All language subtitles for Quest for the Lost Maya PBS & NG 720p MVGroup EN Sub

Narrator: THE YUCATAN PENINSULA
IN SOUTHERN MEXICO.

TODAY IT IS A VAST EXPANSE
OF EMPTY JUNGLE...

SOME OF THE MOST SPARSELY
POPULATED LAND IN ALL OF MEXICO.

NOW, SCIENTISTS ARE PLUNGING

INTO THE YUCATAN'S
HIDDEN PLACES...

AND MAKING STUNNING FINDS--

PROOF THAT 2,500 YEARS AGO
THE LANDSCAPE WASN'T EMPTY,

BUT WAS TEEMING WITH PEOPLE...

THAT POWERFUL RULERS
BUILT MASSIVE CITIES...

STAGED EXTRAVAGANT
RELIGIOUS RITUALS...

AND GENERATED IMMENSE WEALTH.

NEW FINDS SHOW THAT THE CITIES
OF THE ANCIENT YUCATAN

WERE ALMOST AS DENSELY POPULATED
AS MODERN LOS ANGELES COUNTY.

Man: WE'RE DISCOVERING
A PART OF THE PAST

THAT REALLY JUST
DIDN'T EXIST BEFORE.

Narrator: BUT THEN,
SOMETHING GOES WRONG...

SOMETHING WIPES THIS MONUMENTAL
CIVILIZATION OFF THE MAP.

WHAT HAPPENED?

WHO LIVED HERE?

AND WHERE DID THEY GO?

NOW, JOIN THE SEARCH...

ON THIS NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
SPECIAL...

A QUEST TO FIND THE LOST MAYA.

Narrator: DEEP IN MEXICO'S
YUCATAN REGION,

THE RUINS OF A FORGOTTEN
MAYAN TOWN CALLED KIUIC

EMERGE FROM THE JUNGLE.

IN 800 A.D.,
A LOCAL KING RULED HERE...

AND BUILT AN IMPRESSIVE
PYRAMID SHRINE--

20,000 ROCKS, CUT AND STACKED
30 FEET HIGH.

THE ANCIENT MAYA OFTEN PLACED
ROYAL TOMBS UNDER PYRAMIDS.

SO ON A HUNCH,
ARCHAEOLOGIST GEORGE BEY

DECIDES TO SINK A SHAFT STRAIGHT
THROUGH KIUIC'S PYRAMID.

[MEN SPEAKING SPANISH]

George: THIS BUILDING
REPRESENTS A ARTIFACT

THAT PROVIDES US
WITH INFORMATION

ABOUT THE EVOLUTION
OF MAYA SOCIETY.

BY EXAMINING IT, WE HOPE TO
UNDERSTAND HOW KIUIC EVOLVED.

Narrator: BEY HAS BEEN WORKING
HERE IN THE YUCATAN

FOR THREE DECADES,

UNCOVERING MYSTERIES
ABOUT THE LITTLE KNOWN MAYA

WHO LIVED HERE,

CALLED THE NORTHERN,
OR PUUC, MAYA.

AFTER REMOVING TONS OF ROCK,
A MYSTERY STARTS TO UNFOLD.

Woman: SURPRISES...
WE HAVE SURPRISES.

Narrator:
21 FEET INTO THE HOLE...

HE MAKES AN IMPORTANT FIND...

THOUGH, TO THE UNTRAINED EYE,

IT JUST LOOKS LIKE
ANOTHER PIECE OF RUBBLE.

George: OH, YEAH! LOOK AT THAT.
THIS IS FANTASTIC.

THIS IS A VAULT STONE;

AND SO FOR US, THIS IS A VERY
DISTINCTIVE TYPE OF STONE.

HERE'S THE FACE OF IT,
THIS IS THE FLAT FACE,

AND THIS BACK PART OF IT
IS CUT LIKE THIS, ANGLED,

AND THAT WOULD HAVE STUCK
INTO THE WALL.

Narrator:
THESE SPECIAL VAULT STONES WERE
NOT USED TO BUILD PYRAMIDS...

BUT TO HOLD UP
THE CEILINGS OF BUILDINGS.

YET INEXPLICABLY, HERE IS ONE
DEEP IN THE PYRAMID.

AND WHEN THEY DIG UNDER THE BASE
OF THE PYRAMID,

THEY FIND SOMETHING
EVEN MORE OUT OF PLACE--

THE FOUNDATION
OF AN ANCIENT BUILDING.

Man: THIS STRUCTURE
IS COMPLETELY NEW,

AND IT CONSISTS OF SEVERAL STEPS
IN A TALUD SHAPE.

George: MM-HMM.

DO YOU HAVE AN IDEA
OF WHEN THIS MIGHT DATE TO?

Man: 400, 500.

George: WOW.

Narrator: THE PYRAMID
DATES TO 800 A.D.

ANALYSIS OF POTTERY FRAGMENTS

CONFIRMS THE FOUNDATION
UNDER THE PYRAMID

IS 300 YEARS OLDER,
DATING TO 500 A.D.

BUT THAT IS AN IMPOSSIBLE DATE.

TO UNDERSTAND WHY
REQUIRES A TRIP SOUTH...

TO GUATEMALA...

600 B.C...

THE EARLIEST DAYS
OF MAYAN CIVILIZATION.

SCHOLARS ALWAYS BELIEVED
IT WAS HERE,

IN A REGION CALLED
THE MIRADOR BASIN,

THAT MAYA CIVILIZATION WAS BORN.

HERE, EARLY KINGS
RAZE THE JUNGLES

AND BUILD MONUMENTAL CITIES.

OVER THE NEXT THOUSAND YEARS,
THEIR CIVILIZATION BECOMES

THE MOST ADVANCED
IN THE AMERICAS.

THEY MASTER MATHEMATICS
AND ASTRONOMY,

EVEN PERFECT THE FIRST
WRITTEN LANGUAGE

OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.

[SHOUTING]

BUT IN 700 A.D., THERE IS
A MASSIVE BREAKDOWN.

WAR, POLITICAL STRIFE, FAMINE
ROCK THE MAYAN WORLD.

CITIES ARE ABANDONED...

AND HORDES OF REFUGEES ESCAPE,

FLEEING NORTH
TO THE YUCATAN PENINSULA.

PREVIOUSLY, THE YUCATAN
HAD BEEN A VACANT LOT.

NOW IT IS FLOODED WITH EVACUEES,

REBUILDING THEIR KINGDOMS
AND THEIR LIVES.

AS PART OF THIS WAVE,

ONE REFUGEE KING
SETS DOWN ROOTS IN KIUIC,

FOUNDS THE TOWN, AND SOON AFTER
BUILDS A PYRAMID.

AT LEAST, THAT'S WHAT SCIENTISTS
HAD ALWAYS THOUGHT...

UNTIL NOW.

WITH THE DISCOVERY OF
THE ANCIENT BUILDING FOUNDATION,

THE DATES DON'T ADD UP.

THE FOUNDATION DATES
FROM 500 A.D.,

BUT MAYAN REFUGEES
DON'T ARRIVE HERE

UNTIL AT LEAST
TWO CENTURIES LATER.

WAS SOMEONE ALREADY OCCUPYING
KIUIC WHEN THE REFUGEES ARRIVED?

17 MILES AWAY, ANOTHER DISCOVERY
RAISES MORE QUESTIONS.

ITS LOCATION IS BEING KEPT
A CLOSELY GUARDED SECRET,

FOR FEAR OF LOOTERS.

