1 00:00:02,344 --> 00:00:06,551 Gates: How Did Something This Big, This Complex Get Built Here? 2 00:00:06,551 --> 00:00:08,620 That Is What I'm Here To Find Out. 3 00:00:08,620 --> 00:00:15,068 ♪♪ 4 00:00:15,068 --> 00:00:17,586 It's Probably The Most Important City 5 00:00:17,586 --> 00:00:19,689 In All The American Continent. 6 00:00:22,551 --> 00:00:25,689 They Had This Really Violent Mythology. 7 00:00:28,034 --> 00:00:29,275 What The Hell? 8 00:00:31,448 --> 00:00:34,620 They Made This Directly Under The Center Of The Pyramid. 9 00:00:34,620 --> 00:00:36,344 [ Chuckling ] Oh, My God. 10 00:00:38,689 --> 00:00:41,000 They Put Something Down There They Didn't Want People To Find. 11 00:00:42,827 --> 00:00:44,517 How Awesome Is This? 12 00:00:46,689 --> 00:00:49,413 So, It All Leads To This. 13 00:00:49,413 --> 00:00:51,689 Holy [Bleep] 14 00:00:51,689 --> 00:00:54,689 --Captions By Vitac-- Www.Vitac.Com 15 00:00:54,689 --> 00:00:57,655 Captions Paid For By Discovery Communications 16 00:00:57,655 --> 00:01:02,586 ♪♪ 17 00:01:02,586 --> 00:01:05,655 Long Before Europeans Arrived In The So-Called New World, 18 00:01:05,655 --> 00:01:07,103 The Americas Were Home 19 00:01:07,103 --> 00:01:09,862 To Some Of The Most Advanced Civilizations In History -- 20 00:01:09,862 --> 00:01:12,724 The Aztecs, The Inca, The Maya. 21 00:01:12,724 --> 00:01:14,655 But There's Another Civilization 22 00:01:14,655 --> 00:01:18,482 That May Have Been More Powerful Than All Of Them -- 23 00:01:18,482 --> 00:01:21,103 The Empire Of Teotihuacan. 24 00:01:21,103 --> 00:01:22,896 At Their Ruined Capital In Mexico, 25 00:01:22,896 --> 00:01:25,172 They Left Behind Soaring Pyramids, 26 00:01:25,172 --> 00:01:26,551 Imposing Temples, 27 00:01:26,551 --> 00:01:28,862 And A Treasure Trove Of Cryptic Art 28 00:01:28,862 --> 00:01:32,068 Dating Back Nearly 2,000 Years. 29 00:01:32,068 --> 00:01:33,551 And Yet, For All Of Their Might, 30 00:01:33,551 --> 00:01:35,586 We Know Surprisingly Little About Them. 31 00:01:35,586 --> 00:01:37,448 Archaeologists Have Been Unable 32 00:01:37,448 --> 00:01:39,482 To Decipher Their System Of Writing, 33 00:01:39,482 --> 00:01:41,206 And They Haven't Found A Single Tomb 34 00:01:41,206 --> 00:01:43,655 From One Of Their Rulers. 35 00:01:43,655 --> 00:01:44,862 Historians Used To Believe 36 00:01:44,862 --> 00:01:48,103 That Teotihuacan Was A Peaceful Culture. 37 00:01:48,103 --> 00:01:50,482 But Now Grisly Evidence Has Been Found 38 00:01:50,482 --> 00:01:52,413 That Could Point To Bizarre Rituals 39 00:01:52,413 --> 00:01:55,310 And A Bloodthirsty Legacy. 40 00:01:55,310 --> 00:01:56,758 So, Who Were These People? 41 00:01:56,758 --> 00:01:59,034 How Did They Become So Powerful? 42 00:01:59,034 --> 00:02:01,379 And Why Did They Vanish From History? 43 00:02:01,379 --> 00:02:03,517 We're About To Find Out. 44 00:02:03,517 --> 00:02:06,137 Above The Ruins, 21St-Century Technology 45 00:02:06,137 --> 00:02:09,137 Is Helping To Reconstruct Their Mystical City. 46 00:02:09,137 --> 00:02:12,965 Meanwhile, A Team Of Explorers Has Discovered A Secret Tunnel 47 00:02:12,965 --> 00:02:15,448 Beneath One Of Their Most Sacred Temples. 48 00:02:15,448 --> 00:02:17,413 But Where Does It Lead? 49 00:02:17,413 --> 00:02:19,827 To Find Out, I'm Heading South Of The Border 50 00:02:19,827 --> 00:02:21,517 To Join The Teams That Are On The Verge 51 00:02:21,517 --> 00:02:25,000 Of Discovering The Secrets Of Teotihuacan. 52 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:31,241 ♪♪ 53 00:02:31,241 --> 00:02:34,448 My Name Is Josh Gates. 54 00:02:34,448 --> 00:02:39,310 With A Degree In Archaeology And A Passion For Exploration, 55 00:02:39,310 --> 00:02:42,896 I Have A Tendency To End Up In Some Very Strange Situations. 56 00:02:42,896 --> 00:02:44,310 Good Lord! 57 00:02:44,310 --> 00:02:46,310 [ Laughs ] 58 00:02:46,310 --> 00:02:49,206 My Travels Have Taken Me To The Ends Of The Earth 59 00:02:49,206 --> 00:02:52,241 As I Investigate The Greatest Legends In History. 60 00:02:52,241 --> 00:02:53,724 We're Good To Fly. Let's Go. 61 00:02:53,724 --> 00:02:56,275 This Is "Expedition Unknown." 62 00:02:56,275 --> 00:03:02,413 ♪♪ 63 00:03:02,413 --> 00:03:08,517 ♪♪ 64 00:03:08,517 --> 00:03:11,034 Well, It Is Very Early Morning, Very Chilly, 65 00:03:11,034 --> 00:03:13,206 And I'm Only About An Hour From Mexico City, 66 00:03:13,206 --> 00:03:14,517 But You Would Never Know It. 67 00:03:14,517 --> 00:03:17,275 I May As Well Be In Another Time And Place Altogether. 68 00:03:17,275 --> 00:03:21,241 There Are No People, There's No Cars -- Just Silence. 69 00:03:21,241 --> 00:03:24,655 This Is One Of The Most Mysterious Places In The World. 70 00:03:24,655 --> 00:03:27,862 It Is Sunrise, And This Is Teotihuacan. 71 00:03:30,310 --> 00:03:32,034 Sprawling Avenues, 72 00:03:32,034 --> 00:03:34,310 Perfectly Constructed Platforms, 73 00:03:34,310 --> 00:03:35,758 Cryptic Temples, 74 00:03:35,758 --> 00:03:37,413 And Immense Pyramids -- 75 00:03:37,413 --> 00:03:40,034 One Dedicated To The God Of The Moon, 76 00:03:40,034 --> 00:03:42,586 And This One, The Pyramid Of The Sun. 77 00:03:44,793 --> 00:03:47,344 This Is The Pyramid Of The Sun. 78 00:03:47,344 --> 00:03:49,448 I Could Use A Lot Of Adjectives To Describe How Big It Is. 79 00:03:49,448 --> 00:03:51,413 I Could Tell You That It's The Third-Largest Pyramid 80 00:03:51,413 --> 00:03:52,413 In The World. 81 00:03:52,413 --> 00:03:54,827 But The Only Way To Really Understand 82 00:03:54,827 --> 00:03:59,275 How Hugethis Thing Is Is To Go To The Top. 83 00:03:59,275 --> 00:04:00,689 Okay. 84 00:04:02,310 --> 00:04:04,034 You Got This. 85 00:04:04,034 --> 00:04:05,827 You Got This. 86 00:04:05,827 --> 00:04:07,206 This Is Fine. 87 00:04:07,206 --> 00:04:10,103 You're Not Gonna Die And Roll Down This Pyramid. 88 00:04:10,103 --> 00:04:11,241 Let Me Tell You Something 89 00:04:11,241 --> 00:04:13,517 I Just Learned About The Teotihuacanos -- 90 00:04:13,517 --> 00:04:15,241 Big-Time Into Cardio. 91 00:04:17,517 --> 00:04:20,551 Here...We Are. 92 00:04:20,551 --> 00:04:23,793 [ Panting ] 93 00:04:23,793 --> 00:04:25,344 Whew! 94 00:04:25,344 --> 00:04:26,931 Oh, God. 95 00:04:26,931 --> 00:04:28,724 Look At That View. 96 00:04:32,275 --> 00:04:34,689 Whew. 97 00:04:34,689 --> 00:04:37,551 God, I Hope They Have A Defibrillator Up Here. 98 00:04:37,551 --> 00:04:38,793 Until Recently, We've Known 99 00:04:38,793 --> 00:04:41,413 Relatively Little About Teotihuacan. 100 00:04:41,413 --> 00:04:43,689 In The Time Line Of Mesoamerican Cultures, 101 00:04:43,689 --> 00:04:46,241 They Came To Power Over 2,000 Years Ago 102 00:04:46,241 --> 00:04:48,482 And Dominated For Seven Centuries. 103 00:04:48,482 --> 00:04:50,517 They Were Contemporaries With The Maya, 104 00:04:50,517 --> 00:04:52,068 Who Ruled Further To The South, 105 00:04:52,068 --> 00:04:54,862 And They Collapsed Just Before The Rise Of The Aztecs. 106 00:04:54,862 --> 00:04:56,586 Since No Royal Tombs 107 00:04:56,586 --> 00:04:59,275 Or Evidence Of Mass Sacrifice Was Found Here, 108 00:04:59,275 --> 00:05:01,137 For Years, The Prevailing Belief 109 00:05:01,137 --> 00:05:04,655 Was That Teotihuacan Was A Peaceful, Communal Society -- 110 00:05:04,655 --> 00:05:08,103 The Hippies Of The Precolonial Americas. 111 00:05:08,103 --> 00:05:10,931 But From Up Here, The City And Its Grand Temples 112 00:05:10,931 --> 00:05:12,931 Look Pretty Imposing. 113 00:05:12,931 --> 00:05:17,172 This Pyramid Is The Centerpiece Of Teotihuacan In Many Ways. 114 00:05:17,172 --> 00:05:18,413 It Is The Perfect Symbol 115 00:05:18,413 --> 00:05:21,793 For The Unknown That Is This Place. 116 00:05:21,793 --> 00:05:25,344 How Did Something This Big, This Complex Get Built Here 117 00:05:25,344 --> 00:05:28,724 1,500 Years Before The Spanish Arrived In The Americas? 