Last Days of the Maya
Encyclopedia
Last Days of the Maya, released to DVD
under the title Royal Maya Massacre, is a 2005
documentary in the television series Explorer, which currently airs on the National Geographic Channel
.
The documentary tracks the discovery and excavation of two graves beneath the ruins of Cancuén
, once a prominent Mayan
city-state
.
The archaeological finds documented are notable as the National Geographic magazine presents them as evidence of the beginning of the end of the Mayan city-states.
/Guatemalan Ministry of Culture funded expedition to discover whether there are any grave sites buried beneath the ruins of Cancuén
, a city-state in the Petén Basin
(modern-day Guatemala
). The city rose to prominence during the forty year reign of King Taj Chan Ahk, and it is believed to have developed into an ancient trading centre linking the American continents. It is speculated there could be several mass grave
s in the temple district.
The first twenty or so minutes of the documentary is vivid introductory footage showing the lay of the land, a re-enactment of a bartering market in Cancuén, the riches that would have been imported by the aristocrats of the city, and some of the finds already made. A further five minutes is spent covering the archaeologists searching for graves, before cutting to a site on the border of the city believed to contain a 12 m2 grave.
Leading the dig is American anthropologist Arthur Demarest
, who had discovered evidence of a mass grave after beginning the excavation of Cancuén in 1999. Within a year of beginning work on reconstructing the royal palace, when the size of the complex was realised, he had plans to employ local Mayan villagers as guides to a site for eco-tourism; these new finds had far wider implications and the Ministry of Culture gave Demarest a team of archaeologists schooled in the history of the Petén.
As Demarest's grave is gradually revealed to be a tiled pool, a type of tomb used for ritual killings, and the sheer number of victims becomes apparent—in all, the remains of 31 men, women and children are found—the archaeologists on site are given pause. The victims' demise had none of the hallmarks of traditional human sacrifice
s, and when the bones are examined by physical anthropologists it is discovered that they were not captured slaves at all but nobility. The shape of the child victims' skulls, with the foreheads compressed into the parietal
to form a slender rise, is found exclusively in Mayan children of noble birth.
They are more surprised by the state in which the victims had been buried. The motive was not murder, as they died wearing jade jewellery. Instead, individuals may have been hunted down and slaughtered because the attackers left their weapons with the corpses and viciously stabbed the children, many of whom were under the age of twelve (adulthood), in the back of the neck. One skeleton suggests that the blade entered under the andible, implying the victim had been grabbed by the head and pulled back upon it, execution style.
After traces of a fetus are found, the narrator announces this can only be the extermination of a family. A grisly account is given of the decline of the Mayan civilisaton. Within decades of a city-state collapsing displaced persons would sweep through the surrounding regions, preying upon merchants using largely unguarded trade routes, which led to the peasants turning traitor and causing widespread violence. There are several scenarios which could explain a revenge attack of this scale, but it seems most likely that the lower classes of Cancuén had revolted.
Half-way through the programme a royal burial is found 80 yards away from the pool, in the jungle outside of the city limits. The skeleton is identified as the remains of Kan Maax
, a wealthy and powerful ruler of Cancuén who died around 800 AD, the same time as the royal family went extinct and approximately fifty years before the city was abandoned. It is observed that Maax had been buried in a shallow, unmarked grave "like a beggar", clear cut evidence that the killings were more than murder.
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
under the title Royal Maya Massacre, is a 2005
2005 in television
The year 2005 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2005.For the American TV schedule, see: 2005–06 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-Miniseries:...
documentary in the television series Explorer, which currently airs on the National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
.
The documentary tracks the discovery and excavation of two graves beneath the ruins of Cancuén
Cancuén
Cancuén is an archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, located in the Pasión subregion of the central Maya lowlands in the present-day Guatemalan Department of El Petén. The city is notable for having one of the largest palaces in the Maya world.- Ancient Cancuén :Cancuén was a...
, once a prominent Mayan
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
.
The archaeological finds documented are notable as the National Geographic magazine presents them as evidence of the beginning of the end of the Mayan city-states.
