Ancient Aliens (2009–…): Season 4, Episode 1 - The Mayan Conspiracy - full transcript

Ancient monuments precisely
aligned to celestial events.

History written in stone
honoring otherworldly rulers.

And a calendar accurately
predicting shifts

in the Earth's axis
every 26,000 years.

Did the Maya of Central
America really create one

of the most advanced
civilizations of ancient times?

Or did their intelligence
originate from somewhere else,

perhaps out of this world?

They didn't have metal.
They didn't have electricity.

But what they did have is
advanced mythology, advanced

language and advanced
religious culture.



They understood astronomy
to an incredible degree,

more so than any other
societies at the time.

The Mayans were absolutely
convinced that timing was

crucial, because the gods
were going to come back.

Lord Pakal's sarcophagus
was his spaceship.

He's the original rocket man.

Millions of people around
the world believe we have been

visited in the past by
extraterrestrial beings.

What if it were true?

Did ancient aliens really
help to shape our history?

And if so, did they plot
the success and demise

of the ancient
Maya civilization?

Southern Mexico.

Surrounded by dense forests
in the foothills of the Tumbala



Mountains lie the ruins of
the ancient Mayan city

of Palenque.

Established as early as
1800 BC, Palenque was one

of the key population
centers of the ancient Maya

civilization that dominated
present-day Central America

for nearly 2,000 years.

Without metal tools, the wheel
or pack animals, the Maya

built cities like Palenque
across a vast region

with incredible
architectural precision.

There are a number of texts
around the Maya world that

mention four cities
in association

with four directions.

Palenque is recognized in
these texts as the Western

capital of the Maya world.

The southern one was Copan,
the eastern one was Tikal,

and the northernmost
one was Calakmul.

What I find the most
impressive about them is that

they were able to build
a civilization out

of the jungle.

Jungles have really thin
topsoil, and for them to be

able to support a huge
population, which is 20 or 30

times what the population
is in that area today,

is amazing.

Regarded by scholars as one
of the most sophisticated

and complex civilizations
in the ancient world, Maya

triumphs included numerous
scientific achievements

in agriculture,
engineering and astronomy.

They didn't have a lot of
things that we think of as

the hallmarks of advancement,
but what they did have is

advanced mythology, advanced
language and advanced

religious culture.

The site of Palenque is still
a vast unexcavated site.

They think that only ten
percent of this city has

so far been excavated
by archaeologists.

The aqueduct system here
at Palenque was very

sophisticated, and the Mayans
were actually able to have

water pressure by siphoning
water channels off

of the main river.

All the Mayan cities had ball
courts in them where they'd

play this celestial game
where the players would knock

a rubber ball through
a stone or wooden hoop.

It's thought that this is
a representation of alignments

of the sun.

When you start looking at all
the various cultures, whether

it is the ancient Babylonians,
the ancient Egyptians or the

Mayans, we now know that the
people who were by far the

most advanced was the Mayans.

According to mainstream
historians, by the ninth

century, the great Maya cities
were abandoned, and the Maya

people had vanished.

But Why?

Many blame the disappearance
of the Maya on war,

overpopulation and drought.

But might the Maya have left
behind clues to suggest that

their origin and destiny
had been plotted by

otherworldly forces?

1952.

Archaeologist Alberto
Lhuillier discovers

the Pyramid Tomb of King Pakal,
who ruled over the ancient Mayan

city of Palenque
from 615 to 683.

During his nearly 70-year
reign, Pakal transformed

Palenque, creating some of the
most significant inscriptions

and monuments of the
ancient Maya civilization.

The city of Palenque
was sacked by the ruler

of Calakmul.

So this was really tragic
for the city itself.

And it sets the stage
for Hanab Pakal himself,

who becomes king at a very
early age, and then takes this

city that's been destroyed,
and now brings it up to what

becomes one of the most
important cities of the late

classic period.

