100 YEARS AGO NORTHERN GUATEMALA WAS A TRACKLESS JUNGLE WITH ONLY A HANDFUL OF RESIDENTS.

2,000 YEARS AGO IT WAS THE POWER-CENTER OF MAYA CIVILIZATION AND SUPPORTED A LARGE ENERGETIC POPULATION OF ARCHITECTS, STONE MASONS, ENGINEERS, MERCHANTS AND WARRING KINGS.

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

[MUSIC] [GUITAR MUSIC] OUT OF THE SEEMINGLY ENDLESS TROPICAL FOREST OF THE PETÉN REGION OF GUATEMALA THERE AROSE A COUPLE OF MILLENNIA AGO THE GREATEST OF ALL MAYA CITIES, TIKAL.

ITS BUILDERS TRIED TO REACH FOR THE SKY.

IT WAS NOT THE FIRST CITY NOR WAS IT THE LAST.

AT ITS HEIGHT THE GREAT MAYAN EMPIRE COVERED MOST OF GUATEMALA AND ALL OF THE YUCATAN PENINSULA.

TIKAL WAS THE MOST POWERFUL OF MORE THAN 60 KINGDOMS.

FOR MOST VISITORS THE FIRST STOP ON THE WAY TO TIKAL IS IN THE ISLAND CITY OF FLORES ABOUT 100 KILOMETERS TO THE SOUTH.

I KNOW THAT FLORES, THIS PLACE ON THIS LITTLE ISLAND HAS BEEN HERE FOR A LONG TIME BECAUSE I'VE SEEN IT ON OLD MAPS AND IT WAS SORT OF THE ORIGINAL SOUND IN THE PETÉN.

THE PETÉN.

FROM HERE EVERYTHING GOES TO TIKAL AND THE OTHER SITES.

BUT THERE WAS ALSO MAYA SITES HERE OF COURSE.

SO THEY BULLDOZED IT DOWN AND BUILT HOUSES HERE.

NO, THEY JUST... NO, THEY DIDN'T BULLDOZE IT, THEY JUST BUILT ON TOP OF IT.

YEAH, IT'S BUILT RIGHT ON TOP OF IT AND WHENEVER THEY DO ANY KIND OF CONSTRUCTION HERE THEY COME UP WITH MAYA SHERDS OF COURSE AND THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS COME IN AND THEY HAVE TO ACTUALLY DO KIND OF A RESCUE EXCAVATION AND THEY HAVE TO REGISTER EVERYTHING.

WELL, THAT'S GOOD.

YEAH, BECAUSE...

BUT IT'S A STEPPING OFF PLACE TO TIKAL.

DEFINITELY.

AND THE OTHER SITES BUT MAINLY TIKAL.

YES.

THE NAME OF THE LAKE THAT IT'S IN IS PETÉN ITZÁ?

YES, IT'S PETÉN ITZÁ.

I THINK YOU USED TO HAVE TO TAKE A BOAT TO GET OFF FLORES TO GET TO TIKAL BUT NOW THEY'VE BUILT THIS CAUSEWAY HERE.

RIGHT BUT THAT WAS ACTUALLY QUITE A LONG TIME AGO BECAUSE THEN THEY BUILT THE ROAD FROM SANTA ELENA WHERE THE AIRPORT IS NOW TO TIKAL AND THAT WAS ACTUALLY THE VERY FIRST ROAD THAT WAS PAVED IN THE PETÉN.

SO TOURISTS WOULD FLY INTO SANTA ELENA, GET PUT INTO MICROBUSES AND WHISKED UP TO TIKAL AND THEY WOULD NEVER EVEN SEE ANYTHING OTHER THAN FLORES ITSELF, IF THE ISLAND IS NICE, AND TIKAL AND THEN THEY WOULD LEAVE THE PETÉN.

THAT WAS IN THE OLDEN TIMES BASICALLY THE ITINERARY THAT THEY WOULD DO.

THE LAKE ITSELF IS HUGE.

IT IS VERY BIG.

IT'S JUST MASSIVE AND YET I KNOW WHEN WE GET TO TIKAL WE'RE GOING TO FIND THAT IT'S MILES AWAY FROM A LAKE.

IT SEEMS STRANGE.

