinary ruins
covering roughly two and a half square miles.
It is the ancient settlement of Tiahuanaco.
De León spends many months investigating the site
and writes in his chronicles
that Tiahuanaco contains impressive stone walls,
idols of human figures, and great doorways.
He also writes about an area
south of the main archaeological site
called Puma Punku, or "Gate of the Puma."
It features stone blocks so enormous,
he does not understand how they could be moved by humans.
And they are carved with a precision
that, according to De León, could not be accomplished
with the tools available to the Inca.
TSOUKALOS: Pedro Cieza de León says
that the local population,
which was Inca, told him...
...that this place was not built by the Incas
but it was built hundreds of years before.
If the Inca themselves have said that it was not the Inca,
well, then, who were the pre-Incas?
And there we are confronted with a gigantic question mark.
NARRATOR: What the giant blocks formed is completely unknown,
and nearly five centuries after its discovery by De León,
Puma Punku remains as mysterious as ever.
It's out in this really open high plains.
Most of the stones in Puma Punku are huge.
The biggest is 130 tons.
There's another one that's 85 tons.
Even the small ones are multiton.
So these are huge.
The Plataforma Lítica is in the center of Puma Punku
and it's, in fact, the foundation.
So it consists of enormous slabs of red sandstone
that were brought from a quarry eight miles to the west,
over two mountain ranges.
So, how that was accomplished, I have no idea.
CAROLINE WHITEHILL: Another really fascinating
aspect of the Puma Punku site
is the distribution of these blocks.
Some of them are still upright in the position
that they were originally constructed in.
Most of them are strewn about.
It looks like you're in a child's playroom
and blocks have just been knocked over
from some sort of a structure that was built.
HUGH NEWMAN: It looks like it's been destroyed
by a kind of tsunami or something.
It's got mud piled up everywhere.
Giant stones sticking out of it at crazy angles.
NARRATOR: It remains unknown
whether the structures of Puma Punku were destroyed
by a cataclysm or if the construction project
was simply abandoned before it was finished.
But the roughly 150 megalithic blocks
that can be found at the site today
reveal that the builders possessed
astounding stoneworking abilities.
BARNHART: Puma Punku has these megalithic blocks
that are perfectly cut...
...that all of their angles are completely right angles.
There's these ones in particular called H-blocks
that look like a big capital "H."
They have kind of, uh, fade lines going in
where they carved the same shape in a couple of different layers,
deeper and deeper into the stone.
And its precision is really mind-boggling.
TAYLOR: There are grooves that are cut with perfect 90-degree angles.
It looks like they were so precise
that they were done
with modern-day milling machine tools.
DAVID CHILDRESS: There's stones there, too,
that have a lot of drill holes
and saw cuts and things like that in them.
It's an amazing piece of engineering
that is beyond its time.
TSOUKALOS: Predominantly, we have two types of stone at Puma Punku,
and that is red sandstone and gray andesite.
They have found tools made of copper
and of iron and bronze at Puma Punku.
And with those tools, you can absolutely cut the sandstone.
However, you cannot cut the gray andesite blocks
with bronze or with copper or with iron.
What's interesting, too, is that the stone blocks
that we find at Puma Punku,
the surface is as if you're touching glass.
It is perfection.
So, to me it's possible that our ancestors figured out
a way to vitrify stone.
And we have evidence here of some type of a heat tool.
NARRATOR: In 1903, Arthur Posnansky,
an Austrian engineer, explorer, and amateur archaeologist,
traveled to Puma Punku,
which by that time was located in Western Bolivia.
Posnansky began the most thorough study
of the site ever conducted.
Arthur Posnansky was born in Vienna, Austria
in the 19th century,
and in his early 20s he moved to South America.
But very soon after that,
he became fascinated by Puma Punku
and spent almost the rest of his life
studying and researching that location.
TSOUKALOS: Arthur Posnansky lived and researched at Puma Punku
from 1904 until 1945.
He was there for 41 years
and he absolutely fell in love
not only with the landscapes there
but also with that culture that put a spell on him,
and it was his biggest siren call.