This is the famous Temple of
the Inscriptions behind me,

perhaps the most famous
pyramid in all

of the Mayan world.

It was in 1948 that the
French-Mexican archeologist

Alberto Lhuillier began
his excavations at the top

of the Temple of Inscriptions.

What he found there was the
famous staircase leading down

into the depths
of the pyramid.

But the staircase
was completely filled in

with rubble of
small stones and dirt.

It took him four years to
slowly excavate, step by step,

down the pyramid, until he
finally came to the tomb

of Lord Pakal and the giant
sarcophagus and lid that the

pyramid were built around.

Arguably the most remarkable
Mayan artifact ever found-

the stone Sarcophagus
Lid of King Pakal--

has produced considerable
controversy.

Mainstream scholars believe
the depiction is of King Pakal

on a journey to
the underworld.

But ancient astronaut
theorists believe the king is

portrayed seated at the
controls of a spacecraft

and have dubbed him
"the Palenque astronaut."

He appears to be
going into space.

He's the original
rocket man...

there manipulating his
spacecraft, going into space.

We have maintained for a very
long time that the depiction

here is of King Pakal sitting
in some type of a spacecraft,

because he is at an angle-

like modern-day astronauts
upon liftoff.

He's manipulating some
controls right here.

He has some type of breathing
apparatus or some type

of a telescope in
front of his face.

His feet are on some type of a
pedal, and down here, you have

something that looks like
an exhaust with flames.

In 2011 the strange carving on
King Pakal's sarcophagus lid

was translated into a 3-D
replica by model maker

Paul Francis.

When I saw this, I instantly
said, "There's a guy

in a space capsule."

You know, it doesn't need to
be spelled out for me, I don't

have to find anything.

It was already there.

It was carved many,
many years ago.

I think this is absolutely
extraordinary because this is

definitely one of the
most compelling pieces

in the ancient astronaut
theory, and to finally see

Pakal as a 3-D
sculpture, to me,

is a dream come true.

For the longest time we have
said that what is on this

Pakal lid is not
something symbolic.

It was something that the
artist saw or was told about,

and then he or she tried
to recreate this on a slab.

I love the craftsmanship.

I love how you, you know,
at the bottom of the Palenque

slab, you see something
like the flames...

It looks like,
it looks like fire, and...

Exactly.

I had to do
a little interpretive.

I put engine bells
on instead of the flame.

Of course.

But that's the thruster stage.

I also love the detail that
you have underneath his right

foot where his foot is resting
on a pedestal, and that is

exactly what we can see
on the Palenque slab.

And how his hands are
manipulating some controls,

and also this kind of
breathing apparatus that's

going on in front of his nose.

The breathing apparatus is
actually a very neat piece.

It's called the giver of life.

The soul transfers through
this, and a giver of life to

me would be air.

I mean, we breathe air.

This is a guy who needs
this mask to survive.

Because where is he?

Outer space.

Could the carving on the
sarcophagus lid of King Pakal

really provide confirmation
of the complicity between Maya

rulers and extraterrestrial
forces, as ancient astronaut

theorists believe?

Perhaps further evidence
can be found etched in stone

throughout Mesoamerica.

The Palace of Palenque.

Discovered in the late 18th
century by Spanish explorers,

this royal compound is
the largest and most complex

of those found
in the ancient city.

Researchers believe a
four-story tower in the middle

of the palace was built so
Mayan kings and priests could

observe the celestial movement
of the sun and stars.

This is the main palace
here at Palenque, and one

of the unusual features is its
observatory, a huge tower to

watch the stars.

Also throughout the palace are
these unusual T-shaped windows

and they've baffled
archaeologists for centuries.

It's thought that perhaps
they represent the wind god,

but it's also possible that
these T-shaped windows are

pointing to the sky.

What was it that the rulers
of Palenque were looking for?

The tower at the Palace of
Palenque is just one of many

celestial observatories
built throughout the ancient

Maya territories.