YEAH, IT IS AND ACTUALLY WE HAVE BEEN ASKING THIS QUESTION BECAUSE TIKAL WAS THE LARGEST CITY AND THEY REALLY HAD TO ENGINEER WATER SUPPLIES FOR ALL OF THESE PEOPLE SO IT'S AN ENIGMA TO SOME DEGREE.

LEAVING FLORES BEHIND WE TRAVEL INTO THE HEART OF THE MAYAN EMPIRE WHICH IS NOW TIKAL NATIONAL PARK, GUATEMALA'S MOST IMPORTANT.

TIKAL IS, I WOULD SAY, THE LARGEST MAYA CITY THAT WE HAVE DURING PROBABLY 600 TO 900 A.D. AND THE CONSTRUCTION IS JUST SIMPLY MONUMENTAL.

MAYA WRITING IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST SOPHISTICATED AND COMPLICATED WRITING SYSTEMS THAT EXISTS.

IT'S A COMBINATION OF SOMETHING LIKE A CHINESE CHARACTER WHICH REPRESENT MEANING LIKE THE ENTIRE WORD AND THEN ALSO YOU HAVE SOMETHING LIKE AN ALPHABET, PHONETIC SIGNS.

SO IT WAS VERY FLEXIBLE, VERY COMPLICATED, SOPHISTICATED WRITING SYSTEM.

WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT TIKAL, IT'S INITIALLY BEWILDERING BECAUSE THE FOREST IS SO DENSE AND SO THICK THAT SOMETIMES YOU CAN'T SEE THE MONUMENTS FOR THE TREES BUT WHEN YOU DO FIND OUT WHERE YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU'RE SEEING, IT'S SPECTACULAR.

I'M LOOKING AT TEMPLE ONE WHICH IS A MONUMENT TO A GREAT MAYA KING, HE BUILT IT FOR HIMSELF, BUT HE WAS A GREAT HERO.

OVER HERE THIS IS CALLED THE NORTH ACROPOLIS WHERE MANY OF THE KINGS AND IMPORTANT PEOPLE WERE BURIED.

AS YOU MOVE AROUND, THE FOREST AND THE TEMPLES THEMSELVES COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER IN AND OVERALL LANDSCAPE THAT CANNOT BE COMPARED WITH ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD.

DURING THE TIMES WHEN PEOPLE LIVED IN TIKAL THERE WAS PROBABLY VERY LITTLE TREES HERE SO THIS WAS VERY OPEN SO YOU WOULD HAVE THE VIEW OF THESE VERY BIG TEMPLES FROM VERY FAR AWAY.

THERE MAY HAVE BEEN SOME SMALLER TREES AND MAYBE SOME INSIDE GARDENS BUT MOST OF THIS WAS NOT FORESTED LIKE WE SEE HERE TODAY.

SO FROM VERY FAR AWAY YOU WOULD HAVE SEEN THESE BUILDINGS.

SO WE'RE IN THE NORTH ACROPOLIS AND WE'RE ACTUALLY WALKING ON THE TOP OF THE HEAD OF A GIANT MASK.

BUT THIS IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE BETTER PRESERVED ONES IN THIS FAÇADE SO IF YOU COME DOWN AND YOU LOOK, YOU HAVE THIS REALLY BIG NOSE THAT'S PROTRUDING HERE.

OKAY, THERE'S THE NOSE.

ALL RIGHT, NOW I BEGIN TO SEE IT.

YOU CAN SEE THE EYES.

AND THE EYE IS RIGHT HERE SO IT HAS THIS GIGANTIC HEAD HERE ACTUALLY THAT'S STICKING OUT THAT WAS STUCCOED OVER.

SO IT WOULD HAVE BEEN STUCCOED AND PAINTED.

YES.

AND YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SEE THAT FROM A LONG WAY AWAY.

YES, OBVIOUSLY FROM PROBABLY ACROSS FROM THE ROYAL PALACE ACTUALLY YOU WOULD HAVE SEEN THESE MASKS ON THE FAÇADES OF THESE STRUCTURES.

WE HAD TWO MAJOR POLITICAL POWERS IN THIS AREA, CALAKMUL AND TIKAL, AND THEY WERE VYING FOR POLITICAL HEGEMONY AND WERE BUILDING ALLIANCES WITH A LOT OF THE OTHER MAYA CITIES AND SO A LOT OF THE POWER CONCENTRATION IS DEMONSTRATED IN THESE VERY LARGE BUILDINGS.

IT'S REALLY KIND OF AN EXPRESSION OF THE POWER OF TIKAL.

