THE PETÉN IN NORTHERN GUATEMALA IS HOME TO SOME OF THE AMERICA'S MOST COMPLEX AND IMPRESSIVE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES.

SOME OF THESE ARE STILL UNDERGOING EXCAVATION AND ONLY JUST BEGINNING TO REVEAL THEIR VAST HISTORY.

THE SITE OF CEIBAL SITS ABOVE THE RIVER OF PASSION.

THE WORKERS THERE ARE DESCENDENTS OF THE ACTUAL BUILDERS.

FUNDING FOR IN THE AMERICAS WITH DAVID YETMAN WAS PROVIDED BY AGNES HAURY.

MUSIC GUATEMALA IS HOME TO SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST SENSATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES, THE RUINS OF THE HEART OF THE GREAT MAYAN EMPIRE.

MOST OF THE SITES ARE STILL BEING UNCOVERED.

AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL COUPLE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA ARE UNLOCKING THE SECRETS OF THE RUINS THAT ARE ONLY PARTIALLY EXCAVATED.

ARCHAEOLOGY CONSISTS NOT ONLY OF DIGGING AND RESTORING BUT ALSO NEARLY ENDLESS HOURS OF LABORATORY WORK AS WELL AS CLASSIFYING AND STORING TENS OF THOUSANDS OF ARTIFACTS.

MOST OF THIS ARCHIVING THAT IS THE DATING AND CLASSIFYING INTO STORAGE IS CARRIED OUT NOT IN THE JUNGLES OF THE NORTH BUT IN ANONYMOUS NEIGHBORHOODS OF GUATEMALA CITY.

THIS IS NOT A NEIGHBORHOOD I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED TO FIND AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL LABORATORY IN BUT I KNOW IT'S HERE.

AH, HERE'S THE NUMBER, 2895, SO THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE PLACE.

[KNOCKING] BUENOS TARDES.

COMO ESTA?

ALFREDO IS IN CHARGE OF THE LAB.

Y QUE TEREMOS AQUI?

[SPANISH] SO EVERYTHING THAT COMES OUT OF THE EXCAVATIONS WHICH ARE A COUPLE HUNDRED MILES AWAY IS CONTAINED THROUGHOUT THE LAB.

DE RESTAURACIÓN?

[SPANISH] OH, THESE ARE RESTORED COMPLETELY.

BOY, THEY LOOK FRAGILE.

[SPANISH] THEY ARE MARKED WHERE THEY WERE FOUND AND THEY ARE IDENTIFIED AS TO WHAT AGE THEY ARE.

[SPANISH] SO THIS IS STUCCO FROM THE ACTUAL ANCIENT PYRAMIDS, THE BUILDINGS, AT LEAST 1500 YEARS OLD.

[SPANISH] SO THIS IS VERY MUCH LIKE A JIGSAW PUZZLE AND THEY HAVE TO HAVE GREAT IMAGINATION BUT ALSO A LOT OF KNOWLEDGE TO FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHERE THAT PIECE FITS AND A LOT OF TIMES IT JUST TAKES FOREVER.

[SPANISH] SO THIS IS FROM THE PALACE AT CEIBAL.

THIS WAS ACTUALLY A PERSON MADE IN STUCCO.

THIS IS THE NECK AND THIS IS A NECKLACE OR PENDANT THAT PROBABLY HE WAS WEARING.

THIS IS AN ARM AND HE'S CARRYING SOME SORT OF CEREMONIAL OBJECT ON HIS BELT.

THIS IS A HAND AND THIS YOU CAN SEE ABSOLUTELY FITS PERFECTLY ONTO THE REST OF THE INTACT PIECE.

[SPANISH] THEY BRING IN ITEMS FROM THE EXCAVATIONS AND IT'S HIS JOB TO MAKE DRAWINGS OF THEM SO THEY HAVE BOTH THE ORIGINAL AND THESE FINE COPIES.

[SPANISH] SO HERE'S A CROSS SECTION OF THIS PIECE, THIS FRAGMENT OF POTTERY AND HERE IS THE DRAWING AND THE PLACE ON THE CERAMIC THAT IT WAS BROKEN OUT OF.

