- 6/9/2025
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00:00In a remote rainforest, thousands of bones, evidence of a mass murder, the victims, possibly
00:22the most powerful people of their world, a royal dynasty at the height of its glory,
00:30executed, tossed into a waterhole.
00:40Over a thousand years later, this pit holds powerful evidence, not just to the fate of
00:47these people, but to the collapse of one of the great civilizations in history.
00:55A mystery that hints of passion, jealousy, and greed.
01:03A mystery that hints of passion, jealousy, and greed.
01:08That's what I see.
01:10I'll see you next time.
01:14I'm looking at this.
01:17Centuries before our time, night falls on a faraway land, a land of splendor, a land
01:40of riches, a land ruled by mighty kings, lords of awesome power, fabulously wealthy, enjoying
01:51all life's pleasures, masters of fate. But something is about to happen, something all
02:01their power can't prevent. Everything is about to change forever.
02:15Conquen, Guatemala. Once a teeming city at the heart of a great civilization, the Maya. A
02:26mystery is emerging from the heart of this jungle. An eerie discovery. Thousands of bones.
02:44Bones that once were people. Their discoverers can't believe what they found. In this jungle,
02:54the heat, moisture, insects and acid soil usually turn buried bones to dust. But these bones
03:04are in near perfect condition. For archeologist Arthur Demarest, it's a rare and exciting find.
03:14And a very unsettling one.
03:17You feel like a detective going into a crime scene where there's some really weird stuff.
03:23There's a lot of things about it that are strange.
03:27Strange and disturbing. There are so many bones. Too much death.
03:39Perhaps dozens of human bodies. Thrown into a pool of water. All at the same time.
03:53Something terrifying happened to these people. But what? And why?
04:03First possibility. Human sacrifice. Horrific to us. But for the Maya. Essential to life.
04:15They believed their gods demanded human blood. The Maya gave it.
04:27And their gods gave them bountiful harvests. And recognized their kings as sacred beings.
04:39But does human sacrifice explain what happened to these people?
04:47The evidence says no.
04:51None of this looks like a sacrifice from the normal Maya rituals. None of it.
04:57The Maya would sacrifice one or two high prestige individuals with a great deal of ritual.
05:05And with specific techniques.
05:07This is a large number of people. Thrown into this location.
05:13It doesn't look like these people died to please the gods.
05:19And they didn't die of natural causes. It appears they were murdered.
05:31This is definitely the most gruesome and certainly the largest scale massacre that we've ever found.
05:39A massacre with no known motive. Unknown victims. Unknown killers. A centuries old cold case. Crying out to be solved.
05:57These shattered skeletons have yet to yield their secrets.
06:01But there's already key evidence.
06:05Pieces of pottery found with the bones.
06:11Experts date them to around the year 800 A.D.
06:16A crucial discovery.
06:20One that takes us right to the scene of the crime.
06:26Conquen was once a bustling city state. One of many that dotted an area the size of New Mexico or Italy.
06:35That area today is southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras.
06:43Twelve hundred years ago, it was the land of the Maya.
06:49Some 50 independent city states scattered across the rainforest.
06:55The biggest of those cities boasted more than ten thousand structures.
07:04And a hundred thousand people.
07:08The Maya erected magnificent buildings.
07:14Created beautiful art.
07:17Invented the Americas most complex writing system.
07:24And devised their own mathematics.
07:28Maya astronomers charted every inch of the sky.
07:36They were traders.
07:38Warriors.
07:39Wizards.
07:40Whoever our victims were.
07:41They lived in a world of wealth and splendor.
07:43Their city wasn't the biggest.
07:45But it did have one very big advantage.
07:52Location.
07:54Conquen.
07:55Conquen sat right at the junction of major Maya trade routes.
08:01It was Hong Kong.
08:02Singapore.
08:03Amsterdam.
08:04Panama Canal.
08:06Panama Canal.
08:07In this part of the world.
08:08Panama Canal.
08:09Panama Canal.
08:10In this part of the world.
08:11If you wanted to buy or sell anything.
08:15You had to move it through Conquen.
08:16You had to move it through Conquen.
08:17And Conquen had one other company.
08:18It was Hong Kong.
08:23Singapore.
08:24The.
08:25The.
08:26The.
08:27The.
08:28The.
08:29The.
08:30The.
08:31The.
08:32The.