When speaking with the Aymara elders,
they speak very, very fondly
of the archaeologist Posnansky...
...because he respected them and he respected their culture.
And he talked to them about what they knew about these sites.
And one of the places that they're in agreement
is that the site is much older
than it's believed to be by mainstream archaeologists.
NARRATOR: Mainstream scholars believe
the site was originally constructed
about 1,500 years ago, but Posnansky proposed
that Puma Punku was much, much older.
By examining the structures and what he believed was
their original alignment with the stars,
he dated the ruins to 15,000 BC.
TAYLOR: Arthur Posnansky suggests that Puma Punku would line up
with stellar objects about 17,000 years ago.
The local Indigenous people, the Aymara, uh, they actually
have a mythology that Puma Punku has been around
for maybe as much as 17,000 years.
NARRATOR: The Aymara people have occupied the area
of modern-day Peru and Bolivia for at least 800 years
and lived alongside the Inca when Pedro Cieza de León
arrived at Tiahuanaco in the 16th century.
Both the Inca and Aymara told De León
and other Spanish chroniclers
not only that Puma Punku was built long before their time
but also that it was the work of the gods.
VON DÄNIKEN: The locals said,
"It was not us who made this.
It was the gods who did it in one night."
"The gods who descended from the sky."
So, normally every culture says,
"Oh, yes, we did it. We, we had the knowledge.
We were strong enough."
In that case, Puma Punku, the locals say,
"It was not us who made these platforms.
It was the gods."
Which gods? Extraterrestrials.
NARRATOR: The mystery of Puma Punku has persisted for centuries.
But now, thanks to new archaeological research
and cutting-edge technology,
experts believe they may finally be able
to accurately reconstruct the ancient megalithic site
and, in the process,
perhaps answer some of the long-standing questions
about Puma Punku's age, how it was built,
and its potential extraterrestrial origins.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Western Bolivia, 1995.
Archaeologist Alexei Vranich is preparing to excavate
an ancient structure at the site of Tiahuanaco
for his PhD thesis.
When the project runs into complications,
a local archaeological team
invites him to instead visit the ruins of Puma Punku.
VRANICH: The Puma Punku is located at Tiahuanaco
just a little bit south of the village.
It's one of the more dramatic landscapes you can find
at 13,000 feet above sea level.
And you simply don't expect to find something so impressive
in such a desolate landscape.
I remember seeing it, and I had no idea what I was looking at.
It was a confusing mess,
and I had never seen anything like it.
NARRATOR: Upon seeing Puma Punku,
Vranich decided to make the site
the new focus of his excavation project.
VRANICH: I lived in the village with the Aymara Indians,
and these are local people that have been there for centuries,
and they worked directly with me,
so I got to know the culture very well.
They're excellent excavators.
But they also held it in high esteem
within their cosmological world.
WHITEHILL: When you speak to the elders of the Aymara,
they will tell you that this was actually built by the gods,
that these were gods that came down.
NARRATOR: Jorge Delgado,
an Inca by birth and heritage,
says that in the Native tradition,
the gods connected with Puma Punku
are known as the Space Brothers.
...ways how we can become one with the stones.
NARRATOR: The first known photograph of Puma Punku was taken in 1893,
and the site has transformed dramatically since that time.
In fact, the entire area of Tiahuanaco
is like a giant puzzle with many pieces missing or moved.
TSOUKALOS: Half of Tiahuanaco town
was built with Puma Punku stone
and with Tiahuanaco stone from the ancient sites.
I mean, there is one block at a gas station.
The cathedral, or the Church of Tiahuanaco--
a third of it is Puma Punku Tiahuanaco rock.
It puts a giant damper on trying to figure out
what did Puma Punku look like in its heyday?
NARRATOR: Even the Bolivian government
has been responsible for altering the landscape.
VRANICH: In the 1950s,
the Bolivian government decided that they wanted
to have ruins
similar to what Peru had for Machu Picchu
or Mexico had for Teotihuácan.
So, it was a very progressive agenda
to give the Bolivian people a pre-Columbian identity.
But the result for archaeology was a bit of a disaster.
