1
00:00:01,640 --> 00:00:03,120
NARRATOR: In Mexico,

2
00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:06,960
archaeological studies of Maya cities
continue to reveal secrets

3
00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:10,240
about the history and culture
of the people who built them

4
00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:12,480
and live there.

5
00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:17,280
There are constant new discoveries
being made in the Maya area.

6
00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,040
And really, of the sites
that we've found,

7
00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:21,160
we've only excavated 5 per cent.

8
00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:23,680
In the north
of the Yucatan Peninsula,

9
00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:26,800
the cities of Tulum, Mayapan and Coba

10
00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:29,880
saw the end of the golden age
of a civilisation

11
00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:33,600
that was among the most advanced
in the New World.

12
00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,280
One of the things that the ancient
Maya are best known for

13
00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:37,520
is their work as astronomers.

14
00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:48,480
From the year 900 of our era,

15
00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:50,480
the Maya experienced a period

16
00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:53,120
of flourishing cultural
and commercial exchanges

17
00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:55,040
with all of Mesoamerica.

18
00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:59,040
Their edifices, from the more modest
to the most imposing,

19
00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:00,760
continued to evolve,

20
00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:03,040
displaying the skills
of Maya builders

21
00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:05,200
and the political power of kings

22
00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:07,880
who commissioned
such monumental works.

23
00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:22,520
The analysis of these structures
allowed archaeologists to identify

24
00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:25,080
the materials and techniques used.

25
00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:27,440
From the layout
of the corbelled vaults

26
00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:30,960
to the system of imbrication
and piling of the edifices,

27
00:01:30,960 --> 00:01:35,680
the experts have pierced all
the mysteries of Maya architecture.

28
00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:40,720
Political lords had subjects
who owed them corvee service

29
00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:42,840
as a form of taxation,

30
00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:45,960
so periodically Maya pyramids

31
00:01:45,960 --> 00:01:48,040
would get
another construction phase.

32
00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:53,520
Today, technological innovations such
as photogrammetry and LiDAR records

33
00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:55,400
can reveal what is invisible

34
00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,760
to understand how the Maya societies
functioned, and to take

35
00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:03,440
into consideration the full extent
of their great capitals.

36
00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:16,960
Maya civilisation is as fascinating
as it is intriguing.

37
00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:20,040
Ahead of its time
in many scientific fields,

38
00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:25,240
it was also filled with ancestral
beliefs and occult rituals.

39
00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:28,680
So they'll punch holes in their
earlobe or through their nose.

40
00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:30,360
And that royal blood

41
00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:33,160
was categorically different
than commoner blood.

42
00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:35,640
What did Tulum, Mayapan and Coba

43
00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:38,840
tell us about the last hours
of the Maya era?

44
00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:42,360
From the Caribbean coast
to the heart of the Yucatan jungle,

45
00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:45,760
let's take a look back
over a thousand years ago

46
00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:49,480
at the discovery
of the last Maya cities.

47
00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:59,120
Central America is the cradle
of Maya civilisation,

48
00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:03,200
and the Yucatan Peninsula,
located in the south of Mexico,

49
00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:06,800
can be viewed as the recipient
of its last hours.

50
00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:09,600
Bordered by the Gulf of Mexico
to the north

51
00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:11,840
and the Caribbean Sea to the east,

52
00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:16,800
it spans over 300km long
and 250km wide

53
00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:20,520
for a surface area
of around 70,000 square kilometres,

54
00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:23,600
which is similar to the size
of a country like Ireland.

55
00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:25,440
At the tip of this peninsula,

56
00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:28,640
three cities experienced
the end of the Maya era.

57
00:03:28,640 --> 00:03:32,240
Coba, which was a major
cultural and religious site

58
00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,120
until the Spanish conquistadors
arrived.

59
00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:39,120
Mayapan, the last great
Mayan capital.

60
00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:43,560
And Tulum, considered
as the very last inhabited city

61
00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:46,920
since it was only deserted
in the 16th century.

62
00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:50,120
With different scopes and functions,

63
00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:54,120
these three cities shared the fact
that they all experienced the fall

64
00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:56,960
of a civilisation that was among
the most renowned

65
00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:58,840
and oldest of America.

66
00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:02,160
Famed for their skills and knowledge
in many different fields

67
00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:07,120
such as astronomy, mathematics,
agriculture and art in all its forms,

68
00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:09,640
the ancient Maya
remain a fascinating people

69
00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:12,000
in every respect.

70
00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:15,680
The field of Maya archaeology
continues to capture the public

71
00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:17,720
as well as academic interest,

72
00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:19,920
primarily because it was

73
00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:23,560
one of the most literate
civilisations in the New World,

74
00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:25,760
with their own writing system.

75
00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:01,160
The Maya era
lasted around 3,500 years,

76
00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:04,960
divided into three great periods.

77
00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:08,360
The first period,
known as the Preclassic one,

78
00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:12,480
which spreads from 2000 BC to 250 AD,

79
00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:15,360
when the Maya population
became sedentary

80
00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:20,320
and founded their first
great cities around 1000 BC.

81
00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:24,400
The second period of time
is the so-called Classic era,

82
00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:27,040
the apex of the Maya civilisation.

83
00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:31,120
It spans from 250 to 900 AD,

84
00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,560
and saw the imposing cities
like Tikal and Palenque

85
00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:37,080
rise and disappear.

86
00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:39,800
Lastly, the Postclassic period,

87
00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:42,520
from 900 to 1500 AD.

88
00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:47,240
This marks a shift for the Maya,
who migrated towards Yucatan.

89
00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:51,680
It was during this time
that they founded Tulum and Mayapan,

90
00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:54,280
which was their last great capital.

91
00:05:54,280 --> 00:05:58,720
The Maya were a people of builders,
craftsmen and merchants,

92
00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:00,880
but above all, farmers.

93
00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:04,640
Throughout their history,
they chose to settle on land

94
00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:09,880
where maize farming was favoured by
fertile land and regular rainfall.

95
00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:13,200
This is how, until the
Classic period, the Maya settled

96
00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:16,320
on a territory that spanned
over the current countries

97
00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:21,640
of Guatemala, Honduras,
El Salvador, Belize and Mexico.

98
00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:26,920
All of this land added up to about
310,000 square kilometres,

99
00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:31,440
which is a surface area
comparable to that of current Italy.

100
00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:34,920
But at the end of the Classic period
in the southern lowlands

101
00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:37,520
at around the 900s AD,

102
00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:40,560
the number of political centres
collapse.

