Original subtitles

[dramatic music playing]

[steve] Palenque.

A stunning city Built by the ancient maya

Where mysterious temples Emerge

From the tropical jungle.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] Ancient inscriptions reveal

This place is once the heart Of a powerful kingdom

Ruled by legendary kings...

And queens.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] Who are these queens?

And why are they so important?

What can investigations here

Reveal about the role of women

In the magnificent Maya civilization?

[steve] Today, Experts have rare access

To investigate This extraordinary city,

To decode ancient clues

And hunt for answers To the ultimate question.

Why was it abandoned?

[steve] In the search for answers,

We digitally deconstruct

This spectacular maya city.

We tunnel inside tombs And temples,

Come face to face With long dead royalty,

And decipher Cryptic inscriptions

To unearth the truth

About this mysterious Lost city.

This is the ancient city Of palenque

In southern mexico,

One of the most Important cities

In the maya world 1,400 years ago.

[steve] Hidden in the dense jungle

Are mighty stone monuments.

There's a grand palace With a 60-foot tower

Aligned with the heavens.

There are colossal pyramids Up to 70 feet tall

And 200 feet wide,

Built from limestone blocks Weighing up to 15 tons each.

In their prime,

They're painted A glorious red.

This ancient city Covers more than 4,000 acres.

It's a shining jewel Of the maya empire.

How and why do the maya build

These giant structures here

14 centuries ago?

Rodrigo liendo Has been studying

The ancient maya For more than three decades.

He investigates why they build

These extraordinary monuments.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] Rodrigo searches For clues about the maya

In palenque's main square.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] Overlooking the plaza Is a towering pyramid.

It's the most impressive Building in the city.

Next to it stands A smaller version.

Both are built entirely By hand.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] But the idea That these pyramids

Are simply built To hold up temples

Is soon challenged.

When archaeologists tunnel Into the smaller monument,

They discover an entrance

That leads into the heart Of the pyramid.

Behind a blocked doorway,

They find a vaulted Burial chamber

With a limestone coffin At its center

And two skeletons On either side.

Inside the coffin, Another skeleton,

Covered in a blood red pigment

And adorned With precious objects

Of jade and pearl

Reserved for maya royalty.

Who is the red ruler Buried deep

In this magnificent tomb?

Rodrigo explores the scene.

A dark tunnel leads deep Into the temple's interior.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] At the end of the tunnel,

Rodrigo locates the tomb.

Inside, he finds the huge Limestone sarcophagus,

Carved from a single Piece of rock.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] In maya society,

Only the highest of the elite

Are buried in a sarcophagus As lavish as this one.

This person is clearly Very important.

Investigators carefully Remove the skeleton

And send it to a lab For testing.

Rodrigo believes the results Hold important clues.

Anthropological analysis Of the bones

Reveals this is the body Of a woman.

It's an astonishing discovery.

This is the first time

A maya woman has ever been Found in a sarcophagus

Inside a tomb Befitting a king.

Rodrigo searches for more Clues to her identity.

[steve] Isotope analysis Of her teeth reveals

Something else surprising.

The woman is not From palenque.

For an outsider to be buried In a lavish tomb like this

Adds to the intrigue.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] As well as being important,

This woman was clearly Extremely wealthy.

But what about The strange red powder

That covers the bones?

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] The blood red cinnabar Is not the only evidence

Of religious rituals Left inside

The mystery woman's tomb.

Investigators unearth two Even more chilling offerings.

On either Side of the sarcophagus

Lie the skeletons Of a 10-year-old boy

And of a 30-year-old woman.

Cut marks on the woman's chest

Are signs She is stabbed to death,

Most likely In a ritual ceremony.

And the boy, Probably a servant,

Meets the same fate,

Sacrificed by the priests Of the temple.

Their bodies are placed In the tomb

Of the mystery woman,

An honor only reserved For royalty.

Thanks to her status

And the blood red cinnabar On her bones,

Archaeologists nickname her The red queen.

But who is she?

The stunning offerings Found in her tomb

Are now preserved In palenque's site museum.

Experts date them To the seventh century ad.