YOU HAVE TO IMAGINE LIKE AT THE HEIGHT OF THE CITY, LET'S SAY BETWEEN 600 AND 850 A.D., YOU HAVE IMAGINE THAT THIS WAS A TRUE CITY, THIS WAS AN URBAN CITY, YOU HAVE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE RUNNING AROUND HERE.

YOU HAVE TO IMAGINE HUGE CEREMONIES.

IMAGINE THE KING AS THE PRIEST STANDING IN THE DOORWAY OF TEMPLE ONE WITH A HUGE HEADDRESS WITH GREEN QUETZAL FEATHERS, ALL DECKED OUT AND HE'S DOING THE CEREMONY RIGHT THERE AND YOU HAVE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN THIS PLAZA, THE BIG SHOW THESE GUYS ARE PUTTING ON.

TIKAL WAS THE SUCCESSFUL CITY IN TIMES OF WARFARE.

TIKAL DEFEATED CALAKMUL AND THE TEMPLES ARE KIND OF A REFLECTION OF THEIR POLITICAL POWER.

BASICALLY WE HAVE ALL THESE DIFFERENT TEMPLES BECAUSE ALMOST EVERY RULER BUILT HIS OWN MONUMENT.

SO WE HAVE A SUCCESSION OF TEMPLES.

TIKAL'S FORTUNE WAS UP SO THEY STARTED TO BUILD MANY OF THOSE BIG TEMPLES.

HERE WE HAVE TWO MONUMENTS THAT THE KING WHO WAS BURIED IN THIS HUGE PYRAMID ERECTED TO TALK ABOUT HIS GREAT DEEDS.

AND THIS IS HIS PLACE.

THIS IS HIS PLACE AND HE OBVIOUSLY BUILT THIS TO KIND OF TELL THE WORLD WHAT A GREAT GUY HE IS.

YOU CAN SEE THE STAIRWAY IS JUST ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.

WELL, I'M GLAD THEY DON'T ALLOW IT NOW BECAUSE IT WOULD BE REALLY FOOLISH TO TRY TO CLIMB UP THAT.

YEAH.

I ACTUALLY DID CLIMB THIS WHEN IT WAS STILL OPEN.

YOU WERE FOOLISH.

IT WAS VERY, VERY SCARY, ESPECIALLY COMING BACK DOWN.

SO JUST IMAGINE THESE KINGS IN THEIR FULL REGALIA GOING UP THESE VERY, VERY STEEP STAIRWAYS LIKE THIS ONE OR THIS ONE.

AND YOU ALSO HAVE TO IMAGINE THAT COMMON PEOPLE WERE OF COURSE NOT ALLOWED ON TOP OF THESE TEMPLES.

WELL, THEY MIGHT EVEN HAVE BEEN BOWING DOWN FACING THE GROUND.

RIGHT AND THEY WOULD BE ALL DOWN HERE AND THEN YOU HAVE, IN THESE HEIGHT AND ELEVATIONS YOU HAVE THESE GUYS AND OF COURSE THEY'RE WEARING HUGE ACCOUTREMENTS THAT YOU CAN SEE FROM AFAR.

SO PEOPLE WHO NEVER ACTUALLY INTERACT WITH THE RULER, THEY WOULD STILL SEE THAT THIS PERSON IS SUPER IMPORTANT BECAUSE THESE FEATHERS ARE LIKE THE LEGS THAT HE HAS AND SO THEY COME ALL UP.

IN THE STEELA YOU SEE SOME OF THESE PICTURES WITH THESE GIGANTIC, VERY GROTESQUE LOOKING HEADDRESSES BUT IT'S ALL FOR THE BENEFIT OF PEOPLE SEEING THEM THAT FAR AWAY.

SURE.

IT'S A BIG SHOW THESE GUYS ARE PUTTING ON AND THEY'RE USING ALL KINDS OF TRICKS BASICALLY, IF YOU WANT TO SAY, TO DO THAT.

THEY'RE SACRIFICING PEOPLE IN PUBLIC, THEY'RE DOING BIG RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES, A LOT OF POMP.

I'M JUST IMAGINING KIND OF A PROCESSION GOING UP AND DOWN THIS INCREDIBLE STAIRWAY WITHOUT FALLING DOWN AND BREAKING THEIR NECKS.

