All language subtitles for Expedition.Unknown.S18E05.en

[rugged music plays]

[low growling]

I'm deep in the jungles
of Chiapas, Mexico,

in front of one of the largest
stone arches in the world.

It's known as Arco del Tiempo,
or the Arch of Time.

Sounds like the title of
an Indiana Jones movie,

but by traveling through it,
we may be able to solve

a mystery worthy of
Indy himself,

the fate of a vanished
civilization known as the Zoque.

If you've never heard of
the Zoque, you're not alone.

But 3,000 years ago,
well before the Aztecs

or the height of the Maya,
it was the Zoque that may have

laid the groundwork
for their empires,

building monumental
temples and cities,

and forging connections to
animal spirits in

deep underground caverns
they believed were portals

to the underworld.

But then, their civilization
collapsed.

Their once magnificent cities
abandoned,

their once grand culture reduced
to whispered legends,

and no one is sure why.

To modern observers,
the Zoque seem to have simply

up and vanished.

But now, an archaeologist is
conducting a bold search

near a former Zoque capital for
evidence of uncharted ruins.

And an expert researcher
and climber is hunting for

lost caves in
the dangerous depths

of the Mexican jungle
to reveal

where the Zoque went
and what became of them.

So join me on an adventure
beyond the Arch of Time

and into the distant past as
we search for the truth behind

Mexico's mysterious Zoque.

[Josh]
The past is all around us.

-[overlapping shouting]
-Whoa! It's working!

[Josh] A world of mystery...

This is the Thunderbolt! Yeah!

[Josh]
...danger...

-Fire in the hole!
-[explosion blasts]

Whoa!

[Josh]
...and adventure.

That's gold!

Oh! Oh!

Look at this place.

[Josh]
I travel to the far corners of
the earth

to uncover
where legends end...
-Yeah!

[indistinct shouting, laughing]

[Josh]
...and history begins.

OK, let's punch it.

I'm Josh Gates, and this is
"Expedition Unknown."

My mission to uncover
who the Zoque were

and what happened to them,
starts in southern Mexico.

While the days of the Zoque
erecting massive cities may be

long gone,
their descendants are still

very much around.

Over 50,000 modern Zoque live
in the state of Chiapas,

many speaking a form of
the original Zoque language.

Today, the center of Zoque
life is here in the town of

Ocozocoautla de Espinosa,
or Coita if you're looking to

save a few vowels.

Established by the Spanish
during the Colonial era,

it is now home to
the annual Zoque Carnival,

where the old ways of life are
still on full display.

And lucky for us, we're here
just in time for the party.

As the last day to let loose
before the beginning of Lent,

Carnival is celebrated all
over the world.

And whether you're in
New Orleans or Rio or Chiapas,

there's nothing like
Fat Tuesday.

Here in Coita, this Catholic
celebration has been

uniquely infused with traditions
from a culture

older than
Christianity itself.

Each of these dances are tied
to a different Catholic saint,

but it's a mishmash of
symbolism and cultures,

much of it dating back to
a time when

the Zoque were
the real power in this region.

Exhibit A is making its way
into the plaza now,

and it looks like
it means business.

So these performers are
dressed as jaguars.

This is the dance of
the jaguars and the monkeys.

The dance depicts a fight
between good and evil.

Evil in this case is
the Jaguar,

a dark cave-dwelling embodiment
of the underworld.

The good guys -- those are
the monkeys, who, along with

a hunter, are here to take down
the big cat.

-[gunshot blasts]
-[crowd] Oh!

[Josh] The hunt is a success,
and the Jaguar is vanquished

to the underworld.

Another pre-Catholic tradition
here honors

the ancient god of corn,
Homshuk.

The modern Zoque honor him at
Carnival by weaponizing

copious amounts of corn flour,

which quickly gets...
-Ahhh!

...off the cob.

Two can play at that game.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah!
-[screaming]

[Josh] Actually, it turns out
a lot more than two

can play at this game.

[indistinct shouting]

Truce!
Truce!

Truce!

[Josh] Hey, all is fair in
love and corn.

No, no, no, no, no.
Hey!

[overlapping screams]

[Josh] Fortunately,
this activity also includes

the consumption
of alcohol.

Anyone know what's in these?

Opa!

[Josh] It's joyous, it's
colorful, and by the end of it,

I look like an extra on the set
of "Scarface."

[indistinct chatter, laughter]

This is brutal.

Total...

[laughter]

...cornage [carnage].

It may seem like chaos,
and it is --

I have the laundry bill to
prove it.

But it's also tradition,

one with elements
that stretch back to

the original ancient Zoque.

But who were they?

Why do we know
so little about them?

And where on earth
did they go?

The answers to our questions
can't be found here.

By the light of a new day,
I shake off the dust,

pop a couple of aspirin,
and hit the road.

OK, bad news is I have
a splitting headache,

but the good news is I have
enough corn flour on my body

that I don't think
I'm ever gonna sweat again.

But if we're going to crack
the mystery of the Zoque,

we have to leave the modern
world in the rearview mirror.

Here we go.

It's a nearly three-hour drive
75 miles south

into the Sierra Madre
Mountains.

2,300 feet up sits
the Zoque's last great city,

home to one of
the most significant

Zoque archaeological sites
ever discovered.

Iglesia Vieja.

OK...

Things might get
a little, uh...

little bumpy.

Whoo-hoo!

And now I'm driving in sand.
All right.

Four-wheel drive.
Whoo-hoo!

There we go!

Boy, the Zoque really went for
some out-of-the-way

real estate here.

Even bad roads must come to
an end, and I finally approach

the site of Iglesia Vieja,
or in English, "Old Church."

The ruins were actually
misnamed during

the Spanish Colonial era,
thanks to large blocks

that looked like
the foundation of a church.

It was only later that
archaeologists realized

they'd stumbled upon something
much older

and much, much bigger.

I stare in amazement at not one
building or two or three,

but the ruins of a major
ancient city.

And here to explain it is
an archaeologist who's been

studying the Zoque for years,
Arcelia Garcia.

[Arcelia] Welcome to
Iglesia Vieja.

-[Josh] It's a jaw-dropper.
-[Arcelia] Yeah.

-So this is a Zoque pyramid?
-[Arcelia] It is.

This is the largest pyramid in
the archaeological site.

-Which is how big?
-300 feet long.

That's all,
just a 300-foot-long pyramid.

And look at the size of
these blocks.

[Arcelia] Yes, this is
megalithic construction.

These blocks are made
of granite.

Some are as heavy
as two tons.

OK, I have a lot of questions
about the Zoque.

OK, ask away.

I've just come from Carnival,
so the only thing I really know

about them is they know
how to throw a party.

But I want to understand
the original, the OG Zoque.

Yeah -- to really understand
this culture, we have to go

from the modern Zoque to
the ancient Zoque.

