1 00:00:02,047 --> 00:00:03,422 NARRATOR: In the jungles of Central America, 2 00:00:03,588 --> 00:00:07,297 the Maya people thrived for more than 2,000 years. 3 00:00:07,463 --> 00:00:11,588 The Mayans were very, very sophisticated. 4 00:00:11,797 --> 00:00:14,797 They built huge pyramid cities. 5 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:20,172 They created the only writing system in all of the Americas. 6 00:00:20,338 --> 00:00:25,130 NARRATOR: The Maya possessed knowledge that defies explanation. 7 00:00:25,255 --> 00:00:29,047 How did they understand the long, vast orbits 8 00:00:29,213 --> 00:00:33,880 of the Earth through the Milky Way galaxy? 9 00:00:34,047 --> 00:00:35,297 NARRATOR: And new evidence has revealed 10 00:00:35,463 --> 00:00:38,172 a civilization more extraordinary 11 00:00:38,380 --> 00:00:41,255 and more ancient than we ever imagined. 12 00:00:41,422 --> 00:00:46,505 We have discovered a lost chapter of human history. 13 00:00:46,672 --> 00:00:49,672 NARRATOR: But could the Maya's greatest secret 14 00:00:49,838 --> 00:00:54,338 involve contact with visitors from beyond Earth? 15 00:00:54,505 --> 00:00:58,005 WILLIAM HENRY: The early Maya themselves said we were taught by 16 00:00:58,213 --> 00:01:00,172 extraterrestrial beings. 17 00:01:02,338 --> 00:01:04,547 NARRATOR: There is a doorway 18 00:01:04,713 --> 00:01:07,297 in the universe. 19 00:01:07,463 --> 00:01:10,505 Beyond it is the promise of truth. 20 00:01:12,047 --> 00:01:14,005 It demands we question everything 21 00:01:14,213 --> 00:01:16,297 we have ever been taught. 22 00:01:16,463 --> 00:01:20,505 The evidence is all around us. 23 00:01:20,672 --> 00:01:24,088 The future is right before our eyes. 24 00:01:24,213 --> 00:01:26,713 We are not alone. 25 00:01:26,922 --> 00:01:30,380 We have never been alone. 26 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:33,797 ♪ ♪ 27 00:01:50,422 --> 00:01:54,255 Throughout Central America stand the ruins of the Maya, 28 00:01:54,380 --> 00:01:57,838 considered by many to be the greatest civilization 29 00:01:58,005 --> 00:01:59,963 in the history of the Americas. 30 00:02:00,172 --> 00:02:03,838 While archaeologists and historians have been 31 00:02:04,005 --> 00:02:07,380 studying this ancient culture for over four centuries, 32 00:02:07,547 --> 00:02:10,713 there are still many questions left to answer 33 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:13,463 since much of the Maya's history is still hidden 34 00:02:13,630 --> 00:02:17,755 within the jungles of Mexico and Guatemala. 35 00:02:19,380 --> 00:02:22,005 The roots of the Maya are very obscure, 36 00:02:22,172 --> 00:02:24,547 but traditional Maya scholarship says 37 00:02:24,713 --> 00:02:26,838 that historically you have 38 00:02:27,005 --> 00:02:29,630 the more primitive pre-Classical Maya 39 00:02:29,713 --> 00:02:31,838 and then you've got the Classical Maya, 40 00:02:32,047 --> 00:02:33,505 who are more advanced. 41 00:02:33,713 --> 00:02:35,380 NARRATOR: For centuries, 42 00:02:35,547 --> 00:02:38,713 scholars considered the height of the Maya civilization 43 00:02:38,838 --> 00:02:40,380 to be during the Classic era, 44 00:02:40,547 --> 00:02:44,838 between roughly 250 and 900 AD. 45 00:02:45,005 --> 00:02:47,672 Before this was the pre-Classic era, 46 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,297 that began around 2000 BC 47 00:02:50,422 --> 00:02:54,172 and was believed to be made up of nomadic people 48 00:02:54,255 --> 00:02:56,422 who lived in simple dwellings. 49 00:02:56,588 --> 00:03:00,005 There was a thinking that the Classic period 50 00:03:00,172 --> 00:03:02,297 was really where they started building cities. 51 00:03:02,505 --> 00:03:05,672 But then in the '60s and '70s, 52 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:07,922 as we got deeper into the jungle, 53 00:03:08,047 --> 00:03:10,213 we realized there were older cities 54 00:03:10,380 --> 00:03:12,630 that were as big, and in some cases, bigger 55 00:03:12,797 --> 00:03:14,672 than the Classic ones. 56 00:03:17,672 --> 00:03:20,338 NARRATOR: Today, archaeologists believe 57 00:03:20,547 --> 00:03:23,588 that the Maya built cities throughout Central America 58 00:03:23,755 --> 00:03:28,672 and thrived as a civilization for more than 2,000 years. 59 00:03:29,713 --> 00:03:32,505 They were responsible for some of the most impressive 60 00:03:32,713 --> 00:03:35,922 architecture in the entire North American continent, 61 00:03:36,088 --> 00:03:39,838 and this is just one of their many accomplishments. 62 00:03:40,963 --> 00:03:45,172 The Maya really stand out among ancient civilizations 63 00:03:45,297 --> 00:03:48,172 in terms of their achievements. 64 00:03:48,380 --> 00:03:50,172 They created the only writing system 65 00:03:50,297 --> 00:03:51,797 we know in all of the Americas. 66 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:55,922 And through that writing system, they were able to conduct 67 00:03:56,088 --> 00:03:59,422 very scientific investigations, 68 00:03:59,588 --> 00:04:03,797 and they became masters of mathematics and astronomy. 69 00:04:05,172 --> 00:04:09,130 The Maya were arguably the ancient world's 70 00:04:09,297 --> 00:04:12,797 best astronomers, even excelling the Greeks. 71 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:15,047 Many of the Maya sites 72 00:04:15,213 --> 00:04:18,338 all through the Yucatán, Guatemala, Belize, 73 00:04:18,505 --> 00:04:22,338 and throughout Mexico are kind of astronomically aligned. 74 00:04:22,463 --> 00:04:24,005 Now, they even have observatories 75 00:04:24,213 --> 00:04:25,547 as parts of the site, 76 00:04:25,713 --> 00:04:28,463 the most famous being, really, at Palenque 77 00:04:28,588 --> 00:04:30,172 and at Chichén Itzá, for instance, 78 00:04:30,338 --> 00:04:31,880 where they have literally places 79 00:04:32,047 --> 00:04:34,338 where they would observe the stars. 80 00:04:34,463 --> 00:04:36,672 NARRATOR: Why the Maya were so preoccupied 81 00:04:36,838 --> 00:04:39,672 with tracking the stars remains a mystery. 82 00:04:39,838 --> 00:04:42,838 But scholars agree that they possessed 83 00:04:43,047 --> 00:04:46,338 a remarkably advanced understanding of astronomy, 84 00:04:46,505 --> 00:04:48,297 which is perhaps most evident 85 00:04:48,422 --> 00:04:50,297 within their highly sophisticated 86 00:04:50,463 --> 00:04:53,255 and complex calendar system. 87 00:04:59,172 --> 00:05:02,838 Librarian Ernst Förstemann uses his extensive knowledge 88 00:05:02,963 --> 00:05:06,338 of mathematics to decipher the dots and symbols 89 00:05:06,547 --> 00:05:11,255 of a 12th-century Maya text known as the Dresden Codex. 90 00:05:12,172 --> 00:05:13,630 In doing so, 91 00:05:13,797 --> 00:05:16,922 he unlocks the secrets of the Maya calendar. 92 00:05:18,088 --> 00:05:20,922 The Maya have what's widely understood 93 00:05:21,088 --> 00:05:24,588 as the most sophisticated ancient calendar ever made. 94 00:05:24,713 --> 00:05:27,005 It involves so many different cycles. 95 00:05:27,213 --> 00:05:29,797 It's so sophisticated, in fact, 96 00:05:30,005 --> 00:05:33,505 that early scholars thought that the Maya were, 97 00:05:33,713 --> 00:05:36,713 as they called, esoteric time worshipers. 