118 00:05:28,724 --> 00:05:30,517 Who Were The People Who Built It? 119 00:05:30,517 --> 00:05:31,965 And Why Don't We Know More About Them? 120 00:05:31,965 --> 00:05:35,103 Why Isn't Teotihuacan A Household Name? 121 00:05:35,103 --> 00:05:37,310 That Is What I'm Here To Find Out. 122 00:05:41,448 --> 00:05:43,827 Time To Get Down, Cool Off, 123 00:05:43,827 --> 00:05:45,275 And Get To Work. 124 00:05:45,275 --> 00:05:47,034 I'm Going To Speak With One Of The Most Prominent 125 00:05:47,034 --> 00:05:49,206 Archaeologists Here At Teotihuacan, 126 00:05:49,206 --> 00:05:51,448 Who May Be On The Verge Of A Breakthrough. 127 00:05:51,448 --> 00:05:54,896 But Since It's About 6:00 A.M. And Everyone Is Still Asleep, 128 00:05:54,896 --> 00:05:57,793 I've Got A Few Hours Before The Meeting. 129 00:05:57,793 --> 00:05:59,793 I Grab A Jeep And Head About 30 Miles 130 00:05:59,793 --> 00:06:01,586 To Another Ancient Town -- 131 00:06:01,586 --> 00:06:05,206 One That's Far From Abandoned And Already Wide Awake. 132 00:06:05,206 --> 00:06:13,103 ♪♪ 133 00:06:13,103 --> 00:06:15,827 Mexico City -- The Oldest Capital In The Americas 134 00:06:15,827 --> 00:06:18,862 And The Largest Urban Center In The Western Hemisphere, 135 00:06:18,862 --> 00:06:21,758 Home To More Than 20 Million People. 136 00:06:22,965 --> 00:06:25,034 This Is Also A City That People Who Have Never Been To 137 00:06:25,034 --> 00:06:26,965 Have A Lot Of Opinions About. 138 00:06:26,965 --> 00:06:28,517 People Worry That It's Dangerous. 139 00:06:28,517 --> 00:06:30,620 They Worry That The Food Is Going To Make You Sick. 140 00:06:30,620 --> 00:06:31,862 Let Me Set You Straight. 141 00:06:31,862 --> 00:06:33,862 Mexico City May Be A Little Chaotic, 142 00:06:33,862 --> 00:06:36,862 But It Has A Huge Heart, And It Is Quickly Becoming 143 00:06:36,862 --> 00:06:39,724 One Of The Most Cosmopolitan, One Of The Safest, 144 00:06:39,724 --> 00:06:42,965 And, Frankly, One Of The Coolest Cities In The Americas. 145 00:06:42,965 --> 00:06:45,000 This City Has Something For Everyone -- 146 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:46,103 World-Class Dining... 147 00:06:46,103 --> 00:06:47,827 What -- What Is The Escamoles? 148 00:06:47,827 --> 00:06:49,103 Ant Eggs. 149 00:06:49,103 --> 00:06:50,310 Ant Eggs? Yeah. 150 00:06:50,310 --> 00:06:52,000 Oh. Good, Good, Good. 151 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:53,206 [ Crunching ] 152 00:06:53,206 --> 00:06:54,586 Crunchy. 153 00:06:54,586 --> 00:06:57,655 ...And Stores So New, They Seem To Pop Up Out Of Nowhere. 154 00:06:57,655 --> 00:07:00,379 They Drag The Clothes Down Here, Which Is Better Real Estate, 155 00:07:00,379 --> 00:07:01,620 But It's Illegal. 156 00:07:01,620 --> 00:07:05,034 They Have Spotters With Walkie-Talkies. 157 00:07:05,034 --> 00:07:07,379 And If Any Of Them See The Cops, 158 00:07:07,379 --> 00:07:11,000 Then All These Guys Run Like Hell. 159 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,275 I Mean, It's A Pretty Good System. 160 00:07:15,344 --> 00:07:16,965 I'm Not Just Here To Kill Time, Though. 161 00:07:16,965 --> 00:07:18,482 This Is A Critical Stop 162 00:07:18,482 --> 00:07:21,241 On My Exploration Of Teotihuacan. 163 00:07:21,241 --> 00:07:24,482 You See, This Wasn't Always Mexico City. 164 00:07:24,482 --> 00:07:26,620 When The Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés 165 00:07:26,620 --> 00:07:29,172 Came Over The Hill Here In 1521, 166 00:07:29,172 --> 00:07:31,862 He Saw Something That Took His Breath Away -- 167 00:07:31,862 --> 00:07:35,379 A Massive City In The Center Of A Great Salt Lake, 168 00:07:35,379 --> 00:07:37,724 Home To More Than 100,000 People. 169 00:07:37,724 --> 00:07:40,862 This Was The Aztec Capital Of Tenochtitlan. 170 00:07:42,655 --> 00:07:44,862 The Aztecs Were One Of The Most Advanced Cultures 171 00:07:44,862 --> 00:07:46,413 In The Americas, 172 00:07:46,413 --> 00:07:49,655 And They Took Great Inspiration From The Empire Of Teotihuacan 173 00:07:49,655 --> 00:07:52,413 That Collapsed Just Before They Rose To Power. 174 00:07:55,586 --> 00:07:57,655 To Find Traces Of The Original City, 175 00:07:57,655 --> 00:07:59,379 You Have To Look Underground. 176 00:07:59,379 --> 00:08:01,275 In The Crowded Mexico City Subway 177 00:08:01,275 --> 00:08:03,793 Where, Apparently, It's Pay-Or-Limbo Day, 178 00:08:03,793 --> 00:08:07,206 Archaeologists Have Uncovered Stunning Aztec Glyphs 179 00:08:07,206 --> 00:08:09,896 And Even Had To Build A Station Around A Pyramid. 180 00:08:12,172 --> 00:08:13,172 Sorry. Sorry. 181 00:08:13,172 --> 00:08:14,206 Sorry, Mexico. 182 00:08:15,344 --> 00:08:17,068 Some Of The City's Oldest Traditions 183 00:08:17,068 --> 00:08:19,517 Are Alive And Well At The Sonora Market -- 184 00:08:19,517 --> 00:08:23,275 The Place To Go For Anything, Everything, And Thisthing. 185 00:08:23,275 --> 00:08:26,103 This Is Rattlesnake Powder, Which Is Used To Fight Disease, 186 00:08:26,103 --> 00:08:28,241 And, Uh, How It Does That Is It Kills You. 187 00:08:28,241 --> 00:08:30,310 This Is A Spray Called Call Client. 188 00:08:30,310 --> 00:08:32,034 It's To Get Customers To Come Into Your Store. 189 00:08:32,034 --> 00:08:34,758 Do They Have A Call Viewers? 190 00:08:34,758 --> 00:08:37,068 Fresh Mint, Rosemary, Basil. 191 00:08:37,068 --> 00:08:39,241 Do You Have Shrunken Human Heads Here? 192 00:08:39,241 --> 00:08:41,103 Oh! No, They're Right Here. I Found Them. I Got Them. 193 00:08:41,103 --> 00:08:44,551 Everything You Need For That Upcoming Dinner Party. 194 00:08:44,551 --> 00:08:49,310 Coming Out Of The Market, I Make My Way To Zócalo Square. 195 00:08:49,310 --> 00:08:51,344 Beneath It, Archaeologists Are Excavating 196 00:08:51,344 --> 00:08:54,310 The Grand Temple Of The Aztec Capital. 197 00:08:54,310 --> 00:08:57,310 To Learn What This Pyramid Can Reveal About Teotihuacan, 198 00:08:57,310 --> 00:08:59,724 I'm Chatting With Dr. Carlos Gonzalez, 199 00:08:59,724 --> 00:09:03,241 Who's Been Investigating This Place For Decades. 200 00:09:03,241 --> 00:09:06,068 We Really Are In The Center Of The Aztec World Here, Right? 201 00:09:16,517 --> 00:09:18,551 Many People Have Heard Of The Aztecs, 202 00:09:18,551 --> 00:09:21,655 But Teotihuacan, We Don't Know As Much About. 203 00:09:21,655 --> 00:09:23,724 So, When The Aztecs Got To Teotihuacan, 204 00:09:23,724 --> 00:09:25,000 It Was Already Abandoned. 205 00:09:33,482 --> 00:09:36,379 When The Aztecs Discovered The Ruins Of Teotihuacan, 206 00:09:36,379 --> 00:09:38,724 They Were Taken Aback By The Sheer Size 207 00:09:38,724 --> 00:09:40,793 And Craftsmanship Of The Construction. 208 00:09:40,793 --> 00:09:42,551 They Believed That This Must Have Been 209 00:09:42,551 --> 00:09:44,275 The Home Of Their Ancestors 210 00:09:44,275 --> 00:09:49,379 And Dubbed The City Teotihuacan, Or The Home Of The Gods. 211 00:09:49,379 --> 00:09:51,034 It's Curious That The Aztecs, 212 00:09:51,034 --> 00:09:52,689 Who Were Arguably The Most Violent 213 00:09:52,689 --> 00:09:54,689 Of The Mesoamerican Civilizations, 214 00:09:54,689 --> 00:09:56,241 Were Inspired By A Culture 215 00:09:56,241 --> 00:09:59,448 That Archaeologists Have Always Thought Of As Peaceful. 216 00:09:59,448 --> 00:10:01,068 I Head Back To Teotihuacan 217 00:10:01,068 --> 00:10:04,275 To Sort Out What Seems Like A Strange Contradiction. 218 00:10:04,275 --> 00:10:09,620 ♪♪ 219 00:10:09,620 --> 00:10:11,931 I Link Up With Professor Saburo Sugiyama, 220 00:10:11,931 --> 00:10:15,000 Who Has Been At The Forefront Of Exploration At Teotihuacan 221 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:17,206 For More Than Three Decades. 