Lost Kingdoms Of South America: Season 1, Episode 1

1 - 1: People of the Clouds

eries in which archaeologist Dr Jago Cooper reveals the history of some of South America’s ancient civilisations. Exploring ruins and investigating the truth behind legends that surround these cultures, Dr Cooper journeys through Peru, Bolivia and Colombia to reveal the true character of the continent through its archaeology, culture, people and landscapes. He begins with an epic journey into the remote Peruvian Andes in search of the mysterious Chachapoya people. Once numbering half a million, they were known as the ‘People of the Clouds’. Dr Cooper reveals how they developed sophisticated methods of recording stories, traded in exotic goods found hundreds of miles from their territory, and had funeral traditions that challenge assumptions about ancient human behaviour. His search for evidence takes him to astonishing cliff tombs untouched for 500 years and one of the most spectacular fortresses in South America, where the fate of the Chachapoya is revealed.