103
00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:42,200
What actually happens is,

104
00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:47,440
there's a period of probably
drought-driven social disruption

105
00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,840
in one particular portion
of the Maya area,

106
00:06:50,840 --> 00:06:54,440
because when people can't eat,
they overthrow their rulerships,

107
00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,440
they throw them out
and they move out.

108
00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:00,480
And what we see
is a rise of settlements

109
00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:01,680
toward the coastal zones

110
00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:07,160
and in northern Yucatan
between 900 and 1000 AD.

111
00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:11,160
Fleeing from bad crops
and shortages,

112
00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:14,560
the Maya migrated massively
towards Yucatan,

113
00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:18,680
a region which they very soon viewed
as a real El Dorado.

114
00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:45,880
There are approximately
7,500 cenotes in Yucatan.

115
00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:51,000
These inexhaustible, drinkable water
sources are the main reason why

116
00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:54,800
the Maya settled in Yucatan
during the Postclassic period.

117
00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:56,680
On this vast peninsula,

118
00:07:56,680 --> 00:08:00,240
the ultimate traces of the Maya era
remain today,

119
00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:06,280
vestiges of the last inhabited cities
like Coba, Mayapan and Tulum.

120
00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:09,840
Situated on the east coast
of the Yucatan Peninsula,

121
00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:13,120
130km to the south of Cancun,

122
00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:16,680
Tulum is an unmissable
archaeological site today

123
00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:19,360
for tourists from all over the world.

124
00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:23,560
Its closeness to the sea
has made it famous both nowadays

125
00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:26,320
and during the Postclassic
Maya period.

126
00:08:56,160 --> 00:09:01,800
Perched at 12m of altitude on its
impressive white limestone cliff,

127
00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:05,520
the heart of the city of Tulum
is laid out on a rectangular space

128
00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:12,120
of 380m from north to south
and 170m from east to west.

129
00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:17,640
Its total surface area is a little
less than 65,000 square metres,

130
00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:20,320
the equivalent
to eight soccer fields.

131
00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:40,680
Indeed, Tulum was only abandoned
at the end of the 16th century.

132
00:09:40,680 --> 00:09:44,560
Built during the Postclassic period
around 1200 AD,

133
00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:47,760
the city quickly rose
as a strategic place,

134
00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:51,800
open onto the world and displaying
great cultural diversity.

135
00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:55,920
Its architecture draws inspiration

136
00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:58,440
from other
pre-Columbian civilisations

137
00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:00,560
contemporary of the Maya,

138
00:10:00,560 --> 00:10:03,240
such as the Zapotecs, the Mixtecs,

139
00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:06,280
the Toltecs and the Aztecs.

140
00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:08,800
These people from central Mexico,

141
00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:11,480
although almost 1,500km away,

142
00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:14,920
regularly interacted with the Maya
from Yucatan.

143
00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:36,440
Among the architectural codes shared
with the Toltecs, for instance,

144
00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:40,840
we can see in Tulum many alcoves
decorated with bas-relief,

145
00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:43,520
or these so-called serpentine columns

146
00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:46,440
that highlight the entrance
to the main temple.

147
00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:50,440
The influence on the architecture
of Tulum is certainly part

148
00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:52,240
of an interaction sphere.

149
00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:58,360
This wide world of commerce
and exchange of ideology,

150
00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:01,400
of elite traders
communicating with one another,

151
00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:02,800
they were outward looking.

152
00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:05,400
They had an international
perspective.

153
00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:10,160
This open-mindedness can also be seen
in the adoption of shared gods,

154
00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:14,200
the most obvious example of which
is the feathered serpent god,

155
00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:17,400
divinity of resurrection
and reincarnation

156
00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:21,080
originally worshipped by the people
of central Mexico.

157
00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:26,320
The Maya made it their creator god,
going by the name of Kukulkan.

158
00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:30,200
But the choice of adopting
a so-called international religion

159
00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:33,480
also concealed
a more materialistic goal.

160
00:11:56,600 --> 00:12:00,120
The port of Tulum
was a hub for trade by the sea.

161
00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:04,760
For the great cities located inland,

162
00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:10,400
this was the gateway for goods
such as ceramics, jade and obsidian,

163
00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:13,600
a volcanic rock
essential to produce stone tools.

164
00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:19,520
In exchange, the Yucatan Maya
exported their salt,

165
00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:22,040
cocoa and honey.

166
00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:25,800
Before reaching Tulum, all
of these goods were painstakingly

167
00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:30,200
transported by men on their backs
along paved stone tracks

168
00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:33,920
typical of Maya architecture
called 'sacbeob'.

169
00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:40,320
All over Yucatan, these paved roads
formed a huge network that connected

170
00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:43,800
the great Maya cities
between one another.

171
00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:47,520
Tulum was one of the final
destinations of these terrestrial

172
00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:50,880
trade ways that crossed
the territory inland.

173
00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:52,000
From this port,

174
00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:56,320
the goods then travelled by sea
towards the north or the south

175
00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:59,440
to join the coastal cities
of the Gulf of Mexico

176
00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:02,600
or those of the
Central American Plateau.

177
00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:05,040
These maritime ways enabled cities

178
00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:07,840
separated by enemy regions and tribes

179
00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:10,440
to trade without having to go through

180
00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:12,080
hostile territories.

181
00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:17,400
And I think what is the biggest
benefit to coastal trade

182
00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:23,320
is that you can simply move
much, much heavier burdens by water,

183
00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:24,720
by canoe.

184
00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:29,480
You could move much larger loads
of goods much larger distances

185
00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:33,080
for less labour investment,
and faster.

186
00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:36,600
As such, Tulum was
an essential strategic ally

187
00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:39,200
for the great Maya cities in Yucatan.

188
00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:42,800
In that respect, the city
was very quickly considered

189
00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:45,120
as a true fortress of tradesmen.

190
00:13:56,880 --> 00:14:00,760
Tulum is one of the few
fortified Maya cities.

191
00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:03,960
To protect the main buildings
of the city,

192
00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:08,760
all gathered inside
a 65,000-square-metre quadrilateral,

193
00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:11,760
a gigantic stone wall
was built around it.

194
00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:15,880
Its walls were 3m thick
and about 6m tall.

195
00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:19,880
They only spanned across three sides
of the quadrilateral,

196
00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:23,720
the fourth wall of the fortress
being the limestone cliff,

197
00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:29,920
that towered at 12m high, creating
a natural wall on the sea side.