ONLY THREE ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE
SEEN THE DISCOVERY IN PERSON,

INCLUDING FATIMA TEC POOL.

GETTING TO THIS DISCOVERY
IS NO EASY TASK.

THAT'S BECAUSE
IT'S 230 FEET UNDERGROUND

IN THE BOTTOM OF A CAVE.

Man, translated:
FROM HERE, WE'RE GOING TO GO
THROUGH A TUNNEL.

IT'S NARROW; ONLY ONE PERSON
WILL FIT THROUGH.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

Narrator: LOCAL RESIDENTS HAD
KNOWN ABOUT THIS CAVE FOR YEARS,

BUT HAD NO INKLING
OF THE TREASURE HIDDEN INSIDE.

THROUGH A PITCH-BLACK MAZE
OF TUNNELS,

THEY COME TO THE REMNANTS
OF A WALL.

Fatima, translated: HERE WE HAVE
A RESTRICTED PASSAGEWAY.

THERE WAS A WALL HERE,

MARKING AN ENTRANCE
THAT SEPARATED TWO AREAS--

A PUBLIC SPACE
AND A SACRED SPACE.

Narrator: AS FATIMA ENTERS
THE SACRED CHAMBER,

SHE NOTICES SOMETHING CURIOUS.

THE WALLS ARE COVERED IN BLACK--

WHAT LOOKS LIKE LAYERS
OF ANCIENT SMOKE.

IT APPEARS THAT COUNTLESS
TORCHES AND RITUAL FIRES

ONCE BURNED HERE.

THE MAYA BELIEVED THAT CAVES
WERE THE DWELLING PLACE OF GODS.

MAYAN PRIESTS
MADE PILGRIMAGE HERE

ON SPECIAL RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS...

CONSUMING HALLUCINOGENIC PLANTS
TO COMMUNE WITH THE DEITIES.

FOR SOME REASON, THE CHAMBER IS
CLUTTERED WITH BROKEN POTTERY.

Fatima, translated:
HERE'S AN INTENTIONAL
DEPOSIT OF CERAMICS

WHERE THE MAYA BROKE VESSELS
AS PART OF AN OFFERING.

Narrator: SCHOLARS SUSPECT
THAT BREAKING CERAMICS

RELEASED THE POWER
OF THE OFFERING.

Fatima, translated:
THEY WOULD BREAK THE VESSEL

AND SCATTER IT AROUND THE CAVE.

THERE'S ALMOST ALWAYS
ONE PIECE MISSING.

SO WE THINK THAT THE MAYA
TOOK ONE PIECE WITH THEM

AND PERHAPS BURIED IT
OUTSIDE THE CAVE.

Narrator: THE TEAM PUSHES
DEEPER INTO THE CAVE.

MAYAN PRIESTS RELIED ON ROPES
MADE OF VINES TO GET HERE.

BUT EVEN WITH
MODERN CLIMBING GEAR,

FATIMA'S JOURNEY STILL TAKES
THREE HOURS.

SHE FINALLY REACHES
THE CAVE'S MOST SACRED POINT.

AND ON ITS WALLS...PAINTINGS.

ONE USES THE CONTOURS
OF THE CAVE

TO CREATE A UNIQUE
THREE-DIMENSIONAL JAGUAR.

ANOTHER PORTRAYS
A MYTHICAL HUNT--

WITH A GHOST-LIKE JAGUAR
AND DEER.

Fatima, translated: WHAT'S
STRIKING ABOUT THIS PAINTING

IS THAT THE REPRESENTATIONS
ARE NOT OF LIVING BEINGS.

THEY ARE IN THE UNDERWORLD,
IN THE WORLD OF DEATH.

LOOK AT THE BODY OF THE JAGUAR.
IT'S SKINNY.

IT HASN'T BEEN WELL FED.

AND IT HAS A DELIBERATE MARK
IN THE MIDDLE.

WE THINK THESE MARKS
REPRESENT ILLNESS.

Narrator: FATIMA HAS STUDIED ART
IN MANY MAYAN CAVES,

BUT NEVER SEEN PAINTINGS
LIKE THESE.

THEY ARE CLEARLY MAYAN...

BUT THEIR UNUSUAL STYLE SUGGESTS
THAT WHOEVER PAINTED THEM

WAS NOT PART OF THE MAYA
CIVILIZATION OF THE SOUTH.

STYLISTIC ANALYSIS
OF THE PAINTINGS

AND THE CERAMIC OFFERINGS
IN THE CHAMBER

INDICATE THE MURALS WERE PAINTED
AROUND 100 B.C.

THAT MAKES THEM AMONG
THE OLDEST MAYAN PAINTINGS

EVER DISCOVERED IN MEXICO.

THE PAINTINGS DATE TO THE DAWN
OF THE MAYA CIVILIZATION--

SCHOLARS CALL IT
THE PRECLASSIC PERIOD.

THAT WAS 800 YEARS BEFORE
THE REFUGEES FROM THE SOUTH

ARRIVED IN THE YUCATAN.

SO WHO PAINTED THESE MURALS?

DISCOVERIES AT ANOTHER
EXTRAORDINARY NEW SITE

MAY ANSWER THAT QUESTION.

MEXICAN ARCHAEOLOGIST
TOMAS GALLARETA NEGRON

IS EXCAVATING A MASSIVE
STONE CITY CALLED XOCNACEH...

COMPLETELY UNKNOWN
UNTIL RECENTLY.

Tomás, translated: WHEN WE
STARTED THE EXCAVATIONS HERE...

EVERYTHING WAS COVERED

SO WE HAD NO IDEA ABOUT
THE SIZE, THE DIMENSIONS,

OR THE POSSIBILITIES
THIS BUILDING WOULD HAVE.

Narrator: BENEATH THE JUNGLE,

TOMAS'S TEAM UNCOVERED
A BREATHTAKING STRUCTURE.

THIS MASSIVE, ELEVATED PLAZA

ROSE 28 FEET
ABOVE THE JUNGLE FLOOR

AND MEASURED 500 FEET SQUARE.

THE TOP WOULD HAVE EQUALED
FOUR FOOTBALL FIELDS IN SIZE.

Tomás, translated: IF I WERE
A MAYAN DURING THIS TIME,

I WOULD BE IN AWE TO COME HERE,

IMPRESSED BY THE POWER
OF THIS PLACE.

THE CENTRAL PATIO
OF THIS ELEVATED PLAZA

COULD HOLD MORE THAN
1,000 PEOPLE.

THEY WOULD HAVE GONE UP

AND PARTICIPATED IN RITUALS
AND FESTIVITIES

ON TOP OF THIS GREAT PLATFORM.

Narrator: MONUMENTAL STRUCTURES
LIKE THIS ONE

DON'T APPEAR IN THE NORTH

UNTIL AFTER THE SOUTHERN
COLLAPSE IN THE 700s A.D.

SO WHEN THE SITE
IS RADIOCARBON DATED,

THE RESULTS ARE
A COMPLETE SURPRISE.

Tomás, translated: WE DISCOVERED
THIS MONUMENTAL CONSTRUCTION

IS 2,500 YEARS OLD.

IT'S ONE OF THE LARGEST
KNOWN STRUCTURES FROM 500 B.C.

Narrator: ARTIFACTS FOUND AT
XOCNACEH INITIALLY BAFFLE TOMAS.

BASALT TOOLS
FROM FAR-OFF BELIZE.

CONCH SHELLS FROM VERACRUZ,
700 MILES AWAY.