08:33The.
08:34The.
08:35The.
08:36The.
08:37The.
08:38The.
08:39The.
08:40The.
08:41The.
08:42The.
08:43The.
08:44The.
08:45The.
08:46Canquen had one other asset that guaranteed its greatness.
08:53His name was Taj Chanak.
08:58Around the time of the murders, he had ruled Canquen for an astounding 40 years.
09:10Every Maya city had its own king.
09:14But Taj Chanak was a superstar.
09:24His people attended great rituals where he offered his blood to the gods.
09:30Slashing his body.
09:39Cutting his tongue.
09:42Even piercing his penis in exchange for peace, prosperity and life-giving rain.
09:56Wounding his own flesh for their sake.
10:01Inspiring their complete devotion.
10:06Ruling them with a skill and charisma modern politicians would envy.
10:16The Holy Lords that were really successful, like Taj Chanak, were the ones who would combine, you know, a Beckham, with a Mick Jagger, with a little Bill Clinton, and maybe a Machiavelli, you know, a Kissinger, in terms of making alliance.
10:39If you can sort of see all those combined with, you know, Pope John Paul II.
10:45Taj Chanak's extraordinary leadership and Canquen's strategic location at the crossroads of trade routes could have helped him bring his city to the pinnacle of its wealth and influence.
11:06And he may not have needed an army to dominate his competitors.
11:17If anyone got out of line, he could have cut off their access to the sacred goods that poured through his city.
11:24Like spondylus shells and Katsal feathers.
11:31Without these sacred objects, no one could offer blood to the gods.
11:37Without those rituals, kings were powerless and their cities risked divine displeasure.
11:48In the high-stakes game of Maya politics, Taj Chanak would always have held a winning hand.
11:59It's hard to imagine a mass murder in Canquen while such a strong ruler was in power.
12:05But around 800 AD, death ended Taj's 40-year reign.
12:15And everything changed.
12:20Our victims met their grisly fate.
12:23And it wasn't long before their rich city of Canquen also ceased to exist.
12:29But that's only part of the mystery.
12:32Within 100 years, all the surrounding Maya cities became ghost towns.
12:45After centuries of greatness, the Maya world rapidly disintegrated.
12:51No one knows why.
12:56Forget the arts and the tombs and the glyphs and the science.
13:01The question is, why did they at the end screw up so badly?
13:07Arthur Demarest hopes the Canquen's horde of bones will help reveal answers to that question.
13:14Because before they died, our victims could have witnessed the end of their own world.
13:24And their strange deaths made them some of the best preserved Maya bones ever found.
13:33Their killers tossed them into what is today a muddy pond in a forgotten patch of rainforest.
13:45But 1200 years ago, it was a sacred pool lined with stucco near Canquen's royal palace.
13:54The bodies sank into its muddy bottom.
14:04Silt and water covered and protected the bones for over a thousand years.
14:15Now, these bones can reveal things no other Maya bones ever have.
14:29And what first emerges is more than disturbing.
14:39It's bizarre.
14:41Strangely misshapen skulls.
14:45The bones of babies.
14:48These were no ordinary victims.
14:51This was no ordinary crime.
14:54In Guatemala, a rare find is shedding light on an ancient crime.
15:07The evidence points to a horrific massacre.
15:11In an ancient Maya city.
15:14About the time the entire civilization began to fall.
15:18Right away, the fragments of shattered bones reveal something odd.
15:27It's the skulls.
15:30They're not right.
15:32We compare how this forehead is to this one.
15:36This has been pushed backwards.
15:38Completely pushed backwards.
15:40Creating the sides of the head to expand sideways.
15:45Compared to a normal skull.
15:48This one has a flat forehead.
15:51And an elongated top.
15:55It looks like a strange genetic defect.
15:58But it's not.
16:03It may have been a deliberate act of reverence.
16:06For some experts believe the Maya reshaped their skulls.
16:16To honor corn.
16:17The Maya lived and died by their corn crop.