198
00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:34,200
All along the fortification
there was a rampart wall

199
00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:37,320
and what seemed to be watchtowers.

200
00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:40,840
The wall at Tulum restricts access
to the central precinct

201
00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:44,920
where the elites lived, and
this was probably its primary goal.

202
00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:47,520
But there certainly would
have been probably guards

203
00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:49,480
and controlled entry ports.

204
00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:54,560
If there are markets that are taking
place inside the central precinct,

205
00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:58,320
one way that you can tax goods
that are being distributed

206
00:14:58,320 --> 00:14:59,680
through that market system

207
00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:02,960
is to be able to control
the movement of those goods

208
00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:05,440
through the various gates
and that was a checkpoint.

209
00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:07,040
So these walls are complicated.

210
00:15:07,040 --> 00:15:09,480
They have a lot
of potential functions.

211
00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:11,240
To go through this wall,

212
00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:14,640
rare openings
were created in the fortification.

213
00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:19,400
These were decorated with particular
vaults known as corbelled ones,

214
00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:22,640
more commonly known as false arches.

215
00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:38,240
If people are talking about sort of
a false vault versus a true vault,

216
00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:40,480
the distinction
is the corbelled arch

217
00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:43,000
versus the rounded Roman-style arch.

218
00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:46,720
Classic vaults were generally built
in semicircles

219
00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:50,680
with stones carved
into a truncated pyramid shape.

220
00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:54,960
This layout allowed the weight
of the construction to be redirected

221
00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:57,040
towards the adjacent walls.

222
00:15:57,040 --> 00:15:59,680
The vault
thus ensured great stability

223
00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:02,120
to the edifice it supported.

224
00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:04,680
Maya vaults, corbelled arches,

225
00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:07,200
did not have this semicircle shape.

226
00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:09,360
They were built with blocks of stone

227
00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:11,120
stacked on top of each other,

228
00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:14,200
and slightly shifted
so that the top foundation

229
00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:18,160
was systematically overhanging
over the lower base.

230
00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:21,680
The assembly was simpler,

231
00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:23,480
as they didn't use wooden supports

232
00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:25,400
to withhold the edifice.

233
00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:26,440
At the top,

234
00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:31,360
one last flat stone rested on
both piles that grew closer together,

235
00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:33,920
thus creating the final cover.

236
00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:36,640
The forces
were directed vertically here

237
00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:40,120
and weren't redirected
towards the side walls.

238
00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:42,040
To avoid any instability,

239
00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:46,240
the corbelled vault could only
cover much narrower openings

240
00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:49,000
than those opened
by semicircle vaults.

241
00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:54,520
So what you have is a very narrow
room, and if you need more internal

242
00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:58,120
space, you make another arch next
to that, another arch next to that,

243
00:16:58,120 --> 00:16:59,720
another arch next to that.

244
00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:03,520
And you can build a series
of rooms that way.

245
00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:07,960
These narrow and dark inside spaces
were not an issue for the Maya.

246
00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:11,880
In fact, they were in perfect harmony
with their religion,

247
00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:15,520
for their temples
are the houses of gods.

248
00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:26,120
These were sacred places,

249
00:17:26,120 --> 00:17:29,480
and they weren't intended
for public view.

250
00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:33,240
They were meant for the restricted
and privileged few,

251
00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:36,760
for lords undergoing initiation
ceremonies,

252
00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:39,400
or conjuring of ancestors

253
00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:43,800
or other kinds of communicative
rituals with deities.

254
00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:49,160
Maya temples display relatively
modest and narrow interior designs.

255
00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:52,960
This applies to the main building
in Tulum, El Castillo.

256
00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:56,440
The temple positioned at the top

257
00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:59,120
contains only two confined
vaulted rooms,

258
00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:01,760
two little dormers
at the back of the building,

259
00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:05,920
and three openings on the facade
separated by two columns.

260
00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:11,120
From the outside,
El Castillo remains monumental,

261
00:18:11,120 --> 00:18:15,200
culminating
at 24m above the Caribbean Sea.

262
00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:47,960
El Castillo also served
as a landmark for Maya navigators

263
00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:51,240
who wanted to gain access
to the harbour of Tulum.

264
00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:55,920
As such, it had to be built
as high up as possible on the cliff.

265
00:18:55,920 --> 00:19:00,640
Over the centuries, its architecture
evolved as the city grew prosperous

266
00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:02,560
and unavoidable,

267
00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:04,320
for, at the beginning, El Castillo

268
00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:08,800
was just a small religious building
of very modest proportions.

269
00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:44,560
Originally, El Castillo in Tulum
was already 25m wide,

270
00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:47,920
but it didn't go much higher
than eight metres.

271
00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:53,760
To raise it, the builders added
contention walls in the centre

272
00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:57,160
and an inclined abutment plane
at the rear.

273
00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:02,480
These additions filled in
the central part of the old temple

274
00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:07,480
with stone and earth to ensure solid
foundations for the extra height.

275
00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:14,680
On this base, the new construction
rose up to around 12m high,

276
00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:17,760
adorned with a stairway
of about 20 or so steps

277
00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:21,800
leading to the sacred part,
the temple at the summit.

278
00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:26,280
The edifice, decorated with bright
colours and numerous sculptures,

279
00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:28,880
adopted monumental architecture.

280
00:20:31,120 --> 00:20:32,480
Facing the temple,

281
00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:37,120
a square-shaped platform
of about 10 metres was also built,

282
00:20:37,120 --> 00:20:40,800
probably to host dances
and religious rituals.

283
00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:16,800
Due to this sometimes hostile
coastal climate,

284
00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:20,640
edifices were often positioned
with their backs to the sea,

285
00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:23,680
with only a few openings
on the eastern facade.

286
00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:26,880
Another characteristic
of the east coast style

287
00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:28,920
is its particular aesthetics.

288
00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:33,480
Many walls were intentionally
inclined towards the outside,

289
00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:35,960
giving the building a trapezoid shape

290
00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:38,080
whose flat roofs were decorated

291
00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:41,640
with alcoves, sculptures,
and mouldings.

292
00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:46,440
The east coast also really embraced
the mural tradition.

293
00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:50,200
So it's another frustrating thing
about the east coast centres

294
00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:55,520
is that the murals have not survived
well in the tropical environment,

295
00:21:55,520 --> 00:22:00,280
but they would have been
resplendently painted and decorated.

296
00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:05,520
If Tulum displays
a rather sober style, it is probably

297
00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:08,720
because the city was not really
a centre of power,

298
00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:13,400
but a fishing port
and a city of merchants above all.