AND EXQUISITE JADE
FROM THE GUATEMALA HIGHLANDS.

THEIR PRESENCE HERE INDICATES
THAT XOCNACEH

WAS THE POWERFUL HUB OF
AN INTERNATIONAL TRADE NETWORK.

AN ENTIRELY NEW PORTRAIT
OF THE NORTHERN MAYA

IS BEGINNING TO EMERGE.

Tomás, translated:
XOCNACEH WAS A METROPOLIS,

UNDOUBTEDLY ONE OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT AREAS OF ITS DAY,

AS IMPORTANT AS CITIES FOUND
IN THE SOUTHERN MAYAN AREA.

IT OBVIOUSLY CHANGES
THE PREVIOUS THEORY

THAT DEVELOPMENT
OF THE NORTHERN YUCATAN

WAS SOMETHING LATER,

CAUSED BY THE INFLUENCE
OF OUTSIDERS THAT CAME HERE.

XOCNACEH IS STRONG EVIDENCE
AGAINST THAT THEORY.

Narrator: BUT IF XOCNACEH
WAS THE COSMOPOLITAN CENTER

OF A THRIVING NORTHERN SOCIETY,

WHERE IS THE REST OF THE EMPIRE?

60 MILES AWAY, JUST OUTSIDE THE
MODERN YUCATAN CITY OF MERIDA,

EXCAVATION FOR
A NEW ROAD NETWORK

IS UNEARTHING SCORES OF SITES
JUST BY CHANCE--

190 NEW MAYAN TOWNS TO DATE
AND COUNTING.

THE MAP OF THE ANCIENT YUCATAN
IS SHIFTING RAPIDLY...

EXPLODING WITH PREVIOUSLY
UNKNOWN CITIES AND TOWNS.

Tony: WE HAVE FOUND
THAT THERE'S A LOT MORE PEOPLE,

AND A LOT MORE AGRICULTURE,

AND A LOT MORE HAPPENING HERE
THAN WE EVER IMAGINED.

AND AT A MUCH EARLIER DATE THAN
WE EVER IMAGINED.

WE THOUGHT THERE WERE JUST
LITTLE HAMLETS OUT HERE.

NOW WE HAVE VERY COMPLEX TOWNS.

AND WE MIGHT EVEN HAVE
URBAN CENTERS.

THE WHOLE IDEA OF
A MUCH MORE COMPLEX SOCIETY

IS EMERGING UP HERE,

AND IT'S ON THE PAR, I THINK,
WITH GUATEMALA.

George: WE WERE WALKING
RIGHT BY THESE SITES FOR DECADES

WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THEM.

IT WASN'T LIKE WE HAD TO GO DIG
FOR THESE PLACES;

THEY WERE RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSES.

WE JUST WEREN'T SEEING THEM--

WHICH IS AMAZING
IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT.

Narrator: BACK IN KIUIC,
GEORGE BEY'S TEAM

IS CLEARING STONES
FROM THE SIDE OF THE PYRAMID.

THEY'RE DOING DETECTIVE WORK--

TRYING TO FIGURE OUT
WHY A VAULT STONE,

TYPICALLY USED TO HOLD UP
THE CEILING OF A BUILDING,

WAS FOUND BURIED
INSIDE THE PYRAMID.

ANOTHER CLUE EMERGES, SUGGESTING
SOMETHING IS VERY DIFFERENT

ABOUT THIS PYRAMID.

George: THIS IS SOMETHING
THE WORKERS FOUND.

AND THEY HAPPENED TO,

AT THE LAST SECOND
BEFORE THEY THREW IT AWAY,

THEY TURNED IT OVER
AND NOTICED THAT, IN FACT,

IT'S A PIECE OF SCULPTURE.

A SCULPTURED FACE.

HERE'S THE FACE WITH THE NOSE
AND THE UPPER PART OF THE MOUTH.

SO THEN YOU HAVE TO
ASK YOURSELF

WHAT'S THIS
THAT'S OVER THIS FACE?

AND WHAT IT IS

IS PART OF A LARGE
HEADDRESS AND MASK

THAT THIS LORD
WOULD HAVE BEEN WEARING.

Narrator:
THE ANCIENT MAYA OFTEN ATTACHED
SCULPTURES LIKE THIS ONE

TO THE FACADES
OF ROYAL BUILDINGS.

IT'S A WATERSHED CLUE.

WHAT MAY LIE BURIED
BENEATH THE PYRAMID

IS NOT A ROYAL TOMB...

BUT A ROYAL PALACE.

FURTHER EXCAVATION REVEALS
THE CORNER OF A BUILDING.

George: THIS IS THE UPPER PART
OF THE PRESERVED BUILDING,

AND THIS IS WHAT WE CALL
A BROKEN MOLDING.

OVER THE DOORWAY
THIS PILE OF RUBBLE HERE

IS STILL FILLING THE DOORWAY.

YOU CAN SEE REMNANTS
OF THE STUCCO HERE,

PROBABLY MODELED AND PAINTED.

Narrator: AS THE TEAM PEELS BACK
THE PYRAMID, THE PALACE EMERGES.

IT CONSISTS OF THREE BUILDINGS:

A TEMPLE ON ONE SIDE,

THE ROYAL FAMILY'S RESIDENTIAL
QUARTERS ON THE OTHER,

AND A THRONE ROOM IN THE MIDDLE.

BUT WHY WOULD THE KING OF KIUIC

BUILD A PYRAMID
ON TOP OF A PALACE?

George: THE MAYA LIKE TO SEE
SPACES AS HAVING POWER.

IT'S NOT UNCOMMON TO SEE
IN MANY DIFFERENT FORMS

THE BUILDING OF ONE BUILDING
ON TOP OF ANOTHER

BECAUSE SACRED SPACES,
IMPORTANT PLACES ARE POWERFUL.

OUR ARGUMENT IS THAT THIS IS
ATTEMPTS TO LEGITIMIZE POWER.

Narrator: GEORGE BELIEVES
THAT AN EARLY KING OF KIUIC--

PERHAPS EVEN THE FOUNDER
OF THE TOWN'S ROYAL DYNASTY--

BUILT THE PALACE.

CENTURIES LATER, ANOTHER KING
BUILT THE PYRAMID

OVER HIS ANCESTOR'S HOME--

MAKING A DIRECT CONNECTION
TO HIS ANCESTOR'S POWER,

ENHANCING HIS OWN.

THE PALACE MAY BE MOST
REMARKABLE FOR ANOTHER REASON--

THE KING WHO BUILT THE PYRAMID

WAS NOT A LATE TRANSPLANT
FROM THE SOUTH,

BUT A DESCENDENT
OF A ROYAL FAMILY

THAT HAD BEEN IN KIUIC
FOR A VERY LONG TIME.

COMBINED WITH EVIDENCE FROM
THE MASSIVE COMPLEX AT XOCNACEH,

FROM THE ANCIENT RITUAL CAVE,

AND OTHER EMERGING
NORTHERN CITIES,

IT NOW SEEMS CLEAR
THAT HERE IN THE YUCATAN

THERE WAS A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN
MAYA MEGA-SOCIETY

THAT WAS JUST AS OLD--
AND JUST AS POWERFUL--

AS THE SOUTH.

George: WE DON'T REALLY KNOW
WHERE THE CRADLE OR GENESIS

OF MAYA SOCIETY IS ANYMORE.

WHAT WE'RE LEARNING

IS THAT THERE MAY HAVE BEEN
MULTIPLE CRADLES.