They moved around a lot of stone
and did a lot of questionable reconstructions.
NARRATOR: While performing excavations at the ancient site,
Dr. Vranich decided to embark on his own reconstruction project
in hopes of answering some of Puma Punku's many mysteries.
Dr. Vranich's reconstruction would be computer-generated,
and the first step was to precisely measure
every stone block.
VRANICH: I used a lot of interesting and new technologies
from laser scanners to photogrammetry.
But the best method ended up being tape measure,
pen and paper.
And I used the notes from scholars
from over a century ago, from the 1840s to the 1890s.
And then, recently, an architect from UC Berkeley
did a lot of the drawings of these stones,
and that became the basis for the reconstruction.
NARRATOR: Once Dr. Vranich completed the arduous task
of documenting the measurements of every known stone block
and slab at Puma Punku,
he 3D-printed them at UCLA,
where he was working as a research associate
and visiting assistant professor.
With help from his students,
he began putting together the puzzle pieces.
We had a lot of pieces,
and we had no idea how to go about putting it together.
There was a couple of rules that have been found
on how some of these stones,
or how some of the ornaments, fit.
Certain types of windows or niches are always found
in certain patterns or in certain combinations.
We continued to play with this model
probably for over a year.
And we were almost at our wits end going,
"We're not gonna be able to put this together,"
when we finally had a moment of insight.
We were able to put together
two different pieces that formed
what one wall of the temple would have looked like.
NARRATOR: Dr. Vranich and his students had discovered
what he calls the Tiahuanaco Rosetta Stone.
VRANICH: That allowed us to find the other pieces
and fit them together.
And once we had that, we realized we actually had
a miniature version of the Puma Punku
down to almost exact size, 0.57 in scale.
That was one of those
aha moments that almost surprises you.
For an archaeologist, it's one of those moments
that you live for.
NARRATOR: Once Dr. Vranich and his students
established how the pieces fit together,
they were able to do a complete reconstruction of Puma Punku.
VRANICH: Puma Punku-- it's two different things, in a way.
One of them is the entire temple complex,
which is almost half a kilometer long.
There's the main platform, there's a plaza in front of it,
there's a couple of different walls.
So, it's a substantial building.
But surrounding the inner courtyard,
you would have had these buildings
that we're reconstructing right now.
So, we're reconstructing
the main religious and ritual focus
of this larger temple complex.
The Puma Punku probably had formed
part of the religious ideology that Tiahuanaco
was an important place on Earth where all the forces
of the heavens and the underworld
were mediated to create
a fertile and safe Earth.
NARRATOR: Dr. Vranich has assembled the most complete model
of Puma Punku ever constructed.
But just how accurate is it?
And could it provide the key to solving
the centuries-old mystery of Puma Punku?
NARRATOR: Over the past 20 years,
archaeologist Dr. Alexei Vranich
has taken detailed measurements
of every existing megalithic block at Puma Punku
and had them 3D-printed.
By working with his model, he has developed a theory
on how the ancient site was originally constructed.
On March 5, 2024,
he invited Giorgio Tsoukalos
and aerospace engineer Dr. Travis Taylor
to a workspace in Los Angeles
to share the results of his research.
Tell me what this template is that's on the tabletop here.
VRANICH: This represents the sandstone foundation
for this building of the Puma Punku.
And to print it out was simply too cumbersome,
so we put it out on paper.
Put that in scale for me. How-how far
-is this piece of paper? -So, this one's about
-maybe 70 meters long by about 12 meters wide. -Oh, okay. Okay.
-And... -And consisting of how many platform?
So, we have 17 different pieces
of sandstone that would have completed a very flat surface.
And there's an excellent chance it probably would have extended
another 12 meters this way.
TSOUKALOS: When I saw the model in person,
I was like, "I cannot believe my eyes."
It almost looked like a very long
and rectangular building
with multiple structures lining up a long avenue.
Alexei, clearly, this is a passion for you.
My-my question is, if I were to compare
all the cuts and everything to the actual one,
how closely would they compare?
-No, they wouldn't. -Really?
VRANICH: I wanted to know what these blocks looked like
when they were made, not how they were damaged
or worn over the years.
