Original subtitles

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.

TO ORDER, VISIT shopPBS.org

OR CALL US: 1-800-PLAY-PBS.