Their practical system of
astronomy was an observational

one, and so the design
and construction of a lot

of buildings was intended
to create these sight lines,

to create these vantages for
observation to see and mark

important astronomical events.

We see that temples
were aligned to specific

moments in time,
and the equinoxes

and the solstices are the most
important moments in time,

so wherever we look,
we see how this knowledge

of astronomy is incorporated
into these monuments.

Plazas were great places
where people stood and paid

reverence to particular
times of the year.

These were places that were
aligned from time immemorial-

hundreds and
hundreds of years-

to make these
specific observations.

But what--
or perhaps who-

were the Maya looking
for in the sky?

According to ancient astronaut
theorists, the answer can be

found carved in stone.

In Quiriguá, Guatemala,
there is a national park

featuring zoomorphs.

Zoomorphs are these giant
boulders that were carved into

different shapes.

Some of them depict
crocodiles, some of them

depict turtles, but at the
same time, the carvings are

very reminiscent of something
technological in nature.

In fact, there is
one boulder that we

can see where this guy is
essentially sitting inside

some type of cockpit.

Is it possible that this is
nothing else but an artist's

rendering of something
that they didn't understand

because their technological
frame of reference was less

advanced than our
technological frame

of reference we have today?

In the present-day Mexican
state of Tabasco, near

the Gulf of Mexico, lie the
ruins of a ceremonial center

called La Venta.

Here in 1862, oil riggers
discovered four very large

stone heads in the Olmec
area of Mesoamerica.

Since then, archaeologists
have unearthed 13 more similar

sculptures that were carved
as early as 850 BC.

Known as the colossal heads,
scholars believe they depict

the Olmecs--

an ancient civilization
that many consider to be

the ancestors of the Maya.

One of the most striking
aspects of Olmec an

and archaeology are these
colossal head sculptures,

and one of the hypotheses
that's been put out to explain

these is that they were
portraits of important rulers,

kings, shamans, important
people in their society.

But ancient astronaut
theorists contend the

mysterious stone statues are
proof of extraterrestrial

intervention in
the distant past.

Huge stone heads were found
in the Olmec area, which were

beautifully made but
then ritually buried.

One asks, what is that?

Are these heads of rulers or
priests, or were they maybe

aliens that they wanted to
portray because they had

unusual facial features?

These guys are often wearing
strange helmets, and they look

to be foreigners.

They appear to be from Africa
and the Middle East and other

areas like that.

So what are they doing here
in Central America?

You have this curious mix
of different racial groups.

Are they coming
with the sky gods?

Perhaps they, too,
are the alien ETs.

There is one statue that we
can find that clearly shows

an Olmec wearing some
type of a flight suit.

To me,
this depicts nothing else

but someone from Africa having
visited Central America

in a type of a flight suit
and with some type of craft.

You've got the legs here like
in a modern-day astronaut

suit, and there's also some
type of a life support pack

that's on his chest.

There are six wings and
the head is clearly enclosed by

a skullcap similar
to modern-day astronauts.

So what we have here,
in my opinion, is nothing else

but depictions of physical
extraterrestrial

encounters hundreds-

and yes, even thousands-
of years ago.

There is considerable
evidence linking the Mayans

and the Olmecs to
extraterrestrial beings.

You have it in La Venta--

many of the Olmecs
wearing curious masks.

Also at Tikal, they're wearing
what look like space masks

with respirators.

You've got also flying beings
who are hovering above certain

objects and things like
that in the Mayan world.

These are the birdmen,
the people who can fly.

But do the stone sculptures
really provide proof that

the Maya had early contact
with star travelers, as ancient

astronaut theorists contend?

And might further evidence
reveal a shocking truth,

that some ancient Maya
rulers were themselves

of otherworldly origin?

Central America.

Here, in western Honduras,
lie the impressive

ruins of the ancient
Maya city of Copan.