I needed to know, "How were these things meant to fit?"
So, you-you would suggest, then,
that these blocks
are what they actually looked like when they were made.
VRANICH: Exactly.
Well, that's amazing. I mean, the first time I was there,
uh, was in 1995,
and in 1995,
one of the most fascinating blocks I've seen
is this guy right here.
VRANICH: This stone...
-This is what you were looking at, correct? -Yes. Mm-hmm.
So, it's a stone-- it's a window within a window
-within a window. -TAYLOR: Yes.
TSOUKALOS: Wow.
TAYLOR: You have to have done
ground-penetrating radar,
uh, and other sensor measurements out there.
Is there more to it underneath the surface
that we're not seeing here?
We actually did one of the most extensive
ground-penetrating radar surveys for the entire continent.
And then UNESCO went by and did a drone survey,
uh, and it picked up every tiny bump across the surface.
And, yeah, they definitely showed
that the Puma Punku is quite large
and there's a lot more of these stones.
Do you have any conclusion what any of this means?
This is a temple, it's a ceremonial place.
That-That's clearly evident.
TAYLOR: Alexei, looking at all the parts here, uh,
I could probably come up with a billion combinations.
So, how certain are you
that this is the right combination?
Or that there's iterations of it, versions of it,
or something completely different
that this could've possibly been?
You know what, I-I'm fairly confident
about the general form
and the location of certain things,
that's for sure.
NARRATOR: While working with his 3D printed model,
Dr. Vranich made an extraordinary discovery
about the purpose of the intricately carved blocks
at Puma Punku.
Come over here.
We just printed this one out.
If this is the way it should have gone,
with here, and then it would have had a little bit on top.
From this point, it doesn't seem like much.
But come around this side.
Now look through the door
and what do you see?
-Bring yourself down. -So like this?
Oh! Yeah!
And you know when you'll have the two mirrors
parallel to each other and you look
and it's like an infinity mirror, as they call it.
-VRANICH: Yes. -TAYLOR: It's kind of that effect.
Like you're looking to infinity.
It's forced perception.
It's a door within a door within a door within a door.
TAYLOR: What direction is this facing?
VRANICH: So this is facing, uh, west.
TAYLOR: Oh, so it would see a sunset?
VRANICH: Yes, yes.
TAYLOR: It would be very interesting to note
what time of year does the sun actually set perfectly
such that it illuminates the very center
of that infinity door?
It won't line up exactly right now,
but you could project that backwards in time,
and it would tell us when the sun lined up on that spot.
You could use this to date this room.
VRANICH: Right.
NARRATOR: Determined to solve the mystery of Puma Punku,
Dr. Vranich has released his 3D printing diagrams to the public
and has challenged other researchers
to reconstruct the ancient site as well.
There's a lot of pieces
that I haven't been able to place,
so that's why I placed all of this information online
along with the basic instructions.
I would love for people to download this, print them out.
My model is good for the moment,
but it's the basic model.
We can add a lot of things to it.
TAYLOR: What Alexei has done is absolutely fantastic.
Now anyone can take all the pieces there
and see if they can put them together in a way
that makes sense to them.
And sooner or later, someone is going to figure out
what all these pieces built, what they were,
why were they there.
NARRATOR: Now that accurate measurements of Puma Punku
are available online,
could this mark the beginning of a new era of discovery?
Perhaps further clues can be found
by examining another model of Puma Punku
that reveals that the site bears striking similarities
to some of the most ancient constructions on Earth.
NARRATOR: 3D data visualization expert Scott McAvoy
runs the university library's digital media lab.
He is also known for his CGI reconstructions
of ISIS-destroyed sites
in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra.
Archaeological reconstruction is a way to put
a lot of different data together
in a way that we can draw connections
between ourselves and the way things were in the past.
If a picture is worth a thousand words,
a 3D model must be worth a million.
Puma Punku is a perfect target for this work.
It's dripping with mystery and it's very enticing.
NARRATOR: Now he has applied the data collected by Dr. Alexei Vranich
to create a digital 3D wireframe of Puma Punku.