98 00:05:36,922 --> 00:05:41,547 The Maya are very interested in the cycles of life. 99 00:05:41,755 --> 00:05:44,755 So a lot of their calendars were created 100 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:49,797 to track those cycles and look for harmonies between cycles 101 00:05:49,963 --> 00:05:52,922 to better harmonize themselves with the natural world. 102 00:05:53,922 --> 00:05:56,380 ANDREW COLLINS: The long count calendar of the Maya 103 00:05:56,547 --> 00:06:00,797 lasted for 5,125 years. 104 00:06:02,380 --> 00:06:07,755 It was backdated to have begun in 3114 BC, 105 00:06:07,922 --> 00:06:10,713 which meant that it actually ended 106 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:14,213 on December 21, 2012. 107 00:06:14,380 --> 00:06:16,838 And many of us will remember how it was believed 108 00:06:17,047 --> 00:06:20,338 that there was gonna be a time of great transformation, 109 00:06:20,505 --> 00:06:23,047 possibly the end of the world. 110 00:06:23,213 --> 00:06:25,338 NARRATOR: In 2012, 111 00:06:25,547 --> 00:06:26,755 over a thousand years 112 00:06:26,922 --> 00:06:29,672 after the fall of the Maya civilization, 113 00:06:29,838 --> 00:06:33,588 their calendar became known to people all around the world. 114 00:06:34,922 --> 00:06:37,838 Many believed that the final date on the calendar 115 00:06:38,047 --> 00:06:41,838 was intended to mark an apocalyptic event. 116 00:06:41,963 --> 00:06:46,922 BARNHART: The idea that the Maya predicted the end of the world was really 117 00:06:47,088 --> 00:06:51,505 just a Western misunderstanding of how their calendar works 118 00:06:51,713 --> 00:06:54,380 and what they were using their calendar for. 119 00:06:54,505 --> 00:06:58,505 Westerners see time as a line, 120 00:06:58,672 --> 00:07:02,505 it goes back into the past and forward into the future, 121 00:07:02,672 --> 00:07:04,380 and we're the point in the middle. 122 00:07:05,463 --> 00:07:09,130 The Maya saw time as a cycle that kept going 123 00:07:09,297 --> 00:07:10,588 like the hands of a clock. 124 00:07:10,755 --> 00:07:12,922 When it hit 12, it didn't just explode, 125 00:07:13,047 --> 00:07:15,755 it just went back around for another loop. 126 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:19,922 So Maya calendar systems were set up 127 00:07:20,047 --> 00:07:22,505 to be never-ending cycles. 128 00:07:24,088 --> 00:07:26,963 NARRATOR: While the Maya were exceptional at tracking time 129 00:07:27,130 --> 00:07:28,130 and observing the heavens, 130 00:07:28,338 --> 00:07:30,838 archaeologists were astounded 131 00:07:31,005 --> 00:07:33,130 when they discovered that this ancient culture 132 00:07:33,297 --> 00:07:37,755 was tracking what is known in astronomy as precession. 133 00:07:37,963 --> 00:07:41,172 Precession is the wobbling of the Earth on its axis 134 00:07:41,338 --> 00:07:45,463 which changes the location of constellations in the night sky. 135 00:07:45,630 --> 00:07:50,380 It's actually a huge cycle that lasts 26,000 years. 136 00:07:50,547 --> 00:07:53,672 And the Maya, without a shadow of a doubt, 137 00:07:53,838 --> 00:07:56,130 were calculating precession. 138 00:07:56,297 --> 00:07:58,213 They were able to say, 139 00:07:58,380 --> 00:07:59,963 back in the distant past, 140 00:08:00,130 --> 00:08:03,672 this planet would've been in that constellation. 141 00:08:06,005 --> 00:08:07,838 NARRATOR: Scholars remain mystified 142 00:08:08,047 --> 00:08:11,588 as to how the Maya came to have such an advanced understanding 143 00:08:11,713 --> 00:08:15,880 of astronomy, mathematics and timekeeping, 144 00:08:16,088 --> 00:08:19,047 and answers have been difficult to come by, 145 00:08:19,213 --> 00:08:22,672 since a large portion of the Maya's writing and artifacts 146 00:08:22,797 --> 00:08:26,380 have been lost or destroyed over the centuries. 147 00:08:27,380 --> 00:08:31,713 There was a big cultural shift between about 900 and 1200 AD, 148 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:33,963 and one of the prevailing theories 149 00:08:34,088 --> 00:08:37,422 about the end of Maya civilization was that 150 00:08:37,630 --> 00:08:38,797 basically they taxed their resources, 151 00:08:38,922 --> 00:08:42,297 that they created an unstable landscape 152 00:08:42,463 --> 00:08:44,838 that then lent itself to landslides, to fires, 153 00:08:45,047 --> 00:08:46,672 to floods, 154 00:08:46,838 --> 00:08:51,713 and that can lead to societal collapse. 155 00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:59,838 NARRATOR: In the 16 century, Spanish conquistadors arrived 156 00:09:00,047 --> 00:09:02,963 in the Maya cities of the Yucatán Peninsula. 157 00:09:04,005 --> 00:09:07,797 They found the sites sparsely populated or even abandoned, 158 00:09:07,963 --> 00:09:11,172 with many structures already in ruins. 159 00:09:12,213 --> 00:09:15,255 And while Spanish colonizers were the first Europeans 160 00:09:15,422 --> 00:09:18,505 to record their accounts of the Maya culture, 161 00:09:18,713 --> 00:09:21,130 they were also responsible for destroying 162 00:09:21,297 --> 00:09:23,547 much of the Maya's own history. 163 00:09:25,713 --> 00:09:27,338 When the Spanish showed up, 164 00:09:27,547 --> 00:09:30,047 they wanted to convert them to Christianity. 165 00:09:30,213 --> 00:09:32,755 Step one in that process 166 00:09:32,922 --> 00:09:37,463 is dividing them from their traditional wisdoms. 167 00:09:37,630 --> 00:09:39,713 And those were written in the books. 168 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:43,672 So, the Spanish on purpose burned 169 00:09:43,838 --> 00:09:46,297 every document they could find. 170 00:09:46,422 --> 00:09:48,422 They destroyed as much as they could. 171 00:09:48,588 --> 00:09:52,088 Today we have four surviving books that 172 00:09:52,213 --> 00:09:55,380 at least scholarship has been able to study and know about. 173 00:09:55,547 --> 00:09:58,505 There are probably more, almost certainly, 174 00:09:58,713 --> 00:10:00,880 hiding in the mountains in Guatemala. 175 00:10:01,047 --> 00:10:04,088 And the Maya, for good reason, hide them. 176 00:10:05,922 --> 00:10:07,713 NARRATOR: Have the secrets of the Maya 177 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:10,713 and how they built such an advanced civilization 178 00:10:10,838 --> 00:10:14,713 more than a thousand years ago been lost forever? 179 00:10:15,797 --> 00:10:18,255 Ancient astronaut theorists suggest 180 00:10:18,380 --> 00:10:20,338 there are still answers to be found 181 00:10:20,547 --> 00:10:23,005 in the Maya texts that have survived, 182 00:10:23,213 --> 00:10:25,713 and their accounts of powerful beings 183 00:10:25,922 --> 00:10:28,588 who came down from the sky. 184 00:10:42,338 --> 00:10:45,005 NARRATOR: The Getty Museum opens an exhibition 185 00:10:45,130 --> 00:10:48,713 displaying the oldest book ever discovered in the Americas, 186 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:52,005 called the Maya Codex of Mexico. 187 00:10:52,922 --> 00:10:56,672 Like other Maya codices, the roughly 900-year-old text 188 00:10:56,797 --> 00:10:59,172 consists of illustrations and hieroglyphs 189 00:10:59,380 --> 00:11:01,005 written on tree bark pages 190 00:11:01,213 --> 00:11:03,547 that were bound together like a book. 191 00:11:03,672 --> 00:11:08,797 DAVID CHILDRESS: The Mayans had hundreds, thousands of codexes that were 192 00:11:09,005 --> 00:11:12,630 describing the Mayan history and the gods 193 00:11:12,797 --> 00:11:16,297 and everything that they wanted to write down. 194 00:11:16,380 --> 00:11:18,838 And four Mayan codices 195 00:11:19,005 --> 00:11:21,922 are known to exist and to have survived. 