299
00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:17,160
Its style contrasts sharply
with the one found inland.

300
00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:20,520
In the central part of the peninsula,

301
00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:26,240
the great political capitals used
architecture to display their power.

302
00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:28,000
In Mayapan, for example,

303
00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:32,440
a monument characterises in itself
the ambition of the city.

304
00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:35,480
This is the pyramid of Kukulkan.

305
00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:39,400
With its square base
of around 30m on each side,

306
00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:41,920
it towers up to 15m high,

307
00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:45,320
which is the equivalent
of a five-floor building.

308
00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:51,320
In 1150 AD, the Maya founded a new
capital around this majestic edifice,

309
00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:56,240
whose political system contrasted
radically with the previous periods.

310
00:22:56,240 --> 00:23:00,080
And the goal of the Mayapan elites
are to form essentially

311
00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:03,600
a confederacy, where they are
bringing the elites from sites

312
00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:05,880
all over the Yucatan Peninsula.

313
00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:08,840
You can think of it
as a council of rulers

314
00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:12,080
who were themselves
kings in their own city states.

315
00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:48,000
We also have a mat symbol
woven into the bench

316
00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:50,560
that runs the length
of the council house.

317
00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:55,080
The mat symbol is a symbol
of Maya royalty, of Maya rulership.

318
00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:57,960
This collegial government

319
00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:01,360
made the cult of the feathered
serpent god persist.

320
00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:05,440
The great pyramid
is a temple devoted to Kukulkan.

321
00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:11,280
Kukulkan was associated
with prosperity and jewels

322
00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:14,120
and wealth, so merchants loved him,

323
00:24:14,120 --> 00:24:17,920
and he was conceived of as a founder

324
00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:22,280
of many Maya political centres
throughout Mesoamerica.

325
00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:24,250
And so he's a hero.

326
00:24:24,250 --> 00:24:28,840
The Temple of Kukulkan is not
a revolution of Maya architecture

327
00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:30,840
or of its dimensions,

328
00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:34,840
but it bears testimony to the skills
of Maya builders.

329
00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:39,400
Here they used building processes
proper to their civilisation,

330
00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:43,640
which allowed them to erect pyramids
up to several dozen metres

331
00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:45,480
in record timing.

332
00:24:56,040 --> 00:25:01,040
Political lords had subjects
who owed them corvee service,

333
00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:05,120
or obligatory service,
as a form of taxation.

334
00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:25,120
The workforce, often led by priests,
was colossal.

335
00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:28,280
The workmen extracted and carved
the limestone,

336
00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:30,160
highly abundant in Yucatan,

337
00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:33,040
with simple tools
made in obsidian or flint,

338
00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:35,080
two very sharp rocks.

339
00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:39,440
These blocks of limestone, some
of which weighed around 50 kilos,

340
00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:44,800
were transported to the work sites
in the simplest possible way.

341
00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:48,040
In the Maya area, there were
no large beasts of burden.

342
00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:50,880
They didn't have cattle
or horses or anything like that.

343
00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:54,200
So everything was being carried
by people,

344
00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:56,400
kind of with their hands
behind their back

345
00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:57,800
and carry things straight up,

346
00:25:57,800 --> 00:25:59,400
straight up the steps
of the temple.

347
00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:03,040
So it's all hard manual labour.

348
00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:07,800
The manual labour was exhausting,
but not very complicated,

349
00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:12,640
for the technique to raise such
pyramids was surprisingly simple.

350
00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:15,720
The structure of a pyramid,
like the one in Mayapan,

351
00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:19,120
is made up of backfill
of rough stones and mortar.

352
00:26:19,120 --> 00:26:24,200
To do so, spaces were divided
by walls to create multiple cells.

353
00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:29,120
Each group of workmen
filled their cells as they pleased

354
00:26:29,120 --> 00:26:33,000
with mud, sand, gravel or lime.

355
00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:37,440
It was then entirely covered
with a siding of well-carved stones

356
00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:39,800
followed by a mortar coating.

357
00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:43,200
This base served as a platform
for the upper levels

358
00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:45,320
that were built in the same way.

359
00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:47,520
Once the edifice was finished,

360
00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:49,320
it was covered in whitewash

361
00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:52,600
to give it a smooth aspect
and make it waterproof.

362
00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:56,920
Finally, the pyramid was covered
with a new coating with red pigments

363
00:26:56,920 --> 00:27:01,120
added to it, giving the building
the colour of the rising sun.

364
00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:20,160
For the Maya,

365
00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:24,520
building such a pyramid was also
a way to get closer to the gods

366
00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:27,160
with whom they wanted
to get in contact.

367
00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:30,040
In fact, this obsession
with the relationship

368
00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:33,360
between the heavens and the earth
was a very strong influence

369
00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:35,800
on the layouts of edifices.

370
00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:38,920
One of the things that the ancient
Maya are best known for

371
00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:40,360
is their work as astronomers.

372
00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:46,160
They clearly spent literally
generations, hundreds of years

373
00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:48,160
observing the night sky

374
00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:52,400
and understanding that certain
objects in the night sky

375
00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:54,600
occurred on regular cycles.

376
00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:57,400
They predicted eclipse cycles.

377
00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:01,280
They were very concerned
with movement of planetary bodies.

378
00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:04,640
And how this translates
into architectural alignments

379
00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:09,360
is an interesting question that
archaeoastronomers have identified.

380
00:28:09,360 --> 00:28:14,160
At Mayapan, one major way you see
this is that the temple of Kukulkan

381
00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:18,120
is oriented in such a way that
at the winter and summer solstice,

382
00:28:18,120 --> 00:28:21,600
you get a shadow cast
by the corner of the pyramid

383
00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:25,960
that runs down the balustrade
of the main staircase

384
00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:28,800
and forms what looks like a serpent

385
00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:31,560
moving down the stairs over time.

386
00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:35,480
This phenomenon clearly marked
a privileged moment of connection

387
00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:37,680
with the gods.

388
00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:42,240
Maya priests studied astronomy
for religious reasons, orienting

389
00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:45,640
temples in such a way as to make
them offerings to the deities

390
00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:49,520
supposed to protect them
and bring them prosperity.

391
00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:53,880
But studying the stars
didn't only have this ritual goal.

392
00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:21,400
The Maya managed to decipher
the natural cycles of the Earth

393
00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:25,520
thanks to a thorough study
of the celestial vault.

394
00:29:25,520 --> 00:29:29,880
They were then able to make up
a disconcertingly precise calendar.