222 00:10:19,344 --> 00:10:22,689 What's Been The Standing Wisdom About This Place? 223 00:10:35,517 --> 00:10:38,413 And As You've Been Working Here Over The Years And Excavating, 224 00:10:38,413 --> 00:10:39,896 Has That View Changed? 225 00:10:41,103 --> 00:10:43,965 Saburo Made A Series Of Astounding Discoveries 226 00:10:43,965 --> 00:10:45,896 Inside The Pyramid Of The Moon. 227 00:10:45,896 --> 00:10:48,310 He Uncovered The Remains Of 12 People 228 00:10:48,310 --> 00:10:50,965 Who Appear To Have Been Brutally Sacrificed. 229 00:10:50,965 --> 00:10:53,103 ♪♪ 230 00:10:58,137 --> 00:11:00,275 ♪♪ 231 00:11:05,172 --> 00:11:07,172 ♪♪ 232 00:11:09,724 --> 00:11:11,724 That's Quite A Reversal, Right? 233 00:11:11,724 --> 00:11:14,206 Anytime You Find Jewelry Made Of Human Bones, 234 00:11:14,206 --> 00:11:16,275 You're Probably Dealing With A Group Of People 235 00:11:16,275 --> 00:11:18,655 Who Maybe Were Not Totally Peaceful. 236 00:11:22,172 --> 00:11:23,896 Auto-Sacrifice -- So Self-Bloodletting? 237 00:11:30,344 --> 00:11:31,206 Come On. 238 00:11:33,827 --> 00:11:35,862 No, That's Okay. I Think I'm -- I Think I'm Fine. 239 00:11:35,862 --> 00:11:38,103 Saburo's Discoveries At Teotihuacan 240 00:11:38,103 --> 00:11:40,344 Are Rapidly Reshaping History. 241 00:11:40,344 --> 00:11:43,344 It May Be That The Aztecs Took More Inspiration Here 242 00:11:43,344 --> 00:11:45,413 Than Anyone Ever Realized. 243 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:50,724 As Much As The Aztecs, Do You Think? 244 00:11:57,310 --> 00:11:59,034 ♪♪ 245 00:11:59,034 --> 00:12:01,172 This Potential Power Is At The Heart 246 00:12:01,172 --> 00:12:04,344 Of Saburo's Latest Research, As He Tries To Figure Out 247 00:12:04,344 --> 00:12:07,344 Just How Influential This City Really Was. 248 00:12:07,344 --> 00:12:09,931 ♪♪ 249 00:12:18,103 --> 00:12:19,448 Right. 250 00:12:21,310 --> 00:12:22,965 I Would Love To See It. Yeah. 251 00:12:26,793 --> 00:12:29,620 To Understand The True Power Of Teotihuacan, 252 00:12:29,620 --> 00:12:31,965 We Need To Take To The Air. 253 00:12:35,655 --> 00:12:37,689 A Helicopter From A Nearby Airfield 254 00:12:37,689 --> 00:12:39,793 Lifts Us High Above The Ancient City. 255 00:12:39,793 --> 00:12:41,620 And After A Moment, It's Clear 256 00:12:41,620 --> 00:12:44,137 That I've Only Seen The Tip Of The Iceberg. 257 00:12:44,137 --> 00:12:45,827 ♪♪ 258 00:12:57,689 --> 00:13:00,103 Gates: I'm In Mexico, Hoping To Unlock The Mysteries 259 00:13:00,103 --> 00:13:03,068 Of The Legendary City Of Teotihuacan. 260 00:13:03,068 --> 00:13:05,862 I'm Flying Shotgun With Professor Saburo Sugiyama, 261 00:13:05,862 --> 00:13:07,862 Who's Using Powerful Laser Scanners 262 00:13:07,862 --> 00:13:09,482 To Map The Ruins Below. 263 00:13:12,724 --> 00:13:15,379 Lidar Technology Uses Lasers To See Through 264 00:13:15,379 --> 00:13:17,724 Existing Vegetation And Construction, 265 00:13:17,724 --> 00:13:19,724 Giving The User A Kind Of X-Ray Vision 266 00:13:19,724 --> 00:13:21,275 To See What's Underneath. 267 00:13:21,275 --> 00:13:23,896 In This Case, A Shocking Surprise. 268 00:13:26,724 --> 00:13:29,551 ♪♪ 269 00:13:31,655 --> 00:13:33,689 ♪♪ 270 00:13:41,793 --> 00:13:45,482 The City Is Bigger Than Anyone Had Previously Imagined -- 271 00:13:45,482 --> 00:13:47,000 Muchbigger. 272 00:14:01,068 --> 00:14:03,482 The Lidar Reveals A Sophisticated Network 273 00:14:03,482 --> 00:14:05,758 Of Roads, Irrigation Systems, 274 00:14:05,758 --> 00:14:09,551 And Even Other Pyramids That Have Never Been Excavated. 275 00:14:18,655 --> 00:14:20,448 ♪♪ 276 00:14:29,275 --> 00:14:32,137 This Is The True Face Of Teotihuacan, 277 00:14:32,137 --> 00:14:34,310 Laid Out Like A Digital Carpet. 278 00:14:34,310 --> 00:14:35,517 The Data Reveals 279 00:14:35,517 --> 00:14:38,793 That This Was The Largest City In The New World. 280 00:14:38,793 --> 00:14:41,137 Today, Thousands Of People Live On Top Of It 281 00:14:41,137 --> 00:14:42,689 Without Even Knowing. 282 00:14:42,689 --> 00:14:44,689 Its Newly Revealed Immense Size 283 00:14:44,689 --> 00:14:47,586 Means That This Almost Certainly Wasn't Some Commune 284 00:14:47,586 --> 00:14:49,310 That Expanded Over Time. 285 00:14:49,310 --> 00:14:50,758 This Is A Mega City 286 00:14:50,758 --> 00:14:53,689 That Was Planned And Engineered From The Get-Go. 287 00:14:53,689 --> 00:14:55,000 But By Whom? 288 00:15:12,206 --> 00:15:16,896 ♪♪ 289 00:15:16,896 --> 00:15:19,862 To Build An Urban Center Like This Would've Required 290 00:15:19,862 --> 00:15:22,586 An Immense Amount Of Manpower And Organization, 291 00:15:22,586 --> 00:15:24,379 Which Means The People Who Constructed It 292 00:15:24,379 --> 00:15:26,620 Must Have Been Powerful And Wealthy. 293 00:15:26,620 --> 00:15:29,862 So Where Did That Power Come From? 294 00:15:29,862 --> 00:15:32,172 I'm Back On Terra Firma To Find Out. 295 00:15:32,172 --> 00:15:33,965 They Say The Best Way To Get To Know Someone 296 00:15:33,965 --> 00:15:35,413 Is To Talk To Their Neighbors. 297 00:15:35,413 --> 00:15:36,965 For The Teotihuacanos, 298 00:15:36,965 --> 00:15:39,034 That Means Heading 80 Miles Away, 299 00:15:39,034 --> 00:15:42,241 To The Ruins Of A Smaller Culture In The Town Of Cholula. 300 00:15:44,103 --> 00:15:45,275 In America, Of Course, 301 00:15:45,275 --> 00:15:48,482 Cholula Is Famous For Its Namesake Hot Sauce, 302 00:15:48,482 --> 00:15:50,620 Which, It Turns Out, Is Neither Made In 303 00:15:50,620 --> 00:15:52,586 Nor Particularly Famous In Cholula. 304 00:15:52,586 --> 00:15:53,896 Next, You're Gonna Tell Me 305 00:15:53,896 --> 00:15:55,931 That Milky Way Candy Bars Are Not Made In Outer Space. 306 00:15:55,931 --> 00:15:58,000 [ Scoffs ] I Mean, Come On. 307 00:16:02,379 --> 00:16:04,482 Just Because They Don't Make Hot Sauce Here 308 00:16:04,482 --> 00:16:06,586 Doesn't Mean That Cholula Lacks Spice. 309 00:16:06,586 --> 00:16:10,482 This Was A Major Settlement At The Same Time As Teotihuacan. 310 00:16:10,482 --> 00:16:13,689 And It's Still A Vital, Bustling Place Today. 311 00:16:13,689 --> 00:16:15,379 There's Homemade Clothing To Buy... 312 00:16:15,379 --> 00:16:16,862 I'm A Tourist. 313 00:16:16,862 --> 00:16:18,620 ...One-Of-A-Kind Souvenirs... 314 00:16:18,620 --> 00:16:21,724 This Literally Has A Snake, A Bat, And A Scorpion In It. 315 00:16:21,724 --> 00:16:22,896 Oof. 316 00:16:22,896 --> 00:16:25,586 You Thought Kombucha Tea Was Tough. 317 00:16:25,586 --> 00:16:28,172 ...And Tortillas That Can't Get Any Fresher. 318 00:16:29,689 --> 00:16:31,482 [ Cheers And Applause ] 319 00:16:34,137 --> 00:16:36,965 On My Way Through The Market, I Hear A Lot Of Commotion. 320 00:16:36,965 --> 00:16:39,620 Meet The Voladores, Or Flying Men. 321 00:16:39,620 --> 00:16:42,275 They're Part Cirque Du Soleil, Part Daredevil Act, 322 00:16:42,275 --> 00:16:43,620 And All Crazy. 323 00:16:43,620 --> 00:16:45,793 These Guys Climb A 100-Foot Pole, 324 00:16:45,793 --> 00:16:48,000 Tie Themselves At The Waist, And Then Jump, 325 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:49,862 Spinning Their Way To The Bottom. 326 00:16:49,862 --> 00:16:51,931 So, This Is An Activity That Has Been Going On 327 00:16:51,931 --> 00:16:54,034 Here In Mesoamerica Since Ancient Times. 328 00:16:54,034 --> 00:16:55,931 Very Scary, No? 329 00:16:55,931 --> 00:16:57,172 No.You're Very Brave. 330 00:16:57,172 --> 00:16:58,689 Con Huevos.You Got Huevos. 331 00:16:58,689 --> 00:16:59,689 Huevos. 332 00:16:59,689 --> 00:17:01,068 Can I Give It A Try? 333 00:17:01,068 --> 00:17:02,103 Yes? -Yes. -Arriba. 