Plot
The documentary tracks a joint National Geographic SocietyNational Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
/Guatemalan Ministry of Culture funded expedition to discover whether there are any grave sites buried beneath the ruins of Cancuén
Cancuén
Cancuén is an archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, located in the Pasión subregion of the central Maya lowlands in the present-day Guatemalan Department of El Petén. The city is notable for having one of the largest palaces in the Maya world.- Ancient Cancuén :Cancuén was a...
, a city-state in the Petén Basin
Petén Basin
The Petén Basin is a geographical subregion of Mesoamerica, located in the northern portion of the modern-day nation of Guatemala, and essentially contained within the department of El Petén...
(modern-day Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
). The city rose to prominence during the forty year reign of King Taj Chan Ahk, and it is believed to have developed into an ancient trading centre linking the American continents. It is speculated there could be several mass grave
Mass grave
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple number of human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. There is no strict definition of the minimum number of bodies required to constitute a mass grave, although the United Nations defines a mass grave as a burial site which...
s in the temple district.
The first twenty or so minutes of the documentary is vivid introductory footage showing the lay of the land, a re-enactment of a bartering market in Cancuén, the riches that would have been imported by the aristocrats of the city, and some of the finds already made. A further five minutes is spent covering the archaeologists searching for graves, before cutting to a site on the border of the city believed to contain a 12 m2 grave.
Leading the dig is American anthropologist Arthur Demarest
Arthur Demarest
Arthur Andrew Demarest is an American anthropologist and archaeologist, known for his studies of the Maya civilization.-Career:Demarest, a Louisiana Cajun, studied Mesoamerican anthropology and archaeology at Tulane University, where he graduated. In 1981 Demarest was granted his doctorate by...
, who had discovered evidence of a mass grave after beginning the excavation of Cancuén in 1999. Within a year of beginning work on reconstructing the royal palace, when the size of the complex was realised, he had plans to employ local Mayan villagers as guides to a site for eco-tourism; these new finds had far wider implications and the Ministry of Culture gave Demarest a team of archaeologists schooled in the history of the Petén.
As Demarest's grave is gradually revealed to be a tiled pool, a type of tomb used for ritual killings, and the sheer number of victims becomes apparent—in all, the remains of 31 men, women and children are found—the archaeologists on site are given pause. The victims' demise had none of the hallmarks of traditional human sacrifice
Human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice has been practised in various cultures throughout history...
s, and when the bones are examined by physical anthropologists it is discovered that they were not captured slaves at all but nobility. The shape of the child victims' skulls, with the foreheads compressed into the parietal
Parietal
Parietal may refer to:*Parietal placentation*Parietal lobe of the brain*Parietal bone of the skull*Parietal scales of a snake lie in the general region of the parietal bone*Parietal cell in the stomach*Parietal pleura...
to form a slender rise, is found exclusively in Mayan children of noble birth.
They are more surprised by the state in which the victims had been buried. The motive was not murder, as they died wearing jade jewellery. Instead, individuals may have been hunted down and slaughtered because the attackers left their weapons with the corpses and viciously stabbed the children, many of whom were under the age of twelve (adulthood), in the back of the neck. One skeleton suggests that the blade entered under the andible, implying the victim had been grabbed by the head and pulled back upon it, execution style.
After traces of a fetus are found, the narrator announces this can only be the extermination of a family. A grisly account is given of the decline of the Mayan civilisaton. Within decades of a city-state collapsing displaced persons would sweep through the surrounding regions, preying upon merchants using largely unguarded trade routes, which led to the peasants turning traitor and causing widespread violence. There are several scenarios which could explain a revenge attack of this scale, but it seems most likely that the lower classes of Cancuén had revolted.
Half-way through the programme a royal burial is found 80 yards away from the pool, in the jungle outside of the city limits. The skeleton is identified as the remains of Kan Maax
Kan Maax
Kan Maax , alternatively transliterated as K'an Maax, has been identified as the last known ruler of Cancuén, a pre-Columbian Maya polity located at the headwaters of the Pasion River in modern-day Guatemala....
, a wealthy and powerful ruler of Cancuén who died around 800 AD, the same time as the royal family went extinct and approximately fifty years before the city was abandoned. It is observed that Maax had been buried in a shallow, unmarked grave "like a beggar", clear cut evidence that the killings were more than murder.