395
00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:33,200
In effect, it is composed
of two main calendars

396
00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:35,800
that make up the calendar wheel.

397
00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:40,040
The first one is the religious
calendar called 'tzolkin'.

398
00:29:40,040 --> 00:29:42,880
It is made up of a wheel
with 20 names

399
00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:46,600
of days associated
with the wheel of 13 numbers.

400
00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:52,480
It counts 260 days,
divided into 13 periods of 20 days,

401
00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:55,360
and was used
for all religious activities.

402
00:29:55,360 --> 00:29:58,800
The third wheel represents
the second calendar,

403
00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:02,200
a solar and civil calendar
called 'haab'.

404
00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:05,320
It includes 365 signs

405
00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:09,920
representing the 365 days
of the cycle of the sun,

406
00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:14,520
and is divided into 18 months
of 20 days each.

407
00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:18,320
At the end of the year
comes a period of five days.

408
00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:22,520
This calendar was very useful
for farming activities.

409
00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:24,840
It is only every 52 years

410
00:30:24,840 --> 00:30:28,680
that both calendars realign
on the shared starting point.

411
00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:34,080
The Maya called this period of
52 years the cycle of the Pleiades.

412
00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:43,720
Perfect indeed, because the Maya
had understood that a sidereal year,

413
00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:46,760
which is the time the Earth
takes to go around the sun,

414
00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:51,160
is actually 365 days and 6 hours.

415
00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:53,400
Although our Gregorian calendar

416
00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:55,400
sorts this out with a leap year

417
00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:56,680
every four years,

418
00:30:56,680 --> 00:30:59,240
the Maya astronomers compensated

419
00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:00,640
this slight gap at the end

420
00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:02,880
of each cycle of the Pleiades.

421
00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:15,160
With these 13 days of celebrations
added every 52 years,

422
00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:17,400
the correction of the Maya calendar

423
00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:19,480
matches precisely the one we do

424
00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:21,840
every four years nowadays.

425
00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:33,360
And Maya priesthood
during the Postclassic

426
00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:37,560
was intensely interested
in controlling the calendar.

427
00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:39,640
Like, they would divine

428
00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:41,960
when were good days to plant,

429
00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:43,720
when were good days to hunt,

430
00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:45,960
good days for making war,

431
00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:49,400
good days to name children,
and so on.

432
00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:52,000
And the people
occupying those positions

433
00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:55,280
were influential in politics.

434
00:31:55,280 --> 00:32:00,560
In the Postclassic period, Mayapan
was the epicentre of the Maya world.

435
00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:05,400
Consequently, the entire city
was organised around its main temple,

436
00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:08,200
viewed as the centre of the cosmos.

437
00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:10,480
Around the pyramid of Kukulkan,

438
00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:13,440
the heart of the city
was home to all the religious

439
00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:17,200
and administrative buildings
of Mayapan.

440
00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:19,640
To the west, the Temple of Venus,

441
00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:23,080
to the east, the Caracol,
devoted to the wind god,

442
00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:27,640
and the complex
dedicated to the god of rain, Chaac.

443
00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:30,200
To the north,
the Temple of Warriors,

444
00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:32,280
the Temple of Painted Alcoves,

445
00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:35,680
the Temple of Fishing,
and the Northwest Temple.

446
00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:41,480
In the middle of all these places
of worship came the residences

447
00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:43,120
of the ruling class.

448
00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:48,480
Already densely packed, this main
square only represented a tiny part

449
00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:52,040
of what the city of Mayapan was
at its peak.

450
00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:17,760
Thanks to laser tele-detection
technology,

451
00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:20,960
archaeologists managed to reveal
what was invisible.

452
00:33:20,960 --> 00:33:22,640
In recent years,

453
00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:25,560
they discovered to what extent
the city spread out

454
00:33:25,560 --> 00:33:28,840
far beyond its political
and religious centre.

455
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:35,520
In 2013, we performed a LiDAR
survey that allowed us to map

456
00:33:35,520 --> 00:33:39,600
all the houses located
under the forest around Mayapan

457
00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:42,400
within a 40 square kilometre area.

458
00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:45,880
So what we're doing is we're
flying over the jungle canopy,

459
00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:49,560
and we're sending down
millions of pulses of laser light

460
00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:50,640
into the jungle.

461
00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:52,920
And most of those
will hit leaves and trees.

462
00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:56,400
But a bunch of those will manage
to get between the leaves,

463
00:33:56,400 --> 00:33:58,440
hit the real ground surface
and bounce back.

464
00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:01,480
And then we can digitally
literally just hit a button

465
00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:03,240
and delete all the vegetation,

466
00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:06,480
and all you see is what's
at that bare ground surface.

467
00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:11,280
And to our surprise, we realised
that this area was completely

468
00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:16,760
covered in house mounds and
outlying minor political centres.

469
00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:19,000
We were able to look at
a complete map

470
00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:21,360
that show us all the architecture,

471
00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:22,880
the stone walls,

472
00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:25,440
you know, trails, cenotes,

473
00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:26,880
all of that.

474
00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:30,400
And it 100% changed

475
00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:33,800
the way we were
doing archaeology at Mayapan.

476
00:34:34,320 --> 00:34:37,400
LiDAR technology allowed
archaeologists to confirm

477
00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:41,400
the existence
of an 8km-long surrounding wall,

478
00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:44,960
inside of which more than
4,000 structures were recorded

479
00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:50,000
on a surface area of hardly
more than 4 square kilometres.

480
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:52,760
It's dense and it's walled,

481
00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:56,120
and there clearly
was a concern for defence.

482
00:34:56,120 --> 00:34:59,960
This was a contentious period
and there were rivals and warfare

483
00:34:59,960 --> 00:35:05,120
and raids were a part
of the political landscape

484
00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:07,240
in the Postclassic.

485
00:35:07,240 --> 00:35:09,880
So you have both an external defence

486
00:35:09,880 --> 00:35:12,800
and a way to keep an eye
on the local population

487
00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:16,240
who might, you know, want to rise up
and cause you problems.

488
00:35:16,240 --> 00:35:19,560
Again, city walls
are more complicated, I think,

489
00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:21,695
than a lot of people
give them credit for.

490
00:35:21,775 --> 00:35:24,000
Although it was fortified,

491
00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:28,000
Mayapan took up
a hierarchical organisation of space

492
00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:30,400
specific to Maya civilisation.