-Hey, Scott. -Hey. Good to see you again.
Good to see you.
NARRATOR: On March 28, 2024,
Scott invited archaeologist Dr. Ed Barnhart,
who has conducted his own on-the-ground investigations
of Puma Punku to review his model
and discuss his findings.
BARNHART: I've been to Puma Punku three different times.
I have wandered this thing
and looking at it from different angles,
feeling stupid that I can't figure out
how any of these things go together.
McAVOY: Well, that's where technology can really help us.
-Let me show you what we got. -Okay.
McAVOY: So, this is the positions of the stones from 1893.
The stones had been moved so many times in recent years
and even in the past before this photo was taken.
We're trying to get a better sense
of where they might have laid.
This is a puzzle with probably 40% of its pieces missing.
McAVOY: I think it was calculated,
like, ten percent of the pieces are maybe here.
-Oh, my gosh, really? -Yeah. We're missing a lot.
This is only 150 bricks.
You know, if we put these up by volume,
I think it's going to make up, like,
half of the front facade.
-Oh, my gosh. -Yeah.
Here we're starting with the satellite image of Puma Punku.
And then we overlay, um, Alexei's map.
So here we have a basic 3D model
of the platform around it,
the plaza on the outside.
And we see that this temple is at the entrance
to this sunken courtyard.
That is fascinating.
McAVOY: From the incisions on the foundation here,
I feel pretty comfortable extruding the walls.
You know, raising these up to the height
of the doorway and trying to fill in that space.
Okay. That does make sense.
So, there seems to be an implied symmetry here.
There seems to be a pattern.
This side reflects this side.
So we're moving forward based on that.
BARNHART: Wow.
That makes logical sense to me
because the other parts of Tiahuanaco we can see
all adhere to a basic symmetry.
McAVOY: Well, you know, there's so many more pieces here that
I wasn't even able to find a place for,
especially these tub stones here.
BARNHART: You know, one of the real clues
is these little guys right here,
these, where we believe
metal, kind of I-bars, would keep them clasped.
There's another one there.
Those are exactly the kind of pieces
that I'm focused on to say like, "Okay,
this puzzle piece has to fit with this one."
Yeah, these are great.
NARRATOR: The type of connection
Dr. Barnhart is referring to
is commonly called a keystone cut.
On the blocks at Puma Punku are what we call keystone cuts.
And these keystone cuts are notches, like a T-notch,
set on the edge of a block that match a T-notch
on another edge of a block.
And then molten metal was poured
into those notches as a fastener.
NEWMAN: These keystone cuts are fascinating
because they're found not just at Puma Punku
and Tiahuanaco in Bolivia.
They're found in Peru.
They're found in Egypt. They're found in Greece.
And they even found at Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
So, does this prove that there was, like,
a worldwide technological civilization
that shared this knowledge?
TSOUKALOS: From the ancient astronaut perspective,
our ancestors all went to the same masonry school.
Meaning, the same extraterrestrial teachers
visited at Puma Punku
and the same teachers visited at Angkor Wat.
NARRATOR: Is it possible that Puma Punku
was visited by otherworldly beings
in the distant past?
Ancient astronaut theorists say yes,
and suggest Puma Punku presents evidence
that could push back the entire timeline
of human civilization.
NARRATOR: Muncie, Indiana.
April 9th, 2024.
At Ball State University, Giorgio Tsoukalos
is meeting with Professor of Electronic Art John Fillwalk,
who used the data gathered by Dr. Alexei Vranich
to develop his own model of Puma Punku.
So, here's what we've been working on.
Oh, wow. This is great. Look at all this.
This was probably the most challenging
reconstruction we've ever done.
So, how then did you come up with that particular structure?
The first thing, really, we tried to do
was reconstruct the foundation because that really informed
sort of the growth of the building out of that.
And a lot of the blocks are very specific to certain spots.
TSOUKALOS: Oh, wow.
FILLWALK: Then we create a motif
that expands around the structures.
You know, to me, it seems very mystical.
The patterning of the doorways within doorways within doorways
I mean, it really suggests an idea of a transition.