Narrator: THE SOUTH
CAN NO LONGER LAY SOLE CLAIM

TO THE TITLE
"BIRTHPLACE OF THE MAYA."

NOW THAT THE EXISTENCE

OF THIS NORTHERN MEGA-SOCIETY
IS CONFIRMED...

THE QUESTIONS RAPIDLY MULTIPLY--

WHO WERE THESE LOST MAYA
AND WHY WERE THEY FORGOTTEN?

George: THE AVERAGE PERSON
THAT THINKS ABOUT MAYA

SEES THESE GREAT
MONUMENTAL CITIES.

WHAT THEY DON'T REALIZE IS THAT
FOR EVERY ONE OF THOSE CITIES

THERE ARE DOZENS
OF MEDIUM-SIZED TOWNS LIKE KIUIC

THAT HOUSED
MAYBE 3-4,000 PEOPLE.

Narrator: FROM A LOOKOUT TOWER
NEAR KIUIC,

IT'S EASIER TO MAKE SENSE
OUT OF THE ENTIRE SITE.

IN BEY'S VIEW,

KIUIC WAS THE QUINTESSENTIAL
NORTHERN TOWN.

George: YOU'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING

AT WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN
DOWNTOWN KIUIC,

THE CITY OF KIUIC.

SEE WHERE THAT SMALL HILL IS,
THAT'S THE CENTER OF THE CITY.

Narrator: INITIALLY, BEY THOUGHT
THE EXTENT OF KIUIC

WAS LIMITED TO THE CORE AREA
AROUND THE PYRAMID.

BUT WITHIN A MILE OF THE CENTER,

THEY DISCOVERED
A SPRAWLING HILLTOP ESTATE

WITH A MASSIVE STAIRCASE,

SUGGESTING KIUIC
MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE HUB

OF A MUCH BIGGER COMPLEX.

EVERY MORNING, THE EXCAVATION
TEAM CLIMBS THE 200-FOOT HILL.

George: THE ANCIENT MAYA
WOULD HAVE COME UP THAT PATH,

WHICH WOULD HAVE LED
RIGHT TO THIS SPOT.

WHAT YOU SEE IS BASICALLY
A PILE OF ROCKS.

BUT IF YOU WERE STANDING HERE,
850 A.D.,

WHAT YOU'D BE STANDING
AT THE BASE OF

IS AN ENORMOUS STAIRWAY,

WHICH WOULD HAVE TAKEN YOU
UP TO THE TOP

OF WHAT WE THINK IS THE PALACE

OR THE PLANTATION HOUSE
OR THE BIG HOUSE.

EVEN IN THE MODERN SENSE,

A VERY PALATIAL KIND
OF CONSTRUCTION.

Narrator: THEY'VE DUBBED
THE SITE "STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN."

George: A PLACE LIKE
STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

IS AMAZING IN THE SENSE

THAT THEY BUILT A NINE,
TEN-ROOM MANSION UP THERE.

AND THAT'S A VERY NICE BUILDING,
A NINTH CENTURY McMANSION, OKAY,

LIVING UP ON TOP OF THAT HILL.

Narrator: BUT WHO WOULD HAVE
BEEN RICH ENOUGH--

AND AUDACIOUS ENOUGH--TO BUILD
SUCH OVER-THE-TOP REAL ESTATE?

GRADUATE STUDENT
STEPHANIE SIMMS

IS DIGGING FOR ANSWERS...

TEARING UP THE FLOOR OF ONE
OF THE 22 LARGE STONE BUILDINGS

THAT MAKE UP THE ESTATE.

UNDER THE FLOOR,
A TANTALIZING CLUE.

Stephanie: HERE I AM SITTING
BENEATH THE FLOOR--

LEVEL BEING RIGHT HERE--

OF A THREE-ROOM ELITE RESIDENCE

UP ON THE HILLTOP.

AND HERE, JUST BENEATH
THE FLOOR,

ARE A FEW CAPSTONES COVERING
A DEDICATORY OFFERING.

Narrator: THE OFFERING CONSISTS
OF A CERAMIC BOWL AND PLATE

THAT APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN PLACED
UNDER THE FLOOR

WHEN THE HOUSE WAS BUILT.

Stephanie:
IT'S A LITTLE SUSPICIOUS.

IT WOULD BE ODD TO PLACE A PLATE
UPSIDE DOWN LIKE THAT

WITHOUT COVERING
SOMETHING, SO...

Narrator: AS THE TEAM
CAREFULLY REMOVES THE PLATE,

SPECKS OF EVIDENCE SURFACE.

Stephanie:
LITTLE TEENY FRAGMENTS

OF VERY BADLY DECOMPOSED,
KIND OF ERODED, DEGRADED BONE.

STILL CAN'T TELL YET WHETHER
IT'S HUMAN BONE OR ANIMAL BONE,

BUT MY GUESS IS HUMAN.

Narrator: THE LARGE CAPSTONES
FLANKING THE OFFERING

MAY BE HIDING SOMETHING ELSE.

IT WAS A COMMON PRACTICE
OF THE MAYA

TO REBURY THE DEFLESHED BONES
OF THEIR DECEASED ANCESTORS.

IT'S CALLED SECONDARY BURIAL.

George: OUR THINKING
WITH THESE SECONDARY BURIALS

IS THAT THEY'RE BRINGING BONES
OR PARTS OF FAMILY MEMBERS

TO NEW LOCATIONS

TO SANCTIFY THE STRUCTURES
THAT THEY'RE BUILDING.

Narrator: THE CAPSTONES UNDER
THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE COME OFF.

AT FIRST...NOTHING BUT DIRT.

BUT THEN...A HUMAN TOOTH.

Stephanie:
CONFIRMING OUR SUSPICIONS
THAT THIS IS A HUMAN BURIAL,

THIS IS A LOWER INCISOR.

RIGHT HERE.

Woman: THERE ARE SEVERAL, AND WE
ARE STILL WAITING TO UNCOVER

TO SEE HOW MANY THERE ARE.

Narrator: THOUGH BADLY
DECOMPOSED FROM THE ACIDIC SOIL,

STEPHANIE CAN MAKE OUT
THE REMAINS OF A HUMAN SKULL--

AND ARM AND LEG BONES.

Stephanie: SO THIS DEMONSTRATES
TO US THIS OFFERING

IS PART OF THE BURIAL UNDERNEATH
DEDICATING THIS HOUSE.

Narrator: BACK IN THE LAB,
STEPHANIE HAPPILY DISCOVERS

THAT THIS SKULL'S OWNER WAS NOT
A DAILY BRUSHER OR FLOSSER.

EMBEDDED IN THE TEETH...
1,200-YEAR-OLD PLAQUE.

CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF
FOOD PARTICLES IN THE PLAQUE

GIVES STEPHANIE A HINT
ABOUT WHAT KIND OF WEALTH

STAIRWAY'S OWNERS HAD.

Stephanie: I'M FINDING
A MUCH GREATER DIVERSITY

OF PLANT FOOD ITEMS
THAT WERE CONSUMED--

INGREDIENTS IN STEWS AND SOUPS;

SQUASH, BEANS, TREE FRUITS,
CHILI PEPPERS.

Narrator: THE BOUNTY SUGGESTS

THAT THE PEOPLE
WHO LIVED AT STAIRWAY

WERE MAJOR PLANTATION OWNERS--

OPERATING EXTENSIVE FARMS

IN THE VALLEY BELOW
THEIR HILLTOP ESTATE.