[SPANISH] SO THIS DESIGN ON THE POT ITSELF IS... HAS DIFFERENT SCENES OF TWO PERSONS IN CONVERSATION AND ALFREDO IS TRANSFERRING THAT TO A FLAT SHEET SO WE CAN SEE THE WHOLE THING.

ALL OF THESE PIECES CAME FROM AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE TO THE NORTH.

IT'S ONLY A COUPLE OF HUNDRED MILES FROM THE CAPITAL CITY OF GUATEMALA TO THE ANCIENT MAYAN CITY OF CEIBAL BUT IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S A THOUSAND MILES AWAY.

THERE, WE ARE MET BY MAYAN SPECIALIST DANIELA TRIADAN.

THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO MAKE ONE'S WAY THROUGH THE JUNGLE TO CEIBAL.

DANIELA'S HUSBAND AND COLLEAGUE JAPANESE BORN TAKESHI INOMATA WILL TAKE THE OTHER ROUTE, THE LONG, BUMPY, MUDDY FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE ROAD.

HE IS ALSO A MAYA SPECIALIST AND WILL MEET US AT THE SITE WITH A TEAM OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATORS WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING AT THE SITE FOR MANY YEARS.

THERE MUST BE SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT FURTHER INSIDE IN THIS AREA SO WE OPEN... WE TAKE THE SMOOTH ROUTE BY WATER.

THE RIO PASSION, PASSION RIVER, IT DRAINS A HUGE AMOUNT OF THE INTERIOR, RIGHT?

IT DOES IN THE SOUTHERN PETÉN BECAUSE IT'S ONE OF THE MAJOR DRAINAGES.

IT COMES FROM THE FOOTHILLS OF THE HIGHLANDS, MAKES A VERY, VERY BIG CURVE, ACTUALLY GOES NORTH FOR A LONG TIME AND THEN RIGHT WHERE CEIBAL IS IT MAKES A MAJOR, MAJOR TURN TO THE EAST.

OH, SO THAT'S...WE'RE GOING TO SEE A HILL?

YES, YES.

AND THE SITE IS ON TOP OF THE HILL.

YES, THE SITE IS ON TOP OF A HIGH ESCARPMENT.

SO THIS IS THE METROPOLIS OF SAYAXCHÉ.

YES, THAT IS INDEED THE METROPOLIS OF SAYAXCHÉ .

I THINK IT WAS FOUNDED IN THE '50S BY CHICLEROS AND BECAUSE IT'S RIGHT ON THE RIVER IT WAS THE MAJOR HUB FOR A LOT OF TRANSPORT BECAUSE THE RIVER GOES TO MEXICO OF COURSE EVENTUALLY SO THIS HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MAIN TRANSPORTATION ARTERIES ESPECIALLY BEFORE THERE WERE ANY ROADS IN THE PETÉN.

IN THE '50S AND '60S THERE WAS STILL A LOT OF RUBBER TAPPING GOING ON HERE, WILD RUBBER TREES IN THE FOREST TO SELL FOR CHEWING GUM AND SO THE CHICLEROS WERE KIND OF THE PIONEERS OF ARCHAEOLOGY BECAUSE THEY WERE THE ONES WHO WENT INTO THE FOREST FOR WEEKS, ENCAMPED AND WERE JUST LIVING OUT THERE AND THEN CLIMBING THE RUBBER TREES.

AND MOST OF THE SITES WERE ACTUALLY FOUND BY RUBBER COLLECTORS, BY CHICLEROS.

HAD WE BEEN ON THE RIVER LET'S SAY IN THE YEAR 1 A.D. WHAT WOULD WE HAVE SEEN?

WE PROBABLY WOULD HAVE SEEN A LOT OF CANOE TRAFFIC ON THIS RIVER BECAUSE THE RIVER WAS THE MAIN TRANSPORTATION AND ARTERY.

IT WAS THE HIGHWAY.

WHEREVER WE HAVE A RIVER IN THE LOWLANDS, AND THERE ARE NOT THAT MANY DEPENDING ON HOW THE LIMESTONE FORMATIONS ARE, HERE WE'RE IN AN AREA WITH LIMESTONE WHERE THE LIMESTONE IS DENSE SO WE HAVE SURFACE WATER BUT IN THE NORTH YOU DON'T HAVE SURFACE WATER.

IT ALL DRAINS INTO THE LIMESTONE.