334 00:17:02,103 --> 00:17:03,655 Let's Do This. Come On, Guys. 335 00:17:05,655 --> 00:17:07,241 Gates: I Always Wanted To Join The Circus, 336 00:17:07,241 --> 00:17:09,689 And Working For Tips On An Unregulated Deathtrap 337 00:17:09,689 --> 00:17:11,379 May Be As Close As I Get. 338 00:17:13,827 --> 00:17:15,896 [ Cheers And Applause ] 339 00:17:15,896 --> 00:17:22,448 ♪♪ 340 00:17:22,448 --> 00:17:29,034 ♪♪ 341 00:17:30,413 --> 00:17:32,793 That Josh Gates Is Really Brave. 342 00:17:36,310 --> 00:17:38,655 On The Far End Of The Market In The Center Of Town 343 00:17:38,655 --> 00:17:39,793 Is A Massive Hill 344 00:17:39,793 --> 00:17:41,793 With A Spanish Cathedral At The Top. 345 00:17:41,793 --> 00:17:43,689 But Looks Can Be Deceiving. 346 00:17:45,793 --> 00:17:47,448 This Is No Hill. 347 00:17:47,448 --> 00:17:50,206 Beneath The Earth And Vegetation Is A Temple. 348 00:17:50,206 --> 00:17:52,103 In Fact, At 1,300 Feet Long, 349 00:17:52,103 --> 00:17:54,551 It Is The Largest Pyramid On Earth... 350 00:17:59,137 --> 00:18:02,689 ...Even Bigger Than The Pyramid At Giza. 351 00:18:02,689 --> 00:18:04,724 To Find Out What This Buried Time Capsule 352 00:18:04,724 --> 00:18:06,758 Can Tell Me About Teotihuacan, 353 00:18:06,758 --> 00:18:10,344 I'm Meeting With Archaeologist Dr. Sergio Suarez Cruz. 354 00:18:10,344 --> 00:18:13,206 It Is The Biggest Pyramid In The World By Volume. 355 00:18:13,206 --> 00:18:14,862 Sí. It's Crazy. 356 00:18:14,862 --> 00:18:16,379 I'd Love To See It. Please -- Lead On. 357 00:18:16,379 --> 00:18:17,551 Yes. Yeah. 358 00:18:21,413 --> 00:18:23,034 [ Chuckles ] 359 00:18:23,034 --> 00:18:24,344 Okay. 360 00:18:24,344 --> 00:18:25,862 Into The Darkness. 361 00:18:25,862 --> 00:18:27,896 We Walk Into The Hill Through A Portal 362 00:18:27,896 --> 00:18:33,034 Dug Not By Ancient Builders, But By Modern Archaeologists. 363 00:18:33,034 --> 00:18:36,655 You Can See Where All This Was Chiseled Out By Hand. 364 00:18:36,655 --> 00:18:38,172 Starting In The 1930S, 365 00:18:38,172 --> 00:18:41,620 They Tunneled Into The Hillside With Almost Surgical Precision 366 00:18:41,620 --> 00:18:44,827 In Order To Study The Layers Of History Underneath. 367 00:18:44,827 --> 00:18:46,551 So, First Of All, 368 00:18:46,551 --> 00:18:49,517 It Seems Like There Are A Million Passages Down Here. 369 00:18:49,517 --> 00:18:51,344 Interpreter: Yes -- Nearly 5 Miles. 370 00:18:51,344 --> 00:18:53,103 5 Miles Of Tunnels. 371 00:18:53,103 --> 00:18:54,172 Do You Ever Get Lost Down Here? 372 00:18:54,172 --> 00:18:55,103 Claro. Sí. 373 00:18:55,103 --> 00:18:56,758 Oh, You Do? Oh. Okay, Good. 374 00:18:56,758 --> 00:18:58,655 Well, I'm Right Behind You. Here We Go. 375 00:19:00,655 --> 00:19:02,275 Dr. Cruz Somehow Navigates 376 00:19:02,275 --> 00:19:04,103 Through The Pitch-Black Corridors 377 00:19:04,103 --> 00:19:05,793 And Eventually Leads Me To Evidence 378 00:19:05,793 --> 00:19:10,172 That This Hill Hasn't Always Been Just A Hill. 379 00:19:10,172 --> 00:19:11,586 Holy Moly. 380 00:19:11,586 --> 00:19:14,034 These Stairs Weren't Created Underground. 381 00:19:14,034 --> 00:19:18,689 This Is The Exterior Of The Great Pyramid Of Cholula. 382 00:19:18,689 --> 00:19:22,034 You Really Get A Sense Of How Tall This Is 383 00:19:22,034 --> 00:19:23,172 When You Get In Here 384 00:19:23,172 --> 00:19:25,068 And See This Channel That They've Cut 385 00:19:25,068 --> 00:19:28,103 That Actually Takes You Up The Entire Side Of The Pyramid. 386 00:19:30,068 --> 00:19:31,241 These Stairs Are Just 387 00:19:31,241 --> 00:19:33,137 The Outermost Layer Of The Temple. 388 00:19:33,137 --> 00:19:34,827 And Since All Of It Is Buried, 389 00:19:34,827 --> 00:19:37,689 Each Inner Layer Has Been Perfectly Preserved. 390 00:19:37,689 --> 00:19:39,413 We Travel Deeper Into The Darkness 391 00:19:39,413 --> 00:19:41,965 Until We Arrive At The Heart Of The Pyramid 392 00:19:41,965 --> 00:19:43,724 And A Stunning Surprise. 393 00:19:43,724 --> 00:19:46,000 Wow. Look At That. 394 00:19:57,344 --> 00:19:58,758 Wow. Look At That. 395 00:19:58,758 --> 00:20:00,862 Gates: Deep Underneath The Ruins Of A Buried Pyramid 396 00:20:00,862 --> 00:20:04,310 In Cholula, Mexico, Archaeologist Sergio Cruz And I 397 00:20:04,310 --> 00:20:07,724 Come Face-To-Face With A Piece Of Hidden History. 398 00:20:07,724 --> 00:20:10,068 Really Evocative.Mm-Hmm. Mm-Hmm. 399 00:20:10,068 --> 00:20:12,586 See This Skull-Like Face, This Red Skull 400 00:20:12,586 --> 00:20:14,551 Just Peering Out At You From The Darkness. 401 00:20:14,551 --> 00:20:16,103 And These Are Original Murals. 402 00:20:16,103 --> 00:20:17,724 [ Speaking Spanish ] 403 00:20:17,724 --> 00:20:20,241 Interpreter: What You're Seeing Here Is Incredibly Rare. 404 00:20:20,241 --> 00:20:22,275 This Is The Outside Of A Pyramid. 405 00:20:22,275 --> 00:20:25,241 When We See Most Pyramids Today, They're Just Stone, 406 00:20:25,241 --> 00:20:28,827 But They Were Originally Covered In Artwork. 407 00:20:28,827 --> 00:20:30,620 Ojos. Ah, Face. 408 00:20:30,620 --> 00:20:31,862 Face. Uh-Huh. 409 00:20:31,862 --> 00:20:34,448 Look At That -- Just Trapped In Time. 410 00:20:34,448 --> 00:20:38,482 Interpreter: This Art We Found Predates The Aztecs By 1,000 Years. 411 00:20:38,482 --> 00:20:40,793 We Now Think, With High Probability, 412 00:20:40,793 --> 00:20:42,827 That It's Teotihuacan In Origin, 413 00:20:42,827 --> 00:20:45,137 Depicting A Spirit Of A Dry Season 414 00:20:45,137 --> 00:20:48,034 Causing Death And Famine. 415 00:20:48,034 --> 00:20:50,034 What Have You Learned About The Relationship 416 00:20:50,034 --> 00:20:52,172 Between Cholula And Teotihuacan? 417 00:20:52,172 --> 00:20:53,620 Interpreter: This Art Shows Us 418 00:20:53,620 --> 00:20:56,068 That Teotihuacan Had Control Here. 419 00:20:56,068 --> 00:20:59,275 Their Power Spread Far Beyond The Borders Of Their Capital. 420 00:21:02,034 --> 00:21:04,275 Dr. Cruz And Others Are Discovering 421 00:21:04,275 --> 00:21:07,586 That The Influence Of Teotihuacan Was Vast. 422 00:21:07,586 --> 00:21:09,379 Along With The Murals Here At Cholula, 423 00:21:09,379 --> 00:21:12,586 There Are Teotihuacan Motifs Found At Various Other Sites 424 00:21:12,586 --> 00:21:14,103 In Central Mexico. 425 00:21:14,103 --> 00:21:17,931 What's More, The Glyphs Appear At The Mayan Sites Of Matacapan 426 00:21:17,931 --> 00:21:19,758 And Hundreds Of Miles Away 427 00:21:19,758 --> 00:21:22,896 At The Mayan Ruins Of Oxkintok In The Yucatán. 428 00:21:22,896 --> 00:21:25,862 There's Even A Depiction Of A Teotihuacano Warrior 429 00:21:25,862 --> 00:21:27,344 On A Stone Tablet 430 00:21:27,344 --> 00:21:31,137 As Far South As The Mayan Ruins Of Yaxhá In Guatemala. 431 00:21:33,103 --> 00:21:34,310 [ Speaking Spanish ] 432 00:21:34,310 --> 00:21:36,379 Interpreter: We Now Believe This Teotihuacan Culture 433 00:21:36,379 --> 00:21:38,275 Was Immensely Powerful. 434 00:21:38,275 --> 00:21:39,965 What Have You Found For Artifacts Down Here? 435 00:21:39,965 --> 00:21:42,103 We Found Ceramic Pieces Here, 436 00:21:42,103 --> 00:21:44,965 As Well As Very Strange Blades Made From Obsidian. 437 00:21:44,965 --> 00:21:46,758 Obsidian? Obsidian. 438 00:21:46,758 --> 00:21:49,862 Obsidian Is A Naturally Made Type Of Volcanic Glass 439 00:21:49,862 --> 00:21:51,827 That's Usually Black In Color. 440 00:21:51,827 --> 00:21:53,517 Its Extremely Sharp Edges 441 00:21:53,517 --> 00:21:55,965 Made It A Favorite Tool For Early Cultures. 442 00:21:55,965 --> 00:21:58,068 Interpreter: But What's Interesting Is That 443 00:21:58,068 --> 00:22:01,413 95% Of The Obsidian We Found Here Is Green. 444 00:22:01,413 --> 00:22:02,896 Huh. Most Of It's Green. 445 00:22:02,896 --> 00:22:04,793 And That's Related To Teotihuacan? 446 00:22:04,793 --> 00:22:06,344 [ Speaking Spanish ] 447 00:22:06,344 --> 00:22:09,724 Interpreter: Sí. This Green Obsidian Is Very, Very Rare. 448 00:22:09,724 --> 00:22:11,344 The Other Place It's Been Found 449 00:22:11,344 --> 00:22:14,862 Is In The Sacrifices Discovered At Teotihuacan. 