And though Copan's temples,
pyramids and monuments rank

among the most important of
any Mayan sites, researchers

looking to explain
the incredible achievements

of the Maya have been drawn
to a 72-step structure known as

the Hieroglyphic Stairway.

The Hieroglyphic Stairway
at Copan was constructed

in the early 700s AD with
the intent of writing out the

history of Copan at that time.

And so it was designed as
a public monument to the glory

and success of all the kings,
from Yax K'uk Mo', all the way

to the 13th one who
commissioned it to be built.

Carved into 1,200 stones
in the massive monument,

the ancient Maya symbols,
known as glyphs, make up what

historians believe is one
of the oldest and most

sophisticated
systems of writing.

But for centuries, the glyphs
found throughout Mesoamerica

were undecipherable.

Then, in 1880, German
librarian and anthropologist

Ernst Forstemann
cracked the code.

Ernst Forstemann was
a librarian at Dresden.

And in his desk he kept one
of the four Maya books,

the Dresden Codex.

He was a brilliant
mathematician and extremely

logical and had
enormous insights.

And at a time when we couldn't
read a single Maya hieroglyph,

he was able to figure out
the Maya calligraphy.

Maya hieroglyphic writing
is very robust, and that's

because it uses
really two components.

There are logographs.

Logographs are really pictures
that represent entire words.

So "Balaam," for example,
which is "jaguar," could be

written with just
the head of a jaguar.

On the other hand, we have
these things that we call

phonetic complements.

And these are glyphs-

they're images that
represent sounds.

According to interpretations
of the Hieroglyphic Stairway,

the glyphs chronicle not
only the history but also

the origin of the
ancient Maya rulers.

The hieroglyphs are really
attached to what was important

to royalty at the time,
and that was lineage

and the genealogies
of the kings.

They went out of their way
to demonstrate how they were

connected to their ancestors
and the gods of their

ancestors, to establish
their right to rule.

This is a picture I took
of a close-up

of a sculpture of Uaxac
Lahun Ubac C'awil, the 13th

ruler of Copan.

And he's depicted here on
the front, in all of his finery.

And then the sculptor put
a hieroglyphic passage

on the side.

We don't think commoners could
read, but all the elites could

and the king could.

So, he or another elite
individual could come here

and impress people by saying
this demonstrates

the semi-divinity of
our king and his power

to intercede between us
and the heavens.

But just what was the real
source of power and authority

behind the Maya
priests and kings?

Do the hieroglyphs reveal
an otherworldly truth to their

origin, as the Maya
themselves maintain?

Ancient astronaut theorists
believe the answer is yes.

What we have to think about
today is, where did the origin

of the priesthood come from?

And the origin is nothing
else but that they--

the initial cabal of priests-

they were all in contact with
extraterrestrials, and that's

why they were revered.

Our ancestors thought they
were gods because they didn't

understand the nuts-and-bolts
aspects behind those visits.

But when it all comes down
to it, it was all a huge

misunderstanding and a way
to keep the common

people in place.

In the beginning,
the first ruler were gods-

real descendants from the sky,
extraterrestrials.

But later, the priests and the
rulers took the names of their

ancestors' god.

So they made a secret
and a kind of conspiracy

around them, because the
normal people should give them

offerings, should give them
gold, metal, all kinds

of gifts, etc., as they
did some centuries before

for the real gods.

So it was a kind of conspiracy
among the priests and among

the kings.

Mayan hieroglyphs specifically
say that the Mayans were

absolutely convinced about
the existence of otherworldly

beings, and that they actually
believed that these beings

manifested themselves
regularly at preordained

moments of time.

Perhaps further evidence
of the Mayan belief

in the existence of
extraterrestrial beings may be

found in their daily rituals
of human sacrifice.

Scholars believe that blood
offerings were seen as an act

of devotion to the Maya
rulers, who were assumed to be

descendants of the gods.

We know that the Maya
practiced blood sacrifice,

because they were still doing
it when the Spanish came.

We have images on wall
paintings, on vases

and in sculptures that show
people letting their own blood

and sacrificing other people.