JUST LIKE FLORIDA.

YES.

SO IN THESE AREAS I'M SURE THESE RIVERS WERE MAJOR ARTERIES OF CONNECTION AND I'M SURE WE WOULD HAVE SEEN RIGHT NOW PROBABLY A WHOLE PLATEAUS OF LITTLE BOATS GOING UP AND DOWN, PADDLING WITH CACAO, COTTON, MAIZE BECAUSE WE HAVE ALONG THIS RIVER A LOT OF BIG MAYA CITIES.

FOOD AND HEAVY ITEMS FROM THE HIGHLANDS FOR INSTANCE WOULD COME DOWN RIVER BECAUSE THE RIVER GOES FROM THE HIGHLANDS INTO THE LOWLANDS SO JADES, OBSIDIAN, BASALT FOR SOME OF THE GRINDING STONES.

THEY'RE ACTUALLY TAKING VOLCANIC BASALTS DOWN INTO THE LOWLANDS.

THEY'D LOAD THEM ONTO A DUGOUT.

PROBABLY RELATIVELY BIG DUGOUTS AND BRING THEM DOWN, THAT'S THE EASIEST WAY TO DO IT.

THE OTHER TRANSPORTATION IS OF COURSE HUMANS SO YOU WOULD HAVE HUMAN CARRIERS GOING THROUGH THE FOREST AND I'M SURE THEY WOULD HAVE HAD VERY WELL ESTABLISHED TRAILS THAT PEOPLE WOULD BE USING BETWEEN THESE CITIES AND YOU PROBABLY HAD A LOT OF TRAFFIC GOING BACK AND FORTH WITH PEOPLE WITH CARGO.

BUT THE MAIN ECONOMY, LIKE FOOD STUFFS AND BULKY STUFFS THEY WOULD PRODUCE LOCALLY AND THAT WOULD NOT MOVE AROUND THAT MUCH SO IT'S MORE PRECIOUS AND RARE ITEMS THAT GET TRANSPORTED OVER LONG DISTANCES BY RIVER OR BY FOOT BECAUSE, WELL, IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE AMERICAS WE DON'T HAVE BEASTS OF BURDEN SO THE CARRIERS ARE HUMAN.

THE RIFT THAT WE'RE GOING TO WHICH IS THE VERY CLASSIC RIFT IS RIGHT ABOVE US AND THAT'S WHERE THEY LIVED LIKE FROM ABOUT 600 TO 850, THE ELITES AND THE ROYAL KING, THE KINGS AND THEY WOULD HAVE HAD ALL OF THIS CLEARED TO MAKE SURE THEY CONTROL, THEY CAN ACTUALLY WATCH WHO'S COMING UP AND DOWN THE RIVER.

SO THEY CAN SEE FROM ON TOP.

YEAH.

AND NOWADAYS YOU COULDN'T SEE 20 FEET IF YOU'RE INSIDE OF THERE.

EXACTLY.

AND THE POINT REALLY IS THAT WHERE THEY LOCATED THEMSELVES WAS ALMOST LIKE A CITADEL.

ALL RIGHT, WE'RE OUT.

I'M GOING TO FOLLOW YOU.

OKAY.

I WANT TO SEE THE CITADEL YOU'VE ASSURED ME IS THERE.

ALL RIGHT.

WELL, IT'S HARD TO SEE NOW BECAUSE WE HAVE THE FOREST THERE BUT YOU HAVE TO IMAGINE THAT UP ON TOP OF THIS 60 METER ESCARPMENT WE HAVE THIS RESIDENTIAL ELITE GROUP AND THESE GUYS WERE MONITORING VERY CLOSELY WHO WAS COMING UP FROM THE RIVER AND THEY COULD HAVE DEFENDED IT OF COURSE VERY WELL.

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY DIFFICULT FOR ENEMIES TO AMBUSH THEM.

OH, THEY'RE WELCOMING US INTO THE PARK TO THE CULTURAL MONUMENT EL CEIBAL.

THANK YOU.

WHAT A FOREST!

THE GUATEMALAN GOVERNMENT NOT ONLY PROTECTS AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE BUT EL CEIBAL IS THIS FABULOUS NATURAL AREA.

MY GOODNESS!