493
00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:32,000
In the centre of the city,

494
00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:36,280
the religious edifices and housing
of upper classes co-existed,

495
00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:38,520
whereas the rest of the population

496
00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:41,320
was organised
around this nerve centre.

497
00:35:41,320 --> 00:35:45,760
The first ring around it was where
the merchants and craftsmen lived.

498
00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:49,680
Then came the farmers who lived
the furthest out of the city.

499
00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:53,200
What the 2013 LiDAR study revealed

500
00:35:53,200 --> 00:35:57,680
is that the city spread
far beyond the surrounding wall.

501
00:35:57,680 --> 00:36:02,840
The city itself spans 4.2 square
kilometres within the wall,

502
00:36:02,840 --> 00:36:07,040
and then it goes another
half kilometre in all directions

503
00:36:07,040 --> 00:36:08,680
outside the wall.

504
00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:11,400
So stand on the top of the temple
of Kukulcan,

505
00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:13,680
as far as the eye can see,

506
00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:15,560
and that will be Mayapan,

507
00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:19,920
the residential zone
of one of the most urban cities

508
00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:22,960
ever to have existed
in the Maya realm.

509
00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:27,680
We had originally had
a population estimate of 12,000

510
00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:29,760
based on existing maps of Mayapan.

511
00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:35,080
Now that we have the LiDAR, it looks
like maybe 20,000 or 25,000.

512
00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:38,400
So it's been absolutely critical
in our understanding of the city.

513
00:36:39,680 --> 00:36:42,160
Although Mayapan
is considered to be

514
00:36:42,160 --> 00:36:45,760
the last great political capital
of the Yucatan Maya,

515
00:36:45,760 --> 00:36:49,360
the essential cultural and religious
centre of the Postclassic period

516
00:36:49,360 --> 00:36:51,400
remains Coba.

517
00:36:51,400 --> 00:36:55,080
The city is 200km
to the east of Mayapan,

518
00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:59,040
and about 50 or so kilometres
northwest of Tulum.

519
00:36:59,040 --> 00:37:03,440
Its ruins, today shrouded
in thick tropical rainforest,

520
00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:07,640
was revealed by archaeologists
in the 1920s.

521
00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:12,480
Coba is a wonderful city, in part
because it was so long lived.

522
00:37:12,480 --> 00:37:16,760
You see the first occupation there
in probably about 100 AD,

523
00:37:16,760 --> 00:37:22,200
and it had time to develop,
you know, both size and scale.

524
00:37:22,200 --> 00:37:27,200
It probably had 50,000 people
in its height.

525
00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:29,360
Around 650 AD,

526
00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:33,360
Coba was the most important city
of the Yucatan Peninsula,

527
00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:36,080
a major political
and religious capital.

528
00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:38,680
But from the year 1000 AD on,

529
00:37:38,680 --> 00:37:41,000
its influence declined severely

530
00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:44,640
with the rise in power of its rival
Chichen Itza.

531
00:37:57,560 --> 00:38:01,600
These new complexes
were erected around 1200 AD

532
00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:04,040
and display
all the architectural codes

533
00:38:04,040 --> 00:38:06,000
typical of the east coast style -

534
00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:09,680
small rectangular constructions,
narrow vaulted rooms,

535
00:38:09,680 --> 00:38:12,680
and very few openings
bordered by columns

536
00:38:12,680 --> 00:38:15,400
and decorated
with ornamental friezes.

537
00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:19,440
The presence of such ensembles

538
00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:23,080
confirms the thesis
of a renewal in Coba at the time.

539
00:38:23,080 --> 00:38:26,240
On this huge site
of 70 square kilometres,

540
00:38:26,240 --> 00:38:30,080
which is twice the surface area
of a city like Lyon in France,

541
00:38:30,080 --> 00:38:32,840
these modest buildings
brush shoulders

542
00:38:32,840 --> 00:38:36,320
with the imposing pyramid temples
of the previous period.

543
00:38:36,320 --> 00:38:40,880
So you've got different
architectural styles present, right?

544
00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:44,600
So you see sort of Classic period
tall, vertical temples

545
00:38:44,600 --> 00:38:48,960
that then are topped by Postclassic
Tulum style shrines

546
00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:51,880
to reflect the changing times.

547
00:38:51,880 --> 00:38:55,920
This little temple that towers
over the canopy is at the summit

548
00:38:55,920 --> 00:39:01,480
of the highest edifice in Yucatan,
the pyramid of Nohoch Mul.

549
00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:04,760
It stands on seven levels
with rounded sides,

550
00:39:04,760 --> 00:39:07,480
and measures 42m high.

551
00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:12,680
The stairway leading to the top
counts 113 steps, and its slope

552
00:39:12,680 --> 00:39:17,400
is famous for being particularly
steep and difficult to climb.

553
00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:22,000
In Mayan language,
'Nohoch Mul' means 'Great Hill'.

554
00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:26,080
In the scenery, this pyramid
has the appearance of a craggy cliff

555
00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:27,520
dominating the jungle,

556
00:39:27,520 --> 00:39:31,600
and it's exactly what the Maya wanted
when they built such a huge temple.

557
00:39:33,160 --> 00:39:36,880
The ideology ties very closely
to the cosmology,

558
00:39:36,880 --> 00:39:40,200
the idea that there's an upper world
and there's an underworld,

559
00:39:40,200 --> 00:39:42,240
and that we're somewhere
in the middle of it.

560
00:39:42,240 --> 00:39:44,160
And there's various ways
to reach the gods

561
00:39:44,160 --> 00:39:45,480
who live in the upper world.

562
00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:47,680
One of those
is to ascend the mountain.

563
00:39:47,680 --> 00:39:51,320
So, in the Yucatan,
where it's relatively flat,

564
00:39:51,320 --> 00:39:54,480
building your own mountain
is one way to get a mountain.

565
00:39:54,480 --> 00:39:57,840
And it was from the top
of this sacred artificial mountain,

566
00:39:57,840 --> 00:40:02,960
visible by all, that the Maya priests
and kings ran the city.

567
00:40:40,640 --> 00:40:43,160
Maya kings were divine messengers,

568
00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:48,320
the only ones who could interact with
the gods and obtain their favours.

569
00:40:48,320 --> 00:40:51,160
During periods of drought and famine,

570
00:40:51,160 --> 00:40:55,560
their political legitimacy
could very quickly be questioned.

571
00:40:55,560 --> 00:40:59,880
To preserve it, leaders
had to use propaganda constantly.

572
00:40:59,880 --> 00:41:03,880
This is what the many stelae found
all over the city revealed.