SO, YEAH, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, MERCHANTS, WE HAVE PEASANTS COMING IN WITH FOOD, WE HAVE PEOPLE SELLING PROBABLY CLOTHES AND PRECIOUS ARTICLES THAT COME FROM THE HIGHLANDS.

YOU HAVE TO ALSO THINK THAT THIS WHOLE CITY WAS PAINTED, ALL OF THESE TEMPLES WERE PAINTED A GARISH RED WITH LOTS OF SCARY MASKS ON TOP OF THESE TEMPLES AND IT LOOKS ALL KIND OF GRAY AND SERENE RIGHT NOW BUT THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A REALLY HOPPING PLACE.

THIS WAS LIKE THE CENTER OF THE MAYA UNIVERSE, THE NEW YORK OF THE MAYA WORLD.

WHEN I SEE THIS CONFIGURATION, I'M REMINDED OF A GRAVEYARD IN AN ENGLISH CHURCH.

WELL, WHAT WE HAVE IS STEELA AND ALTARS AND THEY'RE A COMPLEX FOR CEREMONIES.

THE UPRIGHT STONES ARE WHAT WE CALL STEELA AND ALTARS AND THEY'RE A COMPLEX FOR CEREMONIES.

THE UPRIGHT STONES ARE WHAT WE CALL STEELA AND THEN THESE FLAT STONES ARE SO-CALLED ALTARS AND WE HAVE THEM EITHER WITH INSCRIPTIONS LIKE THE BIG GUYS OVER THERE WHICH SHOW A STORY, THEY'RE HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS, OR WE CAN HAVE THEM NOT ENGRAVED BUT JUST PLAIN BUT THEY WERE PROBABLY PAINTED.

AND THEY WERE USED FOR CEREMONIES.

SO THEY WEREN'T AS BLANK AS THIS, THIS IS PRETTY BLANK.

RIGHT, RIGHT.

THEY WERE PROBABLY ALL PAINTED AND THEY WERE USED FOR CEREMONIES AND THEY'RE ALSO RECORDING HISTORICAL DATES OF RULERS.

DECIPHERMENT OF MAYA GLYPHS TOOK A LONG, LONG TIME.

FROM THE VERY THE BEGINNING THEY COULD READ SOME MATHEMATICAL OR NUMERICAL ELEMENTS BUT IT WAS ONLY 20 OR 30 YEARS AGO THAT MOST FUNDAMENTAL DECIPHERMENT WAS MADE.

WITH THIS WE CAN GET THE ACTUAL HISTORY AND THINKING OF MAYA PEOPLE.

THE MAYA TEXTS ARE RELATIVELY CONFINED IN TERMS OF STORY.

IT TALKS A LOT ABOUT WARFARE, SACRIFICE OF PROMINENT ENEMIES AND THEN BASICALLY THE LIFE HISTORY OF KINGS AND QUEENS; WHEN THEY WERE BORN, WHEN THEY ACCEDED TO THE THRONE AND THEN WHEN THEY DIED.

AND THEN ALSO GENEALOGY IS VERY IMPORTANT.

IT TALKS ABOUT THE GODS AND THEIR MYTHICAL EVENTS.

WE DON'T THINK THAT EVERYBODY IN MAYA SOCIETY COULD READ.

THERE WAS A SPECIALIZED GROUP OF PROBABLY SCRIBES WHO ARE ACTUALLY NOBLE OR IN SOME CASES EVEN ROYALTIES AND THEN THOSE HIGH CLASS PEOPLE SPENT LOTS OF TIME TO LEARN THIS VERY ESOTERIC SYSTEM AND THEN LEFT THESE MONUMENTS AND THE REMARKABLE WRITINGS.

SO THE MAYA WRITING IS THE COMBINATION OF LOGOGRAPH WHICH REPRESENT MEANING AND PHONETIC SIGN WHICH IS LIKE ALPHABET WHICH REPRESENTS SOUND.

FOR EXAMPLE THIS GLYPH IS THE EXAMPLE OF LOGOGRAPH.

ACTUALLY IT'S LIKE A PICTORIAL SIGN.

THIS ROUND SIGN, THIS IS MAYA REPRESENTATION OF EYEBALL.

VIEWING IS NOT JUST PASSIVE ACT, IT'S MORE ACTIVE ACT OF GRABBING SOME IMAGE FROM YOUR EYEBALL SO THIS MEANS SOMEBODY WITNESSES.

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.