YEAH, WELL, THEY'RE TRYING BUT THERE HAVE BEEN ACTUALLY A LOT OF PROBLEMS WITH INVADERS IN THESE NATURAL FORESTS.

THEY ARE LOGGERS?

THEY ARE NOT LOOTERS, THEY'RE ACTUALLY COMING IN TO CUT THE FOREST FOR MILPA.

THIS STAIRWAY IS THE COURTESY OF THE MAYAS.

YES.

AND YOU CAN SEE THE ACTUAL RISERS HERE.

WE ARE ACTUALLY ON THE ANCIENT MAYA STAIRWAY.

AND AT THE TOP WE ARE GREETED BY ESTELA.

AND AN ALTAR ACTUALLY RIGHT IN FRONT OF US.

THIS IS AN ALTAR.

IT'S AN ALTAR.

OH!

AND WE'RE ON THE FLATS.

YES, WE ACTUALLY NOW HAVE REACHED ONE OF THE PLAZAS IN THE MAIN CEREMONIAL CENTER OF CEIBAL SO THIS IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE LATEST BUILT STRUCTURES AT THE SITE.

HOW LATE?

DATES TO WHAT WE CALL THE TERMINAL CLASSIC 850 TO 950 A.D.

OKAY.

AND THE PERSON WHO BUILT IT OR HAD IT BUILT ACTUALLY ALSO ERECTED FIVE OF THE NICEST STELE THAT WE HAVE HERE IN CEIBAL.

[BELL CHIMES] THIS IS ACTUALLY A REPRESENTATION OF EYEBALL IN MAYA WRITING SYSTEM WHICH MEANS WITNESSED BY.

SO THIS CEREMONY WAS WITNESSED BY THIS GUY WHO IS THE KING OF TIKAL AND THEN THIS GUY, KING OF CALAKMUL AND THEN THE KING OF ANOTHER CITY CALLED MOTU DE SAN JOSE AND THEN IT SAYS IT HAPPENED HERE IN THE CENTER OF CEIBAL.

THEY WERE ALL HERE?

YES.

AND THIS IS WRITTEN TESTIMONY OR NOTARIZATION THAT THEY WERE HERE?

XACTLY.

THAT'S WHAT IT TELLS US.

BUT IT WAS A TIME OF TROUBLE FOR MAYA PEOPLE AND NOBODY ELSE HAD RESOURCES AND WILL TO ERECT THESE FIVE STELE OTHER THAN CEIBAL.

WELL, THEY MUST HAVE HAD A STONE MASON OR SEVERAL OF THEM WHO WERE VERY BUSY AND VERY TALENTED, HUH?

RIGHT.

THOSE ARE REMARKABLE STELE.

IT TOOK LOTS OF TRAINING AND DEDICATION SO THEY HAD THOSE PEOPLE.

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT MAYA CIVILIZATION WE DISTINGUISH TWO MAJOR TIME PERIODS.

ONE IS WHAT WE CALL THE PRE-CLASSIC WHICH LASTS FROM ABOUT 1,000 B.C.

TO ABOUT 200 A.D. THAT COVERS ALL OF MESO-AMERICA?

NO.

JUST HERE, OKAY.

THIS IS FOR THE MAYA AREA.

AND THEN WE TALK ABOUT THE CLASSIC PERIOD WHICH IS WHAT MOST PEOPLE ASSOCIATE WITH THE MAYA WHICH IS WHERE WE HAVE THE HEIGHT OF MAYA CIVILIZATION AND HERE ACTUALLY WE ARE GOING TO GO BACK IN TIME AND WE'RE GOING TO SEE THIS WHOLE SEQUENCE GOING DOWN THIS TRENCH.

SO HERE WE'RE STANDING ON THE TERMINAL CLASSIC, THE LATEST ABOUT 950 A.D. AND HERE?

AND NOW WE ARE ACTUALLY ALREADY GETTING INTO PRE-CLASSIC, INTO THE LATER PHASE OF THE PRE-CLASSIC ABOUT 300 B.C.

TO 200 A.D.

SO WE'RE GOING SLOWLY BACK IN TIME AND NOW ON THIS SURFACE WE ARE STANDING AT 600 TO 300 B.C.

AND WE'RE GOING FARTHER BACK IN TIME AND WE ARE NOW COMING TOWARDS 1,000 TO 600 B.C.