AS GEORGE'S TEAM SURVEYS
NEARBY HILLS,

IT'S CLEAR THAT STAIRWAY
IS NOT AN ISOLATED EXAMPLE,

BUT ONE OF DOZENS OF ESTATES.

AND THE FARMING BUSINESS HERE

APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN
LUCRATIVE...

BACKED UP BY MORE EVIDENCE
ON THE TEETH.

Stephanie:
THAT'S ONE OF MANY, MANY KINDS
OF DENTAL MODIFICATION,

WHICH IS VERY COMMON
IN MESOAMERICA.

A LOT OF FILING OF TEETH,

SOMETIMES THERE WOULD BE
INLAYS OF JADE

OR GREEN STONE OR PYRITE.

Narrator: EVEN TODAY, MANY
LOCAL PEOPLE SPORT MOUTH GRILLS

OF PRECIOUS METALS AND GEMS.

Stephanie: IT WAS CONSIDERED
BEAUTIFUL, SOMETHING COSMETIC.

AND ALSO USUALLY INDEXES WEALTH.

Narrator: OTHER INDICATORS
OF WIDESPREAD WEALTH EMERGE.

MANY SECONDARY BUILDINGS
AT SITES LIKE STAIRWAY--

HOUSES BELONGING TO SKILLED
WORKERS LIKE THIS ONE--

ARE BUILT OF STONE, A RARITY
IN ANCIENT CENTRAL AMERICA.

George: THAT'S AMAZING.

WHAT IT SUGGESTS
IS THAT WE'RE NOT LOOKING

AT A LARGE PEASANT POPULATION

THAT'S UNDER THE HANDS
OF A VERY SMALL ROYAL ELITE,

BUT THAT WEALTH AND PROSPERITY

HAVE SPREAD OVER ALMOST HALF
OF THE POPULATION.

Narrator: GEORGE AND HIS TEAM
SUGGEST A PROVOCATIVE IDEA--

THAT KIUIC MAY BE EVIDENCE

OF AMERICA'S VERY FIRST
MIDDLE CLASS--

NEARLY A MILLENNIUM

BEFORE NORTH AMERICA'S
COLONIAL MIDDLE CLASS.

George: THESE PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE
HAD OPPORTUNITIES;

THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE
TO ACQUIRE LAND.

I MEAN, IT'S KIND OF FUN
TO THINK ABOUT IT,

THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN LIVING
THE MAYA DREAM.

Narrator: IF THERE WAS
SUCH A THING AS THE MAYAN DREAM,

THIS IS WHERE IT HAPPENED.

KIUIC AND STAIRWAY ARE NESTLED
IN A LUSH REGION OF THE YUCATAN

CALLED THE PUUC.

SOIL HERE IS FERTILE,
NATURAL RESOURCES ABUNDANT.

IT LOOKS LIKE AN IDEAL PLACE
FOR HUMAN HABITATION...

EXCEPT FOR ONE THING.

George: THE PUUC REGION
HAS NO WATER SOURCES.

NO RIVERS, LAKES,
STREAMS, CREEKS.

THESE PEOPLE DEPENDED
ON CONTROLLING, COLLECTING,

AND MANAGING RAINWATER.

Narrator: SO HOW DID THEY DO IT?

JUST A FEW HUNDRED FEET
FROM THE STAIRWAY ESTATE HOUSE,

ARCHAEOLOGIST BILL RINGLE
HAS FOUND AN ANSWER.

WATER FALLS HEAVILY HERE,
BUT ONLY SIX MONTHS OF THE YEAR.

FOR THE REST OF THE TIME,
IT DRIES OUT,

AND VIRTUALLY NO RAIN FALLS.

Bill: AND THIS WAS ONE
OF THE PRIMARY ADAPTATIONS

OF THE PUUC MAYA TO THIS
RATHER WATERLESS ENVIRONMENT.

Narrator:
THIS UNDERGROUND CAVERN

IS ACTUALLY A MANMADE CISTERN
CALLED A CHULTUN.

IT WAS A WORK OF
SOPHISTICATED ENGINEERING,

CARVED OUT OF
THE LIMESTONE BEDROCK.

Bill:
OVER HERE, WE CAN SEE HOW
THESE CHULTUNS WERE CONSTRUCTED.

FIRST OF ALL, THEY WOULD BORE
THROUGH THE HARDER CAP-ROCK,

AND THEN ONCE THEY GOT TO THIS
UNDERLYING SOFTER MORRAL,

THEY WOULD EXCAVATE OUT
AND MAKE THIS LARGE CHAMBER.

THE LAST STAGE WOULD BE
TO COVER IT WITH STUCCO...

AND YOU CAN SEE THE THICKNESS
OF THE STUCCO HERE,

THIS PINKISH MATERIAL.

Narrator: THE STUCCO FUNCTIONED
AS A WATERPROOF LINING.

THE MAYA EXPERTLY ENGINEERED
THE PATIOS, ROOFTOPS, AND PLAZAS

OF STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

TO CAPTURE EVERY LAST DROP
OF RAINWATER...

THEN DRAIN IT
INTO EIGHT CHULTUNS

SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE ESTATE.

THE ENTIRE HILLTOP FUNCTIONED
AS A GIANT RAIN BARREL.

SO HOW MANY PEOPLE COULD THIS
INGENIOUS WATERWORKS SUPPORT?

TO FIND OUT, BILL RINGLE
AND ENGINEER ANDREW WILLIS

ARE DEPLOYING SOME CUTTING-EDGE
TECHNOLOGY OF THEIR OWN.

Andrew: THIS IS A LIDAR
SCANNING SYSTEM.

IT WORKS BY BOMBARDING
THE SURFACE WITH A LASER BEAM.

Narrator: THE LASER MAPS
THE CONTOURS OF THE CHULTUN,

CREATING A 3-D MODEL.

THE SCANS REVEAL
THAT STAIRWAY'S CHULTUNS

HAVE AN AVERAGE CAPACITY
OF ABOUT 10,000 GALLONS APIECE.

THEY CALCULATE THAT
THE TYPICAL FAMILY OF SIX

CONSUMED 27 GALLONS A DAY...

SO STAIRWAY'S CHULTUNS COULD
HAVE SUPPORTED SEVEN FAMILIES

THROUGH THREE RAINLESS MONTHS.

THESE ADVANCED WATERWORKS
FORMED A LIQUID FOUNDATION

FOR LIFE ON STAIRWAY

AND FOR DOZENS OF OTHER WEALTHY
KINGDOMS LIKE KIUIC NEARBY.

AND SITTING AT THE VERY TOP
OF THAT FOUNDATION

WAS A ROYAL ELITE.

GEORGE BEY HAS FOUND HINTS

OF THEIR SURPRISING WEALTH
HIDDEN IN THE JUNGLE--

THE RUINS OF A MAJESTIC PALACE.

George: IT REPRESENTS A TIME
IN THE HISTORY

OF THE ROYAL FAMILY OF KIUIC

WHEN GREAT AMOUNT OF WEALTH

WAS BEING ACCRUED
BY THE ROYAL FAMILY

AND THEY WERE EXPRESSING IT
THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION

OF A MASSIVE NEW PALACE.

Narrator: THE KING OF KIUIC
HAD BUILT THE PYRAMID

OVER HIS OLD PALACE.

SO ON THE ADJACENT LOT,

HE UPGRADED TO DELUXE
NEW ACCOMMODATIONS.