450 00:22:14,862 --> 00:22:18,379 ♪♪ 451 00:22:18,379 --> 00:22:21,206 Outside Of The City Of Pachuca De Soto, 452 00:22:21,206 --> 00:22:23,758 I Meet With Archaeologist Alejandro Pastrana, 453 00:22:23,758 --> 00:22:25,172 Who Is Excavating 454 00:22:25,172 --> 00:22:28,103 One Of The Most Unique Sites Controlled By Teotihuacan. 455 00:22:30,206 --> 00:22:31,551 Hola. Hola. ¿Como Estas? 456 00:22:31,551 --> 00:22:32,551 How You Doing? Bien. 457 00:22:32,551 --> 00:22:33,862 What Is This Place? 458 00:22:38,689 --> 00:22:40,689 So, I Take It You're Finding Obsidian Here. 459 00:22:41,793 --> 00:22:43,586 Why Were They Mining This Obsidian? 460 00:22:43,586 --> 00:22:45,275 What Was It Used For, Primarily? 461 00:22:50,620 --> 00:22:52,965 Because Obsidian Is Both Uniquely Sharp 462 00:22:52,965 --> 00:22:54,310 And Uniquely Strong, 463 00:22:54,310 --> 00:22:57,551 It Was Crucial To Making High-Quality Weapons And Tools. 464 00:22:57,551 --> 00:22:58,758 But Alejandro's Team 465 00:22:58,758 --> 00:23:01,241 Has Discovered Something Extraordinary Here, 466 00:23:01,241 --> 00:23:03,034 And He's Invited Me To See It. 467 00:23:06,793 --> 00:23:08,275 Though It Might Not Look Like It, 468 00:23:08,275 --> 00:23:11,310 This Area Is Actually An Ancient Industrial Mine, 469 00:23:11,310 --> 00:23:13,448 With Pits In Every Direction. 470 00:23:13,448 --> 00:23:16,724 His Team Has Discovered Over 1,000 Mine Shafts, 471 00:23:16,724 --> 00:23:18,310 And He's Taking Me Inside Of One 472 00:23:18,310 --> 00:23:21,827 To Recover An Important Piece Of Obsidian At Its Source. 473 00:23:25,241 --> 00:23:26,482 Whoa! 474 00:23:26,482 --> 00:23:28,103 Whoa Ho Ho! 475 00:23:28,103 --> 00:23:30,517 Alejandro's Team Has Dug A Horizontal Tunnel 476 00:23:30,517 --> 00:23:32,758 To Intersect Some Of The Vertical Shafts 477 00:23:32,758 --> 00:23:37,241 Dug By Teotihuacan's Engineers Nearly 2,000 Years Ago. 478 00:23:37,241 --> 00:23:39,137 How Crazy Is This? 479 00:23:42,551 --> 00:23:50,551 ♪♪ 480 00:23:50,551 --> 00:23:53,103 Oh, My God! 481 00:23:53,103 --> 00:23:54,241 What The Hell? 482 00:23:55,137 --> 00:23:57,241 ♪♪ 483 00:24:00,034 --> 00:24:01,103 Wow. 484 00:24:03,344 --> 00:24:05,344 Isn't There Just Some Obsidian We Can Get Here? 485 00:24:08,448 --> 00:24:10,689 Yeah. I'm Going Down, All Right. 486 00:24:10,689 --> 00:24:12,344 I'm Going Down Hard. Okay. 487 00:24:14,206 --> 00:24:17,034 We Gear Up To Rappel The 60 Feet Into The Mine, 488 00:24:17,034 --> 00:24:20,172 Donning Helmets And Harnesses To Make The Descent. 489 00:24:20,172 --> 00:24:25,172 ♪♪ 490 00:24:25,172 --> 00:24:26,620 Why Am I Here? 491 00:24:26,620 --> 00:24:28,103 To Get A Rock. 492 00:24:29,724 --> 00:24:31,586 Okay, Coming Down. 493 00:24:31,586 --> 00:24:34,482 Okay. Into The Darkness. Here We Go. 494 00:24:37,965 --> 00:24:39,965 [ Chuckling ] Oh, My God! 495 00:24:47,413 --> 00:24:49,931 Okay, Alejandro, I'm Coming Down. 496 00:24:49,931 --> 00:24:51,103 I'm On A Sketchy Trip 497 00:24:51,103 --> 00:24:53,172 In An Ancient Mexican Mine Shaft, 498 00:24:53,172 --> 00:24:55,586 Where Archaeologist Alejandro Pastrana 499 00:24:55,586 --> 00:24:56,862 Is About To Reveal 500 00:24:56,862 --> 00:25:00,379 How The Teotihuacan Empire Became So Powerful. 501 00:25:00,379 --> 00:25:01,379 Okay. 502 00:25:01,379 --> 00:25:02,482 [ Grunts ] 503 00:25:02,482 --> 00:25:03,551 Whew! 504 00:25:03,551 --> 00:25:05,655 Okay. Nice Job. 505 00:25:05,655 --> 00:25:08,137 With Both Feet On The Floor, 506 00:25:08,137 --> 00:25:10,620 I Try Not To Think About How We're Going To Get Back Up. 507 00:25:10,620 --> 00:25:14,206 And I Follow Alejandro Down The Tunnel. 508 00:25:14,206 --> 00:25:15,551 Soon, He Reveals 509 00:25:15,551 --> 00:25:18,931 Why The Teotihuacanos Bored Down Into These Hills. 510 00:25:21,655 --> 00:25:22,689 Oh, Wow. 511 00:25:22,689 --> 00:25:24,689 Look At All These Pieces Of Obsidian. 512 00:25:24,689 --> 00:25:26,137 This Was All From An Eruption. 513 00:25:27,517 --> 00:25:28,689 Wow. 514 00:25:28,689 --> 00:25:30,517 It Turns Out That Millions Of Years Ago, 515 00:25:30,517 --> 00:25:31,965 A Massive Lava Flow 516 00:25:31,965 --> 00:25:35,931 Deposited A Mountain Of Obsidian Beneath Teotihuacan Territory. 517 00:25:35,931 --> 00:25:39,034 This Isn't Just A Mine. It's The Mother Lode. 518 00:25:39,034 --> 00:25:40,724 How Do We Get It Out Of The Wall? 519 00:25:42,172 --> 00:25:43,620 Uh-Huh. 520 00:25:44,620 --> 00:25:45,793 Right. 521 00:25:45,793 --> 00:25:46,862 I See. 522 00:25:46,862 --> 00:25:49,206 This Mine Has Zero Structural Support, 523 00:25:49,206 --> 00:25:52,413 Which Means That Chipping Away At The Walls Is A Gamble. 524 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:55,413 Alejandro, Careful. 525 00:25:55,413 --> 00:25:57,137 Yeah. [ Chuckles ] 526 00:25:57,620 --> 00:26:03,586 ♪♪ 527 00:26:03,586 --> 00:26:04,896 It's A Good Piece, Yeah? 528 00:26:04,896 --> 00:26:07,655 Yes. It's A Good Piece. 529 00:26:07,655 --> 00:26:09,620 Gates: This Is Green Obsidian -- 530 00:26:09,620 --> 00:26:12,172 The Same Type Found Under The Pyramid At Cholula 531 00:26:12,172 --> 00:26:13,413 And The Same Type Found 532 00:26:13,413 --> 00:26:16,517 In The Ritual Sacrifices At Teotihuacan. 533 00:26:16,517 --> 00:26:17,689 We Return To The Surface 534 00:26:17,689 --> 00:26:20,344 To Discuss The Significance Of The Find. 535 00:26:20,344 --> 00:26:23,379 It Turns Out This Type Of Obsidian Isn't Just Uncommon. 536 00:26:23,379 --> 00:26:25,103 It's All But Nonexistent. 537 00:26:27,206 --> 00:26:29,586 At His Nearby Workshop, Alejandro Shows Me 538 00:26:29,586 --> 00:26:33,586 How This Raw Green Obsidian Was Turned Into Something Potent. 539 00:26:35,793 --> 00:26:37,689 Wow. It's Incredible. 540 00:26:37,689 --> 00:26:39,034 I Should Point Out 541 00:26:39,034 --> 00:26:41,620 That Alejandro Is One Of About Five People In The World 542 00:26:41,620 --> 00:26:44,689 Who Know How To Replicate These Ancient Tools. 543 00:26:44,689 --> 00:26:47,448 Are Your Blades As Good As The Ones From Teotihuacan? 544 00:26:48,482 --> 00:26:50,206 Almost? Oh, Wow. 545 00:26:50,206 --> 00:26:51,517 Lethal. 546 00:26:51,517 --> 00:26:54,172 This Is Really, Like, As Sharp As A Knife, Right? 547 00:26:55,758 --> 00:26:58,000 So, This Is Really Thick Leather. 548 00:26:58,000 --> 00:26:58,827 [ Chuckles ] 549 00:26:58,827 --> 00:27:00,931 Okay. [ Chuckles ] 550 00:27:00,931 --> 00:27:04,620 I Mean, It's Razor-Sharp. 551 00:27:04,620 --> 00:27:06,000 Okay, So Now Let Me Try To Shave You. 552 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:07,000 Yep. 553 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:08,103 No. You're Crazy. [ Laughs ] 554 00:27:08,103 --> 00:27:09,793 Sir, You Obviously Don't Know Me Well. 555 00:27:09,793 --> 00:27:11,758 You Should Not Have Leaned In. 556 00:27:11,758 --> 00:27:13,103 Why Is Teotihuacan 557 00:27:13,103 --> 00:27:16,275 Making So Much Out Of This Obsidian? 558 00:27:26,689 --> 00:27:29,931 Archaeologists Now Believe That Teotihuacan Controlled 559 00:27:29,931 --> 00:27:32,827 Nearly All Of The Black Obsidian Mines In Mexico 560 00:27:32,827 --> 00:27:35,793 And The Only Green Obsidian Mine. 561 00:27:35,793 --> 00:27:38,137 This Green Obsidian Wasn't Just Unique. 562 00:27:38,137 --> 00:27:41,689 It Was Believed To Be Magical -- A Supernatural Blade 563 00:27:41,689 --> 00:27:44,448 Tied To The Gods Of Fertility And Life. 564 00:27:44,448 --> 00:27:47,689 And Teotihuacan Was Its Only Supplier. 565 00:27:55,482 --> 00:27:56,586 So, It's Interesting. 566 00:27:56,586 --> 00:27:59,068 It Really Changes This Image Of Teotihuacan 567 00:27:59,068 --> 00:28:00,655 As An Isolated Place. 