SO MAYBE 2800 YEARS AGO?

YES.

IT'S OLD.

WHAT'S REALLY INTERESTING IS THAT IN THESE VERY EARLY TIMES WHEN THESE BUILDINGS WERE BUILT THEY DIDN'T USE ROCK.

THEY ACTUALLY WERE BUILT OUT OF CLAY.

SO THESE STEPS ARE CLAY.

YOU SEE THEY DON'T HAVE ANY STONE FACERS.

THEY USED A VERY COMPACT CLAY TO BUILD THIS LITTLE PLATFORM.

THEY'RE EXCELLENT EXCAVATORS AND WHEN THEY WERE GOING DOWN IN THIS AREA THEY NOTICED A DIFFERENT COLOR OF THIS COMPACT CLAY AND THEY JUST FOLLOWED OUT THE COLOR UNTIL THEY COULD DEFINE THESE STAIRS.

SO HERE IN THE PLAZA WE HAVE ACTUALLY JUST FOUND A SACRIFICIAL BURIAL.

WE HAVE TWO DISMEMBERED INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE INTERNED HERE.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IT'S SACRIFICIAL?

BECAUSE THE BODIES HAVE BEEN CUT UP.

THEY'RE NOT ARTICULATED OR NOT ALL IN THEIR RIGHT POSITION AND IF YOU LOOK DOWN WHERE HE IS, THERE IS NO HEAD.

YOU DON'T SEE A SKULL.

OH, MY GOODNESS, YEAH.

SO THIS WAS A DECAPITATED PERSON KIND OF FOLDED ALMOST ON ITSELF.

AND THEN ON THE OTHER HAND WE HAVE A SECOND INDIVIDUAL WHERE WE SEE THE SKULL.

YEAH.

AND DO YOU SEE THE HOLE?

THE SKULL IS ACTUALLY FACING, IT'S ON ITS SIDE AND IT'S FACING TO MY RIGHT AND IT HAS A HOLE RIGHT OVER THE LEFT TEMPLE.

SO IT WAS PROBABLY SOME KIND OF A WOUND THAT THEY GAVE IT AND HERE WE ONLY HAVE THE UPPER BODY AND THE SKULL OF THE PERSON.

IT DOES SORT OF SUGGEST THAT IT WASN'T A NATURAL DEATH, DOESN'T IT?

YES AND IT ALSO MEANS THEY DIDN'T INTER THE PERSON OR BURY THE PERSON AS A WHOLE.

THE REASON WE THINK THIS IS NOT JUST A SECONDARY BURIAL WHERE THEY DUG UP THE BONES AGAIN AND PARTS OF THEM AND PUT THEM BACK IN IS BECAUSE WITH THE SKULL WE ACTUALLY HAVE ARM BONES AND WE FOUND THE FINGER BONES AND IF YOU JUST DIG UP SOMEBODY WHO WAS IN THE GROUND TO REBURY HIM SOMEWHERE THE FIRST BONES YOU LOSE ARE THE SMALL FINGER BONES SO THEY WOULD NOT BE IN THIS BURIAL.

SO WE CONCLUDE THAT THE BODY WAS FRESH WHEN THEY CUT IT UP.

FROM THE HEAD WE KNOW IT WAS AN ADULT AND FROM THESE BONES THIS OTHER THING WAS ALSO AN ADULT.

THIS STILL IS VERY HARD ONE TO READ BUT IT TALKS ABOUT THE RULER IN THE LATE CLASSIC PERIOD, ABOUT 800 A.D. AND THIS IS MUCH EARLIER THAN THAT.

YES, THAT'S CORRECT.

ACTUALLY THIS ONE DATES TO THE END OF PRE-CLASSIC PERIOD ABOUT A.D. 200 SO YOU CAN SEE THE CONTINUATION OF ALL THIS RITUAL IMPORTANCE IN THIS PLACE LASTING MORE THAN 1,000 YEARS.

SO ON THIS CENTER LINE OF THIS COMPLEX WE WERE EXPECTING TO FIND SOME KIND OF RITUAL DEPOSIT.

SOME OF THEM ARE COMPLETE AND SOME OF THEM ARE BROKEN.

LOCAL CHICLERO PEOPLE TAUGHT ME HOW TO CLIMB.