This means she dies During the reign

Of a great king of palenque.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] Tz'akbu ajaw Is the mysterious red queen.

Clever detective work Helps archaeologists

Decipher her identity.

But among all the rulers Of this city,

Why is she so important?

Could palenque's other temples

Hide even more royal secrets?

[steve] The spectacular Maya city of palenque.

Here, experts unearth The lavish burial

Of the mysterious red queen.

Why is she so important?

A clue may lie Inside the towering monument

Standing alongside her tomb.

At the top of the temple,

A secret 100-foot long Stairway

Winds down To the heart of the pyramid.

At the bottom, A triangular stone

Blocks the access To a burial chamber.

In its center,

A 15-ton limestone Sarcophagus.

Under two heavy stone lids

Lies a skeleton of a man.

Around him Are small fragments of jade

That form an eerie death mask.

Who is the man Behind the mask?

Rodrigo searches for clues

To the identity of the person Buried inside.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] At the top of the temple,

Rodrigo finds a narrow room.

Its walls covered With intricate designs.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] What do these glyphs say?

Can they reveal Who is the magnificent person

Buried inside the temple?

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] This monumental temple Is built specifically

As king pakal's Final resting place.

The smaller one next door

Is for his esteemed wife,

Tz'akbu ajaw,

The red queen.

Pakal is the most Important king

In the history of palenque.

That's why both He and his wife

Are buried In such lavish tombs.

But the inscriptions reveal Surprising details

Of this great ruler.

[steve] The glyphs show pakal

Is not the son Of the previous king.

So how does he become The greatest king

This city has ever known?

Rodrigo heads To the royal palace complex

To investigate.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] In one of the rooms,

Rodrigo finds A striking oval carving.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] Who is the woman Handing the crown to pakal

And what role does she play In his rise to power

At such a young age?

Rodrigo believes clues may lie In the thick jungle

Half a mile From the city's center.

He hunts for a building Known as the forgotten temple.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] Inscriptions reveal This forgotten temple

Is built by pakal himself.

He dedicates it to two people,

A woman named lady sak k'uk'

And a man called k'an mo' hix.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] As mother To the city's greatest king,

Lady sak k'uk is another Important queen of palenque.

How does she help her son Gain the crown?

[dramatic music playing]

[steve] Sak k'uk becomes Palenque's ruler in 612 ad.

But how she rises to power Is unclear.

There's a theory

That when rival kings Attacked palenque

A year earlier,

They kill off the male heirs To the throne.

When palenque's king dies,

He leaves a power vacuum.

Sak k'uk, Who's possibly his niece,

Steps up and takes the throne.

Three years into her reign,

Sak k'uk cedes the throne

To her 12-year old son, pakal

Now old enough to become king.

When pakal comes to power,

Palenque is still in disarray And vulnerable.

He needs to quickly establish

An unshakable claim To the throne.

[steve] Pakal claims his legitimacy

By belonging To this sacred bloodline.

He may be palenque's Greatest king,

But his success is thanks To two important women,

His mother, lady sak k'uk,

Who restores the dynastic line

And his wife, the red queen,

Who rules beside him.

But can inscriptions Inside pakal's tomb

Reveal clues To a third maya queen?

How does she pave the way

For these women's rise To power?

[steve] In mexico, Archeologists investigate

A magnificent maya city,

Palenque.

It's home To two important queens

Whose influence Changes the city's fortunes.

How did they become So powerful

In what's traditionally A man's world?

In king pakal's tomb...

His elaborately engraved Sarcophagus

Could hold an important clue.

The 12-foot lid shows pakal

Emerging up From the underworld,

Being reborn.

He is carried By the sacred tree of life

That connects the worlds Of the dead and the living

With the heavens.

The sides of the sarcophagus

Show his powerful ancestors

And remarkably A mysterious woman

Is among them,

But it's not his mother.

So who is she?

Felix kupprat is an expert In maya hieroglyphs.

He believes clues To this woman's identity

Lie in the inscriptions From king pakal's temple.

He takes a closer look At detailed drawings

Of the glyphic writing.

[steve] One name catches Felix's attention.