DOWN HERE THIS IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF MAYA GLYPH.

THIS IS EXAMPLE OF PHONETIC SIGNS.

SEE, THIS ONE HERE (HU-KIA).

THE SOUNDS MAKE UP MEANING OF IT HAPPENED.

THIS ONE MEANS HOLY OR DIVINE AND THIS MEANS KING OR RULER.

WE HAVE THE SAME ELEMENT HERE.

THIS MEANS THE HOLY KING OF TIKAL.

THIS IS AN UNEXCAVATED SITE OF TEMPLE NUMBER FOUR.

IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE TO GET UP THERE BUT THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS TELL ME THEY'VE MADE A CAVE, A CROSS SECTION INSIDE TO SEE WHAT TECHNIQUE WAS USED TO BUILD THE THING SO HERE I GO.

I'M COMING IN THIS TUNNEL TO MEET THE DIRECTOR OF THE TEMPLE FOUR PROJECT AND I'M ENTERING RIGHT INTO THE BELLY OF TEMPLE FOUR.

THEY'VE DUG THIS TUNNEL RIGHT STRAIGHT INSIDE TO SEE HOW THE THING WAS BUILT AND NOW THEY'RE JUST UNCOVERING AMAZING THINGS.

WE ARE RIGHT NOW STANDING ON THE FLOOR OF THE PLATFORM, THE HUGE PLATFORM THAT YOU CAN SEE FROM THE BEGINNING.

SO THIS PLATFORM I THINK YOU SAID WAS 120 METERS BY 107 METERS, IS THAT RIGHT?

RIGHT.

SO ROUGHLY 400 FEET WIDE AND A LITTLE OVER 300 FEET LONG OR THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

MY GOODNESS.

MOST OF THE STONES THAT YOU CAN SEE HERE WERE IN A PLACE THAT IS ABOUT ONE AND A HALF KILOMETERS FROM HERE.

SO THEY HAD TO CARRY THESE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF TONS OF ROCK, DIRT AND THEN ONCE THEY GOT IT IN THERE HOW DID THEY KEEP IT FROM FALLING OR COLLAPSING?

THEY JUST USED ALSO A SPECIAL KIND OF SOIL THAT, IT'S MUD.

IT'S VERY STICKY AND THEY COLLECT IT FROM THE SWAMP AREA AND THEY USE CARVED STONES BUT ALSO UNCARVED STONES ALONG WITH THE PLASTER AND THE MUD THAT THEY USED TO PUT TOGETHER ALL OF THESE STONES.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO BUILD THE BUILDING?

WELL, MAYBE TEN YEARS.

THE HOLES THAT YOU CAN SEE ON EACH SIDE OF THIS TUNNEL ARE THE EVIDENCE OF WOODEN LENTILS, WOODEN STICKS THAT WERE USED AS PART OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FILL AND YOU CAN SEE A PATTERN HERE.

THERE IS ANOTHER ONE OVER HERE.

RIGHT HERE, YEAH.

AND THERE IS CONNECTING ON THE OTHER SIDE AND THERE IS EVEN ANOTHER ONE OVER HERE.

LOOK.

WAS THIS LIKE A TUNNEL THAT THEY BUILT THEN AND YOU HAVE EXCAVATED A TUNNEL?

YEAH.

A TUNNEL INTO A TUNNEL.

WE HIT IT BY COINCIDENCE.

WE DIDN'T KNOW THAT.

THE MAIN PURPOSE WAS TO TRY TO REVEAL THE EXTENT OF THIS STONE WALL BUT WE NOW ARE REALIZING THAT THIS IS AN EVIDENCE OF THE PART OF THE TECHNIQUE OF THE CONSTRUCTION.

SO THIS LOOKS LIKE A STAIRWAY.

YES, THAT GOES UP TO A SECOND TERRACE.

WE ARE GOING TO GO UP, VERY CAREFULLY PLEASE.

AND YOU CAN SEE HOW THE WALL IS INCLINED TOWARD THE EAST SIDE OF THIS.

OH, IT'S NOT STRAIGHT, RIGHT.

SO IT'S FOLLOWING THE SLOPE OF THE PYRAMID.

THIS IS A CORE THAT IS VERY SOLID AND YOU CAN SEE HOW THE FILL CAN BE PACKED NEXT TO EACH STEP THAT WE ARE TAKING TO GO UP.