568 00:28:00,655 --> 00:28:04,310 Seems Like That They Were Maybe Much More Widespread 569 00:28:04,310 --> 00:28:05,965 In Terms Of Their Influence. 570 00:28:08,931 --> 00:28:11,137 With The Revelation That Teotihuacan Was 571 00:28:11,137 --> 00:28:13,655 The Amazon.Com Of Supernatural Weapons, 572 00:28:13,655 --> 00:28:16,172 I Speed Back To The City's Ruins. 573 00:28:18,931 --> 00:28:21,103 We Now Know The Source Of Their Power. 574 00:28:21,103 --> 00:28:24,275 But There's A Huge Question That Still Hasn't Been Answered -- 575 00:28:24,275 --> 00:28:26,344 Who Was Running The Show? 576 00:28:26,344 --> 00:28:28,310 Unlike The Maya Or The Aztecs, 577 00:28:28,310 --> 00:28:30,689 A Royal Tomb Of A Teotihuacan Leader 578 00:28:30,689 --> 00:28:32,241 Has Never Been Found. 579 00:28:32,241 --> 00:28:35,206 But One Of The Most Exciting Digs On Earth Is Unfolding Here 580 00:28:35,206 --> 00:28:36,896 That May Change All That. 581 00:28:36,896 --> 00:28:44,034 ♪♪ 582 00:28:44,034 --> 00:28:45,344 This Is The Citadel. 583 00:28:45,344 --> 00:28:48,137 It Is One Of The Largest Compounds Inside Of Teotihuacan. 584 00:28:48,137 --> 00:28:50,586 It's So Large That You Could Fit A Sold-Out Crowd 585 00:28:50,586 --> 00:28:53,103 From Yankee Stadium In Here Five Times Over. 586 00:28:53,103 --> 00:28:55,896 So The Big Question Is, What Was It Used For? 587 00:28:57,586 --> 00:28:59,482 In The Middle Of This Massive Compound 588 00:28:59,482 --> 00:29:04,172 Sits An Otherworldly Pyramid Dedicated To A Powerful Deity. 589 00:29:04,172 --> 00:29:06,241 This Is The Temple Of The Feathered Serpent, 590 00:29:06,241 --> 00:29:07,482 Or Quetzalcoatl. 591 00:29:07,482 --> 00:29:09,413 It's One Of The Only Places At Teotihuacan 592 00:29:09,413 --> 00:29:11,758 That You See Any Sculpture, Any Carvings. 593 00:29:11,758 --> 00:29:14,137 This Gives Us An Idea Of How Significant This Place Was. 594 00:29:14,137 --> 00:29:17,034 There's Clearly This Ritualistic Feeling About This Place, 595 00:29:17,034 --> 00:29:19,862 So No Question That Some Sort Of Ceremonies Happened Here. 596 00:29:19,862 --> 00:29:21,655 But What? We Don't Know. 597 00:29:21,655 --> 00:29:23,068 But There Is A Guy Excavating 598 00:29:23,068 --> 00:29:25,000 Right Here In The Middle Of This Plaza 599 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:27,310 Who May Be Close To Finding An Answer. 600 00:29:30,275 --> 00:29:32,344 It's Hard To Miss The Large White Canopy 601 00:29:32,344 --> 00:29:35,896 That Archaeologists Have Erected Directly In Front Of The Temple. 602 00:29:35,896 --> 00:29:39,827 Inside, Sergio Gomez Is Running The Most Important Excavation 603 00:29:39,827 --> 00:29:41,689 In The History Of Teotihuacan. 604 00:29:41,689 --> 00:29:42,827 Hola. Hola. 605 00:29:42,827 --> 00:29:44,137 Hola, Josh. Como Estas.Nice To Meet You. 606 00:29:44,137 --> 00:29:45,172 Hello. I'm Josh. 607 00:29:45,172 --> 00:29:47,517 Quite An Operation You Have Going Here. 608 00:29:47,517 --> 00:29:51,000 Interpreter: One Of The Biggest Projects Happening At Teotihuacan. 609 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:53,896 There Is Over 60 People Working At The Moment. 610 00:29:53,896 --> 00:29:55,344 And How Did You Come To Start Digging 611 00:29:55,344 --> 00:29:57,034 Right There In Front Of The Pyramid? 612 00:29:57,034 --> 00:30:00,034 One Day, When I Came To Work, I Was Informed 613 00:30:00,034 --> 00:30:04,068 That There Was A Hole In The Ground 83 Centimeters Wide, 614 00:30:04,068 --> 00:30:07,344 And My Team Lowered Me Into This Hole In The Ground. 615 00:30:07,344 --> 00:30:09,344 In The Beginning, We Didn't Know What It Was, 616 00:30:09,344 --> 00:30:11,103 But When I Went Down, 617 00:30:11,103 --> 00:30:13,620 I Saw There Was The Evidence Of A Tunnel. 618 00:30:13,620 --> 00:30:15,586 You Could Tell That There Was A Tunnel? 619 00:30:15,586 --> 00:30:18,068 I Was Able To Remove A Couple Of Rocks 620 00:30:18,068 --> 00:30:20,241 To See The Distance Going To One Side 621 00:30:20,241 --> 00:30:21,413 And Then To The Other. 622 00:30:21,413 --> 00:30:24,310 Teotihuacans Had Filled This Tunnel. 623 00:30:24,310 --> 00:30:25,689 So That's A Good Indicator 624 00:30:25,689 --> 00:30:27,448 That They Put Something Down There 625 00:30:27,448 --> 00:30:28,689 They Didn't Want People To Find. 626 00:30:28,689 --> 00:30:30,862 Yes. [ Speaking Spanish ] 627 00:30:30,862 --> 00:30:33,034 -Do I Want To See What's In The Tunnel? -Yes. 628 00:30:33,034 --> 00:30:34,862 It Would Honestly Be A Dream Come True. 629 00:30:34,862 --> 00:30:36,448 Okay. Lets Do It. 630 00:30:36,448 --> 00:30:39,241 Gates: Dr. Gomez Leads Me Back Through His Team's Workshop, 631 00:30:39,241 --> 00:30:42,551 Which Looks More Like A Sophisticated Construction Site. 632 00:30:42,551 --> 00:30:44,724 Helmets. Okay. 633 00:30:44,724 --> 00:30:45,862 [ Elevator Whirring ] 634 00:30:45,862 --> 00:30:47,034 Here We Go. 635 00:30:47,034 --> 00:30:48,413 Sergio, You've Come A Long Way 636 00:30:48,413 --> 00:30:50,620 Since Going Down This Hole On A Rope. 637 00:30:50,620 --> 00:30:52,034 This Is Crazy. 638 00:30:52,034 --> 00:30:54,896 I've Been To More Than My Share Of Archaeological Sites, 639 00:30:54,896 --> 00:30:56,862 And This Is, Without A Doubt, 640 00:30:56,862 --> 00:30:59,862 The Most High-Tech Excavation I Have Ever Seen. 641 00:30:59,862 --> 00:31:01,655 Gates: How Deep Is This Tunnel? 642 00:31:01,655 --> 00:31:03,137 40 To 50 Feet. 643 00:31:03,137 --> 00:31:04,655 Straight Down?Straight Down. 644 00:31:04,655 --> 00:31:07,241 And What Is This Machine Doing? 645 00:31:07,241 --> 00:31:09,758 [ Speaking Spanish ] 646 00:31:09,758 --> 00:31:12,206 The Machine Is Extracting Gas Radon, 647 00:31:12,206 --> 00:31:14,689 Which Is Produced By The Composition 648 00:31:14,689 --> 00:31:17,931 Of The Uranium And The Organic Material. 649 00:31:17,931 --> 00:31:19,965 Uranium. 650 00:31:19,965 --> 00:31:21,517 Perfect. 651 00:31:21,517 --> 00:31:24,758 The Machine Is Part Of A Sophisticated Ventilation System 652 00:31:24,758 --> 00:31:27,655 That Purges The Tunnel Of Poisonous Radon Gas. 653 00:31:27,655 --> 00:31:30,172 But That's Nothing Compared To What Lies Waiting 654 00:31:30,172 --> 00:31:32,310 At The Bottom Of This Elevator Shaft. 655 00:31:32,310 --> 00:31:33,896 Wow. 656 00:31:41,620 --> 00:31:43,827 Gates: I'm In Mexico, Where We've Discovered 657 00:31:43,827 --> 00:31:46,068 That The Ancient City Of Teotihuacan 658 00:31:46,068 --> 00:31:49,206 Was More Powerful Than Anyone Suspected. 659 00:31:49,206 --> 00:31:51,724 But Since No Royal Tomb Has Ever Been Found Here, 660 00:31:51,724 --> 00:31:55,034 It's Unclear Who Controlled That Power. 661 00:31:55,034 --> 00:31:56,482 The Answers May Lie Beneath 662 00:31:56,482 --> 00:31:58,724 One Of The City's Most Important Temples, 663 00:31:58,724 --> 00:32:01,862 Where An Archaeologist Has Discovered A Hidden Tunnel. 664 00:32:01,862 --> 00:32:03,551 Wow. 665 00:32:03,551 --> 00:32:06,172 Let's See What You Guys Are Getting Up To Down Here. 666 00:32:06,172 --> 00:32:08,689 My Very First Step Into The Tunnel 667 00:32:08,689 --> 00:32:10,172 Takes My Breath Away. 668 00:32:10,172 --> 00:32:12,000 This Is No Crawl Space. 669 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:16,068 This Is An Extensive Passage Leading Deep Under The Ruins. 670 00:32:18,586 --> 00:32:21,103 Gates: This Is The Original Tunnel That They Dug? 671 00:32:21,103 --> 00:32:24,827 This Is The Original Ceiling, Walls, And Floors. 672 00:32:24,827 --> 00:32:27,103 [ Speaking Spanish ] 673 00:32:27,103 --> 00:32:30,965 In Some Parts, You Can Still See The Scraping And The Holes 674 00:32:30,965 --> 00:32:33,724 From The Tools They Used. 675 00:32:33,724 --> 00:32:34,689 Wow. 676 00:32:34,689 --> 00:32:36,310 These Blocks That Are Down Here, 677 00:32:36,310 --> 00:32:38,310 What Did They Build Down Here? 678 00:32:38,310 --> 00:32:40,206 At Some Point, The Teotihuacan People 679 00:32:40,206 --> 00:32:44,068 Blocked The Tunnel By Creating These Walls. 