[Josh]
When it comes to the rock
stars of Mesoamerica,

nobody has better brand
recognition or merch than

the mighty Aztecs.

And hey, we all still marvel at
the killer cities of the Maya.

But long before either of them
took center stage,

there was one indie band

that deserved to be headlining,
the Zoque.

2,000 years before the Aztecs,
when the Olmec were busy

turning boulders into giant
stone heads on the Gulf Coast,

here on the Pacific side,
as early as 1200 BC,

the Zoque were building
a civilization of their own.

By 400 BC, the Olmec are
in decline --

sorry, guys --

while the Zoque are still
going strong.

That's a solid millennium on
the world stage.

Hey, even the Roman Empire
didn't make it that long.

Yet most people have never
heard of the Zoque.

So let's talk about why
we should know them.

-Mm-hmm.
-You know, when I think about
pyramids in the Americas,

I think of the Maya.

But here are the Zoque doing
this earlier.

Yes, absolutely.

They're also one of the first
cultures to master large-scale

agriculture, meaning corn,
cacao, what we know now

as chocolate.
-[Josh] Right.

And by the way, cacao is
a Zoque word.

-It is?
-[Arcelia] Yes.

OK, so every time
at the holidays,

I have a hot cup of cocoa,
I can thank the Zoque.

You can thank the Zoque.

And there's a lot more here.
Let me show you.

[Josh]
How many different structures
are here at the site?

We have 80 buildings in
the archaeological site.

-[Josh] Eight-zero?
-[Arcelia] Eight-zero.

[Josh]
We move through the ceremonial
plazas of the city with

pyramids and terraces that once
had huge stone

administrative buildings,
temples, and markets.

It's a layout that
feels familiar,

and that's because
the Maya civilization

adopted it
almost identically.

But that's not nearly all
the Maya learned

from the Zoque.

This cross in ancient Mexico
and Central America represents

the planet Venus.
-[Josh] Venus.

[Arcelia] Yes.

When I think about astronomy
in this part of the world,

I think about the Maya.

Of course, but here you have
one of the earliest

civilizations in Mesoamerica
already having a symbol

of a planet.
-Insane.

One of the first calendars
in Mesoamerica?

Not Maya, it was Zoque.

Not to mention, some of
the most sacred symbols

we associate with the Maya seem
to have been here first.

This is all carved?

[Arcelia]
Yeah, so you can see the fang,

you're seeing the eyes...

[Josh]
Oh, right, so two eyes,
and then this is the mouth,

and these are fangs?
-[Arcelia] Yeah, the nose.

[Josh]
And the nose is right there,
those are the nostrils.

-[Arcelia] Right, exactly.
-[Josh] So what is this?

-Well, we think it's a jaguar.
-Jaguar.

I mean, a really
fearsome-looking creature.

Animal motifs in general are
very important for the Zoque,

but the jaguar was
very important because he was

connected to the underworld,
to the night, to death,

to fertility, and water.

-He's connected to all of that?
-[Arcelia] Yeah.

Kind of a deity for
all seasons.

Inclusion of the jaguar
demonstrates that the Zoque

purposefully designed every
detail of Iglesia Vieja,

right down to the landscaping.

-Watch your head there.
-Very dangerous-looking tree.

Yes, this is the Ceiba tree.

-Ceiba?
-Yes.

OK.

[Arcelia] It was a very
important tree for the Zoque

because it connected
the three levels of the cosmos.

The leaves connected to
the heavens, the trunk of

the tree connected to Earth,

and the roots go underground
to the underworld.

[Josh]
The roots go to the underworld
because that's where

the water is.

In fact, the Zoque believed that
the underworld was the source

of water itself.

The Ceiba tree's resin,
called copal,

was sacred as well, burned as
incense in their rituals.

And across the plaza is another
Zoque design flourish,

this one startlingly personal.
-Something here.

-Is that -- is that a hand?
-[Arcelia] Yeah.

So somebody put their hand
here and then carved out

this print?
-Yeah.

That's wild.
And why do we think?

We don't know.

Could have been a builder,
could have been an important

person to the society.
We don't know.

I mean, you talk about
reaching into the past, right?

-Right.
-[Josh] Wow.

That's really cool.

This handprint is like
a long-faded signature of

the once mighty Zoque.
But where did they go?

Arcelia brings me to meet
an archaeologist who's working

on solving that mystery right
at this moment.

And he happens to be
an old friend of mine.

-Josuhé!
-Hey, yo!

-It's nice to see you again.
-[Josh] Great to see you, man.

How are you?

This is the director of
the Iglesia Vieja project,

Josuhé Lozada.

Last time I saw you,
we found a lost city.

-Sac Balam.
-How amazing was that?

An incredible adventure.

[Josh] The last city of the Maya
in Mexico,

known as Sac Balam,
was lost for hundreds of years,

until Josuhé's team
and I rediscovered it.

Hey, stone, right there!

Yes, I think
we finding Sac Balam.

-You do?
-Yes, for sure.

-Now the Zoque.
-That's right.

[Josh] But finding the Zoque
won't be easy.

In front of us is
a mysterious altar,

along with another
jaguar image,

which the Zoque seemed rather
obsessed with,

are three enigmatic faces.

So who are these three people?

There is a theory that these
faces were related with

the first rulers in
Iglesia Vieja.

[Josh] Incredible.

Have any Zoque kings or elite
burials been found?

Several years ago,
another Zoque site named

Chiapa de Corzo,
-Uh-huh.

the archaeologists found
an elite burial.

[Josh]
Almost 175 miles away
and dating to 1200 BC,

Chiapa de Corzo is, in many
ways, the birthplace of

the Zoque story.

3,000 years ago, this thriving
city was one of the first urban

centers in the Americas,
establishing the early Zoque as

a major cultural force.

In the middle of the site sits
a now ruined pyramid,

and in 2010,
archaeologists there made

a jaw-dropping find,
the remains of a couple adorned

with jewelry and surrounded
by offerings.

It is the oldest pyramid tomb
in Mesoamerica and the only

Zoque royal burial
ever discovered.

Back here at Iglesia Vieja,
Josuhé has set up

an excavation pit in front of
this pyramid.

And while he hasn't yet found
a burial, he has uncovered

a crucial clue to what happened
to its builders.

-[Josuhé] This is
called Fine Orange.
-Fine Orange, OK.

-And when does it date to?
-It's about 700 AD.

700 AD.
OK.

So they've been in
Iglesia Vieja for 900 years?

-900 years, yes.
-OK.

And there is something very
interesting about this pottery

because it's related with
the last years of

Iglesia Vieja.

And it's not just in
Iglesia Vieja.

Other excavations
in the Zoque world

show this apparent
expiration date

of around 700 AD.

So no pottery gets made after
around 700 AD.

And in the digs here,
there's no evidence of

a destruction layer.
-Mnh-mnh.