16:21and died by their corn crop
16:29ingratitude
16:31they may have offered the corn god a strange tribute
16:36altering their children's skulls at birth
16:41the amazing thing about this skull is that it's intentional deformation
16:44cranial deformation
16:47a newborn skull is a loose collection of bony plates
16:52the Maya molded their babies heads with planks
16:56until they were long and slender
17:02finding skulls like this raises a tantalizing possibility
17:07we're dealing with people who were rather well off
17:10for that time the only people who were rather well off that time were obviously
17:15the rulers and their families
17:17not everyone agrees that the corn shaped skulls mean royalty
17:21but something else found in the pit
17:27offers more proof that our victims were the cream of society
17:32jade
17:38more valuable to the Maya than gold
17:43our victims were staggering amounts of it
17:50and one of them
17:51wore something even more precious than jade
17:58a necklace of jaguar teeth
18:03a jaguar has four fangs
18:06one necklace found at Conquan had 36
18:12making it required hunting and killing nine of the biggest cats in the Americas
18:21buying it must have cost a fortune
18:27whoever the owner was
18:29he was very rich
18:34and it seems our victims could afford whatever they wanted
18:42they would have had their pick of the best that Conquan's markets had to offer
18:48they would have loaded their tables with expensive delicacies like chocolate
18:53honey
18:55vanilla
18:57jaguar pelts
18:59tobacco
19:01and the sweet flesh of iguana
19:06and they would have adorned their homes and their bodies with precious stones
19:14jewelry made of jade and mother of pearl
19:19and exquisite feathers
19:23like the tail plumes of a Quetzal
19:27only nobles could own a Quetzal feather
19:36if a commoner killed a Quetzal
19:42he could have been executed
19:44these goodies that are coming in
19:51the jades and the Quetzal feathers
19:53and all of these things
19:53could only be owned by nobles and kings
19:56so they weren't for sale to anybody
19:59you had to be a holy lord
20:00to have much of this
20:02and not just beautiful things
20:10commoners could marry only one wife
20:13but Conquan's aristocrats had many
20:19they lived with them in stupendous luxury
20:28in a massive 200 room palace
20:34bigger than five football fields
20:37one of the biggest buildings
20:40in the Maya world
20:41they expected their deaths
20:48would be as luxurious
20:50as their lives
20:51that they'd go to eternity
20:57clutching priceless jade ornaments
20:59drenched with cinnabar
21:04precious symbol of eternal life
21:06and looking forever fabulous
21:12hiding mortal decay
21:14behind a magnificent death mask
21:17but when death did come
21:23it wasn't anything like
21:25our victims thought it would be
21:26they weren't buried like mighty lords
21:31they weren't buried at all
21:36the strange case of Conquan
21:41is getting even stranger
21:43the victims seem to have been
21:48the richest people in town
21:50they would have had the best of everything
21:54plenty of people would have coveted
22:02what they had
22:03but the evidence rules out robbery
22:08it appears that their murderers
22:12tossed them into a pool
22:14still wearing their jewelry
22:15the motive for this massacre
22:18wasn't money
22:20so what was it?
22:23and now the bones reveal
22:25another shocking fact
22:27the victims weren't all men
22:31some 31 people died here
22:35men
22:36women
22:39children
22:42and there's another chilling revelation
22:47from the death pit
22:48one that suggests
22:52this was no simple slaughter
22:54whatever happened to these people
22:58it didn't end with death
23:02in Guatemala
23:09a 1200 year old cold case
23:12is beginning to reveal its secrets
23:14the killers
23:18and their motive
23:19still unknown
23:20but there's new evidence
23:25the murder weapons
23:28flint axes
23:31and knives
23:32found with the victim's bones
23:35the new discovery
23:39takes the investigation
23:41down a very dark path