573
00:41:06,120 --> 00:41:07,880
Highly eroded today,

574
00:41:07,880 --> 00:41:11,360
most of them are very difficult
to interpret with the naked eye.

575
00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:15,520
Archaeologists often use
photogrammetry to create

576
00:41:15,520 --> 00:41:20,120
a more legible version of these
testimonies in three dimensions.

577
00:41:20,120 --> 00:41:23,680
By assembling hundreds of photos
taken in the field,

578
00:41:23,680 --> 00:41:28,120
this technique amplifies
all the reliefs of a sculpted scene

579
00:41:28,120 --> 00:41:30,400
and reveals the invisible.

580
00:42:01,640 --> 00:42:06,240
These prisoners of war could at any
moment be sacrificed as offerings

581
00:42:06,240 --> 00:42:07,520
to the Maya gods.

582
00:42:07,520 --> 00:42:11,120
Nobody knows how often the temples
were used as stages

583
00:42:11,120 --> 00:42:13,240
to these macabre scenes.

584
00:42:13,240 --> 00:42:17,120
Yet once again, the architecture
of the place informs the experts

585
00:42:17,120 --> 00:42:21,840
about their unfolding and the places
where the ceremonies occurred.

586
00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:16,720
These sacrifices of prisoners
were not the only blood offerings

587
00:43:16,720 --> 00:43:18,840
which the Maya people attended to.

588
00:43:18,840 --> 00:43:22,880
Self-sacrifice rituals
were also very frequent.

589
00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:24,360
Perched on their pyramid,

590
00:43:24,360 --> 00:43:29,480
the Maya kings or priests practised
spectacular bleedings on themselves.

591
00:43:31,200 --> 00:43:33,640
So they'll punch holes
in their earlobe

592
00:43:33,640 --> 00:43:36,880
or through their nose or into
the fleshy parts of their penis,

593
00:43:36,880 --> 00:43:38,240
things like that.

594
00:43:38,240 --> 00:43:40,320
That would obviously
have been very painful.

595
00:43:40,320 --> 00:43:44,680
So it was a real commitment
on the part of the elites as well.

596
00:43:44,680 --> 00:43:47,120
And that royal blood

597
00:43:47,120 --> 00:43:51,000
was categorically different
than commoner blood.

598
00:43:51,000 --> 00:43:55,200
These blood offerings were directly
connected to the myth of rebirth,

599
00:43:55,200 --> 00:44:00,240
and their goal was to ensure
fertile crops for the people.

600
00:44:00,240 --> 00:44:01,320
As proof,

601
00:44:01,320 --> 00:44:04,440
this bas-relief
represents a decapitated victim

602
00:44:04,440 --> 00:44:08,640
from which a long plant is growing,
loaded with fruit and flowers.

603
00:44:10,080 --> 00:44:13,480
The victim bears all the attributes
of a Maya pelota player.

604
00:44:13,480 --> 00:44:17,440
This traditional ball game,
widespread in Mesoamerica,

605
00:44:17,440 --> 00:44:20,320
took place on courts built in stone,

606
00:44:20,320 --> 00:44:23,440
some of which
are still almost intact today.

607
00:44:23,440 --> 00:44:24,760
In the one in Coba,

608
00:44:24,760 --> 00:44:28,160
a stone skull marks the centre
of the playing area.

609
00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:02,920
The ball court, whose size varies
according to cities,

610
00:45:02,920 --> 00:45:04,760
is rectangular.

611
00:45:04,760 --> 00:45:07,680
It is bordered by walls
often inclined,

612
00:45:07,680 --> 00:45:10,600
going up to 10 metres high
approximately.

613
00:45:10,600 --> 00:45:12,800
At the top of each of these walls,

614
00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:16,360
a particularly inaccessible ring
serves as a goal.

615
00:45:17,320 --> 00:45:19,240
During this ritual game,

616
00:45:19,240 --> 00:45:22,160
two teams of 2 to 7 players
faced off

617
00:45:22,160 --> 00:45:25,920
and exchanged a rubber ball
that could weigh up to three kilos.

618
00:45:25,920 --> 00:45:29,760
To do so, they were not allowed
to use their hands and feet.

619
00:45:29,760 --> 00:45:32,840
The contact area
seemed to be the hip.

620
00:45:46,560 --> 00:45:49,640
Many of the ball courts
have large ball court rings,

621
00:45:49,640 --> 00:45:52,040
so it seems like if the ball
went through the ring,

622
00:45:52,040 --> 00:45:53,360
you automatically won.

623
00:45:53,360 --> 00:45:55,280
It was a one-off situation.

624
00:45:55,280 --> 00:45:57,080
It wasn't like
they were scoring points

625
00:45:57,080 --> 00:45:59,120
by repeatedly
getting the ball through the ring.

626
00:45:59,120 --> 00:46:01,400
If it got up there, that was
a good sign that the gods

627
00:46:01,400 --> 00:46:03,920
were pleased with you and
that was it, you were done.

628
00:46:03,920 --> 00:46:09,000
Surely, ball players would have been
heroes who sacrificed themselves.

629
00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:13,080
So there was probably
a gladiatorial aspect.

630
00:46:13,080 --> 00:46:14,560
There needed to have been a winner,

631
00:46:14,560 --> 00:46:16,840
and the price needed to be
the ultimate price.

632
00:46:16,840 --> 00:46:20,960
The people watched these battles
from the top of the stands,

633
00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:22,800
above the players.

634
00:46:22,800 --> 00:46:26,840
In the representation of the universe
as the Maya conceived it,

635
00:46:26,840 --> 00:46:30,200
the ball-playing court
constituted a passage

636
00:46:30,200 --> 00:46:32,360
towards the world of the dead.

637
00:46:32,360 --> 00:46:36,160
Its rounded shape and the presence
of sculptures of skulls

638
00:46:36,160 --> 00:46:38,880
and supernatural beings
in the construction

639
00:46:38,880 --> 00:46:41,640
leave no doubt for the experts.

640
00:46:41,640 --> 00:46:44,640
It's definitely an access point
to the underworld,

641
00:46:44,640 --> 00:46:47,680
a cleft in the earth, so that
you are going down to the realm

642
00:46:47,680 --> 00:46:48,920
of the Lords of Death.

643
00:46:50,240 --> 00:46:53,720
This underworld was not considered
to be like the hell

644
00:46:53,720 --> 00:46:56,120
that some other religions envision.

645
00:46:56,120 --> 00:46:59,840
In this respect, the Maya people
were not afraid of it.