It points, to me, toward another reality,
maybe the afterlife, to honor ancestors.
NARRATOR: John Fillwalk's reconstruction,
much like the model built by Dr. Alexei Vranich,
contains doorways within doorways,
which he believes points to the site
having served a ceremonial function.
But the question remains: for who?
In 1945, after studying Puma Punku
for more than four decades, archaeologist Arthur Posnansky
published his findings in a book titled
Tihuanacu: The Cradle of American Man.
And in it, he proposed that the structures found
throughout the Tiahuanaco site-- including Puma Punku--
were built roughly 17,000 years ago.
The reason why he did that is because
of astronomical facts
that he found at Tiahuanaco.
These astronomical markers only
line up properly
around 15,000 BC.
CHILDRESS: Modern archaeologists have been
getting dates that are more like 500 AD.
But the dating is difficult.
Even today, archaeologists are not
in agreement of the dates of Tiahuanaco and Puma Punku.
NARRATOR: Posnansky based his dating
on features at a site located
less than one mile northeast of Puma Punku
called Kalasasaya.
John Fillwalk digitally recreated this ancient site
with its central sunken courtyard
and many monoliths
in order to look for celestial alignments
that might corroborate Posnansky's dating.
We're looking at Kalasasaya.
And Kalasasaya does have a beautiful equinox alignment.
You'll see the sun just sits there
-right on top of the, the stone. -TSOUKALOS: Okay.
FILLWALK: That's gorgeous.
TSOUKALOS: Oh, how cool is that?
So, we worked with NASA's
JPL Horizons group
to provide data on any kind of visible celestial body
-looking at 15,000 BC. -And what did you find?
So, there were some interesting alignments, I have to say.
At Kalasasaya.
Because there's all the verticals that point around.
And so we investigated that
from the center monument looking outward towards
those posts as almost like in Stonehenge
-where you look and you can see, -Right.
you know, solstice or equinox and that kind of thing.
That would essentially indicate
that Posnansky's calculations
in this particular case
were correct.
I mean, I think that's possible.
There are alignments.
-Wow. Okay. -Yeah.
-There are. -That date back 15,000 BC. I mean,
you know, all of this would essentially rewrite
South American history, and this is something to be
-excited about. -Yeah.
NARRATOR: If the Kalasasaya structure at Tiahuanaco
can be dated to 15,000 BC,
is it possible that Puma Punku is that old as well?
FOERSTER: There's no logic as to why modern archaeologists
put one fence around Puma Punku
and another around Tiahuanaco.
They're both the same location.
It's clear they were both built at the same time
by the same builders in the very, very distant past.
NARRATOR: Some researchers also believe
that the remote location of Puma Punku
would make more sense if it had been built 17,000 years ago,
because at that time, it may have overlooked
Lake Titicaca.
If you look at the geomorphology, if you look
at the sediments that have been deposited around the site,
you can see that the lake was at one point much, much larger.
COLLINS: Lake Titicaca today
is many miles away from Puma Punku,
but in the past it is believed that this was actually
much closer to Puma Punku.
-So, we're looking at Lake Titicaca right now, -Correct.
so where is, in this image,
where is Puma Punku located?
Yeah, so, right, so at the tail end
of the lake, here on the south,
kind of east corner, if you come out here into the plains,
it's a little bit offset into that area, that flat area.
Okay, and the idea is that long ago,
Lake Titicaca was much, much larger,
and so that Puma Punku and Tiahuanaco
may have been a harbor or a port
to Lake Titicaca.
Certainly would make sense, and water
is such a dominant feature at the site, as you know,
-with the canal structures -Right.
-and drainage systems and all of that. -Mm-hmm.
So, that connection to water, obviously, is really important.
NARRATOR: According to some experts,
Puma Punku's proximity to Lake Titicaca
in the distant past might also explain
why the site appears to have experienced a cataclysmic event.
FOERSTER: I think what was responsible was a massive
explosion of the volcano of Cerro Khapía
between 12,800
and 11,600 years ago.
Right next to that volcano
is the deepest part of the lake,
which is 800 to 900 feet deep.