23:43what we're seeing
23:45is perhaps evidence
23:47of something that happened
23:48very suddenly
23:49it was evidently very violent
23:52very very violent
23:53the investigators have seen
23:56evidence like this before
23:58but not from ancient times
24:05during Guatemala's bloody civil war
24:12in Bosnia
24:18in Rwanda's killing fields
24:23some of the worst mass murders
24:27and genocides of our time
24:29the bones of people hacked to pieces
24:37torn limb from limb
24:39men
24:44women
24:45and children
24:46and now
24:51in remote
24:51they're seeing
24:54something similar
24:55almost every bone
25:00that we've looked at
25:00has some sort of trauma
25:02it's not clear
25:04if the bones were hacked
25:05before or after death
25:07or why
25:08we have evidence
25:10of a very heavy
25:12and sharp instrument
25:13perhaps an axe
25:14something like that
25:15coming through
25:16and
25:18severing
25:19the femoral head
25:19from the rest of the bone
25:20the femur
25:23is the thigh bone
25:24one of the hardest
25:25human bones
25:26to break
25:27it looks like
25:32whoever killed
25:33these people
25:34also dismembered them
25:35and may have hunted
25:40some down
25:41as they tried to escape
25:42this cut came from behind
25:47a heavy and sharp instrument
25:49cut it through
25:50and then broke the rest
25:51of the bone
25:52the individual
25:53was perhaps already
25:54lying prone
25:55out of action
25:56perhaps
25:56and being dismembered
25:58or the person
25:59was running away
26:00or trying to get away
26:02with their back
26:02towards their assailant
26:03and failing to do so
26:06evidently
26:06these people
26:07probably had no chance
26:09to defend themselves
26:11from their attackers
26:12attackers
26:15who left their weapons
26:17with their victims' corpses
26:19providing evidence
26:21of their fates
26:22it does fit very very well
26:29with the actual wound
26:30this little wound
26:33would have been caused here
26:34back of the head
26:36of a child
26:37you can see the damage
26:40it caused on the inside
26:41take the case
26:45of one victim
26:46a boy
26:47this is the bone
26:48from the neck
26:49it belongs to a very young child
26:51under 12 years old
26:53the attackers
26:55might have surprised him
26:56but he tries to run away
26:59they're too fast
27:03he has nowhere to go
27:05this is evidence of a
27:10stab wound
27:11to the neck
27:12the only way that this
27:15type of wound
27:16could have happened
27:17is if the head
27:19had been pulled backwards
27:20and the stab wound
27:22would have come
27:23underneath the mandible
27:24it would have been
27:28a terrifying end
27:29for one so young
27:30but even this boy
27:34wasn't the youngest
27:35to die
27:36this is the bone
27:44of a baby
27:45this is the bone
27:46of a baby
27:47these are the
27:49hip bones
27:50this smaller one
27:52is the fetus
27:53of 32 weeks
27:54whereas this one
27:56is the 38 week
27:58the evidence
28:03in the bones
28:04suggest
28:05a grim possibility
28:06this wasn't soldiers
28:16dying in a war
28:18it wasn't
28:20a religious sacrifice
28:21could it be the
28:24extermination
28:25of an entire family
28:27if these were nobles
28:34they didn't come
28:35to a noble end
28:37but why
28:42and now
28:48at the discovery site
28:50a new find
28:52deepens the mystery
28:5380 yards
28:57from the pool
28:58of the bones
28:59a shallow grave
29:02inside
29:07the badly
29:08decomposed bones
29:10of a man
29:11whoever buried
29:14this man
29:15carefully placed
29:16a string
29:16of beautifully
29:17carved shells
29:18in his grave
29:19in the Maya world
29:22an act of reverence
29:23honoring
29:25only the most
29:26important dead
29:27but Maya nobility
29:32lay in
29:33magnificent tombs
29:34this man's grave
29:40barely covered
29:41his corpse
29:42this burial
29:48is really bizarre
29:49there's no tomb
29:53there's not even
29:54a cyst
29:55there's not even
29:56stone slabs
29:57over it
29:57and it's just
29:58dug
29:5860 centimeters
30:00deep into mud
30:02and yet
30:03this individual
30:04is in this