NOW I'M GETTING TOO OLD FOR THAT SO I USE MODERN EQUIPMENT WHICH IS MUCH EASIER.

I DON'T KNOW ANY OTHER PEOPLE WHO DO THIS.

I SORT OF DEVELOPED THIS GRADUALLY OVER YEARS.

SO MANY OF THOSE VESSELS ARE SMASHED AND PEOPLE TALK ABOUT VARIOUS THEORIES, ONE OF THEM IS THAT THEY TRIED TO TAKE OFF THE MAGICAL POWER OF THOSE OBJECTS BUT THE REAL MEANING IS HARD TO TELL.

WE ARE NOT REALLY ARTISTIC PHOTOGRAPHER SO THE MAIN POINT IS TO DOCUMENT THE DETAIL AND THE CONTEXT.

CEIBAL HAS REALLY A LONG HISTORY.

IT WAS NOT AN EASY SMOOTH RIDE.

THEY HAD THE GOOD TIME, BAD TIME BUT WE HAVE ONE OF THE EARLIEST OCCUPATION IN THE MAYA AREA AND THEN ONE OF THE LATEST OCCUPATION IN THIS AREA.

SO WE SEE THE GREAT CONTINUATION ALTHOUGH SOME CHANGE THROUGH IT.

SO WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A 2,000 YEAR OCCUPATION.

CEIBAL MAY HAVE BEEN ABANDONED RIGHT AFTER THIS DEPOSIT SO THAT WAS A DIFFICULT TIME FOR CEIBAL PEOPLE PROBABLY.

I'M COMING HERE, DON'T KNOW ANYTHING AND ALL I SEE IS JUST THESE LITTLE MILD HILLS.

YES.

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND?

WELL, THIS IS WHAT WE CALL THE EAST COURT WHICH WAS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT GROUPS IN THE LATE PART OF THE OCCUPATION OF THE SITE.

SO THIS IS DATING TO THE LATEST PHASE WHERE PEOPLE LIVED HERE, TERMINAL CLASSIC, ABOUT 850 TO 950 A.D. AND THIS IS A VERY BIG GROUP BECAUSE THIS IS WHERE WAT'UL K'ATEL WHO WE SAW ON THE STELE... YEAH, HE WAS THE BIG CHEESE.

HE WAS THE BIG CHEESE, RIGHT.

WELL, BIG CHEESE BUILT HIS NEW PALACE OR HIS SUCCESSOR BUILT THE NEW PALACE WHEN THESE GUYS WERE BACK IN POWER.

SO WE'RE COMING UP A VERY LARGE STRUCTURE THAT DATES TO THIS LATEST OCCUPATION PHASE WHICH HAD TWO VERY LARGE PALACE BUILDINGS ON TOP OF IT AND WE'RE EXCAVATING HERE BECAUSE WE ARE AT ONE OF THE HIGHEST POINTS IN THE LANDSCAPE OF THIS SITE AND WE WERE PRETTY SURE THAT THERE WAS PROBABLY EARLIER BUILDINGS UNDERNEATH THIS BUILDING.

AND LO AND BEHOLD, OUR PREDICTIONS WERE TRUE.

WE ACTUALLY HAVE SO FAR THREE EARLIER BUILDINGS IN THIS LARGE BUILDING.

SOME OF THESE ROCKS, PART OF THE BUILDING, HAVE NUMBERS ON THEM.

WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT?

THEY'RE OBVIOUSLY NOT PREHISTORIC, YEAH.

NO, I DON'T THINK SO.

NO.

WE ACTUALLY THINK WE HAVE MUCH, MUCH EARLIER BUILDINGS INSIDE SO THIS IS GOING TO GO ON AND ON AND WE ARE GOING REALLY DEEP IN THIS PIT BECAUSE WE THINK WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO REACH PRE-CLASSIC TIMES WHICH IS 1500 YEARS EARLIER OR EVEN MORE THAN WHAT WE'RE STANDING ON RIGHT NOW, ALMOST 2,000 YEARS EARLIER IF WE'RE LUCKY, DEPENDING ON WHICH PHASE WE'RE REACHING.

THIS IS THE THIRD INNER STRUCTURE, RIGHT?