So I think the debris that came from the volcano
created a tsunami that lifted up the soil
and sediment at the bottom of the shallow part of the lake
and literally buried Puma Punku and parts of Tiahuanaco.
TSOUKALOS: There is a possibility
that Dr. Posnansky's calculations are correct.
And Puma Punku may date back
as far as 15,000 years BC.
And if that is the case,
that is one of those times
where, in many cultures around the world,
including the ancient Egyptians,
are referring to a golden age
when the so-called gods mingled amongst humankind.
So, was this an early memory of first contact?
NARRATOR: Could it be that Puma Punku was built
more than 17,000 years ago
and has a connection to otherworldly visitors?
Perhaps further clues can be found
by examining a gigantic stone gateway
that might be the final piece of the puzzle.
NARRATOR: When investigating the ruins of Puma Punku
for insights about its mysterious origins,
ancient astronaut theorists believe
some of the most compelling clues
can be found by examining a giant stone doorway
that stands less than a mile away
in central Tiahuanaco.
Called the Gate of the Sun,
it is ten feet tall, 13 feet wide
and was carved from a single piece of andesite stone
that weighs more than ten tons.
Perhaps one of the most iconic works of Tiahuanaco
is the Gate of the Sun.
It was found nearby and ultimately moved
to its present location.
And they think that it could well have been,
actually, the entrance or gateway to Puma Punku.
It features the Inca god Viracocha,
who's the god of creation, who's portrayed
as a sort of a humanoid figure
with rays coming off his head.
NEWMAN: Interestingly, the god Viracocha
is holding two staffs.
And this is the most ancient version of Viracocha.
And so to find that there is really quite astonishing.
It's said that Viracocha himself,
the great god of the Andes, was actually the person
who instigated the construction of Tiahuanaco and Puma Punku.
So what's particularly fascinating about
the Gate of the Sun is that
on either side of Viracocha
are these figures on each side,
and they are birdmen.
TSOUKALOS: Viracocha is flanked
with 48 winged beings.
Now, why would these beings
have wings attached to them?
Well, because our ancestors
try to signify flight.
What I think is depicted
on the Gate of the Sun is a type
of a celestial pantheon,
suggesting that whoever came
and imparted knowledge
at Tiahuanaco and Puma Punku
were beings that had a celestial connection,
meaning they came from the sky.
NARRATOR: Could it be that the figures carved
on the Gate of the Sun are depictions of extraterrestrials
who arrived in Puma Punku in the distant past?
If Puma Punku was some sort of temple complex--
as Alexei Vranich, Scott McAvoy
and John Fillwalk have all envisioned--
was it built to connect with these beings?
For now, there remain more questions than answers.
But many researchers believe that solving the mystery
of Puma Punku could lead to even more profound revelations.
VRANICH: Puma Punku will be a mystery
for a lot of people for a long time.
And there are a lot of aspects and facets
of that society we don't know about.
Archaeologists will be able to work there for many generations.
We can continue to excavate,
uh, and do more advanced analysis
to try to find out a little bit more
about Puma Punku and Tiahuanaco society.
FOERSTER: Puma Punku is unique in terms of its construction,
its astonishing level of accuracy.
Flat surfaces almost laser flat.
So it makes it one of the most enigmatic
and fascinating ancient locations on the planet.
The level of technology required to create
Puma Punku would defy 21st century technologies.
So, how that was accomplished, I have no idea.
TSOUKALOS: Even to this day, with all the recreations,
nobody really has figured out yet
what that place looked like when it was finished.
What was Puma Punku made for?
Your guess is as good as mine.
But we may have a eureka moment
where, together,
we will unlock the great mystery
of Puma Punku.
NARRATOR: Since Spanish explorers first came upon
Puma Punku nearly five centuries ago,
the ruins have remained one of the ancient world's
greatest mysteries.
Like the pyramids that stand on Egypt's Giza Plateau,
the enormous Moai statues of Easter Island,
and the monoliths of Stonehenge,
might Puma Punku point to a history
that is much different than we've imagined?
Perhaps modern technology
will soon reveal Puma Punku's
long held secrets and the truth
about our alien ancestors.
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