The Mayans had a complex
pantheon, which involved gods

from the sky, and the rulers
were supposed to be

descendants of these gods.

And they believed that
these gods demanded

sacrifices of them,
and that their blood,

the blood of their kings,
was the ideal sacrifice

for the gods.

Later, the Mayans began to
take captives, particularly

other royal captives,
and execute them, using their

blood as the gift to the gods.

The ancient Maya were
particularly worried that

Jaguar gods had come to Earth
from somewhere else and had

instructed them, and in return
they had to make sacrifices to

the jaguar gods.

In particular,
heart sacrifices.

We see hundreds, if not
thousands, of people being

dragged up the pyramids
and really sacrificed.

Definitely there is this
absolute belief that the

Mayans needed the intervention
of the gods, and they believed

that somehow sacrificing
human beings was gonna bring

back the gods.

It's very possible that this
civilization, as cultured as

they seem to have been,
were also pretty barbaric.

And this could have been their
way of trying to offer

the gods something.

Blood sacrifice was nothing
else but an act of desperation

to bring about the return
of the extraterrestrials,

because one thing is crystal
clear: In every single ancient

culture, there is a promise
of a return in the future

of those gods.

Blood sacrifice was something
that we humans did ourselves

because we didn't understand
that what we dealt with was

nothing else but flesh and
blood space travelers instead

of real or actual gods.

But why did the Maya believe
they were connected to

the gods by blood?

Might there have been evidence
within their DNA that could

link the lineage of Maya
kings to otherworldly beings,

as ancient astronaut
theorists believe'?

And if so, is it possible that
otherworldly visitors may have

stayed behind and assumed
the role of Maya kings?

Perhaps the answer can be
found, not by examining the

ancient remains of the Maya,
but by studying their

creation myths.

Chicago, Illinois.

Housed here, in the Newberry
Library, is the Mayan

manuscript known as
the Popol Vuh.

Literally translated as "the
book of the people," it is

a collection of Maya
oral histories passed

on through the ages.

Written in the mid-16th
century, this incredible book

encompasses a range of
subjects including those

involving Mayan
creation myths.

The Popol Vuh talks about
the creation of the universe.

It talks about the fact
that in the beginning all

was darkness.

There was a primordial sea.

And then these creators,
male and female, spoke

the word, and with the word,
the Earth was created

and animals were created.

It's sort of like
the combination of the book

of Genesis and the book of
Chronicles in the Bible.

It's a story of battles
between the gods, and then it

connects the creation of
the world with the present day

through the kings
of the K'iche.

It's really the only
complete Maya creation myth

that we have.

What they were saying was
that a framework was created-

that certain deities
manifested themselves

physically and made
decisions as to what was going

to happen.

In the case of the Mayans,
this was a choice as to where

the Mayans were going to live,
as well as the selection

of certain sacred sites.

Throughout the ancient world,
there have been numerous

similar myths of otherworldly
beings coming to Earth

and interacting with some
of the earliest humans.

Most mainstream historians
believe these stories

represent only religious
and spiritual beliefs.

But is it possible, as ancient
astronaut theorists believe,

that the Popol Vuh, as well as
other ancient creation tales,

represents actual evidence of
contact with extraterrestrials

in the distant past?

According to the translations
of hieroglyphs found

at numerous ancient Mayan
cities, Kukulkan, or the great

feathered serpent, was the
god who brought knowledge

to the Maya.

When we talk about the Mayan
gods, we know that the most

important god to them was the
plumed serpent, or Kukulkan.

We see his image all
across the Mayan world.

We see it on great
carved images on stone.

Kukulkan is often depicted as
a plumed serpent, some would

say a dragon or
a snake with wings.

That leads some to believe
that Kukulkan may have

descended from the sky.

Now, the Maya were
living in the jungle.

The Maya knew that the snake
could not fly, but this snake,

this serpent, could fly.