THE NEW PALACE BOASTED
15 MAJOR BUILDINGS

AND TWO CEREMONIAL PLAZAS.

FROM PREVIOUS FINDS,
GEORGE KNOWS THE BUILDINGS

WERE ADORNED IN ORNATE SCULPTURE
AND PAINTED STUCCO.

George: THIS IS ONE
OF THE BEST-PRESERVED BUILDINGS

IN THE NEW PALACE.

YOU CAN SEE THE REMAINS
OF THE STUCCO.

BUT THEY WOULD HAVE
BEEN PAINTED,

SOMETIMES WITH ELABORATE MURALS.

AND THEN THERE
WOULD HAVE BEEN BEAMS

HUNG FROM CERTAIN PARTS
OF THE ROOF

FOR CURTAINS OR TAPESTRIES,

AND A VARIETY OF FURNITURE WOULD
HAVE FOUND ITS WAY IN HERE.

KINGS LIKE THINGS
LIKE JAGUAR SKINS,

SOFAS, FANCY PILLOWS.

THIS SIMPLE ROOM WOULD HAVE
PERHAPS BEEN QUITE LUXURIOUS.

Narrator: BY 800 A.D.,
THE NORTHERN MAYAN SOCIETY

IS OVER 1,500 YEARS OLD.

ITS PEOPLE HAVE MASTERED
THIS HARSH LANDSCAPE.

THEIR FACILITY WITH WATER
ALLOWS FOR LARGE-SCALE FARMING

AND GENERATES VAST WEALTH
FOR THEIR KINGS

AND EVEN FOR A NEW MIDDLE CLASS.

George: IMAGINE THIS PLACE
800 A.D.

WHAT YOU WOULD HAVE SEEN--

A VAST LANDSCAPE OF TOWNS,
VILLAGES, CITIES,

THE SMOKE RISING FROM THOUSANDS
OF COOKING FIRES

AS WOMEN PREPARED
THE EVENING MEALS,

MEN COMING BACK
FROM THEIR FIELDS.

Narrator:
BUT ALONG WITH THIS PORTRAIT
OF A PROSPEROUS SOCIETY,

BEY'S COLLEAGUES, BILL RINGLE
AND TOMAS GALLARETA,

ARE FINDING EVIDENCE
OF A DISTURBING POLITICAL TREND

ON THE RISE.

20 MILES FROM KIUIC,
THE MAJESTIC CITY OF UXMAL.

IN THE 800s,
IT ROSE TO BECOME

THE POWERFUL POLITICAL CAPITAL
OF THE REGION.

LOCAL KINGS,
LIKE THE KING OF KIUIC,

LIKELY TRAVELED HERE
TO CONDUCT DIPLOMACY

AND PAY TRIBUTE
TO UXMAL'S ROYALTY.

RINGLE WANTS TO SHOW BEY

HOW THESE BUILDINGS UNDERWENT
A PECULIAR MODIFICATION

IN THE 800s.

AN UNMISTAKABLE NEW IMAGE
WAS ADDED TO THEIR FACADES.

Bill:
WHAT'S REALLY INTERESTING IS
THAT LITTLE IMAGE RIGHT THERE.

A FEATHERED SERPENT.

ACTUALLY THERE ARE
TWO FEATHERED SERPENTS HERE,

AND THEY INTERTWINE
ACROSS THE FACADE.

YOU NEED VISUAL IMAGES...

Narrator: RINGLE BELIEVES
THE SERPENTS ARE A SYMBOL

OF A POWERFUL RELIGIOUS CULT.

IT WAS CALLED QUETZALCOATL,
OR THE FEATHERED SERPENT.

Bill: THE SO-CALLED CULT
OF QUETZALCOATL,

PERHAPS A BETTER WAY
TO THINK ABOUT IT

IS A POLITICAL IDEOLOGY,

AND, OF COURSE, IT HAD
RELIGIOUS OVERTONES.

CULT'S PERHAPS THE WRONG WORD
BECAUSE IT SUGGESTS SOMETHING

KIND OF SMALL SCALE
AND EXTRA-GOVERNMENTAL.

THIS WAS POLITICAL IDEOLOGY,
FRONT AND CENTER.

Narrator: TO GAIN ADMITTANCE
INTO THIS CULT,

A LOCAL KING--LIKE KIUIC'S--

HAD TO SUBMIT
TO A RIGOROUS INITIATION.

Bill: THE PRIESTS WOULD VERY
OFTEN SEQUESTER THE INITIATE

FOR SEVERAL DAYS.

HE WOULD UNDERGO RITUALS
OF SELF-MORTIFICATION.

Narrator: THESE RITUALS INVOLVED
BLOODLETTING CEREMONIES

IN WHICH INITIATES PIERCED THEIR
PENISES AND OTHER BODY PARTS.

Bill: THAT WOULD BE
A VERY INTERESTING WAY

TO, UH, TO SACRIFICE YOURSELF,
OBVIOUSLY VERY PAINFUL.

Narrator: ANOTHER IMAGE
ON THE FACADE

REPRESENTS THE JOURNEY
OF AN INITIATE--

A SMALL MAN BEING SPIT
OUT OF THE MOUTH

OF A FEATHERED SERPENT.

Bill: WE CAN SEE
THE LITTLE MAN

MOVING THROUGH ITS BODY TO
EMERGE AS A TRANSFORMED BEING.

AND HE'S BEING TRANSFORMED

PRECISELY BECAUSE OF THE RITUALS
OF INITIATION

THAT INVOLVED QUETZALCOATL.

Narrator: THE EVIDENCE AT UXMAL

SUGGESTS THE CULT SWEPT
THROUGH THE NORTH IN THE 800s.

AS LOCAL KINGS BOUGHT
INTO THE NEW IDEOLOGY,

POLITICAL TENSIONS
STARTED TO RISE.

Bill: IT MAY HAVE FOSTERED
COMPETITION

BETWEEN THOSE WHO WISHED
TO ADHERE TO THIS NEW IDEOLOGY

AND THOSE WHO WISH
TO REMAIN TRUE

TO THE TRADITIONAL IDEOLOGY
OF THE MAYA AREA.

Narrator: AT THE NEW PALACE
IN KIUIC,

GEORGE FINDS SIGNS THAT
IN THE MIDST OF THE BOOM TIMES,

SOMETHING ELSE SEEMS
TO GO WRONG.

George: WE SEE THIS BIG PILE
OF ROCK UP HERE

IN FRONT OF THE BUILDING,

AND IT MAKES REALLY NOT TOO MUCH
SENSE AT THE BEGINNING.

YOU HAVE THIS BEAUTIFUL BUILDING

HERE ON THIS SIDE
WITH THESE ROOMS,

YOU HAVE A SET OF ROOMS
ON THE OTHER SIDE,

AND RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE YOU HAVE
A BIG CHUNK OF RUBBLE.

WE CONCLUDE THAT
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT

IS A ACTUAL STAIRCASE
THAT WAS BUILT BY WORKERS

TO GIVE THEM ACCESS TO THE UPPER
STORIES OF THE BUILDING.

HERE IS A SCAFFOLD SYSTEM
BEING USED BY THE MAYA

AS PART OF THEIR
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES.

OKAY, NOW, IT'S NOT GONE.

THE STAIRWAY IS STILL HERE.

IF THE BUILDING WAS FINISHED,

THEY WOULD HAVE REMOVED
THE STAIRWAY.