680 00:32:44,068 --> 00:32:46,103 This Is Why We Feel So Fortunate 681 00:32:46,103 --> 00:32:48,896 To Be The First Ones To Discover This Place 682 00:32:48,896 --> 00:32:52,965 After Approximately 1,700 Years. 683 00:32:52,965 --> 00:32:54,965 Gates: We Move Further Into The Tunnel, 684 00:32:54,965 --> 00:32:57,103 Where Sergio's Men Are Uncovering Artifacts 685 00:32:57,103 --> 00:33:00,068 That Have Been Hidden Here For Nearly Two Millennia. 686 00:33:00,068 --> 00:33:02,551 Gomez: This Is The Ceramica. 687 00:33:02,551 --> 00:33:03,655 It's Intact? 688 00:33:03,655 --> 00:33:06,344 It's Intact, You See. Complete. 689 00:33:06,344 --> 00:33:07,724 That Looks Brand-New. 690 00:33:07,724 --> 00:33:09,034 Sí. 691 00:33:09,034 --> 00:33:11,034 It Looks Like That Was Justmade. 692 00:33:11,034 --> 00:33:12,586 Interpreter: Everything That They Have Found 693 00:33:12,586 --> 00:33:15,689 Has Been Taken Out Very Meticulously. 694 00:33:15,689 --> 00:33:17,931 And They Have Found Thousands Of Objects. 695 00:33:17,931 --> 00:33:20,068 Obsidian. And Obsidian. 696 00:33:20,068 --> 00:33:21,724 Those Are Obsidian Blades. 697 00:33:21,724 --> 00:33:25,896 Seeing These Blades Fanned Out Like This In A Ceramic Pot, 698 00:33:25,896 --> 00:33:28,896 Clearly An Offering That Was Left Here. 699 00:33:28,896 --> 00:33:31,758 And To Have It Uncovered In Real Time, 700 00:33:31,758 --> 00:33:35,103 It's Just Beyond Rare To See Something Like This. 701 00:33:35,103 --> 00:33:37,068 That's Something You Don't Find Every Day -- 702 00:33:37,068 --> 00:33:39,068 Unless, Of Course, You Work Down Here. 703 00:33:39,068 --> 00:33:44,344 ♪♪ 704 00:33:44,344 --> 00:33:46,103 Gates: We Push Deeper, 705 00:33:46,103 --> 00:33:49,344 Passing Trench After Trench Filled With Offerings. 706 00:33:49,344 --> 00:33:52,931 Wherever This Tunnel Leads, It's Obviously Sacred. 707 00:33:52,931 --> 00:33:56,000 Eventually, We Reach An Area Where Massive Support Beams 708 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:58,379 Have Been Erected By The Archaeologists. 709 00:33:58,379 --> 00:34:00,827 Gates: Sergio, What Is This? 710 00:34:00,827 --> 00:34:02,413 Much Bigger Supports. 711 00:34:02,413 --> 00:34:04,793 [ Speaking Spanish ] 712 00:34:04,793 --> 00:34:08,413 Interpreter: We Are Under Now The Temple Of The Feathered Serpent. 713 00:34:08,413 --> 00:34:10,068 It's Above Us. Exactamente. 714 00:34:10,068 --> 00:34:11,689 So, This Is Some Hard-Core Engineering 715 00:34:11,689 --> 00:34:13,965 To Make Sure That The Pyramid Doesn't Come Down On Us. 716 00:34:13,965 --> 00:34:15,724 Sí. [ Chuckles ] Wow. 717 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:18,344 Gates: It's In This Area 718 00:34:18,344 --> 00:34:20,965 That Sergio's Team Is Employing Their Secret Weapon. 719 00:34:20,965 --> 00:34:22,620 Hola. ¿Qué Tal? 720 00:34:22,620 --> 00:34:24,689 Whoa. You Have A Robot. 721 00:34:24,689 --> 00:34:25,724 Interpreter: Yes. 722 00:34:25,724 --> 00:34:27,620 It Is The First Time In Mexico 723 00:34:27,620 --> 00:34:29,413 That These Type Of Robots Are Used 724 00:34:29,413 --> 00:34:31,241 For Archaeological Purposes 725 00:34:31,241 --> 00:34:34,206 And The Second Time In The World That They Use Them. 726 00:34:34,206 --> 00:34:37,103 And It Has Cameras Here And A Camera On The Back? 727 00:34:37,103 --> 00:34:38,482 Sí -- Dos Cameras. 728 00:34:38,482 --> 00:34:43,551 It Managed To Give Them The Image Of The Stability 729 00:34:43,551 --> 00:34:46,034 And The Conditions Of The Tunnel Inside 730 00:34:46,034 --> 00:34:49,000 Before They Were Able To Go In. 731 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:51,206 Let's See It In Action. 732 00:34:51,206 --> 00:34:54,000 They Send The Robot To Explore A New Section Of The Passage 733 00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:55,724 That Hasn't Yet Been Excavated. 734 00:34:55,724 --> 00:34:56,965 So, What Are We Looking At Here? 735 00:34:56,965 --> 00:34:59,034 You're Controlling It Just With A Joystick? 736 00:34:59,034 --> 00:35:01,379 Yes, A Joystick.And How Do You Fire The Guns? 737 00:35:01,379 --> 00:35:02,586 [ Speaking Spanish ] 738 00:35:02,586 --> 00:35:03,931 Ah, There It Is. The Red Button -- Of Course. 739 00:35:03,931 --> 00:35:05,241 It's Always The Red Button. 740 00:35:07,137 --> 00:35:09,689 How Deep Is This Alcove? Do You Know? 741 00:35:09,689 --> 00:35:11,344 Interpreter: It's Around 15 Feet. 742 00:35:11,344 --> 00:35:13,827 It's Tough. It Gets Hung Up A Lot On The Low Ceiling. 743 00:35:17,103 --> 00:35:18,862 Soft Sand And A Dead End. 744 00:35:18,862 --> 00:35:21,206 Gates: The Robot Reaches The End Of The Alcove, 745 00:35:21,206 --> 00:35:22,517 Sending Back Images 746 00:35:22,517 --> 00:35:25,862 Vital To Determining The Tunnel's Stability. 747 00:35:25,862 --> 00:35:27,586 What Have You Found Back Here Already? 748 00:35:27,586 --> 00:35:30,655 Interpreter: They Found 400 Metallic Spheres 749 00:35:30,655 --> 00:35:33,620 Made From This Mineral That Looks Like Metal, 750 00:35:33,620 --> 00:35:35,413 And They Were Shiny And Metal-Like. 751 00:35:35,413 --> 00:35:36,793 And What Were These For? 752 00:35:36,793 --> 00:35:38,896 We Don't Know What It Was Used For, 753 00:35:38,896 --> 00:35:40,793 And It's The First Time In Teotihuacan 754 00:35:40,793 --> 00:35:42,275 That They Found This. 755 00:35:42,275 --> 00:35:43,689 I Know Why It Was Here -- Aliens. 756 00:35:43,689 --> 00:35:45,586 No Aliens. [ Laughs ] 757 00:35:45,586 --> 00:35:46,931 Sir, You're The Expert, 758 00:35:46,931 --> 00:35:49,206 But I'm Pretty Sure It's Alien Technology. 759 00:35:49,206 --> 00:35:50,586 [ Speaking Spanish ] 760 00:35:50,586 --> 00:35:54,241 One Of His Ideas Is That It Resembles A Drop Of Water. 761 00:35:54,241 --> 00:35:55,896 Or Alien Technology. 762 00:35:55,896 --> 00:35:57,413 No Alien Technology. 763 00:35:57,413 --> 00:35:59,103 He's With Me. You're With Me. 764 00:35:59,103 --> 00:36:00,517 He Knows. He Knows. 765 00:36:00,517 --> 00:36:01,862 Okay. 766 00:36:03,137 --> 00:36:05,379 Gates: From Here, The Passage Drops Down, 767 00:36:05,379 --> 00:36:08,724 Leading Directly Underneath The Temple Of The Feathered Serpent 768 00:36:08,724 --> 00:36:10,586 Into A Newly Discovered Chamber 769 00:36:10,586 --> 00:36:14,379 That Might Change Everything We Know About Teotihuacan. 770 00:36:14,379 --> 00:36:19,655 ♪♪ 771 00:36:25,344 --> 00:36:26,689 Want To Know More About Tonight's Expedition? 772 00:36:26,689 --> 00:36:28,206 Then Set A Course For Travelchannel.Com, 773 00:36:28,206 --> 00:36:29,551 Where You Can Go Behind The Scenes 774 00:36:29,551 --> 00:36:32,103 With Exclusive Photos, Never-Before-Aired Footage, 775 00:36:32,103 --> 00:36:33,310 And More. 776 00:36:36,448 --> 00:36:39,620 Beneath Teotihuacan's Temple Of The Feathered Serpent, 777 00:36:39,620 --> 00:36:41,655 Archaeologist Sergio Gomez 778 00:36:41,655 --> 00:36:43,448 Has Led Me Through A Hidden Tunnel 779 00:36:43,448 --> 00:36:45,896 To What Is Possibly The Most Important Discovery 780 00:36:45,896 --> 00:36:48,862 Ever Made Here. 781 00:36:48,862 --> 00:36:50,655 So, It All Leads To This. 782 00:36:50,655 --> 00:36:52,000 What Is This Room? 783 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:53,724 Interpreter: You're Standing Directly Underneath 784 00:36:53,724 --> 00:36:57,586 The Dead Center Of The Temple Of The Feathered Serpent. 785 00:36:57,586 --> 00:36:58,931 The Tunnels Go Out From Here 786 00:36:58,931 --> 00:37:01,724 Alongside The Exact Axis Of The Temple. 