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Secrets of Lost Empires I—Inca
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Program Overview
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Ancient structures may generate awe and provide information about the people
who built them, but they leave many questions unanswered: How were they
constructed? What technologies were available to the builders? What tools did
they use?
In this four-part mini series, NOVA brings together experts from diverse fields
to reconstruct how these monuments might have been built. For each structure,
individual teams are challenged to create a scale model using the materials and
scientific knowledge thought to be available at the time of original
construction (although at times they resort to modern methods). By applying
their knowledge of each culture, their expertise in building techniques, and a
process of trial and error, the teams attempt to reconstruct these ancient
technological wonders.
Inca
 Even without such technological advances as wheels, arches, draft animals, iron
tools, or a system of writing, the Inca—utilizing a tradition of shared
labor—achieved a number of engineering feats. The NOVA team explores both
stonework and bridge building, experimenting with dragging and fitting huge
stones, and working with the people of an Andean village to create a suspension
bridge made only of grass ropes.
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