THE INDICATIONS
OF THIS SCAFFOLDING ARE

IS THAT YOU ARE SEEING
CONSTRUCTION HAPPENING,

YOU'RE NOT SEEING
A FINISHED BUILDING.

Narrator: ANOTHER PART
OF THE NEW PALACE

SHOWS SIMILAR SIGNS OF
A SUDDEN HALT IN CONSTRUCTION.

THE SECOND-STORY WALLS
OF A BUILDING

ARE LAID OUT ON THE GROUND
BY MASONS, BUT NEVER ERECTED.

George: ALL OF THESE
CHARACTERISTICS ARE EVIDENCE

THAT THE CITY WAS IN FULL BLOOM,
THAT ARCHITECTS WERE EMPLOYED,

THAT THE KING WAS FEELING
CONFIDENT AND POWERFUL

ABOUT WHAT HE WAS DOING,

THAT THE CITY
WAS PART OF A WORLD

THAT WAS BLOSSOMING
AND EXPANDING,

AND NOT THIS IDEA OF THE KING
BEING MISS HAVISHAM

SITTING AMONG A RUINED HOUSE

AS THINGS SLOWLY
FELL APART FOR HIM,

AND HIS WORLD COLLAPSED.

THIS IS A VERY DIFFERENT
KIND OF IMAGE

FOR WHAT WAS GOING ON HERE.

Narrator: SO WHAT BROUGHT
KIUIC'S BOOM TIMES

TO A SCREECHING HALT?

AT FIRST, WAR SEEMS
AN OBVIOUS EXPLANATION.

BUT AN EXHAUSTIVE SEARCH

TURNS UP NO ARROWHEADS
AND NO SPEAR POINTS.

BUT THEN...
AT STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN,

THE HILLTOP ESTATE,

THE TEAM FINDS CLUES
THAT AT THE SAME TIME

CONSTRUCTION HALTED
ON THE PALACE,

THIS SITE WAS ABRUPTLY
ABANDONED.

George:
YOU HAVE PROBABLY FIVE OR SIX
VESSELS SMASHED ON THE FLOOR

FROM THE TIME OF
THE ABANDONMENT, YOU KNOW.

I THINK SOME OF THEM WOULD HAVE
BEEN LEFT HERE ON THE FLOOR,

OTHERS WERE PROBABLY
HANGING FROM THE WALLS.

Narrator: BUT THESE PEOPLE WERE
NOT RUNNING FOR THEIR LIVES.

THE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS
AN ORDERLY DEPARTURE:

POTS CAREFULLY HUNG ON WALL PEGS
OR SET TO THE SIDES OF ROOMS.

THEY WERE LEFT INTACT...
AND ONLY BROKE LATER

AS THE ABANDONED BUILDING
BEGAN TO CRUMBLE.

George: IT LOOKS LIKE
MOST OF THEM

ARE RIGHT ALONG THE EDGES
OF THE INTERIOR,

WHICH REALLY LOOKS LIKE
THEY'RE TAKING SOME TIME

TO PUT THESE VESSELS SOMEWHERE
TO GUARD THEM

AT THE TIME THEY'RE
LEAVING THEM.

Man: KIND OF LIKE
MAKING THINGS NEAT,

RIGHT BEFORE
YOU LEAVE THE HOUSE.

George: RIGHT, KIND OF
TIDYING UP IN SOME WAY.

Narrator:
AND BEHIND THE HOUSE...

STEPHANIE AND GEORGE
FIND ANOTHER PROVOCATIVE CLUE.

George: IT'S CALLED A METATE.

THIS SURFACE HERE REPRESENTS
A GRINDING SURFACE,

WHERE A WOMAN WOULD HAVE SPENT
A GOOD PART OF HER DAY

CRUSHING CORN.

Narrator: THEY WERE AS COMMON
IN MAYAN KITCHENS

AS MICROWAVES IN OUR OWN...

BUT STAIRWAY'S METATES ARE LEFT
IN A REVEALING WAY.

George: THESE METATES
WERE TURNED OVER ON THEIR SIDE.

TO TURN OVER A 200,
250-POUND ROCK ON ITS SIDE--

I THINK IT'S OBVIOUS THAT THIS
WAS AN INTENTIONAL ACT.

IF IT WAS LEFT THIS WAY,
WOULD HAVE FILLED WITH WATER

AND PLANTS AND LARVAE
AND MOSQUITOES.

BUT BY TURNING IT OVER
ON ITS SIDE,

IT'S EVEN NOW MAINTAINED ITSELF
RELATIVELY CLEAN.

SO THIS LITTLE ROCK
ACTUALLY HAS A PRETTY BIG STORY:

WHEN THEY ABANDONED
STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN,

THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE GOING
TO RETURN AT SOME POINT.

Narrator:
SO WHAT COULD HAVE CAUSED

THIS CAREFULLY PLANNED
ABANDONMENT OF STAIRWAY...

AND THE ABRUPT WORK STOPPAGE
AT THE PALACE?

ON THIS POINT, THE RUINS
AT KIUIC ARE SILENT.

BUT 50 MILES AWAY, NEW FINDS
POINT TO A PROBABLE CAUSE.

THE PUUC HAS NO WATER
OF ITS OWN,

BUT ON THE EDGE OF THE REGION

IS A SMALL LAKE
CALLED CHICHANCANAB.

TO STUDY CLIMATE CHANGE,
A TEAM OF SCIENTISTS

HAS EXTRACTED CORE SAMPLES
FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE.

IN A LAB AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA,

GEOLOGIST MARK BRENNER
IDENTIFIES A TELLING PATTERN.

Mark: THESE ARE SEDIMENT CORES
FROM LAKE CHICHANCANAB

ON THE YUCATAN PENINSULA.

LAKE SEDIMENTS
ARE WONDERFUL RECORDERS

OF PAST ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY.

AND IF YOU START
AT THE TOP HERE--

THESE WOULD BE
THE MOST RECENT SEDIMENTS--

AND YOU WORK YOUR WAY DOWN,

YOU'RE BASICALLY
GOING BACK IN TIME.

YOU SEE NICE ORGANIC BROWN
SEDIMENTS AS YOU COME DOWN HERE.

AND THEN SUDDENLY YOU SEE
THESE WHITE BANDS HERE.

AND THESE ARE GYPSUM.

Narrator: GYPSUM IS
A TYPE OF SALT FOUND NATURALLY

IN THE WATERS
OF LAKE CHICHANCANAB.

TO UNDERSTAND WHERE
THE GYPSUM BANDS COME FROM,

IMAGINE A GLASS OF SALT WATER...

IF ENOUGH WATER EVAPORATES,
SALT SEPARATES OUT OF THE WATER.

IN TIMES OF DROUGHT,
LAKE WATER EVAPORATES,

LEAVING THE GYPSUM BEHIND...

WHERE IT SETTLES IN A LAYER
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE.

THE GYPSUM BANDS RECORD
A PERIOD OF TIME

WHEN LAKE CHICHANCANAB'S
WATER LEVEL PLUMMETED.

BUT WHEN WAS IT?

WHEN MARK SENDS THE GYPSUM
LAYERS FOR RADIOCARBON DATING,

HE DISCOVERS
A STUNNING COINCIDENCE.

Mark: WHAT IS REALLY COOL
ABOUT THIS CORE

IS THAT WHEN WE DID
THE RADIOCARBON DATING,

WE FIND THAT IT
ACTUALLY COINCIDES

WITH THE MAYA COLLAPSE.