787 00:37:01,724 --> 00:37:03,827 They Made This Cross-Shaped Intersection Here 788 00:37:03,827 --> 00:37:05,724 Directly Under The Center Of The Pyramid? 789 00:37:05,724 --> 00:37:06,862 Exactamente. 790 00:37:06,862 --> 00:37:08,000 How Close Did They Get? 791 00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:09,896 Es Milímetrica. Millimeters. 792 00:37:09,896 --> 00:37:11,655 Sí. 793 00:37:11,655 --> 00:37:13,896 Gates: This Is The End Of The Line -- 794 00:37:13,896 --> 00:37:16,379 A Tunnel Over A Football Field Long 795 00:37:16,379 --> 00:37:18,241 Leading To A Mysterious Room 796 00:37:18,241 --> 00:37:21,034 That's Perfectly Aligned To The Pyramid Above. 797 00:37:24,206 --> 00:37:26,724 And So, What Did You Find In This Room? 798 00:37:26,724 --> 00:37:30,482 Here, They Found Thousands And Thousands Of Objects 799 00:37:30,482 --> 00:37:31,862 In This Room. 800 00:37:31,862 --> 00:37:33,689 [ Speaking Spanish ] 801 00:37:33,689 --> 00:37:34,793 Two Statues Of Women? 802 00:37:34,793 --> 00:37:37,206 Two Statues Of Women And One Of Man. 803 00:37:37,206 --> 00:37:38,310 [ Speaking Spanish ] 804 00:37:38,310 --> 00:37:39,862 Big Conch Shells. 805 00:37:39,862 --> 00:37:41,034 And What About Bones? 806 00:37:41,034 --> 00:37:42,172 [ Speaking Spanish ] 807 00:37:42,172 --> 00:37:44,724 They Have Found Jaguar Bones. 808 00:37:44,724 --> 00:37:46,965 Gates: Clearly A Sacred Space. 809 00:37:46,965 --> 00:37:48,172 But I'm Most Puzzled 810 00:37:48,172 --> 00:37:50,862 By The Strange Design Of The Chamber Itself. 811 00:37:50,862 --> 00:37:54,724 This Room Looks Very Different Than The Other Rooms. 812 00:37:54,724 --> 00:37:57,379 Unlike The Smooth Tunnel, Everywhere You Look, 813 00:37:57,379 --> 00:37:59,482 There Are Odd, Uneven Ridges. 814 00:37:59,482 --> 00:38:04,655 And Within Those Ridges, Sergio Has Just Made An Awesome Find. 815 00:38:04,655 --> 00:38:05,620 Oh, Wow. 816 00:38:05,620 --> 00:38:07,103 What Is This? ¿Qué Es Eso? 817 00:38:07,103 --> 00:38:09,068 Esto Es Una Pelota. 818 00:38:09,068 --> 00:38:10,344 Pelota? It's A Ball? 819 00:38:10,344 --> 00:38:11,310 Sí. 820 00:38:11,310 --> 00:38:13,137 For The Mesoamerican Ball Game? 821 00:38:13,137 --> 00:38:14,586 [ Speaking Spanish ] 822 00:38:14,586 --> 00:38:17,758 Interpreter: The Ball Represents The Movement Of The Sun. 823 00:38:17,758 --> 00:38:20,517 The Sun Comes Out Facing North. 824 00:38:20,517 --> 00:38:21,965 And When It Starts To Set, 825 00:38:21,965 --> 00:38:24,586 It Goes Back Down On The Underworld. 826 00:38:26,137 --> 00:38:29,655 Gates: The Mesoamerican Ball Game Was Both Entertainment And Ritual, 827 00:38:29,655 --> 00:38:35,034 Depicted In Murals And Carvings Alongside Human Sacrifice. 828 00:38:35,034 --> 00:38:37,034 I'm Just Speechless, Actually. 829 00:38:37,034 --> 00:38:40,000 I've Never Seen One Of The Actual Balls 830 00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:41,862 That Was Used In The Game. 831 00:38:41,862 --> 00:38:45,517 This Is The First Time They Find Anything Like This 832 00:38:45,517 --> 00:38:47,724 In An Archaeological Research. 833 00:38:47,724 --> 00:38:48,620 Anywhere? 834 00:38:48,620 --> 00:38:49,655 Nunca -- Never. 835 00:38:49,655 --> 00:38:50,827 What Is It Made Of? 836 00:38:50,827 --> 00:38:52,344 De Hule. It's Rubber? 837 00:38:52,344 --> 00:38:54,379 This Is Extraordinary. 838 00:38:54,379 --> 00:38:55,724 Mm-Hmm. 839 00:38:55,724 --> 00:38:58,275 Gates: But The Ball, Which Is Linked To The Underworld, 840 00:38:58,275 --> 00:39:00,344 Isn't The Only Telling Find Here. 841 00:39:00,344 --> 00:39:04,689 Sergio Produces Their Most Spectacular Discovery To Date. 842 00:39:04,689 --> 00:39:07,896 [ Speaking Spanish ] 843 00:39:07,896 --> 00:39:09,310 This Is Mercury? 844 00:39:09,310 --> 00:39:10,413 Mm-Hmm. 845 00:39:10,413 --> 00:39:12,862 I've Never Heard Of Liquid Mercury 846 00:39:12,862 --> 00:39:14,482 Being Found In A Place Like This. 847 00:39:14,482 --> 00:39:16,137 Is That Rare? 848 00:39:16,137 --> 00:39:18,965 Interpreter: Never Before Has Been Found Mercury In Mexico -- 849 00:39:18,965 --> 00:39:23,034 Only In The Maya Regions Of Belize And Guatemala. 850 00:39:23,034 --> 00:39:24,896 You Found This Mercury Where? 851 00:39:24,896 --> 00:39:26,448 [ Speaking Spanish ]In The Floor? 852 00:39:26,448 --> 00:39:30,241 Gates: The Discovery Of Mercury Is A Revelation. 853 00:39:30,241 --> 00:39:33,931 Dr. Gomez And His Team Realize That This Isn't A Room. 854 00:39:33,931 --> 00:39:36,206 It's A Living Model Of The Underworld. 855 00:39:36,206 --> 00:39:38,655 The Mercury Was Found In The Miniature Valleys 856 00:39:38,655 --> 00:39:42,241 On The Floor, Where It Shimmered Like Lakes And Rivers. 857 00:39:42,241 --> 00:39:44,793 This Feels Like The Underworld. 858 00:39:44,793 --> 00:39:47,344 So It's Like This Whole Room Is Like A Diorama. 859 00:39:47,344 --> 00:39:52,206 Yes. It's A Model To Represent A View. 860 00:39:52,206 --> 00:39:55,655 The Axis Of The World Should Connect The Underworld 861 00:39:55,655 --> 00:39:59,413 With The Superficial And The Heavens. 862 00:39:59,413 --> 00:40:01,379 The Ball Is Extraordinary. 863 00:40:01,379 --> 00:40:04,862 All Of The Finds Here And The Sculpting Of The Floor, 864 00:40:04,862 --> 00:40:06,965 It's Incredible. 865 00:40:06,965 --> 00:40:11,000 Gates: This Chamber All But Confirms That Teotihuacan Was Lorded Over 866 00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:13,827 By Immensely Powerful Religious Leaders. 867 00:40:13,827 --> 00:40:15,034 It Appears To Be A Place 868 00:40:15,034 --> 00:40:17,482 Where The Elite Came For Coronations -- 869 00:40:17,482 --> 00:40:21,586 A Literal Trip To The Underworld To Meet With The Gods. 870 00:40:21,586 --> 00:40:24,103 This Is Where The New Leaders Came In. 871 00:40:24,103 --> 00:40:27,413 This Is The Place Where They Came To The Divinities, 872 00:40:27,413 --> 00:40:30,482 And They Came Out Dressed With The New Powers 873 00:40:30,482 --> 00:40:32,827 For The Governing. 874 00:40:32,827 --> 00:40:35,344 Gates: If It Was Also Used As A Royal Tomb, 875 00:40:35,344 --> 00:40:38,310 Dr. Gomez Believes The Bodies May Have Been Cremated 876 00:40:38,310 --> 00:40:40,103 And Scattered Into The Darkness. 877 00:40:41,620 --> 00:40:43,551 This Is Off The Charts. 878 00:40:43,551 --> 00:40:46,034 This Is Really One Of The Most Incredible Rooms 879 00:40:46,034 --> 00:40:47,103 I've Ever Been In. 880 00:40:47,103 --> 00:40:48,655 Thank You So Much For Showing It To Me. 881 00:40:48,655 --> 00:40:51,172 I Really Appreciate It. 882 00:40:51,172 --> 00:40:53,931 Teotihuacan -- Once Thought To Be 883 00:40:53,931 --> 00:40:56,068 A Peaceful And Communal Settlement, 884 00:40:56,068 --> 00:40:58,965 But Science Is Rewriting History. 885 00:40:58,965 --> 00:41:01,793 The City Is Bigger Than Anyone Knew, 886 00:41:01,793 --> 00:41:05,103 Its Influence Spread Wider Than We Ever Imagined, 887 00:41:05,103 --> 00:41:06,793 And Its Power Was Harnessed 888 00:41:06,793 --> 00:41:10,862 Through The Production Of A Supernatural Commodity. 889 00:41:10,862 --> 00:41:14,965 And Now This -- A Tunnel Leading To The Underworld Itself, 890 00:41:14,965 --> 00:41:17,724 A Place Of Sacrifice, Of Ritual, 891 00:41:17,724 --> 00:41:21,896 And A Portal To Confer Godlike Powers On A Select Few. 892 00:41:22,655 --> 00:41:26,344 It's Time This Empire Was Recognized For Its True Might. 893 00:41:26,344 --> 00:41:30,655 It Stood Alongside The Maya And Inspired The Aztecs. 894 00:41:30,655 --> 00:41:33,241 They Called This Place The Home Of The Gods. 895 00:41:33,241 --> 00:41:34,620 And Down Here, 896 00:41:34,620 --> 00:41:37,586 In The Meeting Point Between Power And Faith, 897 00:41:37,586 --> 00:41:39,586 I Finally Know Why.