30:05elaborate headdress
30:06that goes
30:07all the way
30:08down to his feet
30:09it looks like
30:11a sudden
30:12rapid burial
30:13but with a certain
30:15element of respect
30:16who was this man
30:23the secret
30:27lies in the shells
30:29in Guatemala
30:34the investigation
30:35of an ancient
30:36massacre
30:37takes a startling
30:39new turn
30:39near the victims
30:42a man buried
30:44with trappings
30:45of royalty
30:45but in a shallow
30:48unmarked grave
30:50with seashells
30:51carved into glyphs
30:54of the Maya language
30:55the investigation
30:57hangs on what
30:59these ancient
31:00words will reveal
31:01if anyone
31:03can read them
31:04hundreds of years
31:07ago
31:08a relentless
31:09attack
31:10nearly exterminated
31:11the Maya language
31:121519
31:18the first Europeans
31:22arrive in Maya
31:24lands
31:25Spanish conquistadors
31:27seeking gold
31:29and Christian missionaries
31:36seeking souls
31:38to their amazement
31:40they find books
31:42written in the Maya language
31:44the most advanced language
31:48ever invented
31:49in the Americas
31:50books recording
31:53the genius
31:54of a great civilization
31:55elaborate calendars
31:58astronomy texts
32:00blueprints
32:01from majestic rituals
32:03but to the Spanish
32:08they are works
32:10of Satan
32:10unable to read them
32:13disturbed by their
32:16strange images
32:17the Spaniards
32:19burn them
32:19only four books
32:22are known
32:23to have survived
32:24the Spaniards
32:25relentless destruction
32:26the most sophisticated
32:29language
32:30ever developed
32:31in the Americas
32:32was lost
32:33only in the 1960s
32:37did experts
32:38begin to crack
32:39its secrets
32:40have they learned
32:45enough to read
32:46the shells
32:46from Conquen
32:47glyph expert
32:53Federico Fassin
32:54searches the shells
32:56for a name
32:56he recognizes
33:02the monkey head glyph
33:03the Maya word
33:04mosh
33:05and another glyph
33:07Kahn
33:09who was he
33:11Fassin knows
33:14the answer
33:15stone carvings
33:17from Conquen
33:18have the same
33:19symbols
33:20and
33:22a glyph
33:23for royalty
33:24the man's name
33:27was Kahn Mosh
33:29and there's no doubt
33:30who he was
33:31Kahn Mosh
33:36was a king
33:37of Conquen
33:38the city
33:40where our murders
33:41took place
33:42a wealthy
33:45powerful ruler
33:46buried like a beggar
33:49in a shallow
33:50unmarked grave
33:51why would a king
33:53be insulted
33:54like this
33:54it doesn't add up
33:58but the glyphs
34:01reveal one more thing
34:03King Kahn Mosh
34:05died around the year
34:06800 AD
34:08around the same time
34:11as the 31 massacred
34:13nobles
34:13found only 80 yards
34:16from his grave
34:16could our victims
34:22have been Kahn Mosh's
34:23family
34:24a royal family
34:25Arthur Demarest
34:29finds a grim parallel
34:31in the 20th century
34:32the Romanovs
34:36in 1918
34:42revolutionaries
34:43captured the Russian
34:45Tsar
34:45Nicholas II
34:46his wife
34:47Alexandra
34:48and their five children
34:49and shot them all
34:51even the youngest
34:53destroying
34:56their dynasty
34:57were the victims
35:05at Conquen
35:06also deliberately
35:07exterminated
35:08it looks like
35:15the assassination
35:16of the king
35:16and the massacre
35:17of the whole
35:19royal family
35:19and
35:21then
35:22nothing
35:23the site
35:24is abandoned
35:25it would have been
35:29a stunning
35:29reversal of fortune
35:31not long after
35:35the massacre
35:35the great city
35:37of Conquen
35:38plummets
35:39from its pinnacle
35:40of wealth
35:41and power
35:42to extinction
35:44as the evidence
35:50mounts up
35:50one thing
35:51is clear
35:52the case
35:53of the Conquen
35:54massacre
35:55is about
35:55much more
35:56than murder
35:57fact
36:01the Conquen murders
36:03happened around
36:04800 A.D.
36:07fact
36:07King Conmash
36:09died around
36:10the year
36:10800 A.D.
36:11fact
36:13the city of Conquen
36:15suddenly disappears
36:17from history
36:18around 800 A.D.
36:20around 800 A.D.
36:20fact
36:21the Maya begin
36:23abandoning
36:23all their cities
36:25around 800 A.D.