AND THIS IS REALLY AMAZING BECAUSE THIS STAGE OF CONSTRUCTION IS QUITE NEAT IN TERMS OF THE QUALITY OF THE STONES AND THE FLOORS THAT THEY USED IN ORDER TO BUILD THIS.

OH, MY GOD.

WELL, THIS IS ALMOST LIKE A FINISHED SURFACE HERE, LIKE A FINISHED BUILDING.

YOU ARE RIGHT.

AND HERE WE ARE DEEP INSIDE THE PYRAMID.

RIGHT.

AND THIS IS PART OF THE FILL, A SPECIALLY CONSTRUCTED FILL SO SOLID TO MAKE THE CORE STABLE.

WE'RE DEEP IN THE WOMB OF THIS PYRAMID, OH, MY GOODNESS, A HUNDRED FEET FROM THE SURFACE.

THIS IS A STAIRWAY THAT WAS BUILT FOR CONSTRUCTION PURPOSES ONLY TO BUILD A STRONG INTERIOR PART AND INTENDED THEN TO BE COVERED UP BY PROBABLY A HUNDRED FEET OF FILL.

OKAY, I'M GOING TO GO BACK HERE AND SEE HOW THE BATS ARE DOING.

WHEN THEY MADE THIS CAVE, THEY MADE VERY GOOD HABITAT FOR BATS.

HERE THEY COME.

HI, GUYS.

THEY'RE JUST SUSPENDED THERE.

IT'S AN IDEAL HABITAT.

UNFORTUNATELY WHEN THE WORKERS COME IN THEY'LL PROBABLY DRIVE THEM OUT CAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO EXPAND THIS END.

AND HERE WE ARE PROBABLY 200 FEET DEEP INSIDE THE PYRAMID MAKING YOU A BAT HABITAT.

TIKAL IS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES OF THE MAYAS THAT IT HAS A LOT OF DIFFERENT TEMPLES AND PYRAMIDS AND THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF STAIRS.

IT'S A MONUMENT TO THE CREATIVITY OF THE PEOPLE, HOW THEY WERE ABLE TO BUILD THIS BUT YOU DO BUILD UP YOUR KNEE MUSCLES AND I CAN'T IMAGINE HOW THE WORKERS COULD HAVE CARRIED UP THE TONS AND TONS OF FILL THEY DID UP THESE STEEP STAIRS BECAUSE IT DOES GET YOU OUT OF BREATH.

IT SEEMS STRANGE BUT THE MAYAN PEOPLE WHO CONSTRUCTED THIS VAST COMPLEX HAVE DISAPPEARED FROM THE PETÉN.

SOME OF THEIR DESCENDANTS CONTINUE TO LIVE IN THE HIGHLANDS OF GUATEMALA.

FOLLOWING THE POLITICAL VIOLENCE OF THE 1980S AND THE 1990S, SOME OF THESE DESCENDANTS RETURNED TO THE LOWLANDS AND BECAME HOMESTEADERS.

WE'RE IN THE VILLAGE OF LAS POSAS WHICH IS A RECENT KEK'CHI VILLAGE FROM PEOPLE WHO CAME FROM ALTA VERAPAZ.

HOLA.

¿COMO ESTA?

BUENAS TARDES.

¿VAMOS A ADENTRO?

¿HAY KAK'IK?

¿HAY COMIDA?

QUE BUENO.

PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE HIGHLANDS TODAY ARE THE SAME MAYA PEOPLE, SAME PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN THIS AREA SO THE MAYA CULTURE CONTINUED.

ACTUALLY MAYA CIVILIZATION DID NOT COLLAPSE, CULTURAL TRADITION LIVED.

BUT THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT GROUPS WITHIN THE MAYA PEOPLE, MAYA SOCIETY, AND THE HIGHLAND PEOPLE AND LOWLAND PEOPLE SPOKE DIFFERENT LANGUAGES AND THEN THERE ARE CULTURAL DIFFERENCES TOO.

WELL, WE ARRIVED A COUPLE OF HOURS LATE HERE IN LAS POSAS AND WE HAD A RECEPTION COMMITTEE.

THEY'VE BEEN WAITING FOR QUITE SOME TIME.

SO THIS IS A MAYA FAMILY.

THEY HAVE VERY BIG FAMILIES AND THEY MAKE THEIR OWN BUILDINGS, THEY BRING THEIR OWN THATCH AND IT'S A TRANSFER FROM THE HIGHLANDS.

