Don Wildman, from Cities of the Underworld, goes underground in the Maya temples of Belize to shed light on the sudden disappearance of the Maya people. Watch as Don goes spelunking in jungle caverns to find the remains of ritual and ceremony at the end of a civilization.

One of the concepts that he explains here, with the aid of an archaeologist, is that the Maya would never choose to descend into a cave unless life was so desperate that they felt the only way to save themselves would be to ask the gods face to face for some help. In the Maya culture, the gods live in the underworld, and for the Maya, the entrance to that underworld began at the entrance to the caves that dotted the landscape.

Prior to the final desperation of the Maya, during good times, their ceremonies would be held at the mouth of their local cave. As they became more uncertain of their future, they began to perform their ceremonies within the cave, and as times got rougher, their descent went even deeper.

Wildman is not explaining the big picture of the disappearance of the Maya. He’s only exploring the discoveries made about the culture from underground. Like many past theories and plausibilities, it is a look at what can end a culture.

This episode of Cities of the Underworld first aired a year ago in March on the History Channel and is currently available on hulu.com.

You can view more information about the Cities of the Underworld series and see a bio on Don Wildman on the History Channel site.

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