36:30a ghastly massacre
36:31a king's
36:33insulting burial
36:34the sudden death
36:36of a great city
36:37the unexplained collapse
36:39of a brilliant civilization
36:41all around
36:43the same time
36:44solving the Conquen murders
36:48could do much more
36:49than lay to rest
36:51a 1200 year old
36:52cold case
36:53what we have here
36:55is real
36:56hardcore
36:56physical evidence
36:58of the Maya collapse
37:00and the kinds of things
37:01that happened
37:02in the Maya collapse
37:03and as one of the
37:04the forensic team
37:06said to me yesterday
37:07you know
37:07this is evidence
37:08that would stand up
37:09in court
37:09no one's sure
37:16what triggered
37:16the Maya collapse
37:18perhaps
37:21environmental disaster
37:22for centuries
37:24the Maya cut down
37:25trees for fuel
37:26and to plant crops
37:28but trees protect
37:30soil from erosion
37:31when they cut down
37:34their forests
37:34the Maya exposed
37:36their lands
37:36to the destructive
37:37power of wind
37:38and water
37:39which turned them
37:43into sterile wastelands
37:45just when the worst
37:47drought in centuries
37:49began ravaging
37:50their lands
37:51but most experts
37:54believe drought
37:55and famine
37:56weren't the only things
37:57that destroyed
37:58the Maya
37:59they argue
38:01that Maya
38:02politics
38:03may have helped
38:04a possibility
38:06Arthur Demarest
38:07ponders
38:08as he tries
38:09to explain
38:10the murders
38:11at Conquen
38:11the knives
38:15and axes
38:15found with the bodies
38:16revealed
38:17the murder weapons
38:18but the motive
38:20might still be hidden
38:21decades before
38:22the massacre
38:23in a high stakes
38:26world of sex
38:28politics
38:30and power
38:32around 800 AD
38:40the Maya king
38:42Khan Mosh
38:43was buried
38:44in a very
38:45unroyal manner
38:46in a shallow
38:52unmarked grave
38:53and someone
38:57murdered
38:58dozens of people
38:59perhaps
39:00Khan Mosh's
39:01relatives
39:02dismembered them
39:05and tossed them
39:07into a pool
39:08just 80 yards
39:09from his grave
39:10it seems
39:13to defy
39:14explanation
39:15but archaeologist
39:18Arthur Demarest
39:19thinks it might
39:20make sense
39:21it might help
39:27explain
39:28one of history's
39:29least understood
39:30catastrophes
39:31the sudden
39:34and total collapse
39:36of the Maya world
39:37around the same time
39:41as the
39:42Conquen murders
39:43vast numbers
39:44of people
39:45suddenly began
39:46abandoning
39:47Conquen
39:48and other Maya cities
39:49before they died
39:51our victims
39:52might have seen
39:53armies of refugees
39:54leaving Conquen
39:56and traveling
39:57through the rainforest
39:58overwhelming
40:01other cities
40:02when they arrived
40:03seeking food
40:04and shelter
40:05to some extent
40:07what we have here
40:08is a kind of
40:09a domino effect
40:10the collapse
40:11and abandonment
40:12of these cities
40:13in the west
40:13the problem
40:14is displaced persons
40:16as the UN
40:17calls them today
40:18you know
40:18tens of thousands
40:19probably hundreds
40:20of thousands
40:21of people
40:21losing their homes
40:23and migrating
40:23to other regions
40:24more and more
40:27people grew
40:28more and more
40:29desperate
40:29and suddenly
40:32things went
40:32from very
40:33very bad
40:34to much
40:35much worse
40:36all of a sudden
40:38you got another
40:3910, 20, 30,000
40:40100,000 people
40:41moving into your region
40:42man
40:43and things
40:43really fall apart
40:45things fell apart
40:48with astonishing speed
40:50right after
40:53our victims
40:54died
40:54the city
40:56of Conquen
40:57was no more
40:58and the splendid
41:00Maya world
41:02began to disappear
41:03while chaos
41:05and bloodshed
41:06rushed in
41:07to fill the void
41:08and it's sudden
41:15and it's
41:16you know
41:17within 50 years
41:18and it's violent
41:18why did it happen
41:22what did our victims
41:25witness
41:26in the final
41:27days of their lives
41:29it's long been
41:34suspected