196 00:11:23,297 --> 00:11:25,213 NARRATOR: In addition to these manuscripts, 197 00:11:25,380 --> 00:11:28,130 archaeologists have found Maya hieroglyphs 198 00:11:28,297 --> 00:11:31,130 carved on temples that date to as early as 199 00:11:31,297 --> 00:11:33,672 the third century BC. 200 00:11:34,713 --> 00:11:36,922 But since the great majority of the Maya codices 201 00:11:37,088 --> 00:11:39,047 have been lost or destroyed, 202 00:11:39,255 --> 00:11:42,505 scholars have only recently begun to decipher 203 00:11:42,672 --> 00:11:44,547 the ancient writing system. 204 00:11:44,713 --> 00:11:46,630 It's been a long process to 205 00:11:46,797 --> 00:11:48,297 translate Maya hieroglyphs, 206 00:11:48,463 --> 00:11:49,380 and we're not done. 207 00:11:49,547 --> 00:11:51,297 Experts estimate we've got 208 00:11:51,463 --> 00:11:54,005 maybe 80% of it translated, 209 00:11:54,213 --> 00:11:56,880 and there are still glyphs that elude us. 210 00:11:57,047 --> 00:12:00,088 DAVID CHEETHAM: About 70 years ago, Maya archaeologists 211 00:12:00,213 --> 00:12:05,255 started to unravel the Maya hieroglyphic world, 212 00:12:05,422 --> 00:12:06,922 and by the '70s, the '80s, 213 00:12:07,047 --> 00:12:09,922 more and more of the language 214 00:12:10,088 --> 00:12:11,422 was understood in terms of 215 00:12:11,630 --> 00:12:13,088 its interface with the glyphs. 216 00:12:14,213 --> 00:12:17,838 NARRATOR: As scholars slowly learned how to read Maya hieroglyphs, 217 00:12:17,963 --> 00:12:20,005 they discovered the codices contain 218 00:12:20,172 --> 00:12:22,505 richly illustrated astronomical charts, 219 00:12:22,672 --> 00:12:24,255 divination tables 220 00:12:24,422 --> 00:12:27,713 and instructions for religious ceremonies. 221 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:30,838 But the most important story found in the codices 222 00:12:31,047 --> 00:12:34,713 is a historical record known as the Popol Vuh. 223 00:12:35,713 --> 00:12:38,338 Their creation story is called Popol Vuh. 224 00:12:38,547 --> 00:12:42,672 And its opening chapters outlined that the gods, 225 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:44,588 which they call the makers and modelers, 226 00:12:44,797 --> 00:12:46,755 set up the world. 227 00:12:46,922 --> 00:12:49,672 But the story really centers around 228 00:12:49,797 --> 00:12:52,088 two boys, a pair of twins 229 00:12:52,255 --> 00:12:55,172 they call the Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque. 230 00:12:56,213 --> 00:12:58,838 And they battle with the lords of death, 231 00:12:58,963 --> 00:13:01,588 and they make the world safe 232 00:13:01,713 --> 00:13:03,880 for creation, us, to occur. 233 00:13:04,047 --> 00:13:07,505 NARRATOR: According to the story, after the Hero Twins 234 00:13:07,672 --> 00:13:09,963 have prepared the Earth for humanity, 235 00:13:10,172 --> 00:13:13,505 they are followed by a larger pantheon of gods. 236 00:13:14,755 --> 00:13:18,338 TSOUKALOS: Their beginning of creation, and they have a date for it, 237 00:13:18,505 --> 00:13:20,297 is the 11th of August, 238 00:13:20,380 --> 00:13:24,672 3114 BC. 239 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:29,088 The Popol Vuh says that on that day, 240 00:13:29,255 --> 00:13:33,255 the road of the stars descended from the sky, 241 00:13:33,422 --> 00:13:36,005 and the gods, 13 of them, 242 00:13:36,172 --> 00:13:38,963 descended from the heavens down to Earth 243 00:13:39,130 --> 00:13:41,338 and imparted knowledge 244 00:13:41,547 --> 00:13:43,047 to the local population. 245 00:13:44,213 --> 00:13:46,463 NARRATOR: While researchers have documented more than 246 00:13:46,588 --> 00:13:48,505 250 Maya gods, 247 00:13:48,672 --> 00:13:51,672 this original pantheon of 13 beings 248 00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:55,380 taught the ancient Maya agriculture, mathematics 249 00:13:55,547 --> 00:13:57,713 and astronomy. 250 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:00,463 The most prominent of all the Maya gods 251 00:14:00,588 --> 00:14:02,463 described in the Popol Vuh 252 00:14:02,630 --> 00:14:05,338 is the flying serpent Kukulkan. 253 00:14:05,505 --> 00:14:07,963 Lofty thinking and knowledge 254 00:14:08,130 --> 00:14:10,672 was a gift from Kukulkan, 255 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:13,172 who gave them sophistication, 256 00:14:13,338 --> 00:14:16,922 the art of speech, also mathematics. 257 00:14:17,088 --> 00:14:19,547 Kukulkan was the second deity 258 00:14:19,713 --> 00:14:22,880 in the Maya pantheon. 259 00:14:23,047 --> 00:14:27,713 And the name means both "wind" and "giver." 260 00:14:27,838 --> 00:14:29,672 You find Kukulkan connected with 261 00:14:29,797 --> 00:14:31,713 a lot of the happenings in the sky, 262 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:33,630 whether it's, you know, thunder, lightning, 263 00:14:33,755 --> 00:14:35,630 storms, rain. 264 00:14:35,713 --> 00:14:39,047 And his appearance was as a serpent, 265 00:14:39,213 --> 00:14:41,672 which is a very common 266 00:14:41,838 --> 00:14:43,672 symbol for wisdom. 267 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:48,172 NARRATOR: What ancient astronaut theorists find particularly intriguing 268 00:14:48,338 --> 00:14:50,963 about Kukulkan is that this god 269 00:14:51,130 --> 00:14:53,922 is not always depicted as a flying serpent, 270 00:14:54,088 --> 00:14:57,255 but is sometimes shown as a humanoid face 271 00:14:57,463 --> 00:14:59,130 emerging from the serpent's mouth. 272 00:14:59,297 --> 00:15:01,630 HENRY: In Mayan iconography, 273 00:15:01,797 --> 00:15:04,463 Kukulkan is shown as a serpentine being 274 00:15:04,630 --> 00:15:07,797 with a humanoid head that flies through the sky. 275 00:15:07,963 --> 00:15:10,588 And it makes you wonder what is going on here? 276 00:15:10,713 --> 00:15:12,088 It's very possible that 277 00:15:12,297 --> 00:15:14,922 it's some sort of a craft that is interpreted 278 00:15:15,130 --> 00:15:16,672 as a feathered serpent 279 00:15:16,797 --> 00:15:18,838 and a god being emerges from that craft 280 00:15:19,047 --> 00:15:21,380 and is a culture bearer. 281 00:15:21,505 --> 00:15:26,338 TSOUKALOS: Kukulkan looks like a snake shooting across the sky. 282 00:15:26,505 --> 00:15:28,505 If you look at a modern-day plane, 283 00:15:28,672 --> 00:15:32,130 that looks like a flying snake if you don't have 284 00:15:32,297 --> 00:15:34,380 the vocabulary with which to describe 285 00:15:34,588 --> 00:15:36,838 the fuselage and the wings, for example. 286 00:15:37,047 --> 00:15:40,922 So, of course, we have stories of flying snakes 287 00:15:41,088 --> 00:15:43,380 because those were the best terms 288 00:15:43,547 --> 00:15:46,588 with which to describe what they witnessed. 289 00:15:47,838 --> 00:15:49,505 NARRATOR: Is it possible that the gods 290 00:15:49,672 --> 00:15:52,838 described in the Maya writings were otherworldly visitors 291 00:15:53,005 --> 00:15:55,338 witnessed by their earliest ancestors, 292 00:15:55,547 --> 00:15:58,172 as ancient astronaut theorists suggest? 