-There's no evidence of burning
the city or weapons.
-[Arcelia] No.

-[Josuhé] No.
-We don't find spear
points and things.

-No -- it's like
they just disappear.
-Wow.

-So this is like the
final clue, the final piece...
-[Josuhé] The final clue.

-[Arcelia] Yeah.
-...of their world
before they vanish.

Yes, that is the big mystery
of the Zoque.

What happened and where
did they go?

[Josh] To unravel that,
archaeologists need to

understand how many Zoque were
here and how large-scale

this abandonment really was.

Unfortunately, we don't even
know the full extent

of the ruins.

So wait, there are
parts of this city

that have not been seen?

Only 20% of the ruins are
uncovered, and there are maybe

structures that we don't even
know about.

-And how do we find those?
-Same as we find Sac Balam.

-LIDAR.
-That's right.

[Josh]
Josuhé is ready to scan,
so we summit one peak of

a twin pyramid to meet a team
led by Jorge Olivares Rivera.

-Nice to meet you.
-Mucho gusto.

-Nice to meet you.
-[Josh] Alejandro.

So we have a very
impressive-looking drone here.

-And what's the payload?
-It's a modular LIDAR unit.

Produces 240,000 lasers
per second.

[Josh] LIDAR collects literally
hundreds of millions

of data points.

It even allows the team to
digitally remove

the jungle canopy to see
what's beneath.

Josuhé is hoping the scan will
reveal as yet undiscovered

Zoque structures, which may
contain clues as to what

happened here around 700 AD
and where the people fled to.

Have you done LIDAR
here before?

Never before.
It's the first time.

-This is the first time ever?
-Yes.

OK.
And so how much of this site

are you going to be able
to scan?

Todos.

Todos.
All of it?

-200 acres.
-200 acres.

OK.
So, should we fly?

-Let's do it.
-Let's do it.
Come on.

[Josh]
For over a thousand years,
the true extent of

Iglesia Vieja has been
hidden away,

now we're one step closer to
unlocking its secrets.

OK -- up, up, and away.

This LIDAR drone is scanning
the ruins of Iglesia Vieja,

a one-time capital of the Zoque,
who thrived for over

a millennium in western Mexico,
until one day

they abandoned
their major cities.

-It's going to fly lanes, right?
-Yeah.

How many?

-About 30.
-[Josh] 30 lanes.

OK.
Starting mission.
Here we go.

Archaeologist Josuhé Lozada has
been exploring and excavating

here for clues about where
the Zoque went.

The drone scans down through
the foliage for the next hour.

We're hoping it detects
undiscovered sections

of the city.

Mission is complete.

-Time to land.
-OK, let's land it.

[Josh]
Its pre-programmed route
finished, Jorge brings

the drone back in for
a landing, then transfers

the data onto his laptop
for analysis.

OK, so...

did it work?
-Oh, yes.

OK, great.
What have we got?

Wow.
OK, so here's our site.

And when you look
at the canopy,

you know, you probably would
think there's nothing here.

Yeah, we're right on top
of the mountains.

Now for the magic trick.
Can you take away the canopy?

-Yeah, just one click.
-This is my favorite part.

Yeah.

-Oh, wow!
-Come on!

[Josh]
Without the trees in the way,
the construction is

immediately apparent.

The pyramids and plazas
I've walked through

are clearly outlined.

You don't realize it standing
here, but these plazas are all

just perched on the edge of
these cliffs.
-Yeah.

Yes, it's a natural mountain,
but modified by the Zoque.

They have taken the tops of
these mountains

and planed them off.
-To build a city.

[Josh]
To build a city.

The engineering is
mind-boggling.

But what Josuhé is focused on
are the areas outside of

the city center.

How big is
Iglesia Vieja really?

-Can we zoom in on that?
-Yeah.

-[Josuhé & Arcelia] Wow.
-What is that?

This is something new.
There are many structures here.

[Josh]
Is this a platform?

[Josuhé] Yes, we can see
the perfect shape.

[Josh]
Right, it's totally squared
off on this edge.

-And what is this?
-[Josuhé] There are some
terraces.

[Josh] So it terraces down
here and here.

-I mean, nobody has seen that?
-No, nobody.

[Josh]
These terraces that once held
Zoque structures haven't been

seen since the evacuation of
Iglesia Vieja.

Wait, is that a new part
of the site?

-This is new structure.
-[Arcelia] Wow.

I mean, that's -- that's nuts!

[Josh]
This is historic.

New sections of this capital,
dozens of acres of it,

finally rediscovered.

And hidden within may be
the keys to learning

where the Zoque went.

Can you give us an exact
coordinate for these places?

I want to see if
there's something here.

We can use the GPS to go to
the exact spot.

-Let's do it.
-[Arcelia] Oh, yeah.

Let's see what this is.

[Josh] With the GPS coordinates
in hand, we hike into

the overgrown jungle.

-How far?
-500 feet from here.

-500 feet, OK.
-[Josuhé] Yeah.

[Josh]
This is tough.

-[blade scraping]
-No wonder nobody's found
this place.

-[Josuhé] We should be here.
-[Josh] OK, eyes open.

[Josuhé]
Very close.

[Josh] What is this?
Here, here, here, here.

-[Arcelia] Yeah.
-[Josuhé] There is
something here.

-Look at this --
oh, my God.
-[Josh] It's a wall!

[Josh] Look at this!

This is the edge of
a terrace, yes?

[Josuhé]
Yes, of course.

[Josh] Exactly.
Nobody has seen

this construction in, what,
1,300 years?

-[Arcelia] Exactly.
-[Josuhé] 1,300 years.

The uncovered part of
Iglesia Vieja.

-Yes.
-[Josh] This is unbelievable.

Look at this place!

Have you found these before?

It's the first time that
we saw something like this.

-Maybe it's the base
of a home.
-Right.

[Josuhé]
It's a domestic area.

[Josh] Here it is.

Proof of more structures in
Iglesia Vieja.

Not temples or pyramids,
but the actual homes of

Zoque families.

So the theory is that
they would have built these

little homes on these
terraces, yeah?
-[Arcelia] Yeah -- yeah.

-Yes.
-They weren't living in
the ceremonial center.

They would be living here,
outside the city.

Based on the LIDAR,
these terraces go

all the way down here.
-Yeah.

-That's right.
-So there could be countless
platforms for homes here.

[Josh]
This area would have been
covered with Zoque homes,

all surrounding the city center
that would have been

the heart of public life.

Finding these homes
drastically changes

Josuhé's understanding
of Iglesia Vieja.

Before, we estimate about
10,000 people

that live in Iglesia Vieja.

But now, with this new data,
I think the number is low.

So you think there may be more
people here?

There is so much
we still have to find.

[Josh]
In fact, with so many terraces
surrounding the city,

the population
may even be double

what was
previously thought.