41:35that a fatal
41:36combination
41:37of drought
41:37and overpopulation
41:39too many people
41:41not enough food
41:43destroyed the Maya
41:44but another theory
41:49adds something else
41:50to this recipe
41:51of Dome
41:52something that could be
41:56one of the motives
41:57for the dreadful
41:59murders
42:00at Conquen
42:01murders that might
42:07be traced
42:08to a most
42:08unexpected
42:09perpetrator
42:10Kahn Mosh's father
42:15King Taj
42:17Chanak
42:18canquen's greatest
42:28monarch
42:28didn't actually
42:29murder his son
42:30and relations
42:31when those killings
42:37took place
42:38Taj
42:39was already dead
42:40but great Maya
42:44kings
42:44like Taj
42:45Chanak
42:45may have sown
42:46seeds of discord
42:48that led
42:48to the killings
42:49not with violence
42:55but with sex
42:56by exercising
42:59the right
43:00of Maya kings
43:01to have any woman
43:02they wanted
43:03and not just
43:07for pleasure
43:07like other
43:10Maya rulers
43:11Taj
43:12could have
43:13forged
43:13alliances
43:14by marrying
43:15other kings
43:16daughters
43:16the more
43:20alliances
43:20the better
43:21call it
43:24strategic
43:24polygamy
43:25for a king
43:27like Taj
43:28it was a quest
43:29for even
43:30greater power
43:31but for his
43:33descendants
43:33it may have
43:35begotten
43:35disaster
43:36because while
43:39all those royal
43:40marriages
43:40did create
43:41long-lasting
43:42alliances
43:43they also
43:45created
43:45a longer-lasting
43:46problem
43:47royal children
43:50experts
43:52have done
43:53the math
43:54if the king
43:56of a Maya
43:57city had only
43:58four children
43:59and those
44:00four children
44:01each had four
44:02and their
44:0316 grandchildren
44:05each had four
44:06the king
44:08would have
44:0932 great
44:10grandchildren
44:10and that's
44:13with only
44:13one wife
44:14multiply that
44:16number by
44:17several wives
44:18and after only
44:19200 years
44:21more than
44:22500 people
44:23in one
44:24Maya city
44:24could claim
44:25royal blood
44:26Arthur
44:29Demarest
44:30thinks that
44:31may be why
44:31Conquen's
44:32royal palace
44:33boasted a
44:34staggering
44:35200 rooms
44:36and why
44:39beneath
44:39its bustling
44:40prosperity
44:41the city
44:42may have
44:43seethed
44:44with tension
44:45rivalry
44:46between
44:47nobles
44:47and kings
44:48and the
44:49competition
44:50was pretty
44:51central to
44:52classic Maya
44:53civilization
44:53they would
44:56breed a
44:57number of
44:58the people
44:58in their
44:59courts
44:59that they
44:59would put
45:00on the
45:00thrones
45:01in different
45:01places
45:02the sub
45:06nobles
45:06were all
45:07working to
45:08increase
45:09their prestige
45:09which was
45:10really a
45:11major source
45:12of their
45:12power
45:12and that
45:14not only
45:15involved
45:15wars
45:16and rituals
45:16and alliances
45:17but also
45:18building bigger
45:19temples
45:19and having
45:21a more
45:21impressive
45:22display
45:22this
45:24competitive
45:25rivalry
45:26between
45:26these
45:27rulers
45:27got to
45:28be
45:29increasingly
45:29expensive
45:30were our
45:33victims
45:34some of
45:35these
45:35competing
45:35aristocrats
45:36commissioning
45:38ever more
45:38impressive
45:39monuments
45:39to outdo
45:40one another
45:41if they
45:43were
45:44they didn't
45:45build them
45:45and they
45:46didn't pay
45:47for them
45:47that fell
45:49on the
45:50shoulders
45:50of the
45:51common
45:51people
45:51as forced
45:53labor
45:53and as
45:54taxes
45:55you had
45:59a growing
46:00burden
46:00on the
46:02society
46:02on the
46:04middle
46:04and lower
46:05classes
46:06in terms
46:06of what
46:07they had
46:07to produce
46:08in order
46:09to support
46:10this growing
46:11system
46:12of status
46:12rivalry
46:13seen
46:16through this
46:16lens
46:17the wealthy
46:18luxurious
46:19world
46:19of our
46:20victims
46:20suddenly
46:21looks
46:22very
46:22different
46:23fractured
46:28by smoldering
46:29hatred
46:29commoners
46:31against