THEY CHANGE AS LITTLE POSSIBLE.

AND WE HAVE SHADE TREES AND FRUIT TREES PLANTED IN THE YARD TO TRY TO RECREATE THEIR OWN SPACE AND THEY'RE VERY, VERY POOR BUT THEY HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF PRIDE.

SO THIS IS REALLY THE INSIDE OF A TRADITIONAL MAYA HOUSE.

IT'S REALLY VERY MUCH AS I'VE SEEN BEFORE.

SANTIAGO, VICENTE, JOSE, JUAN, MATEO.

¿VERDAD?

SO THIS IS A MIXTURE OF SISTERS... PERO TU ERES HIJA DE FRANCISCO.

NO.

¿DE JOSE?

SI.

AH, BUENO, ESO ME CONFUNDE.

TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THIS EXTENDED FAMILY IS TRICKY BUT WE'VE GOT A COMBINATION OF COUSINS, SISTERS AND BROTHERS HERE AND IT DOESN'T REALLY MAKE MUCH DIFFERENCE, THEY ALL SORT OF LIVE AND WORK TOGETHER IN THIS LARGER COMPOUND.

AND DOÑA CONCEPCION IS THE MOTHER OF SOME OF THE PEOPLE WE WORK WITH, JOSE IS HER SON AND SANTIAGO IS ANOTHER SON OF HERS.

AND SHE HAS BEEN COOKING THIS FANTASTIC TRADITIONAL TURKEY SOUP FOR US WHICH IS CALLED KAK'IK.

KAK'IK.

THIS WAS KIND OF A SMALLER AMOUNT BECAUSE WE ARE ONLY FOUR BUT NORMALLY THEY COOK FOR LIKE 40 AND THEN IT'S LIKE A HUGE WASH BASIN WHERE LIKE THREE KIDS FIT INTO THE BASIN.

SO THIS IS THE FAMOUS KAK'IK.

CALDO DE PAVO, CALDO DE CHUNTO.

LIKE THEY SAY IN GUATEMALA.

THERE YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE MAIZE THAT THEY'RE PREPARING FOR THE NIXTAMAL FOR THE TORTILLAS.

FOR THE TORTILLAS, UH HUH.

SO THE KITCHEN IS REALLY VERY SIMPLE AND THE DIET IS VERY SIMPLE.

TORTILLAS, AS IN MUCH OF MEXICO.

AND THEY'RE ALSO TAKING BEANS, ALWAYS BEANS.

FEW OF THESE FAMILIES HAVE EVER VISITED THE GREAT CITIES OF THEIR ANCESTORS.

WE ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO ARRIVE BACK AT TIKAL BEFORE DAWN.

SO NOW WE'RE COMING AROUND TOWARDS THE BACK OF THE EAST PART OF THE E GROUP UP HERE.

THIS HAS NOT BEEN TOUCHED FOR RESTORATION SO THIS IS, THIS IS AN ACCUMULATION OF A COUPLE THOUSAND YEARS OF MOSS.

NO, I DON'T THINK SO ACTUALLY.

THEY MUST HAVE... BECAUSE THEY EXCAVATED THEY MUST HAVE STABILIZED IT SO THESE MOSSES ARE PROBABLY VERY RECENT ACTUALLY.

THEY GROW VERY FAST EVEN OVER RECONSTRUCTED BUILDINGS.

IT'S AMAZING HOW FAST THEY LOOK REALLY OLD.

THIS PYRAMID IS PART OF WHAT WE CALL AN E GROUP, NOT A VERY INSPIRED NAME.

THAT SOUNDS BLAND.

BUT THESE E GROUPS WERE SUPPOSEDLY USED FOR ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS BUT THEY DATE VERY FAR BACK.

THEY'RE ACTUALLY PART OF THE PRE-CLASSIC AND THEY WERE... PRE-CLASSIC, HOW OLD IS THAT?

THAT'S ABOUT A 1,000 TO 300 B.C.

OH, THAT'S OLD.

SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT THEY WERE USED FOR ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS.

SOLSTICES AND... SOLSTICES AND EQUINOXES AND THESE TYPE OF THINGS AND SO ON THE WEST SIDE WE HAVE A LARGE PYRAMID AND THEN ON THE EAST SIDE THERE'S USUALLY A LONG STRUCTURE WITH THREE LITTLE PYRAMIDS ON TOP THAT SUPPOSEDLY ALIGN WITH THE SOLSTICES THAT YOU OBSERVE FROM THAT WESTERN LARGE PYRAMID.