The oldest Maya histories tell
that Kukulkan was the teacher

of young Maya.

He had chosen eight boys in
the age between seven and 12,

and he'd teach these
eight boys in mathematics,

in astronomy, in
all kind of science.

And later, Kukulkan
disappeared with the promise

that he will return in
the faraway future.

These boys had become the
first priests and the first

teachers again for the Maya.

Some of the legends state that
he appeared along the Gulf

Coast on a raft of serpents,
and he spread his high

knowledge through that
part of the country.

Even today in some of the
Mayan cultures, he's revered

as this great god that
brought all these teachings

and civilization to
their pan of the world.

And yet,
no one knows who he was or

where he came from.

Strangely, depictions of
a winged serpent god can be

found all around
the ancient world.

In India, the epic text of
the Mahabharata details

the ancient account of sky
beings known as Nagas.

Dating as far back as 2500 BC,
the half-human

and half-serpent entities
look nearly identical to

the Mayan Kukulkan.

And ancient Chinese mythology
from the fifth millennium BC

describe flying dragons that
are eerily similar to

the serpent god depicted
in Mesoamerica.

To the peoples that preceded
the Inca in Peru, similar

ideas were put upon
characters like Quetzalcoatl,

the feathered serpent, who was
this wisdom bringer, sometimes

said to have come down
from the sky world.

And once again, bringing
the rudiments of civilization to

the peoples of
Central America.

There is a common thread
among many ancient cultures

of the Americas when it
comes to plumed serpent god.

The Cherokee, for example,
believe that time--

their calendar-

is based upon a rattlesnake
that they can see in the night

sky, perhaps a constellation.

So, the idea of a serpent or
a snake or a dragon is common

among many ancient cultures,
and not just the Maya or

the Mesoamericans.

The snake is the giver of
wisdom in so many cultures,

and it gives the tools
of civilization-

working with metals, working
with other instruments,

certain knowledge, certain
aspects of life. and that it

really gives this knowledge
to certain people, and that he

places these people in
a position whereby, from their

social position, they're
able to give this to the rest

of their culture.

All these cultures were
far apart from each other,

sometimes by thousands
and thousands of miles.

So, how is it possible that
all these societies came up

with not similar,
but identical stories?

Was it really flying snakes
or gods that were snakes?

Of course not.

It was
misunderstood technology.

Some types of vehicles were
witnessed that descended from

the sky out of
which people came-

astronauts-

that instructed people
of different cultures

in different
societies in certain

scientific disciplines.

This is not coincidence.

This is evidence for ancient
alien encounters

in the remote past.

There is no other way.

Can the ancient creation myths
and legends of flying serpent

gods really be interpreted
as factual accounts

of extraterrestrial visitors,
as ancient astronaut

theorists contend?

And if so, might such
celestial travelers have given

the Maya both the tools and
the knowledge to help advance

their civilization?

Perhaps further evidence
can be found by looking

at the Mayans' very profound
connection to the stars.

In the Mexican state of
the Yucatan lie the ruins

of the ancient Mayan
city of Chichen ltza.

Here, in the tenth century,
the Maya built what has become

known as the El Caracol
observatory.

It has four doors on
the bottom that can be used as

observation points, and it had
a number of windows up on top,

but most of those have fallen.

We only have two and
a half of those left.

But looking at those, we can
see that they're definitely

looking at the sun,
probably at the moon.

There are hints that they
could have been using them

for stars and planets.

They were tracking in
particular Venus, the phases

of the moon, eclipses.

We know that because we
have books that record

these things.

Most researchers agree that
from 250 to 900 AD, the Mayans

were the most advanced
astronomers of their time.

But why were they observing
the cosmos so intently?

And what might they
have been looking for?

The Maya were very
sophisticated in terms of what

they watched in the heavens
and in the calendars that they

kept track of.

The ability to understand
that Venus as morning star

and Venus as evening star are
the same star was very rarely

done in the history
of humankind.