YOU CAN SEE THE WALL RIGHT HERE AND THIS WAS THE SECOND INNER STRUCTURE.

YEAH, THIS ONE RIGHT HERE.

OKAY.

SO THIS ONE IS YOUNGER THAN THIS ONE OBVIOUSLY.

WE SCREEN EVERYTHING THAT GETS EXCAVATED TO RECOVER ALL THE ARTIFACTS, EVEN SMALL ONES.

ALL RIGHT, TIME TO PUT OUR HARD HATS ON.

IF I HAVE TO I WILL BUT YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE ASKING.

I KNOW, I'M SORRY.

IT'S GOING TO BE A BAD HAIR DAY BUT THIS TRENCH IS SO DEEP, IF ONE OF THESE STONES OR THE SIDES CAVE IN, IT'S GOING TO BE A SERIOUS ACCIDENT.

THIS TRENCH IS ALREADY ABOUT THREE METERS AND 50 DEEP AND WE'RE STILL WAY ABOVE BEDROCK SO YOU CAN IMAGINE THERE'S EARLIER AND EARLIER OCCUPATIONS STILL UNDERNEATH HERE.

AND YOU PLAN TO GO DOWN UNTIL YOU REALLY DO HIT ORIGINAL STUFF?

YES.

THIS HUGE WHITE LAYER THAT YOU SEE WAS A VERY THICK PLASTER FLOOR THAT DATES TO BETWEEN 600 AND 300 B.C.

AND ALL OF THIS IS THE FILL THAT GOES FROM HERE TO ABOUT DOWN HERE, TO THIS GRAVEL LAYER, OF THIS PLATFORM.

SO AGAIN WE HAVE ONE BUILDING INSIDE OF ANOTHER.

WE'RE COMING ONTO A FLOOR... YEAH, THIS IS CLEARLY A FLOOR.

RIGHT AND IT GOES WITH THIS EARLIER WALL.

THIS IS A WALL GOING UP FROM THIS FLOOR.

YES.

YEAH, OKAY.

AND THEN WE HAVE AN EVEN EARLIER BUILDING RIGHT HERE.

YOU CAN SEE THE CORNER WITH THIS BIG WALL AND THIS IS THE FLOOR THAT IS ACTUALLY EARLIER THAN THE ONE THAT YOU'RE STANDING ON.

AND WHAT'S THE DIFFERENT COLOR HERE THAT WE SEE?

IT'S A REDDISH LIMESTONE...

THIS DARK COLOR ABOVE THIS FLOOR IS A LATER STRUCTURE, ANOTHER PLATFORM.

THEY USED THE PRE-CLASSIC PLATFORM AND THIS ACTUALLY DATES TO THE EARLY CLASSIC.

IT'S ABOUT 200 TO 500 A.D. OH, IT'S A WAY OLD BUILDING.

YES.

AND AT THAT TIME IT'S 500 TO 600 YEARS OLD BY THE TIME THEY START BUILDING THE NEW ONE.

YES.

SO THEY USED THIS OLD BUILDING FOR A LONG TIME BECAUSE IT WAS SO BIG, HAD THIS MASSIVE FLOOR AND THEY REALLY USED IT FOR QUITE SOME TIME.

YOU HAVE A MASCOT TARANTULA.

OKAY.

YOU NEED ONE OF THOSE.

I ALREADY RESCUED HIM ONCE.

HE'S OBVIOUSLY HAPPY HERE OR MUST HAVE FALLEN IN AGAIN.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK IS USUALLY VERY LABOR INTENSIVE.

THIS PROJECT ITSELF AT CEIBAL HAS 40 WORKERS EMPLOYED JUST TO HELP WITH THE DIGGING AND COME UP WITH THESE FANTASTIC RESULTS.

WELL, HERE I AM IN EARLIER CONSTRUCTIONS THE SAME TIME PERIOD THAT WE SAW WITH THE BIG STRUCTURE IN THE OTHER TRENCH AND I'M STANDING ON A FLOOR, FINALLY WE HAVE A FLOOR, AND THE INTERESTING THING THAT I JUST SAW TODAY IS WE HAVE THREE STONES HERE, THEY SHOW UP IN WHAT WE CALL AN EMBLEM GLYPH WHICH IS THE GLYPH THAT ACTUALLY GIVES THE NAME OF A CITY SO THEY SHOW UP IN THE EMBLEM GLYPH OF CEIBAL, THE SIGN THAT DESCRIBES CEIBAL AS A PLACE.