293 00:16:00,130 --> 00:16:01,922 The first known Maya codices 294 00:16:02,088 --> 00:16:03,172 containing the Popol Vuh 295 00:16:03,338 --> 00:16:06,838 date to the 16th century AD. 296 00:16:07,047 --> 00:16:09,797 But archaeologists have clearly identified figures 297 00:16:10,005 --> 00:16:12,838 from the Popol Vuh featured on Maya temples 298 00:16:13,047 --> 00:16:15,005 that are hundreds of years older, 299 00:16:15,213 --> 00:16:17,588 and ancient astronaut theorists suggest 300 00:16:17,755 --> 00:16:21,797 they provide further evidence of an extraterrestrial influence. 301 00:16:21,963 --> 00:16:24,338 Like the carvings found at 302 00:16:24,505 --> 00:16:27,255 the ruins of Quiriguá in Guatemala. 303 00:16:27,463 --> 00:16:29,713 TSOUKALOS: What's interesting is that 304 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:32,005 often repeated motif 305 00:16:32,172 --> 00:16:36,713 of what seems to be people in helmets. 306 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:39,172 In Quiriguá, Guatemala, 307 00:16:39,338 --> 00:16:42,463 there is this helmeted person 308 00:16:42,630 --> 00:16:45,963 sitting in what seems very reminiscent of 309 00:16:46,088 --> 00:16:48,797 something technological in nature, 310 00:16:49,005 --> 00:16:52,713 what looks to be some type of a spacecraft. 311 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:56,338 NARRATOR: Perhaps the most extraordinary Maya depiction 312 00:16:56,547 --> 00:16:59,005 of a being that descended from the heavens 313 00:16:59,130 --> 00:17:01,130 can be found on a pyramid 314 00:17:01,255 --> 00:17:03,505 in the ancient city of Chichén Itzá. 315 00:17:04,588 --> 00:17:08,422 ERICH VON DÄNIKEN: The Maya said the guardians of the sky descended. 316 00:17:08,588 --> 00:17:10,338 And they showed it in their temples. 317 00:17:10,505 --> 00:17:12,672 For example, the temple of Chichén Itzá, 318 00:17:12,797 --> 00:17:15,338 every year on March 21st, 319 00:17:15,547 --> 00:17:18,338 you can see the descending of god Kukulkan, 320 00:17:18,505 --> 00:17:20,380 the feathered serpent coming down. 321 00:17:20,547 --> 00:17:21,922 The sun goes up, 322 00:17:22,047 --> 00:17:23,838 and because of the astronomical orientation, 323 00:17:24,047 --> 00:17:25,338 because of the steps, 324 00:17:25,463 --> 00:17:28,630 you see a triangle shadow going down the step, 325 00:17:28,838 --> 00:17:31,838 the step exactly in the center of the pyramid. 326 00:17:32,047 --> 00:17:34,213 CHILDRESS: These discoveries support 327 00:17:34,380 --> 00:17:38,422 the Mayan legends of how the god Itzamná 328 00:17:38,588 --> 00:17:41,505 came down and, and gave knowledge of writing and books, 329 00:17:41,713 --> 00:17:45,130 while the feathered serpent Kukulkan came 330 00:17:45,255 --> 00:17:49,380 and he gave them knowledge of astronomy and agriculture. 331 00:17:49,547 --> 00:17:52,463 It would seem that the core Mayan knowledge 332 00:17:52,630 --> 00:17:54,088 came from these gods 333 00:17:54,297 --> 00:17:56,505 who were probably extraterrestrials. 334 00:17:57,547 --> 00:17:59,838 NARRATOR: Could it be that stories of the Popol Vuh 335 00:18:00,005 --> 00:18:01,380 aren't fictional mythology, 336 00:18:01,547 --> 00:18:04,922 but are, in fact, recorded history of 337 00:18:05,130 --> 00:18:07,088 ancient Maya interaction 338 00:18:07,213 --> 00:18:09,380 with beings who descended from the sky? 339 00:18:09,547 --> 00:18:12,713 Perhaps further clues can be found by 340 00:18:12,922 --> 00:18:15,130 examining a Maya city in Honduras 341 00:18:15,213 --> 00:18:16,880 that was literally built 342 00:18:17,047 --> 00:18:19,755 to reflect the cosmos. 343 00:18:27,963 --> 00:18:29,213 NARRATOR: This ancient site, 344 00:18:29,422 --> 00:18:31,338 located deep in the jungle, 345 00:18:31,547 --> 00:18:34,213 served as one of the most important city centers 346 00:18:34,422 --> 00:18:36,172 of the Maya civilization. 347 00:18:36,297 --> 00:18:40,172 At the peak of its power in the seventh century AD, 348 00:18:40,380 --> 00:18:43,547 the kingdom of Copán had a population of at least 349 00:18:43,713 --> 00:18:46,672 20,000 people and covered an area 350 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:49,505 of over 100 square miles. 351 00:18:51,547 --> 00:18:53,713 Copán is a Classic Maya city 352 00:18:53,922 --> 00:18:58,297 that sits at the far eastern edge of the Maya world. 353 00:18:58,463 --> 00:19:01,255 Most of the Maya world is built out of limestone, 354 00:19:01,380 --> 00:19:03,380 and a lot of those limestone monuments 355 00:19:03,547 --> 00:19:05,130 have now melted. 356 00:19:05,255 --> 00:19:09,463 But Copán's sculpture, because it's in volcanic tuff, 357 00:19:09,672 --> 00:19:11,088 is beautiful. 358 00:19:11,255 --> 00:19:15,172 It's deep relief and still very visible. 359 00:19:16,213 --> 00:19:20,255 DAVID SEDAT: The city of Copán is probably one of the longest known 360 00:19:20,380 --> 00:19:25,422 and most investigated Maya city today. 361 00:19:27,047 --> 00:19:30,255 These fantastic carved stones of Copán 362 00:19:30,422 --> 00:19:35,338 evoke the imagination and the mystery of this place. 363 00:19:35,505 --> 00:19:39,630 It was called the Athens of the Maya world. 364 00:19:40,672 --> 00:19:44,172 NARRATOR: Among the most remarkable carvings discovered at Copán 365 00:19:44,380 --> 00:19:47,422 are the 15 stone statues known as "stelae" 366 00:19:47,630 --> 00:19:51,672 that connect the city's ancient rulers with the gods. 367 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:54,672 CHEETHAM: The most fantastic part of Copán is 368 00:19:54,838 --> 00:19:59,213 the carved monuments which are carved in the round. 369 00:19:59,422 --> 00:20:01,838 They're not what we call plano-convex 370 00:20:01,922 --> 00:20:03,713 like a slab with a, you know, 371 00:20:03,838 --> 00:20:05,297 a low-relief carving. 372 00:20:05,463 --> 00:20:07,797 These are carved in a sort of Michelangelo way 373 00:20:07,963 --> 00:20:11,463 in the round, and they're absolutely fantastic. 374 00:20:13,547 --> 00:20:16,172 NARRATOR: The most well-known of Copán's stelae 375 00:20:16,338 --> 00:20:18,505 were built during the 36-year reign 376 00:20:18,713 --> 00:20:21,422 of the ruler Waxaklajuun Ub'aah K'awiil, 377 00:20:21,588 --> 00:20:24,588 better known by the nickname "18 Rabbit." 378 00:20:24,755 --> 00:20:26,922 SEDAT: On one of the stelae of Copán, 379 00:20:27,088 --> 00:20:29,505 18 Rabbit portrayed himself 380 00:20:29,713 --> 00:20:32,547 as the foremost patron god of Copán, 381 00:20:32,713 --> 00:20:36,547 the all-encompassing god K'intay Ahau. 382 00:20:36,713 --> 00:20:38,172 And on the stelae, 383 00:20:38,380 --> 00:20:42,672 he basically gives a dissertation on the cosmos. 384 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:44,588 TSOUKALOS: For all intents and purposes, 385 00:20:44,713 --> 00:20:48,672 18 Rabbit is depicted like modern-day astronauts. 386 00:20:48,838 --> 00:20:52,505 You see tubes, you see weird boxes, 387 00:20:52,713 --> 00:20:55,047 you see weird canisters and tanks. 388 00:20:55,213 --> 00:20:57,297 You see boots. 389 00:20:57,463 --> 00:21:01,630 It's stuff that looks more technological in origin. 390 00:21:01,838 --> 00:21:06,130 And what's fascinating is that in Tikal, in Guatemala, 391 00:21:06,213 --> 00:21:08,672 one of the stelae shows this being 392 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:12,005 with a tube that comes straight down in the front 393 00:21:12,130 --> 00:21:13,505 and then it goes to the left 394 00:21:13,713 --> 00:21:16,172 and it culminates in some sort of a tank. 395 00:21:16,297 --> 00:21:20,005 It all looks very technological in origin. 