They were oftentimes seen
as two different entities.

The idea that they
could predict the cycles

of the heavens reflects
their sophistication.

The Maya were one of the only
ancient people that invented

a mathematical system that we
use, which is called place

value and zero.

And using place value and zero
allows you to make enormous

calculations, numbers that
are very, very large.

They could probably calculate
things thousands of years

into the past.

Did the Maya develop
such mastery of astronomy

and mathematics on their own?

Or is it possible, as ancient
astronaut theorists believe,

that the elite rulers of
the Maya had received help from

star travelers?

The Maya, for example, had the
knowledge of the planet Venus

surrounding our solar system
in such a precise way that

within 6,000 years,
the difference was

a few hours.

Now, the Maya itself did
not live for 6,000 years.

So they had no time-

6,000 years-

to observe if their
calculation concerning the

Venus rotation is correct or
not, because they had their

information from their gods.

The Mayans could not possibly
have developed these systems

on their own because it would
take thousands, some of them

tens of thousands of
years of observation.

So it is clear that they were
given to them by aliens out

there who have made contact
with the Mayan people.

Perhaps the most intriguing
astronomical accomplishment

of the Maya concerns their
understanding of the slow

change in the Earth's
rotational axis in space.

Called precession, it's
a process that takes more than

26,000 years to complete.

But how could the Maya have
tracked events over such

an extreme time span?

Is it possible that,
like modern scientists,

the Maya had been using
knowledge of the Earth's

movement in space
to track time?

And if so, for what purpose?

The Maya developed these
timekeeping skills by

monitoring the movements
and predicting the movements

of not just the sun, but
the moon, Venus, in some cases

Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and
some of the constellations.

Though most people consider
the Egyptians as the ultimate

pyramid builders, ten times as
many pyramids were constructed

in Mesoamerica than in Egypt.

But why did the Maya build
so many of their monumental

structures in absolute precise
alignment with solar, lunar

and stellar events?

Well, it seems as if they were
paranoid that if they did not

do this, something
bad would happen.

They were on the fifth epoch,
and each of these earlier

epochs they believed had
ended in catastrophe.

And it seemed as if they had
to synchronize their rituals,

their events, their games,
their activities with these

specific celestial events,
because if they didn't,

something bad would happen,
and the epoch would

end prematurely.

The Mayans were absolutely
convinced that timing was

crucial, because the stars
were revealing when the gods

were going to come back,
and obviously, that meant

the gods were coming
from the stars.

But where, or from whom,
did the ancient Maya learn to

accurately track time by
tracing the celestial

movements of our solar system
and the universe beyond?

Could the ancient Maya
have actually conspired

with extraterrestrial visitors
to plan the future

and even the very
end of our world?

Perhaps a further examination

of the infamous Mayan calendar
and its so-called doomsday

prophecy is required.

There are several legends in
the Mayan world which suggest

that this end date of the
Mayan calendar in December

2012 is actually
an apocalypse day.

The Popol Vuh discusses it
as a possible destruction

of the planet.

The Tortuguero Monument,
which is a site

near Palenque-

it's the only inscription in
stone that mentions the 2012

end date of the calendar.

And that talks about nine
gods descending to Earth.

But no one really knows
exactly what that means.

Some people suggest that
may cause a cataclysm.

Others suggest it may be
a whole dawn of a new age where

we actually move into
a more conscious way of life.

If the truth is that
the Mayans were in contact

with extraterrestrial beings,
and now their calendar is

ending on December 21, 2012,
this might be the return

of the gods themselves, of the
extraterrestrials coming back

to Earth to the Mayans,
as they promised.

Given the sophistication of
the Mayan calendar, is it

really possible that the
Maya could have accurately

predicted the exact date
of some sort

of Earth-changing event?

Might such an event usher in
a new era of

human enlightenment?

Or might it mark the end
of mankind in the form

of a cataclysmic doomsday?

Perhaps only time will tell.