Narrator:
THE DROUGHTS ALIGN PERFECTLY
WITH THE ABANDONMENT OF KIUIC.

BUT A CLOSE INSPECTION
OF THE CORE SAMPLE

REVEALS AN EVEN MORE
IMPORTANT DETAIL.

Mark: IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY HERE
THROUGHOUT THE CORES,

YOU'LL FIND THESE
LITTLE WHITE SPECS.

AND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT THERE
IS VERY MINUTE SNAIL SHELLS.

Narrator: SNAIL SHELLS CAN ACT
AS TAPE RECORDERS,

PROVIDING A PRECISE
CLIMATE HISTORY.

LOCKED INTO THE SHELLS ARE
TWO DISTINCT OXYGEN ISOTOPES.

DURING TIMES OF DROUGHT,
ONE TYPE DOMINATES

AND IS DETECTABLE
IN THE SHELLS' CHEMICAL MAKEUP.

WHEN MARK ANALYZES THEM, HE
DISCOVERS A SERIES OF DROUGHTS

WITH AN OFF-THE-CHARTS
INTENSITY.

Mark: THE SNAILS ARE TELLING US
THINGS WERE INCREDIBLY DRY,

AS DRY AS THEY'VE BEEN FOR
THE LAST 7,000 YEARS, ANYWAY.

Narrator: AT STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN,
NEW DATA INDICATES CISTERNS

WOULD HAVE ARMED THE MAYA
FOR THREE MONTHS WITHOUT RAIN...

A FEW MONTHS LONGER WITH
EMERGENCY WATER RATIONING.

BUT MORE EVIDENCE
FROM THE CORE SAMPLES

SUGGESTS THIS WOULD NOT
HAVE BEEN ENOUGH.

Mark: WE FIND EIGHT OF THESE
BANDS THAT SUGGESTS, IN FACT,

THAT IT WASN'T JUST LIKE
ONE MASSIVE DROUGHT--

IT WAS PROBABLY
A SERIES OF DROUGHTS

THAT HAVE DURATIONS
OF ABOUT 3 TO 20 YEARS.

AND EVERY TIME THINGS
WOULD GET GOING AGAIN,

THEY WOULD GET POUNDED WITH
A FAIRLY LONG DURATION DROUGHT.

Narrator:
AT SOME POINT, THE DROUGHTS
OVERWHELMED STAIRWAY,

LEAVING ONLY ONE OPTION.

George: ALL IT WOULD TAKE
WOULD BE A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME

IN WHICH THERE WAS NO WATER
IN THOSE CISTERNS,

AND THOSE PEOPLE WOULD
HAVE TO LEAVE THAT HILL.

IT'S SIMPLY IMPOSSIBLE
TO LIVE THERE.

THE VARIOUS FAMILIES,
ELITE FAMILIES,

THEY WERE REACHING A POINT

WHERE THEY WERE HAVING TO MAKE
A VERY DIFFICULT DECISION,

WHICH WAS TO LEAVE
STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN.

Narrator: THEY LOADED
WHAT THEY COULD OF THEIR LIVES

ONTO THEIR BACKS...

AND CAREFULLY STORED THE REST.

WHEN THE RAINS RETURNED, THEY
FULLY EXPECTED THEY WOULD, TOO.

George: THE MAYA KNEW
ABOUT DROUGHTS.

THEY WERE PROBABLY
A CIVILIZATION

DESIGNED TO RESPOND NOT ONLY
TO MANAGING RAINWATER,

BUT MANAGING A LACK
OF RAINWATER, TOO.

IT'S NOT A SURPRISE THEY LEFT.

WHAT BECOMES THE QUESTION FOR US
IS WHY THEY DON'T COME BACK.

Narrator: SO WHY DIDN'T
STAIRWAY'S RESIDENTS

AND THE KING OF KIUIC
SURVIVE THESE DROUGHTS

AS THEY CLEARLY HAD IN THE PAST?

THE EXTREME INTENSITY OF
THESE DROUGHTS WAS DISASTROUS,

MAKING A CAREFULLY MANAGED
RESPONSE THEIR ONLY HOPE.

BUT BEY AND RINGLE SPECULATE

THE NORTH'S
POLITICAL ESTABLISHMENT

WAS FALLING INTO DISARRAY,

DISTRACTED BY THE CULT
OF THE FEATHERED SERPENT.

Bill: THE COLLAPSE
OF THE NORTHERN MAYA

APPARENTLY BEGAN
DURING THE NINTH CENTURY.

AND THAT'S ALSO THE TIME PERIOD

DURING WHICH THIS FEATHERED
SERPENT IDEOLOGY WAS INTRODUCED.

AND THIS UNDOUBTEDLY LED
TO RIVALRIES

WITH RESPECT TO POWER BROKERING.

Narrator: RINGLE THINKS
THE POLITICAL SITUATION

MAY HAVE BECOME SO EXTREME

THAT THERE WAS NO LONGER
ANY GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM

CAPABLE OF ORGANIZING
THEIR RETURN.

WITH A STABLE GOVERNMENT,

THE NORTHERN MAYA
MIGHT HAVE SURVIVED.

BUT IT WASN'T TO BE,
AND WITHIN A CENTURY,

THE MAJOR CITIES AND TOWNS
OF THE NORTH--

JUST LIKE THE SOUTH--
WERE LEFT IN RUINS.

Tony: THE REASONS
FOR THE COLLAPSE VARIED

FROM PLACE TO PLACE
IN THE MAYA AREA.

IN SOME PLACES
IT WAS MORE ENVIRONMENTAL,

MORE CLIMATE RELATED,
MORE WARFARE RELATED,

YOU KNOW,
MORE POLITICAL MISMANAGEMENT.

THERE ONCE USED TO BE
GREAT CITIES HERE.

BUT IT'S LONG GONE.

Narrator: TODAY,
THE EMPTY JUNGLES OF THE YUCATAN

SERVE AS A REMINDER THAT EVEN
GREAT CIVILIZATIONS CAN FAIL.

AND YET, EVEN THOUGH
THE ACHIEVEMENTS

OF AN ADVANCED SOCIETY
DISAPPEARED,

THE PEOPLE DID NOT.

George: WHAT WE'RE
REALLY LOOKING AT

IS THE DECLINE OF ELITE CULTURE,

I MEAN, THE BREAKDOWN
OF THE KINGS,

THE BREAKDOWN OF THE ARTISANS,

THE BREAKDOWN OF THE KINDS
OF HIGH ENDS OF CULTURE.

WHEN PEOPLE SAY,
"OH, THE MAYA DISAPPEARED."

BUT REALLY THERE ARE MILLIONS
OF MAYA SPEAKERS.

WHEN YOU LOOK AROUND HERE,

YOU LOOK INTO THE FACES
OF THE PEOPLE,

AND YOU'RE LOOKING INTO
THE FACES OF THE CLASSIC MAYAN.

Narrator: THEY HAVE ENDURED,
OUTLASTING CLIMATE CATASTROPHE,

THE COLLAPSE
OF THEIR CIVILIZATION...

AND LATER, CONQUEST BY EUROPE.

IN THEIR FACES, A REMINDER OF
A LONG-FORGOTTEN CIVILIZATION...

AT LAST RE-EMERGING
FROM THE SHADOWS.

Announcer: FOR MORE ON
THE QUEST FOR THE LOST MAYA

OR TO WATCH THIS PROGRAM AGAIN,
VISIT PBS.ORG.

QUEST FOR THE LOST MAYA
IS AVAILABLE ON DVD.

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