396 00:21:20,213 --> 00:21:22,338 CHILDRESS: It would seem that these gods 397 00:21:22,505 --> 00:21:24,005 of the ancient Maya 398 00:21:24,213 --> 00:21:26,713 were real physical beings, 399 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:31,505 and interacting with the Mayans, giving them knowledge, 400 00:21:31,588 --> 00:21:34,213 and were really instrumental in creating 401 00:21:34,380 --> 00:21:37,713 this advanced culture in Central America. 402 00:21:40,755 --> 00:21:43,755 NARRATOR: Do the incredible ruins of Copán serve to commemorate 403 00:21:43,922 --> 00:21:48,297 the Maya's interactions with extraterrestrials? 404 00:21:48,422 --> 00:21:51,963 As far as ancient astronaut theorists are concerned, 405 00:21:52,130 --> 00:21:54,630 the answer is a resounding yes. 406 00:21:54,755 --> 00:21:57,922 And they suggest further evidence can be found 407 00:21:58,088 --> 00:22:02,088 by examining the artwork at another famous Maya site 408 00:22:02,255 --> 00:22:05,338 400 miles to the northwest. 409 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:15,505 Under a pyramid called the Temple of Inscriptions 410 00:22:15,630 --> 00:22:17,505 at the ruins of Palenque, 411 00:22:17,713 --> 00:22:20,505 archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier 412 00:22:20,713 --> 00:22:23,213 discovers a mysterious underground stairway 413 00:22:23,380 --> 00:22:25,755 obstructed with large stones. 414 00:22:26,922 --> 00:22:29,297 Over the next three years, 415 00:22:29,463 --> 00:22:31,838 Ruz and his team carefully clear the stairwell 416 00:22:32,047 --> 00:22:35,047 consisting of 71 steps. 417 00:22:35,213 --> 00:22:38,630 When the door at the base of the stairwell is finally opened, 418 00:22:38,797 --> 00:22:42,672 they encounter room after room of skeletons and artifacts. 419 00:22:42,838 --> 00:22:46,005 And in the final room, they find the tomb 420 00:22:46,172 --> 00:22:49,672 of King K'inich Janaab' Pakal. 421 00:22:49,838 --> 00:22:53,672 One of the best-known and famous Maya ahau 422 00:22:53,838 --> 00:22:55,380 or "royal lord," 423 00:22:55,547 --> 00:22:59,380 was Pakal, who ruled in the seventh century AD. 424 00:22:59,547 --> 00:23:03,172 And he ruled for 68 years at this site, 425 00:23:03,380 --> 00:23:06,005 thus making him the longest-lived ruler 426 00:23:06,213 --> 00:23:08,630 in the Americas that we know of. 427 00:23:10,213 --> 00:23:11,422 NARRATOR: While Pakal became 428 00:23:11,588 --> 00:23:14,422 a famous leader during his lifetime, 429 00:23:14,588 --> 00:23:18,088 today he remains one of the most well-known Maya kings 430 00:23:18,255 --> 00:23:21,963 because of the magnificence of his tomb and sarcophagus. 431 00:23:22,130 --> 00:23:26,338 The tomb of Pakal is one of the most amazing pieces 432 00:23:26,505 --> 00:23:29,005 of Maya art that we've ever found. 433 00:23:29,213 --> 00:23:33,130 On the top of the lid is a very elaborate carving 434 00:23:33,338 --> 00:23:36,380 that we believe is a depiction of Pakal 435 00:23:36,547 --> 00:23:40,422 falling into the underworld upon his death. 436 00:23:40,547 --> 00:23:44,297 NARRATOR: Although many historians and archaeologists 437 00:23:44,422 --> 00:23:46,588 interpret the carving on Pakal's lid 438 00:23:46,755 --> 00:23:49,338 as the king's descent into the underworld, 439 00:23:49,547 --> 00:23:51,838 ancient astronaut theorists suggest 440 00:23:51,963 --> 00:23:55,713 it depicts a very different type of journey. 441 00:23:55,880 --> 00:23:59,005 The sarcophagus of Lord Pakal forever will remain 442 00:23:59,213 --> 00:24:02,630 one of the smoking guns of the ancient astronaut theory. 443 00:24:02,797 --> 00:24:05,672 He is in a reclining position. 444 00:24:05,838 --> 00:24:08,588 He has a breathing apparatus attached to his nose. 445 00:24:08,755 --> 00:24:12,172 His hands are manipulating some buttons. 446 00:24:12,380 --> 00:24:15,463 And his feet are on pedals. 447 00:24:15,630 --> 00:24:19,755 It looks as if Pakal is lifting off into space 448 00:24:19,922 --> 00:24:23,130 inside some type of a rocket vehicle. 449 00:24:26,213 --> 00:24:29,422 NARRATOR: As far as ancient astronaut theorists are concerned, 450 00:24:29,547 --> 00:24:32,672 the idea that King Pakal's sarcophagus lid 451 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:36,463 depicts a journey to space is supported by Maya writing 452 00:24:36,630 --> 00:24:39,338 that surrounds the iconic carving. 453 00:24:39,547 --> 00:24:41,005 TSOUKALOS: Those Maya glyphs say 454 00:24:41,172 --> 00:24:45,505 that this is King Pakal's journey to Xibalba. 455 00:24:45,672 --> 00:24:47,963 "Xibalba" means "underworld." 456 00:24:48,088 --> 00:24:52,422 Well, archaeologists, about 15 years ago, 457 00:24:52,588 --> 00:24:56,547 revisited the term "Xibalba" and concluded 458 00:24:56,713 --> 00:25:00,005 that, actually, "Xibalba" can also be translated 459 00:25:00,213 --> 00:25:02,630 as "Milky Way." 460 00:25:02,797 --> 00:25:05,505 And all of a sudden, this depiction makes sense 461 00:25:05,672 --> 00:25:09,005 because what we have here is a representation 462 00:25:09,213 --> 00:25:12,922 of King Pakal on his journey to the Milky Way. 463 00:25:14,047 --> 00:25:15,463 NARRATOR: Could it be that the carving 464 00:25:15,630 --> 00:25:17,713 on King Pakal's sarcophagus 465 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:20,922 depicts the cockpit of a spacecraft? 466 00:25:22,672 --> 00:25:25,463 Do the artifacts of Palenque and Copán 467 00:25:25,672 --> 00:25:29,338 support the notion that the Maya did not just write stories 468 00:25:29,547 --> 00:25:32,172 about gods who came down from the sky 469 00:25:32,380 --> 00:25:36,338 but had real encounters with otherworldly visitors? 470 00:25:36,505 --> 00:25:39,838 Ancient astronaut theorists say yes, 471 00:25:40,047 --> 00:25:43,338 and suggest further evidence can be found 472 00:25:43,505 --> 00:25:46,172 at the oldest Maya site ever discovered. 473 00:25:46,380 --> 00:25:49,005 A site that, until the 20th century, 474 00:25:49,213 --> 00:25:52,422 had remained hidden in the jungles of Guatemala 475 00:25:52,588 --> 00:25:55,838 for more than 1,000 years. 476 00:25:59,880 --> 00:26:02,088 NARRATOR: The Mirador Basin, 477 00:26:02,213 --> 00:26:05,797 northern Guatemala, 1978. 478 00:26:06,838 --> 00:26:08,797 A team of American archaeologists 479 00:26:08,922 --> 00:26:12,547 launches a project to excavate a mysterious ancient site 480 00:26:12,713 --> 00:26:16,005 that has been discovered deep in the jungle. 481 00:26:16,213 --> 00:26:20,463 Called El Mirador, it features two gigantic pyramids 482 00:26:20,588 --> 00:26:24,213 now known as El Tigre and La Danta. 483 00:26:24,380 --> 00:26:28,463 BARNHART: The Mirador Basin is very deep in the jungle. 484 00:26:28,630 --> 00:26:30,463 You can fly a plane over it, 485 00:26:30,547 --> 00:26:32,338 but you don't really see anything. 486 00:26:32,422 --> 00:26:34,505 Everything is covered in trees. 487 00:26:34,713 --> 00:26:36,172 So, we assumed, 488 00:26:36,297 --> 00:26:37,630 if humans were ever in there, 489 00:26:37,838 --> 00:26:40,630 they weren't building anything of substance. 490 00:26:40,838 --> 00:26:43,297 But as we got in on the ground and we could see 491 00:26:43,422 --> 00:26:46,338 from the bottom of the trees instead of on the top, 492 00:26:46,463 --> 00:26:48,172 we realized that a lot of the things 493 00:26:48,297 --> 00:26:52,672 we mistaked for mountains were actually gigantic pyramids. 