SO THREE STONES MAKE A HEARTH.

IN EVERY MAYA HOUSEHOLD THEY HAVE A HEARTH MADE OF THREE STONES.

THEY PUT THOSE STONES AND THEN ON TOP OF IT YOU CAN PUT THE COMAL AND THEN YOU CAN COOK TORTILLAS AND OTHER THINGS.

THAT'S REALLY THE CENTER OF EACH MAYA FAMILY AND THEN THAT'S THE FOUNDATION OF EACH FAMILY.

THAT IMPORTANCE PROBABLY START FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE TIME OR POSSIBLY MAYBE FROM THE BEGINNING OF MAIZE CULTIVATION UNTIL NOW.

EVERY MAYA HOUSEHOLD HAS THE SAME THING NOW.

YEAH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING TOGETHER FOR 19 YEARS, SINCE '91.

MOSTLY IT'S GREAT, YEAH.

SHE GOES DOWN TO THE PIT.

SHE'S IN THE PIT, YEAH.

TAKESHI, YOU FIND IT NECESSARY TO GO DOWN THE MIDDLE RATHER THAN AT THE EDGE?

YEAH, YOU CAN GET THE BETTER VIEW, YOU CAN GET GOOD SHOTS OF THE FEATURES.

WE DON'T REALLY NEED FIVE GUYS BUT...

OKAY, I'M GOING DOWN.

ONE THING I'VE LEARNED FROM YA'LL IS THAT WHEN ONE THING I'VE LEARNED FROM YA'LL IS THAT WHEN YOU SEE WHAT LOOKS LIKE A HILL HERE, OFTEN IT'S NOT A HILL.

THAT'S TRUE.

THIS IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE LARGEST TEMPLES AT CEIBAL AND IF IT HAD BEEN EXCAVATED, YES, IT WOULD PROBABLY HAVE LOOKED LIKE SOMETHING LIKE TEMPLE 5, THE MOTHER OF ALL TEMPLES IN TIKAL.

AND WHAT'S KEEPING THAT FROM HAPPENING?

OH, THE EXPENSE IS ENORMOUS.

I MEAN, LOOK AT THE BUILDING AND YOU WOULD HAVE TO STRIP IT AND THEN YOU HAVE TO CONSOLIDATE IT AND IT'S A LOT OF MONEY THAT GETS INTO RESTORATION WORK.

ONE MOUNTAIN RANGE IS HOME TO THREE OF AMERICA'S MOST POPULAR NATIONAL PARKS.

YOU CAN TELL THESE SEQUOIAS ARE SO OLD IS THE FIRE SCARS, THEY JUST SEEM TO BE IMPERVIOUS TO FIRE.

THAT IS YOSEMITE FALLS.

THAT'S UPPER YOSEMITE FALLS.

I'VE SEEN PHOTOGRAPHS OF IT ALL MY LIFE.

OUR LONGEST, MOST DRAMATIC MOUNTAIN RANGE, THE SIERRA NEVADA.

JOIN US NEXT TIME IN THE AMERICAS WITH ME, DAVID YETMAN.

DO YOU EVER HAVE MONKEY VISITORS WHILE YOU'RE UP THERE?

YEAH, YOU ARE CERTAINLY CLOSER.

THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS THE MOSQUITOES.

WHEN YOU ARE DOWN THERE YOU HAVE LOTS OF MOSQUITOES, ACTUALLY YOU HAVE EVEN MORE AND WHILE YOU ARE TAKING PHOTOS REALLY YOU GET EATEN ALIVE.

FUNDING FOR IN THE AMERICAS WITH DAVID YETMAN WAS PROVIDED BY AGNES HAURY.

COPIES OF THIS AND OTHER EPISODES OF IN THE AMERICAS WITH DAVID YETMAN ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE SOUTHWEST CENTER.

TO ORDER CALL 1-800-937-8632.

PLEASE MENTION THE EPISODE NUMBER AND PROGRAM TITLE.

PLEASE BE SURE TO VISIT US AT INTHEAMERICAS.COM OR INTHEAMERICAS.ORG.