This also means the abandonment
here was major --

a massive emptying of
a thriving urban center.

But can this help solve
the mystery of why they left,

where they went?
-Some of the answers we are

looking for may be buried here
in the city.

But it's gonna take
generations to excavate

and uncover all of these areas.
-So where does that leave us?

There is another place called
Rio La Venta Canyon.

And what is this place?

There is evidence of Zoque
presence there.

[Josh] La Venta Canyon lies deep
in the mountains

northwest of Iglesia Vieja.

Filled with deep ravines
and endless caves,

it was a sacred pilgrimage site
for the Zoque for more than

a thousand years.

If you wanted to make an entire
city disappear, this would be

the place to do it.

And we have some new reports.

Mm! New reports?
What do you mean?

So there are some ranchers
there, some farmers who live

there, and they informed us
that they saw some caves

that have never been
explored before.

-OK.
-And they might contain
artifacts from the Zoque.

This place is near
here or far?

-Oh, it's far.
-Are you up for it?

With you, Josuhé?
Always.

[Josh]
The world of the ancient Zoque,
once consisted so neatly for me

within Iglesia Vieja, is about
to get much, much bigger.

The next morning,
Josuhé, Arcelia, and I pack up

the 4x4 to begin a journey into
the sacred and unexplored

wilderness of the Zoque.

All right, so we're leaving
the coast behind here...

-Mm-hmm.
-...and we are headed
into the interior.

And what's it like there?

I assume it's more
mountainy, yeah?

Yeah, it's very rugged there.

It's a tropical savanna,
so it splits between

a very wet season
and a very dry season.
-OK.

[Josh]
The Chiapas region provides
a third of all of

Mexico's water, which is one of
the reasons this place

was so sacred to the Zoque.

It's the reason we saw so many
jaguar images back at

Iglesia Vieja, the fearsome
symbol of the underworld,

which the Zoque saw as
the source of life-giving water.

Lucky for us, there's no rain
in the forecast.

And it's dry now, right?
This is the dry season.

Yes, this is the dry season.

And it has been
a very dry season.

[Josh] And the drive is about
how long?

About three hours in
this direction.

[Josh] Three hours
into the mountains.

Here we go.

We'll be traveling nearly
80 miles into

the undulating canyons
of Chiapas.

At the end of the road,
we'll be hiking a day to

the La Venta Canyon,

and then we'll follow the river
for another day

toward the location where
farmers have reported

uncharted caves.

This is us.

-We're on foot from here.
-That's it.

[Josh] We grab our packs
and get ready to sweat.

Luckily, Josuhé has arranged for
some four-legged backup.

-Hola.
-Buenos dias.

-Abraham? Josh.
-Como estan?

-Mucho gusto.
-Buenos dias.

OK, so does this mean we get
to ride there?

-No, for the gear.
-It's for the gear.

A guy can dream.
All right, we got a lot
of gear.

-Should we load it up?
-Yeah.

[Josh] OK, let's do it.
Come on.

The animals will haul supplies
as far as they can and then

leave depots for us to
return to on the hike back out.

The jungle immediately envelops
us, and for the first time,

I realize just how off the grid
we're going to be.

What else is out here with us?

This is a biosphere reserve,
so there's a lot of diversity

of animals, anywhere from
wild boar to jaguars.

A lot of jaguars here?

Yeah, there's a healthy
population of jaguars.

Wow.

But what you really need to
worry about is the nauyaca.

It is a very venomous
and aggressive snake.

We would call
that a fer-de-lance.

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

One of them tried to kill me
a few years ago.

-Really?
-Yeah, yeah, it was great.

That's the only venomous
snake here?

-[Arcelia] No, there are others.
-[Josuhé] There are more.

There's always others.

-All right, well, here we go.
-[Arcelia] OK. Let's go.

I'm always sorry I asked.

[Josh] But here at the start of
our hike, it's not the snakes

I need to worry about.

Oh, boy.

[Josuhé] Oh, wow.

Well, we can use the bridge to
cross the river.

Sure, yeah, the bridge from
"Temple of Doom."

That sounds like a great idea.
OK, who's going first?

The heaviest should go first.

All right, move.
Out of my way.

Zoque wouldn't have used
this bridge.

Oh, boy.

Oh, these boards are sketchy.
They are just rotted out.

Got a missing board here
in the middle.

Hoo-hoo.

Please don't collapse and fall.
Please don't collapse and fall.

I was gonna say it's not
the worst bridge

I've ever been on, but it is.

It is the worst bridge.

[Josh] I've joined
archaeologists Josuhé Lozada

and Arcelia Garcia
on a trek

into sacred Mexican wilderness
to find answers about

the Zoque, a once powerful
civilization that evacuated

their mighty cities.

Newly reported caves
deep in the jungle

may offer clues to their fate.

Prepare to meet Kali.

[Josh] It's a once-in-a-lifetime
trip, but hopefully

not because I'm going
to die here.

OK, I'm alive, I'm alive.
Here we go, we got it.

It turns out there's no
shortage of jungle on

the other side of
the rickety bridge,

and we trek on for hours,

moving further and further into
the possible last refuge

of the Zoque.

-Are we there yet?
-[Arcelia] Not even close.

[Josh] It takes the better part
of a day,

but we finally reach
our first major landmark.

And I do mean major.

-What is that?
-That's the Arch of Time.

It is huge!

[Josh] This is Arco del Tiempo,
the Arch of Time,

one of the largest rock arches
on Earth.

It towers 590 feet above
the La Venta River --

a river we'll need to follow to
reach the Zoque Caves

deeper in the jungle.

So, how are we getting
down there?

[Arcelia]
We gotta rappel.

So, how far is
that, you think?

-[Arcelia] Looks like 100 feet.
-OK.

Luckily, we have
an expert climber.

Oh, I don't know about expert.
I do OK.

-I mean, you know.
-I mean her.

[Josh] Oh, sure.
Sorry.

Sorry.
Yes, of course.

[Josh] Arcelia is, in fact,
a world-class climber

who's scaled El Capitan
in Yosemite

and the Cordillera Blanca
in Peru.

And now our lives are
in her hands.

-We got this -- we got this.
-Sure.

Me -- me too.
This is easy.
Here we go.

[Josh] This is the end
of the road for our horses,

but fortunately, they're
carrying rappelling gear.

This is going to be a 100-foot
drop off a crumbling ledge

perched directly above
the rocky riverbank.

So, naturally,
they put the harness

on me first.

Why am I going first again?

Well, you wanted to.

I do not remember it
that way at all.

OK, here goes nothing.

[Arcelia]
Take it nice and easy, Josh.

Looks like a big overhang.

Ah!
[bleep]

OK, huge drop!

The walls of this canyon are
wet and crumbling, and it goes

without saying that any
accident out here

would be a disaster.

We're a day's hike from a road,
let alone a hospital.

This is terrifying.