646
00:46:59,840 --> 00:47:03,080
They saw it as both the place
where water comes from,

647
00:47:03,080 --> 00:47:08,240
a source of life, but also the place
where their deceased ancestors lived.

648
00:47:08,240 --> 00:47:12,920
The Maya devoted a highly particular
cult to caves and cenotes,

649
00:47:12,920 --> 00:47:17,840
the natural geological formations
found abundantly in the area.

650
00:47:20,040 --> 00:47:24,240
When you see the formations,
the stalactites, the stalagmites,

651
00:47:24,240 --> 00:47:26,320
when you see the flowstones,

652
00:47:26,320 --> 00:47:29,000
especially if you imagine them
being lit

653
00:47:29,000 --> 00:47:32,160
by torchlight and camp fires,

654
00:47:32,160 --> 00:47:34,120
it's the kind of place
when you think

655
00:47:34,120 --> 00:47:36,560
"Where would the gods live?",
and you've been down there,

656
00:47:36,560 --> 00:47:38,520
that's a pretty good choice.

657
00:47:38,520 --> 00:47:41,920
They're so impressive
and they're so intimidating

658
00:47:41,920 --> 00:47:45,560
that it makes absolute sense to me,
as a researcher,

659
00:47:45,560 --> 00:47:49,280
why the Maya considered them
sacred and important.

660
00:47:51,080 --> 00:47:53,240
Although the end of the Maya era

661
00:47:53,240 --> 00:47:56,280
is often attributed
to the Spanish conquest,

662
00:47:56,280 --> 00:47:59,920
the historical truth
is a little more complex.

663
00:47:59,920 --> 00:48:02,840
On October 12th, 1492,

664
00:48:02,840 --> 00:48:06,640
Christopher Columbus first set foot
on the American continent,

665
00:48:06,640 --> 00:48:09,680
but it wasn't until March 1517

666
00:48:09,680 --> 00:48:12,680
that the Spanish reached
the Yucatan Peninsula.

667
00:48:12,680 --> 00:48:14,840
When they reached Maya land,

668
00:48:14,840 --> 00:48:18,400
they found a civilisation
that was already declining.

669
00:48:18,400 --> 00:48:21,800
Power was no longer centralised
in Mayapan,

670
00:48:21,800 --> 00:48:25,000
which had already been deserted
for several decades.

671
00:48:26,480 --> 00:48:30,760
Mayapan collapsed around 1450 AD

672
00:48:30,760 --> 00:48:35,280
as a result of political revolt

673
00:48:35,280 --> 00:48:38,360
led by members
of its internal council.

674
00:48:38,360 --> 00:48:40,560
So the confederacy dissolved,

675
00:48:40,560 --> 00:48:45,400
and at this point every lord
went back to their home territory.

676
00:49:05,240 --> 00:49:09,280
When the Spanish conquistadors
invaded the areas inland,

677
00:49:09,280 --> 00:49:12,120
the great Coba was also unoccupied.

678
00:49:14,240 --> 00:49:18,360
Tulum, however,
remained inhabited until 1544,

679
00:49:18,360 --> 00:49:21,360
when the Spanish spread
their conquest to the northeast

680
00:49:21,360 --> 00:49:23,240
of the peninsula.

681
00:49:23,240 --> 00:49:25,280
Thousands of Maya were killed

682
00:49:25,280 --> 00:49:28,400
or forced to flee the cities
they had founded.

683
00:49:28,400 --> 00:49:32,360
Never again would they build cities
like Tulum.

684
00:49:32,360 --> 00:49:35,520
The heyday of the Yucatan Maya
ends here,

685
00:49:35,520 --> 00:49:38,640
in this small harbour city
that managed to survive

686
00:49:38,640 --> 00:49:43,840
over the years and eras to become
the last city of the Maya era.

687
00:49:43,840 --> 00:49:48,840
However, this great civilisation
is still very much alive today.

688
00:50:10,760 --> 00:50:12,920
It's an incredibly resilient
culture.

689
00:50:12,920 --> 00:50:15,520
They've been through severe droughts
and things over the years

690
00:50:15,520 --> 00:50:18,160
to the point
where entire cities have fallen

691
00:50:18,160 --> 00:50:19,840
and new ones have been formed,

692
00:50:19,840 --> 00:50:22,840
and they always have found a way
to reorganise,

693
00:50:22,840 --> 00:50:25,240
to adapt and to survive.

694
00:50:25,240 --> 00:50:29,160
For anthropologists
and archaeologists alike,

695
00:50:29,160 --> 00:50:32,520
the investigation work
is only just beginning.

696
00:50:48,200 --> 00:50:51,760
Of the sites that exist,
we've probably found 5%.

697
00:50:51,760 --> 00:50:55,920
Of the sites that we've found,
we've only excavated 5%.

698
00:50:55,920 --> 00:50:59,080
And as the technology advances,

699
00:50:59,080 --> 00:51:02,280
there are constant new discoveries

700
00:51:02,280 --> 00:51:03,920
being made in the Maya area.

701
00:51:03,920 --> 00:51:05,960
And really,
it's a fascinating place to work,

702
00:51:05,960 --> 00:51:09,320
and we're going to be learning
more about the ancient Maya

703
00:51:09,320 --> 00:51:10,720
for many years to come.

704
00:51:11,880 --> 00:51:14,960
Tulum. Mayapan. Coba.

705
00:51:14,960 --> 00:51:16,560
These three cities were the home

706
00:51:16,560 --> 00:51:19,680
to the last moments of the apex
of this civilisation

707
00:51:19,680 --> 00:51:23,680
that is as fascinating
as it is mysterious.

708
00:51:23,680 --> 00:51:27,080
The architectural and cultural
testimony that they leave

709
00:51:27,080 --> 00:51:30,000
is a synthesis of the beliefs,
knowledge and skills

710
00:51:30,000 --> 00:51:31,560
of the Maya people,

711
00:51:31,560 --> 00:51:35,880
the achievement of around 4,000 years
of existence and evolution

712
00:51:35,880 --> 00:51:38,240
in the Central American forest.

713
00:51:38,240 --> 00:51:41,480
If the Maya
haven't totally disappeared today,

714
00:51:41,480 --> 00:51:46,000
it's also thanks to the longevity
of these vestiges of limestone

715
00:51:46,000 --> 00:51:49,560
whose beauty
is universal and eternal.

716
00:51:49,560 --> 00:51:49,600
Captions by Red Bee Media
SBS Australia 2024