494 00:26:53,838 --> 00:26:55,338 NARRATOR: Artwork carved on the pyramids 495 00:26:55,547 --> 00:27:00,005 at El Mirador identified them as belonging to the Maya. 496 00:27:00,213 --> 00:27:04,380 La Danta, the bigger of the two, is larger in volume 497 00:27:04,547 --> 00:27:07,880 than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. 498 00:27:08,088 --> 00:27:10,588 CHEETHAM: La Danta, it's not just a pyramid, 499 00:27:10,713 --> 00:27:12,630 it's a pyramid with pyramids on top of it. 500 00:27:12,755 --> 00:27:14,922 I mean, this is a massive structure 501 00:27:15,088 --> 00:27:16,922 that's rivaling or even bigger 502 00:27:17,088 --> 00:27:21,172 than any other known Maya temple complex. 503 00:27:23,963 --> 00:27:26,838 NARRATOR: Researchers for the Mirador Archaeological Project, 504 00:27:26,963 --> 00:27:31,172 which ran from 1978 to 1983, 505 00:27:31,338 --> 00:27:32,713 were astonished to find 506 00:27:32,838 --> 00:27:34,547 such massive Maya structures 507 00:27:34,713 --> 00:27:36,880 in this remote jungle area. 508 00:27:38,797 --> 00:27:40,755 And it begged the question, 509 00:27:40,922 --> 00:27:44,672 could this be one of the oldest Maya sites ever discovered, 510 00:27:44,797 --> 00:27:48,338 built at a time when the environment was more hospitable? 511 00:27:50,380 --> 00:27:54,213 The answer would be provided by archaeologist Richard Hansen, 512 00:27:54,338 --> 00:27:56,672 who was in charge of the Tigre Complex 513 00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:59,630 in the western sector of the site. 514 00:27:59,838 --> 00:28:02,172 TSOUKALOS: In March of 1979, 515 00:28:02,338 --> 00:28:05,297 Richard Hansen was excavating a room within a structure 516 00:28:05,463 --> 00:28:07,713 called the Jaguar Paw Temple. 517 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:10,005 At the time, these structures were understood 518 00:28:10,088 --> 00:28:13,672 to be from what they call the Classic Maya period, 519 00:28:13,838 --> 00:28:17,797 which dates from about 250 AD to 900 AD. 520 00:28:17,922 --> 00:28:20,463 And that's because archaeologists didn't think 521 00:28:20,630 --> 00:28:22,797 the Maya were capable of building 522 00:28:22,963 --> 00:28:26,838 large structures like this before that time. 523 00:28:27,963 --> 00:28:30,588 But Hansen came upon ceramic artifacts 524 00:28:30,713 --> 00:28:33,422 that he immediately recognized as Chicanel, 525 00:28:33,588 --> 00:28:38,380 which means that these are artifacts from around 200 BC. 526 00:28:38,505 --> 00:28:40,422 And, of course, he was shocked. 527 00:28:40,547 --> 00:28:43,963 Richard Hansen himself said that he suddenly realized 528 00:28:44,130 --> 00:28:48,213 the whole evolutionary model for the Maya was wrong. 529 00:28:48,380 --> 00:28:51,380 And in that moment, he was the only person 530 00:28:51,547 --> 00:28:53,797 in the world who knew it. 531 00:28:54,963 --> 00:28:56,672 NARRATOR: Since Hansen's discovery, 532 00:28:56,838 --> 00:28:58,838 other scientific data has revealed 533 00:28:58,963 --> 00:29:03,172 that El Mirador dates to at least 600 BC, 534 00:29:03,380 --> 00:29:05,797 and could be even older. 535 00:29:05,963 --> 00:29:08,922 This is long before the Classic Maya era, 536 00:29:09,130 --> 00:29:12,005 which is the period when most archaeologists had believed 537 00:29:12,172 --> 00:29:15,422 the Maya started building monumental structures. 538 00:29:17,380 --> 00:29:22,005 The debate on how to subdivide Maya history 539 00:29:22,172 --> 00:29:26,338 has actually gone on for as long as we've been studying the Maya. 540 00:29:26,505 --> 00:29:29,338 But for decades, 541 00:29:29,547 --> 00:29:31,588 there was an understanding 542 00:29:31,755 --> 00:29:33,672 that, before the Classic period, 543 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:35,838 they had more humble, 544 00:29:35,963 --> 00:29:38,130 village-style living. 545 00:29:38,297 --> 00:29:40,838 CHEETHAM: It's in the last 50 years or so, 546 00:29:41,047 --> 00:29:44,005 including information from places like El Mirador, 547 00:29:44,213 --> 00:29:46,963 that we have, as archaeologists, come to both understand 548 00:29:47,130 --> 00:29:50,672 and appreciate the fact that a great civilization 549 00:29:50,755 --> 00:29:53,005 actually predates the Classic period. 550 00:29:55,255 --> 00:29:57,297 NARRATOR: For ancient astronaut theorists, 551 00:29:57,422 --> 00:30:00,797 the discoveries at El Mirador support the idea 552 00:30:01,005 --> 00:30:04,297 that the Maya stories of sky gods are, in fact, 553 00:30:04,463 --> 00:30:09,172 historical accounts of extraterrestrial visitation. 554 00:30:09,338 --> 00:30:11,797 HENRY: The Maya said that they were in contact 555 00:30:11,922 --> 00:30:14,047 with the gods and that they were given this knowledge 556 00:30:14,213 --> 00:30:17,963 directly by these extraterrestrial beings. 557 00:30:18,088 --> 00:30:20,047 And what we have discovered is the pyramids 558 00:30:20,213 --> 00:30:22,422 that were constructed, likely, to honor 559 00:30:22,588 --> 00:30:24,505 these otherworldly beings. 560 00:30:27,755 --> 00:30:30,505 NARRATOR: In 2003, 24 years 561 00:30:30,630 --> 00:30:34,630 after his first incredible discovery at El Mirador, 562 00:30:34,797 --> 00:30:38,047 Dr. Richard Hansen got the opportunity 563 00:30:38,213 --> 00:30:41,338 to conduct a survey of a much larger area of the basin 564 00:30:41,505 --> 00:30:47,172 using a sophisticated remote sensing method called lidar. 565 00:30:47,255 --> 00:30:52,172 Lidar is a laser-imaging detection and ranging device. 566 00:30:52,338 --> 00:30:55,963 It uses light in the same way a radar uses radio 567 00:30:56,130 --> 00:30:58,047 for detection and ranging. 568 00:30:58,213 --> 00:31:00,338 JUAN CARLOS FERNANDEZ-DIAZ: A compact system can be flown 569 00:31:00,547 --> 00:31:01,880 on a small airplane. 570 00:31:02,047 --> 00:31:03,505 In four to five hours, 571 00:31:03,672 --> 00:31:06,505 we can map 200 square kilometers 572 00:31:06,630 --> 00:31:07,922 at really high resolution, 573 00:31:08,088 --> 00:31:10,338 something that will take years or decades 574 00:31:10,505 --> 00:31:14,005 for a ground crew to do using traditional techniques. 575 00:31:15,047 --> 00:31:17,255 NARRATOR: Dr. Hansen spent nearly two decades 576 00:31:17,422 --> 00:31:21,047 performing his lidar survey and what he uncovered was 577 00:31:21,213 --> 00:31:24,755 that the pyramids of El Tigre and La Danta provide 578 00:31:24,963 --> 00:31:26,255 only a small glimpse 579 00:31:26,380 --> 00:31:30,172 of what is hidden in the Mirador jungle. 580 00:31:38,213 --> 00:31:41,672 NARRATOR: 19 years into the vast lidar study 581 00:31:41,838 --> 00:31:44,630 of the Mirador Basin, Dr. Richard Hansen 582 00:31:44,797 --> 00:31:48,588 and his archaeological team announce their findings. 583 00:31:49,797 --> 00:31:52,505 Incredibly, lidar surveys covering 584 00:31:52,713 --> 00:31:55,213 1.6 million acres of the jungle 585 00:31:55,380 --> 00:31:59,547 have revealed nearly 1,000 ancient Maya settlements 586 00:31:59,713 --> 00:32:01,672 including houses, palaces 587 00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:04,338 and colossal pyramids. 