[felix speaking]

[steve] The text is clear evidence

That before pakal's mother,

Lady sak k'uk rises To prominence in the city,

Palenque is ruled By an earlier queen,

Lady yohl ik'nal.

[felix speaking]

[steve] In maya society, Traditionally,

Only men can inherit The throne.

But the previous king dies Without a male heir.

So in 583 ad,

Yohl ik'nal becomes The first queen of palenque.

[felix speaking]

[steve] Not only Does she overturn tradition

And become palenque's First female ruler,

She holds on to power For over two decades.

How does she do it?

Evidence of lady yohl ik'nal's Resilience

Appears On another inscription.

From a staircase Inside palenque's palace.

[felix speaking]

[steve] In the time of yohl ik'nal,

Palenque competes With rival city states

And their fearsome kings.

Yohl ik'nal transforms Palenque,

Building impressive monuments

And expanding the city,

But this also draws Unwanted attention.

The snake kings From nearby calakmul

Attacked palenque in 599 ad

To curb yohl ik'nal's power.

They defeat palenque

Leaving the city Largely intact

But taking scores Of prisoners away.

What happens to yohl ik'nal?

And does palenque survive This defeat?

Back in the palace, Rodrigo liendo investigates.

[steve] When the snake kings Attack palenque

In 599 ad,

Their ultimate goal

Is to capture and kill Queen yohl ik'nal,

But remarkably Inscriptions reveal

She reigns until 604 ad.

She survives this war

And continues ruling palenque,

An impressive feat.

But palenque is left Weakened and vulnerable,

And in 611, the snake kings Attack once again.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] But from the ashes Of this broken city,

A phoenix is about to rise.

In 612,

Lady sak k'uk takes power,

Marking a fresh start For palenque

Before she hands the crown Onto her son, pakal.

Two determined maya queens Overturn tradition

And pave the way For palenque's rise

Under king pakal.

What can a carving unearthed Elsewhere in the city reveal

About royal women?

What other special role Do queens play

In palenque's success?

[steve] The magnificent Maya city of palenque,

Thanks to the influence Of three important queens,

This city grows in size And splendor.

But the royal family Has another important role

To play in the city's success.

Below the thick jungle canopy,

Among the ruins of a temple,

Archeologists discover A broken stone panel.

When they piece it together,

They find a carving of a scene

Showing king pakal

Performing a blood ritual.

He's pulling a pointed object Towards his face.

It's a stingray spine,

A naturally razor-sharp blade

To pierce his tongue.

Why would the king perform Such an act

Of self-mutilation?

Luis nunez investigates

Why palenque's royals Perform this ritual.

Clues may lie In bizarre artifacts

Found in nearby temples.

[steve] The maya use Incense burners during rituals

To interact with the gods.

The designs depict

The different deities Involved.

But although they're used For burning incense,

These beautiful Sculpted creations

Also carry More gruesome offerings...

Human blood.

[steve] The blood Must be given voluntarily

To show the proper commitment.

And not just by anyone,

It has to be the top people In society.

[steve] The rulers of palenque Perform this self-sacrifice

During private Bloodletting ceremonies.

They used stingray spines

Or obsidian blades To draw blood

From sensitive areas Of their own bodies.

It isn't only men who perform This important ritual.

Carvings found At other maya sites reveal

That women have A vital role to play, too.

[luis speaking]

[steve] Why are the people So determined

To feed the gods?

To find out,

Luis investigates A group of temples

On the edge of the city.

[luis speaking]

[steve] Each one Of the temples here

Is dedicated To one of the three

Patron gods of palenque.

Collectively they are known

As the palenque triad.

[luis speaking]

[steve] The citizens Of palenque believe

Their patron gods support And protect the city.

These three gods are all born From the mother goddess.

She is the creator And giver of life,

The most important woman Of all.

Ix chel is the maya goddess Of childbirth,

And mother to all maya gods.

Maya women Seeking to bear children

Travel 12 miles by canoe To her shrine

On the sacred island Of cozumel.

There, they consult an oracle,

A priest hidden In a large statue of ix chel

To seek out their prospects As mothers.