-OK, off rappel.
-[Arcelia] I'm coming down,
Josh.

OK.

-Oh, you OK?
-[Arcelia] Whoa!

-[Josh] Are you OK?
-Yeah, that was slippery.

Whoo-hoo-hoo.

-[Arcelia] Whoo!
-You scared me there!

[Josh]
Arcelia recovers her footing
and then, rather effortlessly,

makes her way down into
the limestone canyon carved by

the La Venta River over
170 million years.

That makes it over twice as old
as the Grand Canyon.

-Good job.
-Good job.

I thought you were gonna take
the express route down

for a second.
-It was slippery.

[Josh] Yeah, very slippery.
OK.

Let's walk Josuhé through it.

That part's slippery,
so be careful.

You got it.

[Arcelia] Watch out.

[Josuhé] Ah!

-Oh.
-Oh [bleep].

Are you OK?

Are you OK?

-[Josuhé] Ugh, I am OK.
-[Josh] OK.

-[Arcelia] Don't let go
of the rope.
-That was scary.

[Josh]
Josuhé manages to make it down
safely, and all three of us are

reunited on the canyon floor to
take in a bucket list view.

Whoo!

-Hey, great job.
-Thank you.

-Great job, yeah.
-Amazing.

I mean, can we talk
about this?

-[Arcelia] Look at this place.
-[Josuhé] Yes, of course.

[Josh] I have never seen
anything like this in my life.

-So this is the La Venta River?
-[Arcelia] This is
the La Venta River.

Through the arch is the land
of the Zoque.

All right, into the land
of the Zoque.

[Josh] Beyond the arch is one of
the most sacred regions of

the ancient Zoque world,
a world of

jaguars, water,
and the underworld,

the holy caves that Josuhé hopes

may hold the key to
learning their fate.

We follow the river and work
further into the forest,

trying to make as much distance
before sunset as possible,

until we stop and make camp
for the night.

Josh, what do you think about
being here in La Venta Canyon?

Oh, this is another
world, right?

I feel like I'm hanging out
with the Zoque.

You just imagine, so,
them abandoning that city,

they're walking a hundred
or more miles through

the jungle, all jungle, to get
out to places like this.

That means you're either
really desperate,

or this place is
that important to you.

All these elements,
like the water,

the mountain, the caves,
are connected in one place that

is into La Venta Canyon.
-[Josh] Right.

-So what's for dinner?
-Wild boar, right?

Are you gonna go
hunting or what?

Well, I have something
for you.

-A spiritual drink.
-Oh, boy.

-Oh, boy.
-It's posh.

-[Josh] Posh?
-Posh.

-Que es posh?
-It's a medicine drink.

I'm sure it is.
It's used to treat sobriety.

What is it made from?

-It's made with corn.
-[Josh] Oh, from corn.

-Well, this is a very Zoque
drink then, right?
-Yeah.

The local people use the posh
to cure the illness

of the soul.
Do you want to try?

-Yeah, of course.
-[Josuhé] OK.

Here's to our souls
and to the Zoque.

-To the Zoque.
-To the Zoque. Salud.

Salud.

-Wha -- hoo.
-[laughing]

-What do you think?
-It's um, it's good.

-Mm.
-It's really good.

Do you want more?

-Yeah.
-Yes, I want more.
Are you kidding?

-Salud.
-Salud.

Salud.

All the best.

[Josh] We awaken to a day much
like yesterday.

A lot of jungle, a lot of heat,
and a lot of one foot

in front of the other.

We spend hours following
the river canyon until,

finally, we approach
our target zone.

[Arcelia]
Should be in the area.

[Josuhé] I think so.

[Arcelia] There's plenty of
limestone here.

[Josh] Oh, yeah, look at that.
Huge outcropping all in here.

To the Zoque, this was
a place of magic.

The cave systems in this region
were formed by millennia of

running water channeling
through limestone rock.

We've found the limestone.

Now, we just need to
find a cave.

Yeah, I mean, there's little
overhangs and crevices

all throughout here.

Yeah, I'm sure there's
a cave system.

Under all this?

Yes, we just need to
find the entrance.

Look towards your left.

[Josh] Yeah, follow this
ridge, right?

-[Arcelia] Right.
-[Josuhé] Yes.

-There is something here.
-[Arcelia] What do you see?

-[Josh] You see something?
-I think it's a cave.

-[Josh] You see a cave?
-[Josuhé] Yes, for sure.

[Josh] For sure?
Where?

-[Arcelia] Yes.
-[indistinct]

-[Josh] Oh-ho-ho! It's huge!
-[Josuhé] Wow.

-[Josuhé] Wow! Oh, my God.
-[Josh] Oh, that is a cave!

Amazing.
Hey.

-[Josuhé] It's amazing.
-Amazing.

That's a cave for sure.

[Josh] After two days of hiking
into the jungles of

Chiapas, Mexico,
we finally discovered

the entrance to a cave in
a remote and unexplored area

sacred to the ancient Zoque,

a once vibrant civilization
that mysteriously abandoned

their cities over
1,300 years ago.

I was picturing some
little thing

we were gonna have to
crawl into.

That's like,
a proper cave.

The question is,
is it a Zoque site?

There's only one way to
find out.

[Josh]
This is the moment of truth.

Josuhé leads the way
into the passage.

Into the underworld.
Whoa, look at this place!

[Josh]
And we fan out to search for
signs of the Zoque.

Anything yet?
Anything?

-[Josuhé] Not yet.
-Nothing here either.

[Josuhé] Oh, wow.
Look at this.

[Josh] See something?

-[Josuhé] Wow!
-[Josh] Oh, my God.

Ho!

-[Arcelia] Wow.
-[Josh] Those are handprints.

Is this Zoque?

-Yes, it is Zoque.
-How do we know that?

We have seen other handprints
in caves.

This is very special,
because the other ones were

made in red color.

Oh, like a red paint.
And this is different.

This is what, some like
charcoal or something?

Seems to be like charcoal.

[Josh] So this has not been
seen before?

This is the very first time
a black color painting related

with a handprint.
-Wow!

[Josh]
This is a major discovery.

The imagery echoes
the carved handprint we saw

back in Iglesia Vieja.

These, however, were created by
the Zoque holding their hands to

the cave surface and then
blowing black carbon powder to

create the outlines.

It is a stunning connection

to the past in a stunning state
of preservation.

-And look how clean each of
the handprints are.
-[Arcelia] Yeah.

Like, if these were done one at
a time, then you'd see paint

kind of spilling into
the other ones.
-[Josuhé] Yes.

-[Arcelia] Yeah.
-So it seems like maybe this was
all done at one time?

Yes -- it could have been
a ritual

in which six people stood with

their and then one person
painted on top of them.

-A millennium ago, right here.
-[Josuhé] We are here.

Right here.

And so, any idea what
the function of this is?