SO THEY MIGHT BE ABLE FROM THE TOP OF THE BIGGER ONE TO TRIANGULATE HERE AND SET UP THEIR CALCULATIONS FOR SOLSTICES, EQUINOXES.

EXACTLY.

TO MAKE SURE THAT THE WORLD CONTINUED.

EXACTLY.

AND THIS E GROUP HERE IN TIKAL RIGHT NOW IS THE OLDEST KNOWN.

IT DATES TO ABOUT 750 B.C.

ALMOST 3,000 YEARS.

IT FEELS AS THOUGH WE'RE WALKING THROUGH AN OLD FOREST.

WELL, WE'RE ACTUALLY ON TOP OF A BASIL LONG PLATFORM HERE.

THIS IS A BUILDING THAT WE'RE WALKING ON.

THESE TREES LOOK LIKE THEY'VE BEEN HERE FOREVER.

YEAH.

WELL, THEY'RE PROBABLY ACTUALLY NOT THAT OLD.

BUT THEY GROW FAST HERE.

YEAH AND THESE GUYS ARE PROBABLY NOT MORE THAN MAYBE 10, 20 YEARS OLD BUT WE'RE RIGHT ON TOP OF AN OLD BUILDING THAT'S OBVIOUSLY MUCH OLDER THAN THESE TREES.

IN THE TROPICAL AREA YOU HAVE VERY THIN SOIL AND THERE YOU HAVE LOTS, THEN ONCE AREA IS DEFORESTED, YOU GET THE VERY RAPID EROSION THAT AFFECTS THE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION ECOLOGICAL SYSTEM.

SO YOU HAVE A MAJOR CHANGE IN ECOLOGY OF THE AREA.

SO WE HAVE A COMBINATION OF FACTORS FOR THE ABANDONMENT OF THIS AREA BETWEEN 800 AND 900 A.D. WE'RE THINKING THE COMBINATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS AND SOCIAL AND POLITICAL STRESSES INTERNALLY IN THESE CITIES CAUSED THE PEOPLE EVENTUALLY TO ABANDON THESE AREAS AND PROBABLY A LOT OF THEM MOVED INTO THE NORTH INTO YUCATAN WHERE WE STILL HAVE POPULATIONS AND MAYBE INTO THE HIGHLANDS.

ACTUALLY I ALWAYS WONDER NOT SO MUCH WHY THE MAYA CIVILIZATION COLLAPSED, I WONDER HOW THEY ACTUALLY LASTED FOR 1,000 YEARS OR 2,000 YEARS.

THAT'S FOR ME LIKE THE MORE, THE BIGGER ENIGMA KNOWING THE ENVIRONMENT HERE AND HOW HARD IT WAS TO SURVIVE HERE.

[MUSIC] EXPENSIVE, DESTRUCTIVE WARS AND ECOLOGICAL DEVASTATION BROUGHT ON THE DEMISE OF THE GREAT MAYA KINGDOMS.

OVER 1,000 YEARS LATER THEIR MONUMENTS ARE STILL WITH US.

WE FACE THE SAME PROBLEMS AND MUST WONDER IF OUR MONUMENTS WILL LAST AS LONG.

THE PORTION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA WE SEE FROM THE BOAT IS TINY INDEED BUT THE COMBINATION OF THE WORKING COAST AND ECO-TOURISM GIVES A GLIMPSE OF A FUTURE THAT RECONCILES INDUSTRY AND CONSERVATION.

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

I SEE THIS DESIGN HERE AND I ALL OF A SUDDEN THINK I'M IN CENTRAL MEXICO AT TEOTIHUACAN, 600 MILES AWAY AT LEAST.

WELL, THIS IS ACTUALLY A BUILDING THAT THE BASE IS BUILT IN TEOTIHUACAN STYLE.

FOR INSTANCE IN THESE GOGGLE EYES WHICH ARE THE MASK OF TLALOC, THE MEXICAN RAIN GOD.

THE RAIN GOD OF THE AZTECS.

AND IT'S NOT THE MAYA RAIN GOD.

SOMEBODY HAD TO KNOW HOW TO DO THAT.

YES, AND THEY HAD TO KNOW HOW TEOTIHUACAN BUILDINGS LOOKED LIKE.

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