The maya believe That if they don't show

The proper respect To the gods,

They will become angry

And could destroy Their society.

[luis speaking]

[steve] Does all This dedicated worship

Of its patron gods Bring success to palenque?

And what can a structure Just outside the palace

Reveal about life For its citizens?

[steve] Palenque,

Three important queens Set this city

On the path to greatness,

But how do palenque's Rulers profit

From the city's location?

Buried right next To the palace

Lies a mysterious structure,

A limestone tunnel With a pyramid-shaped roof

13 feet tall.

These are the remains Of a sophisticated aqueduct

That can hold 50,000 gallons Of freshwater.

Fourteen centuries ago,

It stretches five hundred feet

From one end Of palenque's palace

To the temple complex In the south.

It's a masterpiece Of maya engineering.

Rodrigo liendo investigates

This intriguing water system.

He wants to find out Why the maya build it.

Behind the palace, He discovers

An open water channel.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] The maya build palenque

On this limestone outcrop

To harness its year-round flow

Of spring water.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] But in the tropics, The wet season rains

Fall for weeks without end.

How do the maya manage This annual deluge in palenque

And prevent Catastrophic floods?

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] The maya construct These waterways

To control the flow of water

And to provide A better surface for building.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] Nine freshwater streams

Flow down from the hills

And spread across Different parts of palenque.

The maya build A sophisticated system

Of underground tunnels

That feed the water From the streams

Into pools and reservoirs.

They build tunnels on inclines

That narrow towards the end

To increase the water pressure

And possibly form fountains Across the city.

With a ready supply of water

To support The ever growing population,

Palenque really lives up

To its ancient name Of big water.

But rodrigo believes That people of palenque

Use the underground aqueducts

For more than just survival.

He tracks one of the channels

To a mysterious room In the palace.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] A strange chamber reveals

Another use for these pools.

[steve] The kings and queens Of palenque

Used these steam rooms For ritual cleansing,

Bloodletting ceremonies,

Or taking drugs To induce hallucinations

So they can communicate With the gods.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] Water management helps

The kings and queens Of palenque

To create A modern thriving city.

But in a city That depends on water,

Could this precious commodity

Also be its undoing?

What causes palenque to fall?

[steve] Palenque,

A stunning maya city Whose destiny is shaped

By three influential queens,

But this great city Does not last forever.

How do palenque's Fortunes change?

Maya inscriptions expert Felix kupprat investigates.

He believes that clue To what happens to palenque

Lies in a remarkable set Of hieroglyphs

Found in the royal palace.

[steve] Felix inspects the text

To reveal a list of the kings Of palenque

Following after pakal.

[felix speaking]

[steve] The sudden Disappearance of rulers

From palenque's inscriptions

Is unprecedented.

It suggests a terrible event Befalls the city.

What triggers the vanishing

Of palenque's Kings and queens?

Felix believes the date aligns With the collapse

Of the entire Maya civilization,

One of the biggest mysteries Facing maya scholars today.

One theory Is that climate change

Has a major impact

On the maya's Agricultural system.

[steve] But palenque Is the city of big water.

It's fed by mountain springs

And is built around An advanced aqueduct system.

Surely they have enough water To survive a drought.

Rodrigo liendo believes

That even with its supply Of water,

Palenque is not safe From the destruction

Sweeping through The maya world.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] All across the maya world,

Competition For dwindling resources

Leads to warfare and chaos,

And rodrigo believes

Palenque's reputation May have been its undoing.

[steve] But by the 9th century,

Palenque is completely Abandoned.

After 600 years of domination,

The city's glory days Are over.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] The city is no longer Home to kings and queens,

Only to birds and beasts.

[rodrigo speaking]

[steve] Eventually, Palenque is swallowed

By the forest

But not lost forever.

The magnificent Maya city of palenque,

Home to three powerful queens.

In a man's world, They rise to the top.

Their strength And determination

Put the city on the map

And set the stage

For the greatest maya king Ever known,

Their self-sacrifice Ensures success

And keeps power in the family

Despite rival attacks.

The result is one of the most Advanced cities

In the maya world

And spectacular monuments

That endure to this day.

[suspenseful music playing]