I mean, is it art?
Is it communication?

It's a portal where the Zoques
could communicate with

the ancestors,
with their world of spirits.

These are people that wanted
to connect to the powers that

were held in this cave.
-And is there more?

Like, what else is even
in here?

Oh!
Oh, look at this!

-[Josuhé] It's a jaguar!
-[Josh] That is a jaguar!

-[Josuhé] Yes.
-That is really, really clear.

Like, you can absolutely see
the animal's head.

And there is another here.
This is a snake.

-[Josh] That's a snake?
-[Josuhé] Yes.

[Josh] Oh, is this like,
an open mouth?

-[Josuhé] Yes, that is.
-[Josh] Aha!

[Josh] Like the jaguar,
the snake is an animal avatar of

the Zoque spirits, to whom
they prayed for favor in

water and agriculture.

If this is a snake, and I think
that's definitely a jaguar,

now we have, like, to,
like, really important animals

and symbols for them, right?
-[Arcelia] Yes.

And the jaguar has a very
important symbolism

throughout Mesoamerica.
-Yeah.

It is connected
to the underworld,

darkness, night,
fertility, and water.

And water.

[Josh] Right.

[Josuhé]
Oh, look at that.

-[Josh] It's pottery.
-[Josuhé] Wow.

Different colors here,
too, right?

-We've got this
darker pottery here...
-[Josuhé] Yes.

...and then this
really bright orange.
-[Josuhé] Yes.

[Josh] And look, we have kind of
a rim here.

This is like that fine orange
pottery we saw at

Iglesia Vieja, yes?
-Yes.

So this kind of pottery is
dated from 650 to 900 AD.

So this is when they're leaving
their cities or after

they've left?
-Yes, absolutely.

Wow.

OK, so the question is,
why is this pottery here?

Was this a ritual, an offering?

Well, we have to see where it
was placed, and it was placed

just beneath the stalactite,
where there's dripping water.

Look at that,
still dripping today.

It was probably used to
capture that dripping water,

that sacred water.
-[Josuhé] The sacred water.

-[Josh] Wow.
-And used for rituals.

So here we are, like they've
abandoned their cities

and they're coming here.
-Coming here.

And they're doing
these rituals.

-Yes.
-Yes.

If we have a cave like this,
there are probably more.

-Right.
-Yes.

For sure.
OK, well, let's keep looking

around and see
what else we see.

[Josh]
The cave has revealed
the presence of the Zoque,

but no answers to their decision
to evacuate their cities.

The reports we received
suggested there were multiple

caves here, so we head back to
the surface to look for more.

So this limestone ridge goes
all along here, yeah?

Yes, it does.

-[Josh] Careful,
slippery in here.
-Yes.

[Arcelia] Watch out for all
the thorns.

-Oh, over here?
-Oh, there is something here.

-Another cave.
-[Josh] Is it?

-[Josuhé] Wow.
-[Josh] A huge drop.

-Look at that.
-[Josuhé] It's very deep.

[Arcelia] Wow.

Maybe like a 30-foot drop,
40-foot drop?

[Arcelia] Yes.
Definitely bigger than
the other one.

-[Josh] Yeah, much deeper.
-We need ropes.

Let's rig something.
Come on.

[Josh]
We grab our gear and get ready
for a new descent.

This one not into
a bright canyon, but into

total darkness.

All right, so what's the plan?

The plan is I'm gonna go down,
check it out, and you guys

are right behind me.

-I love this plan.
-Sounds good.

Make sure there's no jaguars
living down there.

-Oh, hopefully not.
-Just let us know.

Just scream if
you see anything.

OK, I'm setting my rappel.

-See you there.
-[Josh] See you down there.

[Arcelia] Wow.
It's big.

-Yeah, it goes further back?
-[Arcelia] It goes further back.

It goes further back.
OK, great.

[Arcelia]
You gotta watch your step.

OK, I'm off belay.
You can come down.

OK, off rappel?
I'm coming down.

Here we go.

OK.

-OK, coming down.
-OK, take it nice and slow.

-Will do, coming down.
-[Josuhé] OK.

[Josh] Here we go.

[Josh]
From here, the goal is to get
to the bottom, just not as fast

as gravity wants me to.

-Deep and dark, OK.
-Nice and easy, Josh.

These roots or vines
or whatever they are are

super slippery.
-To the left now.

-[Josh] To the left?
-[Arcelia] You're doing good.

Come over here.

-Be careful on the left.
-Hey!

Ooh! Oh!

OK, coming down.

[Josh]
I am currently dangling by
a thread over 40 feet above

the floor of an unexplored cave
deep in the jungles of Mexico.

Why?

To find out what happened to
the mysterious ancient Zoque.

-Be careful on the left?
-[Arcelia] Be careful
on the left.

Ooh!
Oh!

-Oh!
-[Arcelia] Oh, oh!

-[Josuhé] Are you OK?
-I'm OK!

Holy [bleep].

Sorry, I slipped.

-OK.
-[Arcelia] OK, we're here.

-All right.
-[Arcelia] All right.

Well, that was exciting.

[Josh] Two down, one to go.

OK, nice and slow.

Good, good, good.
A little further.

[Josuhé]
Here we are.

Good job.

All right, we're down.

Let's see what's down here
with us.

[Josuhé] Yeah.

Oh, wow.

[Josh] We're not alone in here,
for sure.

-Ah, you can see bats are
roosting up there.
-[Arcelia] Yeah.

[Josh] Is that a chamber down
there or what?

[Josuhé] Oh, it's possible.
Oh, wow, there's pottery.

Oh!
It's a complete pottery.

-Is it actually complete?
-[Josuhé] Yes.

-[Josh] No!
-[Josuhé] Oh, wow.

-[Josh] Oh, my God.
-[Josuhé] Yes.

There's not a crack in it.
That is perfectly preserved.

It's that fine orange
Zoque pottery, yes?

Right -- and do you see
the decorations?

[Josh]
Yes, so this is covered in
these small ceramic spikes.

Yes -- these are thorns of
the ceiba tree.

Oh, the trees that
we saw at --

[Josuhé] Iglesia Vieja.
Yes.

[Arcelia]
And there was probably here,
a big stalactite, and it was

dripping water
inside the vessel.

[Josh] Which it's doing
still now.

A thousand-plus years later,
there's water in here.

[Arcelia] Wow.
The ceiba tree connected
the three levels

of the universe --
the heavens,

Earth, and the underworld.

And both the ceiba tree
and the cave are pathways

to the underworld.
-Right.

-And maybe literally, right?
-[Arcelia] Maybe.

Because look where
we've come to.

-[Arcelia] Yeah.
-And where this sits.

And by the way, this looks like
it keeps going, like it

is a pathway.
Does that go down further?

-[Josuhé] Oh, it continues.
-It does?

-Really?
-[Josuhé] It's so much deeper.