588 00:32:04,505 --> 00:32:06,505 And they are believed to date back 589 00:32:06,713 --> 00:32:08,963 at least 3,000 years-- 590 00:32:09,088 --> 00:32:12,047 long before the height of the Maya civilization. 591 00:32:14,047 --> 00:32:15,880 CHEETHAM: These are some of the largest buildings 592 00:32:16,047 --> 00:32:17,797 that were ever made by the Maya. 593 00:32:17,963 --> 00:32:19,588 Some of these buildings include 594 00:32:19,797 --> 00:32:21,672 things like ball courts, 595 00:32:21,797 --> 00:32:24,172 temple structures, palace structures, 596 00:32:24,338 --> 00:32:27,838 residential compounds, plaza groups. 597 00:32:27,963 --> 00:32:29,422 It boggles the mind. 598 00:32:30,547 --> 00:32:34,005 TAYLOR: What's amazing is we've found what seems to be 599 00:32:34,172 --> 00:32:36,005 an entire civilization 600 00:32:36,172 --> 00:32:38,672 that's rival of the Egyptian civilization 601 00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:40,338 that the Mayans had built 602 00:32:40,547 --> 00:32:41,588 a long time ago 603 00:32:41,713 --> 00:32:42,838 we never knew were there. 604 00:32:43,047 --> 00:32:44,172 There are pyramids there 605 00:32:44,297 --> 00:32:46,380 that rival the pyramids in Egypt. 606 00:32:48,713 --> 00:32:52,963 NARRATOR: The results of the lidar study established the pre-Classic Maya 607 00:32:53,130 --> 00:32:54,713 as being just as advanced 608 00:32:54,922 --> 00:32:56,755 as other great early civilizations 609 00:32:56,922 --> 00:32:58,880 like the Egyptians 610 00:32:59,047 --> 00:33:01,255 and the Greeks. 611 00:33:02,213 --> 00:33:04,130 And archaeologists were astounded 612 00:33:04,297 --> 00:33:06,880 by how much the Maya built. 613 00:33:07,047 --> 00:33:09,672 The data revealed that hidden within the jungles 614 00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:11,172 of the Mirador Basin 615 00:33:11,380 --> 00:33:15,380 are more than 110,000 ancient structures. 616 00:33:16,547 --> 00:33:18,005 Archaeologists realize 617 00:33:18,213 --> 00:33:20,047 that this area was at one time 618 00:33:20,213 --> 00:33:22,213 densely populated. 619 00:33:22,380 --> 00:33:26,005 And they built huge pyramid cities. 620 00:33:26,213 --> 00:33:27,880 There were hundreds of thousands, 621 00:33:28,088 --> 00:33:31,255 if not even millions of people living there. 622 00:33:31,422 --> 00:33:34,130 FERNANDEZ-DIAZ: It's really awesome when we can go 623 00:33:34,297 --> 00:33:37,588 and find a city that's unknown to modern science. 624 00:33:37,755 --> 00:33:38,838 I mean, that's incredible. 625 00:33:39,005 --> 00:33:41,005 And for me, some of the, 626 00:33:41,130 --> 00:33:42,005 like, really cool things, 627 00:33:42,213 --> 00:33:43,672 it's actually being able 628 00:33:43,838 --> 00:33:46,838 to see features that remind us that the Maya were 629 00:33:46,963 --> 00:33:48,172 just like you and I. 630 00:33:49,213 --> 00:33:51,505 And being able to see stuff like a market. 631 00:33:51,713 --> 00:33:53,005 I mean, we think about pyramids 632 00:33:53,213 --> 00:33:54,880 and, like, temples and stuff like that, 633 00:33:55,047 --> 00:33:56,630 but finding some structures 634 00:33:56,755 --> 00:33:58,297 that archaeologists interpret to be a market 635 00:33:58,422 --> 00:34:00,338 where people came from different places 636 00:34:00,505 --> 00:34:03,547 to exchange goods and services, that's amazing. 637 00:34:07,005 --> 00:34:09,005 NARRATOR: Dr. Hansen's lidar survey 638 00:34:09,213 --> 00:34:12,172 produced one incredible revelation after another. 639 00:34:14,255 --> 00:34:16,838 But for archaeologists, the most astonishing of all 640 00:34:17,005 --> 00:34:19,880 was an elaborate network of causeways 641 00:34:20,047 --> 00:34:21,672 or elevated roads. 642 00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:25,672 HENRY: El Mirador had these elevated causeways-- 643 00:34:25,838 --> 00:34:27,130 superhighways is the way 644 00:34:27,255 --> 00:34:29,255 the archaeologists described them-- 645 00:34:29,422 --> 00:34:32,505 and they were actually also covered with white plaster 646 00:34:32,630 --> 00:34:35,255 so that they would reflect the light of the moon 647 00:34:35,463 --> 00:34:38,713 so that then they could travel during the-the nighttime hours. 648 00:34:40,213 --> 00:34:42,588 These ancient Maya causeways are considered 649 00:34:42,755 --> 00:34:45,463 more sophisticated than those of other civilizations 650 00:34:45,547 --> 00:34:48,672 of the time, like the Greeks and Romans 651 00:34:48,838 --> 00:34:52,547 due to the fact that they were elevated over many miles. 652 00:34:53,797 --> 00:34:55,505 FERNANDEZ-DIAZ: The longest causeway that we know 653 00:34:55,672 --> 00:34:58,255 is over a hundred kilometers long. 654 00:34:58,380 --> 00:35:00,297 The largest portion of the causeway connects 655 00:35:00,463 --> 00:35:03,005 the site of Mirador to other sites. 656 00:35:03,172 --> 00:35:05,588 Some of these causeways were the size 657 00:35:05,797 --> 00:35:07,838 of a four-lane highway. 658 00:35:08,005 --> 00:35:12,005 They are probably between two and five meters in elevation 659 00:35:12,172 --> 00:35:14,005 with relationship to the lowlands. 660 00:35:14,213 --> 00:35:16,797 So it was a massive undertaking. 661 00:35:17,963 --> 00:35:20,963 Name another city in 1000 BC 662 00:35:21,130 --> 00:35:23,172 that had elevated roadways 663 00:35:23,380 --> 00:35:26,130 that are as wide as a four-lane highway. 664 00:35:26,255 --> 00:35:27,505 There is none. 665 00:35:29,047 --> 00:35:32,755 NARRATOR: The discoveries that continue to be made in the Mirador Basin 666 00:35:32,963 --> 00:35:36,255 are completely upending our understanding of the Maya, 667 00:35:36,422 --> 00:35:38,380 and present new questions 668 00:35:38,547 --> 00:35:41,255 as to how this sophisticated culture 669 00:35:41,380 --> 00:35:45,797 emerged seemingly out of nowhere more than 3,000 years ago. 670 00:35:47,047 --> 00:35:48,922 What we have discovered right there 671 00:35:49,047 --> 00:35:51,963 is a lost chapter 672 00:35:52,047 --> 00:35:53,255 of human history. 673 00:35:53,463 --> 00:35:56,213 Because they now determined 674 00:35:56,380 --> 00:36:01,047 that even a thousand years before the Classical Maya period 675 00:36:01,213 --> 00:36:04,380 they had an entire network of roads 676 00:36:04,547 --> 00:36:07,547 with buildings, with structures. 677 00:36:07,713 --> 00:36:09,755 I mean, my mind is blown 678 00:36:09,922 --> 00:36:15,588 because this is a complete rewriting of Maya history. 679 00:36:16,672 --> 00:36:18,505 HENRY: We have a whole new scenario here. 680 00:36:18,713 --> 00:36:22,838 The evolutionary theory of how the Maya came along 681 00:36:23,005 --> 00:36:24,297 is wrong. 682 00:36:24,422 --> 00:36:26,797 It's completely upset by this discovery. 683 00:36:28,380 --> 00:36:31,130 NARRATOR: How is it that the early Maya developed 684 00:36:31,297 --> 00:36:33,130 sophisticated cities and structures 685 00:36:33,255 --> 00:36:35,297 at a time when it is thought 686 00:36:35,505 --> 00:36:38,047 the entire North American continent was 687 00:36:38,213 --> 00:36:40,963 populated by primitive nomadic people? 688 00:36:41,963 --> 00:36:45,797 Could it be that the Maya creation story is, in fact, 689 00:36:45,963 --> 00:36:49,880 a historical account of extraterrestrial visitation? 