46:32nobles
46:33nobles
46:34against
46:35one another
46:35kings
46:37against
46:37kings
46:38jealousies
46:40and power
46:41struggles
46:41draining
46:42treasuries
46:43and using
46:44up food
46:44supplies
46:45perhaps
46:46even as
46:47drought
46:48began
46:48withering
46:49the fields
46:49and even
46:52prosperous
46:52cities
46:53like
46:53con
46:53quen
46:54edged
46:55closer
46:55to the
46:56brink
46:56suddenly
47:04the
47:04insulting
47:05burial
47:05of con
47:06mosh
47:06doesn't
47:07seem
47:07so
47:08puzzling
47:08and
47:12the
47:12massacre
47:12of
47:12an
47:13entire
47:13noble
47:14family
47:14doesn't
47:15seem
47:15so
47:15strange
47:16arthur
47:20demarest
47:21believes
47:22that
47:22by
47:22800
47:23a.d
47:23only
47:24a
47:24king
47:25as
47:25strong
47:25as
47:26taj
47:26chanak
47:27could
47:27have
47:27held
47:28con
47:28quen's
47:29cracking
47:29facade
47:30together
47:30after
47:32him
47:32no
47:33one
47:34could
47:34it
47:37isn't
47:37surprising
47:37that
47:37right
47:38after
47:38taj
47:38chanak
47:39everything
47:39falls
47:39apart
47:40you
47:41just
47:41have
47:41too
47:42many
47:42elites
47:42too
47:43many
47:43rivals
47:43and
47:44in
47:44the
47:44status
47:44rivalry
47:45system
47:45it
47:45was
47:45bound
47:46to
47:46blow
47:46apart
47:47at
47:47some
47:47point
47:47and
47:48at
47:48conquen
47:49it
47:49really
47:50blew
47:50apart
47:50in
47:50a
47:50dramatic
47:51way
47:51this
47:54find
47:54is
47:55a
47:55kind
47:55of
47:55a
47:55key
47:56stone
47:56I
47:57mean
47:57it
47:57just
47:57pulls
47:58everything
47:58together
47:59in
48:00terms
48:01of
48:01understanding
48:02the
48:02Maya
48:02collapse
48:03it's
48:06really
48:06unusual
48:06to
48:07find
48:07that
48:07and
48:08to
48:08find
48:08this
48:08kind
48:08of
48:09a
48:09snapshot
48:09of
48:11one
48:12of
48:12the
48:12moments
48:12in
48:13the
48:14disintegration
48:14of
48:15this
48:15civilization
48:15one
48:17of
48:17the
48:18more
48:18unfortunate
48:18and
48:19tragic
48:19moments
48:20it's
48:23very
48:23important
48:24because
48:24it
48:24shows
48:25us
48:25that
48:25civilizations
48:26can
48:26really
48:27screw
48:27up
48:27it's
48:31a
48:31war
48:32crime
48:32from
48:331200
48:33years
48:33ago
48:34no
48:37one
48:37knows
48:38who
48:38killed
48:39con
48:39quen's
48:39murder
48:40victims
48:40was
48:42it
48:42commoners
48:43who
48:43had
48:44enough
48:44of
48:44forced
48:45labor
48:45in
48:45crushing
48:46taxes
48:46or
48:49jealous
48:49relatives
48:50who
48:50wanted
48:51their
48:51rivals
48:51out
48:52of
48:52the
48:52way
48:52or
48:54perhaps
48:55other
48:55cities
48:56coveting
48:57con
48:57quen's
48:58riches
48:58or
48:59tired
48:59of
48:59its
49:00stranglehold
49:00on
49:01trade
49:01but
49:03reading
49:04the
49:04riddle
49:04of
49:05these
49:05butchered
49:05bones
49:06leaves
49:07us
49:07with
49:07a
49:07profound
49:08lesson
49:08the
49:13maya
49:13prospered
49:14for
49:14over
49:15a
49:15thousand
49:15years
49:16feeding
49:19huge
49:20populations
49:20in the
49:21middle
49:21of the
49:22tropics
49:22building
49:26cities
49:27of
49:27stupendous
49:28size
49:29and
49:29beauty
49:30calculating
49:34calendars
49:34of
49:35astonishing
49:36accuracy
49:37creating
49:39sophisticated
49:40language
49:40complex
49:42mathematics
49:42and
49:43beautiful
49:44art
49:44they
49:48conquered
49:48nature
49:49they
49:50conquered
49:50time
49:51they
49:52conquered
49:53the world
49:54of the
49:54mind
49:54but
49:55there
49:56was
49:56one
49:56thing
49:57all
49:57their
49:57brilliance
49:58couldn't
49:59conquer
49:59and
50:00it
50:01ultimately
50:01destroyed
50:02them
50:02they
50:04couldn't
50:04conquer
50:05themselves
50:06they
50:10have
50:11хозя
50:25they
50:25have
50:25been
50:26in
50:27about
50:27the
50:28live
50:28what
50:29else
50:30has
50:30been
50:32to
50:33a
50:34good
50:34have
50:35been
50:36what
50:36is
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53:58
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