-[Josh] Is it a passage?
-[Josuhé] Yeah, it looks
like that.

-[Arcelia] Wow.
-[Josh] Oh, it goes way down.
Look at that.

And by the way, look at this
natural formation here, right?

-[Arcelia] Wow -- yeah.
-These stalactites look
like fangs.

This looks like a mouth going
down into the earth.

[Arcelia] Yes.
And the Zoque might have thought
the same thing.

[Josh] Right, exactly.
Maybe that's why that vessel

is right there.

[Arcelia]
Having this shape like
the open mouth of the jaguar

symbolizes the entrance
to the underworld.

And it really is imposing
looking down there into

that darkness.

[Josh]
The Zoque put great spiritual
value on natural formations

with animalistic shapes.

These stalactites,
which look like

open jaws, act as
a terrifying portal

into complete darkness below.

The question is,
how far does it go?

Should we go into the mouth of
the jaguar here?

-[Arcelia] Yes, let's go.
-[Josuhé] Let's go to
the underworld.

[Josh]
Let's go to the underworld.

I feel like I'm climbing into
the jaws of death here.

Real muddy and slippery.

Oh, it really does go way down,
doesn't it?

Oh [bleep]!
Come here!

Hey, come here!
Get a camera here!

Come here!
Look at this!

-Ho-ho!
Oh, my God!
-[Arcelia] Wow!

What?

Oh!

-Oh, my!
-Oh, wow -- it's a jaguar.

-It's literally a jaguar.
-Wow.

[Josh] You can see the tail,
and those are the claws.

-[Arcelia] Yeah.
-[Josh] And look at his mouth.

-[Arcelia] You can
see the fangs.
-Absolutely.

I mean, it actually scared me.

Like, I looked over,
and it was like this face...

-Yeah, from up close.
-...jumping out
of the darkness.

It's like he's pouncing out
of the dark.

It's the first time that I see
something like this.

[Josh]
Here, in what the Zoque
considered to be the literal

passage to the underworld,
we've come face to face with

the avatar of
its master, the jaguar.

Why is this on there?
What is this for?

-Oh, this would be
a funeral urn?
-[Arcelia] Yeah.

-Yes, for funeral purposes.
-It can be, yes.

Is there anything in there?

[Josh]
Yes. It's like three-quarters
filled with dark, dark soil.

So you think that's
human remains?

Yes, it's possible.
And there is something more.

Oh, behind it,
there's another vessel.

Oh, wow.
Yes.

-Is it another urn?
-It's another urn.

Yes.
It looks like it's tipped.

Does that also have
an animal on it?

-Looks like a bird.
-[Josh] Oh, it does look
like a bird.

We can see the beak.
We can see the feathers.

-[Josh] Is it an eagle?
-[Josuhé] It's like, an owl.

Oh, an owl.

An owl is also associated with
the cave, with the night,

and with the underworld.
-Right.

Looking at these figures,
they're animals, but they also

look sort of human.

Like with the jaguar,
the way it's standing,

it's almost human.

Yes, because in sacred places
like this cave,

the line between humans
and animals

get blurred together.
-[Josh] Right.

So it is possible for humans to
harness the power of animals

like the owl
and like the jaguar.

Right.
Right.

So if this is a funerary urn,
we have someone's remains in

there, and they are now,
like, connected to the jaguar.

We're in this, like,
nesting doll

of mythology now, right?

We've come into the cave,
then into the mouth

of the jaguar.

Now we're looking
at the jaguar.

Lord of the underworld.
Nice to meet you.

-Should we keep going?
-Let's keep going.

[Josuhé] Yeah.
Let's see.

[Josh]
The Zoque left these offerings
here to some of the darkest,

most powerful forces
in their world.

And now, 1,300 years later,
we have rediscovered them.

But this cave system goes even
deeper underground.

-And to find more,
so must we.
-[Arcelia] Wow.

Tight squeeze.
Here we go.

Oh, it's muddy in here.

-[Arcelia] Wow.
-[Josh] Look at this hole.

-What is that?
-[Arcelia] I don't know.

-There's another chamber.
-That looks miserable.

Oh, we're going to get
really muddy.

OK, let's do this.

Oh, it's just...

a mud bath.

OK, here we go.

I'm gonna try to back into it.

It's a really low ceiling,
and there's some

small stalactites hanging down.

-Oh.
-[Arcelia] Watch your head.

[Josh] OK.

Great.

Oh, it's muddy.

[Josh] Let me see.

Oh, it's wet.

Ho -- oh, my God.

Oh, it's muddy and wet.

[Josh] Let me see.

[Josh]
We're exploring a Mexican cave
system to find artifacts of

the ancient Zoque,
who mysteriously abandoned

their cities over
1,300 years ago.

[Josh] Oh, my God.

It's another chamber,
but it's flooded.

-It's like a lake.
-[Arcelia] Oh, no.

It is incredible in here.
It's totally flooded, though.

Come on down.
You're gonna love it.

OK, I'm coming down.

Oh.

-It's amazing.
-It's amazing.

Arcelia joins me on the banks
of a remarkable

underground lake.

But what's on the other side,
we don't yet know,

until Josuhé manages to squeeze
into the space with us.

[grunts] Oh, wow.

-Oh, my God, what is this?
-[Josh] I know, right?

I think most of
this is underwater

most of the time, right?
-[Arcelia] Yeah.

And I think this is just
what's left, the rain that

hasn't evaporated yet.

But it looks like there's kind
of a beach up over here almost.

[Josh]
The dry season here in Chiapas
has been verging on drought.

This chamber, which might well
be flooded to the ceiling

during the rainy months,
may now be passable.

So we set out for
the opposite shore.

-[Arcelia] OK.
-[Josh] Watch your head!

-This is very sharp.
-There's some rocks.

[sloshing]

OK.

Careful!
It's very, very slippery.

-Oh.
-[Josuhé] Oh, wow!

-[Arcelia] What a formation!
-[Josh] It's a waterfall!

How "Goonies" is this?

Oh, it's amazing!

Just cascading down over this
amazing formation.

It is so otherworldly looking.

Imagine being down here
and seeing this by torchlight.

-Yeah.
-It would be insane!

The question is,
where is it coming from?

-Follow the water.
-Follow the water.

Absolutely.
Let's go! Come on!

Let's see where this leads.

[Josh] First an underground
lake, and now

an underground waterfall.

It's like these caves are
trying to fulfill every

"Goonies" fantasy
I had as a kid.

We struggle up to the water's
source to continue chasing

this ancient mystery.

Up, up, up.

Oh, there's an offering.

-There's an offering.
-[Josuhé] Oh, my God.

-[Arcelia] Really?
-Holy [bleep].

Look at the size of this room!

-[Arcelia] It's incredible.
-[Josuhé] It's huge.

[Josh] Oh, my God.
This place is enormous.

Look at this.