690 00:36:52,338 --> 00:36:56,172 Ancient astronaut theorists say yes and suggest 691 00:36:56,338 --> 00:36:58,005 further evidence can be found 692 00:36:58,172 --> 00:37:00,338 by examining the Maya's connection 693 00:37:00,422 --> 00:37:03,213 with the Pleiades star cluster. 694 00:37:07,797 --> 00:37:10,838 NARRATOR: Located over 400 light-years from Earth, 695 00:37:11,047 --> 00:37:13,172 near the constellation of Taurus, 696 00:37:13,380 --> 00:37:16,505 is a star cluster known as the Pleiades. 697 00:37:16,713 --> 00:37:19,963 It is commonly recognized as seven bright stars 698 00:37:20,047 --> 00:37:22,422 referred to as the Seven Sisters. 699 00:37:23,463 --> 00:37:26,838 But there are, in fact, around 3,000 stars 700 00:37:26,963 --> 00:37:28,672 in the Pleiades star cluster. 701 00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:32,297 This area of the night sky held great significance 702 00:37:32,422 --> 00:37:34,380 for the Maya civilization. 703 00:37:36,755 --> 00:37:39,630 COLLINS: The Maya themselves associate 704 00:37:39,797 --> 00:37:42,505 the celestial beings that had contact 705 00:37:42,630 --> 00:37:47,338 with their own ancestors with the Pleiades constellation. 706 00:37:47,463 --> 00:37:49,130 In more recent years, 707 00:37:49,255 --> 00:37:52,047 this has come through the work 708 00:37:52,172 --> 00:37:53,505 and the teachings 709 00:37:53,713 --> 00:37:56,672 of a writer and researcher 710 00:37:56,797 --> 00:38:00,172 by the name of José Argüelles, 711 00:38:00,338 --> 00:38:02,463 who during the 1970s 712 00:38:02,630 --> 00:38:05,838 spent a long time in the Maya lands, 713 00:38:05,922 --> 00:38:07,838 having his own experiences 714 00:38:08,005 --> 00:38:10,338 talking to the Maya themselves, 715 00:38:10,505 --> 00:38:12,422 and coming to the conclusion 716 00:38:12,588 --> 00:38:16,463 that the founders of the Mayan civilization were, 717 00:38:16,588 --> 00:38:20,672 in fact, star beings that had come down in the distant past. 718 00:38:21,713 --> 00:38:24,838 That had given the Maya the knowledge and wisdom 719 00:38:25,005 --> 00:38:28,963 to create the foundations of their civilization. 720 00:38:33,005 --> 00:38:35,380 NARRATOR: Could it be that the Maya identify 721 00:38:35,547 --> 00:38:37,588 the Pleiades as the home of the gods 722 00:38:37,755 --> 00:38:40,005 because this was told to their ancestors 723 00:38:40,213 --> 00:38:42,588 by extraterrestrial visitors? 724 00:38:44,547 --> 00:38:48,088 As far as ancient astronaut theorists are concerned, 725 00:38:48,255 --> 00:38:50,338 that question was answered by the recent 726 00:38:50,505 --> 00:38:52,963 lidar studies at El Mirador. 727 00:38:54,005 --> 00:38:57,088 Because what they revealed is that, incredibly, 728 00:38:57,297 --> 00:38:59,338 the ancient structures of El Mirador 729 00:38:59,547 --> 00:39:02,213 appear to have been intentionally positioned 730 00:39:02,380 --> 00:39:05,755 to mirror the seven brightest stars of the Pleiades. 731 00:39:05,963 --> 00:39:10,463 Some archaeologists have suggested that El Mirador is 732 00:39:10,630 --> 00:39:12,338 aligned with the Pleiades 733 00:39:12,547 --> 00:39:15,797 and that the pyramids and other structures there 734 00:39:15,922 --> 00:39:19,672 are actually recreating the Pleiades star system 735 00:39:19,838 --> 00:39:22,838 on the grounds in the El Mirador basin. 736 00:39:23,880 --> 00:39:26,880 TSOUKALOS: In my opinion, those structures are 737 00:39:27,047 --> 00:39:30,880 calling cards of our visitors long ago. 738 00:39:31,922 --> 00:39:36,005 NARRATOR: Does the layout of El Mirador provide the ultimate proof 739 00:39:36,213 --> 00:39:38,380 that Maya society was the product 740 00:39:38,547 --> 00:39:40,505 of extraterrestrial intervention? 741 00:39:42,213 --> 00:39:44,297 While ancient astronaut theorists find 742 00:39:44,463 --> 00:39:46,338 this possibility intriguing, 743 00:39:46,463 --> 00:39:48,838 they believe even more profound discoveries 744 00:39:49,047 --> 00:39:51,088 are yet to be made. 745 00:39:51,213 --> 00:39:54,088 BARNHART: The things that we've actually been able to excavate, 746 00:39:54,213 --> 00:39:56,005 it's just a fraction, 747 00:39:56,213 --> 00:39:59,505 a sub-percent of what's actually 748 00:39:59,672 --> 00:40:01,380 out there to see. 749 00:40:02,505 --> 00:40:04,922 I can say with confidence that we have dug 750 00:40:05,047 --> 00:40:08,588 less than one percent of the Maya world. 751 00:40:08,713 --> 00:40:12,547 Even in cities we know well, like Palenque for example, 752 00:40:12,713 --> 00:40:14,463 I made a map of Palenque. 753 00:40:14,630 --> 00:40:18,005 I mapped almost 1,500 buildings. 754 00:40:18,213 --> 00:40:20,505 We've excavated 33. 755 00:40:20,630 --> 00:40:22,547 And that's a well-known city. 756 00:40:23,463 --> 00:40:26,255 We have barely begun to scratch 757 00:40:26,380 --> 00:40:27,838 the surface of what's still remaining 758 00:40:28,047 --> 00:40:29,505 of ancient Maya society. 759 00:40:30,463 --> 00:40:32,588 CHEETHAM: As a tourist or an archaeologist going 760 00:40:32,797 --> 00:40:34,297 into the Maya lowland, 761 00:40:34,380 --> 00:40:36,047 it's quite remarkable to see 762 00:40:36,213 --> 00:40:39,172 pyramids sticking out of the canopy of the jungle. 763 00:40:39,297 --> 00:40:40,797 And you're tempted to think, 764 00:40:40,963 --> 00:40:43,130 "Well, wow, there must be thousands of sites 765 00:40:43,297 --> 00:40:45,630 that are remaining to be discovered." 766 00:40:47,047 --> 00:40:50,838 HENRY: When we look at what is happening in Maya country now, 767 00:40:50,963 --> 00:40:55,672 it's a resurgence of a civilization long lost, 768 00:40:55,797 --> 00:40:58,213 but that is truly among the most magnificent 769 00:40:58,380 --> 00:41:00,463 in all human history. 770 00:41:00,630 --> 00:41:02,297 The modern Maya have to be 771 00:41:02,463 --> 00:41:03,880 incredibly proud of this. 772 00:41:04,047 --> 00:41:05,088 This is their lineage. 773 00:41:05,213 --> 00:41:06,672 This is their ancestors 774 00:41:06,838 --> 00:41:08,838 that built these magnificent cities 775 00:41:09,047 --> 00:41:12,547 that are now being unveiled and uncovered. 776 00:41:13,588 --> 00:41:15,463 I think what we're gonna be finding here is 777 00:41:15,588 --> 00:41:18,505 some incredible new discoveries among the Maya. 778 00:41:18,672 --> 00:41:20,838 And it's ultimately gonna point to the Pleiades 779 00:41:21,005 --> 00:41:23,672 and extraterrestrials as the ones that were 780 00:41:23,838 --> 00:41:26,588 the teachers of this civilization. 781 00:41:27,963 --> 00:41:31,463 NARRATOR: Could the lost cities of the Mirador Basin-- 782 00:41:31,630 --> 00:41:34,505 that archaeologists are only now beginning to explore-- 783 00:41:34,713 --> 00:41:37,463 hold incredible new evidence about, 784 00:41:37,630 --> 00:41:39,338 not only the Maya 785 00:41:39,505 --> 00:41:42,630 but the origins of human civilization? 786 00:41:43,755 --> 00:41:47,047 Are the jungles of Central America hiding 787 00:41:47,213 --> 00:41:50,172 the ultimate proof of ancient alien visitation? 788 00:41:51,380 --> 00:41:53,297 Perhaps as we continue to unravel 789 00:41:53,380 --> 00:41:55,047 the mysteries of the Maya, 790 00:41:55,213 --> 00:41:59,005 we will learn that their stories of sky gods are, 791 00:41:59,172 --> 00:42:01,422 in fact, historical accounts 792 00:42:01,588 --> 00:42:04,880 of our extraterrestrial past. 793 00:42:05,005 --> 00:42:07,922 CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY A+E NETWORKS