Look at the size of this
curtain formation.

[Arcelia] Wow.
It's a beautiful formation.

And again, we have these
offerings connected with

a new space that's also flooded
and just keeps on going

and going in
the darkness, right?
-[Josuhé] Yes.

[Josh] Ahead of us is nothing
but the purest night,

the underworld itself.

It makes us deeply uneasy
to push forward.

How deep is this,
is the question, is it --

[Arcelia] Let's see.

-[Josh] Oh, boy.
-[Josuhé] Can't see
anything there.

-I know.
-No, but I feel something.

-It's muddy -- oh.
-It's muddy.

[Josuhé] Oh, oh...

It's really cold.

-OK.
-You have to find your footing.

[Josh] I know.
Be very careful.

It's like almost knee-deep mud.

So hard to move through this.

It's just like
an underground river.

Let's just follow it along,
see where it goes.

Careful, it gets deep
over here.

Another pot here to the left.

[Josh] Greek myths tell of
the river Styx,

which ran through
their underworld of Hades.

And here is the Zoque's version,
just as mythic in its scope,

but eerily real.

Just beckoning us forward.

I mean, just take this in
for a second.

Have you ever seen anything
like this?

[Josuhé] No, the first time.

[epic music playing]

-Wow.
-[Josh] It's amazing,
like a cathedral.

-[Josuhé] Spectacular.
-[Josh] It is spectacular.

It is absolutely spectacular.

OK, here we go.

OK, it's getting shallower.

It goes up.

[Arcelia] Do you see anything?

I think there's another
chamber up here.

-[Josuhé] Another chamber?
-[Josh] Maybe the last chamber.

It looks like a dead end.
It's a big room.

Careful, there's a drop-off
here on the left.

-Oh, my Lord!
-Wow, what is that?

-[gasps] -- what a masterpiece!
-What on earth?

[Arcelia] Oh!

[Josh] What on earth?

[Josuhé speaking]

[Josh] Look at this.

This is absolutely incredible.

I never seen anything
like this.

I don't think anybody has,
because it's been hiding down

here for a thousand years.
Wow.

Look at all the different
types of ceramics here.

And by the way,
they're all around us.

-They're behind us.
-[Arcelia] They're here...

[Josh] There's pots over here.

There's literally a half
a dozen pots behind me.

I mean, they are everywhere
you look.

There must be a hundred
individual vessels here.

[Josh] This cave is not
a mere find, it's a career.

There's enough here to fill
a museum, to study

for a lifetime.

The sheer volume of this cave
is unlike anything

I have ever experienced.

But even surrounded by
priceless relics, there's one

piece of pristine pottery that
catches our eye.

Look at how fine
the quality is of this.

[indistinct]

-Is it a snake?
-[Josuhé] This is a snake.

[Arcelia] Has the fangs.

[Josh] Yes, there are fangs
there and almost a horn

on top as well.

[Josh] This is an ancient
ceramic incense burner used for

the ritual lighting of copal,
the aromatic resin of

the sacred Ceiba tree
we saw depicted in jars

near the entrance.

So when they lit this,
smoke would have come out

of its mouth.

What's the significance,
you think, of the snake?

-The snake is a very lethal
animal, and the people
-[Josh] Mm-hmm.

could transform into the snake
in order to communicate with

the entities of this cave.

The snake is so powerful that
it lets you talk to

this other realm.
-[Josuhé] Yes, like the jaguar.

Like the jaguar.
This belongs in a museum.

This is amazing.

That has to be one of
the finest pieces of

Zoque culture
I have ever seen.
-[Arcelia] Yeah.

[Josuhé] Yes.

[Josh] This burner may be the
best preserved example

of its kind ever found.

It will no doubt sit
prominently in

a Mexican museum.

But we, and you,
are the first people

in over 1,300 years
to see it.

This and everything else in
this cave of wonders.

Why is all of this here,
do you think?

I think it has to do
with water.

With water.
Certainly, we have seen

connections with water all
along the way.

We've seen vessels
collecting water.

-We've seen this sacred tree
that is connected to water.
-Yeah.

-The jaguar connected to
the underworld...
-[Arcelia] Yes.

...which is connected to water.

So it does seem like there's
a link there.

And the thing I can't stop
thinking about now

is where we are, right?
-[Arcelia] Yeah.

Because that tunnel that
we came through that was

flooded, we know that this
whole part of the cavern

should be inaccessible.
-Absolutely.

If there was any water at all,
you would not be able to

get down here.
-Yeah.

So the fact that the Zoque made
it here, the fact that

they were standing in this room
and all these other rooms,

means there was no water here.
-Exactly.

-This place must have been
bone-dry.
-Yeah.

[Josh] This means that the pots
we saw near the water line in

the underground river would
have originally been placed

someplace dry,
maybe at a time

when the river
wasn't here at all.

It must have been so dry for
them that they were able to

come down here again and again
and make these offerings.

[Arcelia] Yes.

[Josuhé] There might have
been a drought.

Right.

[Josh]
To the Zoque, the caves we're
walking through are

literally the underworld.

Josuhé believes the Zoque
came here

from stricken cities like
Iglesia Vieja

and crawled into
death itself to beg for water.

So to come all that way
and leave this

big an offering...
-You must really need it.

[Josh] Yes, you must
really need it.

Is this the evidence of what
destroyed them right here

in front of us?
A lack of water?

[Josuhé speaking]

That's right, and the minute you
don't have that water,

forget your cities, right?
-[Josuhé] Forget everything.

Maybe they need to
go to the origins.

[Josh] Back to the jungle,
back to the canyons,

the rivers, the caves.

[Josh] That's right.

And back to these powerful
deities that can hopefully

provide for them.
-[Arcelia] Yes.

[Josh] That's right.

You can take all your cities
and your civilization and all

of it, and you can kiss it
goodbye if Mother Nature

changes the plan.

-[Arcelia] Yes.
-That's right.

[Josh] Josuhé, Arcelia,
and their colleagues will be

spending years examining these
caves to understand the story

they tell about the Zoque's
rise and fall.

But here, now,
this glimpse has

revealed more than
we ever dreamed of.

The caves here in Chiapas are
a distress call from the past,

a plea from the Zoque to
their guardian spirits to

preserve them
and their way of life.

It may seem as if those prayers
went unanswered

and their way of life ended,
but a funny thing happened on

the way to extinction.

During the drought that Josuhé
believes forced the Zoque out

of their major cities,
they moved further into

the mountains and adapted,
surviving in much

smaller communities.

They endured through the rise
of the Aztecs in

the 14th century and even after
the arrival of the Spanish in

the 16th, never again becoming
the urban powerhouse

they once were, but remaining
a distinct people and culture.

Their modern descendants still
reside here, the Zoque language

and many of their traditions
intact today.

Somewhere, deep in
the underworld, even the jaguar

must be smiling.