Nearly 2 million square miles of lush green hide centuries-old cities riddled with mysteries.

近 200 萬平方公里的翠綠土地上，隱藏著一座座充滿神祕色彩的百年古城。

But today, lasers in the sky are helping to expose these secrets.

但如今，天空中的脈衝光正在幫助揭開這些祕密。

It's kind of like having x-ray vision and seeing beneath the canopy without having the touch of a single leaf.

這就有點像擁有 X 光透視眼，不用觸碰一片樹葉就能看到樹冠下的景象。

Archaeologists are using this new superpower to unearth treasures on the ground.

考古學家正在利用這一新的超能力發掘地面上的寶藏。

We are starting to get information from all kinds of places where we knew absolutely nothing.

我們開始從各種我們一無所知的地方獲得資訊。

It's changing our understanding of the Maya and helping to create a treasure map of Maya's lost world.

它改變了我們對瑪雅人的認識，有助於繪製瑪雅失落世界的藏寶圖。

Today, what escapes eyes on the ground is often clear to hundreds of more powerful eyes in the sky.

如今，地面上看不到的東西，在天空中數百隻更強大的眼睛面前往往一目瞭然。

New technologies are being applied to archaeology, and it's gathering more information than ever thought possible. 2018 was an exciting year for the Maya.

新技術正在應用於考古學，它收集到的資訊比以往任何時候都要多。2018 年對於瑪雅人來說是激動人心的一年。

Across the Guatemala landscape, thousands of new ruins were popping up.

在瓜地馬拉各地，數以千計的新遺址不斷湧現。

Once-hidden structures are being revealed through satellites and a laser-scanning technology called LiDAR.

通過衛星和一種名為激光雷達的脈衝光掃描技術，曾經被隱藏起來的結構逐漸顯露出來。

One of the most exciting tools that we have in our hands that we're just beginning to use in the Amazon is LiDAR.

我們手中最令人興奮的工具之一是激光雷達，我們剛剛開始在亞馬遜地區使用這種工具。

LiDAR scanning lets us see through the forest canopy to what lies below.

通過激光雷達掃描，我們可以透過林冠看到下面的情況。

LiDAR means light detection and ranging.

LiDAR 的意思是光探測和測距。

It works by firing streams of light pulses from an aircraft to the ground and timing the return of the pulse when it bounces back to the sensor.

它的工作原理是從飛機向地面發射光脈衝流，並對脈衝反彈回傳感器時的返回時間進行計時。

This reconstructs shapes under the canopy, almost like seeing with x-ray vision.

這可以重建天幕下的形狀，幾乎就像用 X 射線視力看東西一樣。

Every time that we have found a new set of tools, we get an insight into something that we've never imagined possible in the Amazon.

每當我們發現一套新的工具時，我們就會了解到在亞馬遜地區從未想象過的東西。

And I think LiDAR is one of these things that's going to completely change how we understand the landscape.

我認為，激光雷達將徹底改變我們對地貌的認識。

The trees have always been what's kept us from understanding what's happening in the Amazon, and now we can see through them.

一直以來，樹木阻礙了我們瞭解亞馬遜河流域的情況，而現在我們可以看穿它們。

More than 800 square miles of the Maya Biosphere Reserve have been mapped to reveal massive feats of engineering for the very first time.

對瑪雅生物圈保護區 800 多平方英里的土地進行了測繪，首次揭示了巨大的工程壯舉。

Taken together, the images point to a far more sprawling and sophisticated society.

綜合來看，這些圖片展示了一個更加龐大和複雜的社會。

Man-made structures appear, complex roads, temples, and palaces.

出現了人工建築、複雜的道路、寺廟和宮殿。

Engineering like this would make today's city planners proud.

這樣的工程會讓今天的城市規劃者感到自豪。

So, what happened?

那麼，發生了什麼？

How could such a great society fail?

這樣一個偉大的社會怎麼會失敗呢？

Could it have been war?

會是戰爭嗎？

Religious cults and mass sacrifice?

宗教崇拜和集體獻祭？

Drought?

乾旱？

Laser mapping is the latest tool used to help unlock mysteries of the ancient Maya world.

脈衝光測繪是幫助揭開古瑪雅世界神祕面紗的最新工具。

For decades, archaeologists have pieced together clues from ruins discovered the old-fashioned way, on foot.

幾十年來，考古學家都是通過徒步這種古老的方式，從發現的廢墟中拼湊線索。

Ten years ago, in the heart of Mexico's Yucatan region, the ruins of a forgotten Maya town called Kiwik emerged from the jungle, without the help of aerial LiDAR.

十年前，在墨西哥尤卡坦半島的中心地帶，一個被遺忘的瑪雅小鎮基維克（Kiwik）的遺址從叢林中浮現出來，而這一切都離不開航空激光雷達的幫助。

In 800 A.D., a local king ruled here and built an impressive pyramid shrine. 20,000 rocks, cut and stacked 30 feet high.

公元 800 年，一位當地國王統治了這裡，並建造了一座令人印象深刻的金字塔神殿。這裡有 2 萬塊岩石，切割後堆疊起來有 30 英尺高。

The ancient Maya often placed royal tombs under pyramids.

古瑪雅人經常把王室墓葬放在金字塔下。

So, on a hunch, archaeologist George Bay decides to sink a shaft straight through Kiwik's pyramid.

於是，考古學家喬治-貝憑著直覺，決定在基維克的金字塔中挖出一個豎井。

This building represents an artifact that provides us with information about the evolution of Maya society.

這座建築是一件文物，為我們提供了有關瑪雅社會演變的資訊。

By examining it, we hope to understand how Kiwik evolved.

通過研究，我們希望瞭解 Kiwik 是如何進化的。

Bay has been working in the Yucatan for three decades, coaxing from the earth a snapshot of what life must have been like for the little-known Maya who lived here, called the Northern or Poop Maya.

三十年來，貝伊一直在尤卡坦半島工作，他從大地中捕捉到了生活在這裡的鮮為人知的瑪雅人（被稱為北瑪雅人或便便瑪雅人）的生活縮影。

Surprises.

驚喜

We have surprises. 21 feet into the hole, Bay and his team make an important find.

我們有驚喜在洞口 21 英尺處，貝和他的團隊有了重要發現。

Though, to the untrained eye, it just looks like another piece of rubble.

不過，在外行人看來，這只是另一塊瓦礫而已。

Oh, yeah.

哦，是的

Look at that.

看看這個。

This is fantastic.

這真是太棒了。

This is a vault stone.

這是一塊拱頂石。

And so, for us, this is a very distinctive type of stone.

是以，對我們來說，這是一種非常獨特的石頭。

Here's the face of it.

這就是它的面目。

This is the flat face.

這是平面。

And this back part of it is cut like this, angled, and that would have stuck into the wall.

它後面的部分是這樣切割的，有一定的角度，這樣就可以插進牆裡。

These special vault stones were not used to build pyramids, but to hold up the ceilings of buildings.

這些特殊的拱頂石不是用來建造金字塔的，而是用來支撐建築物的天花板。

Yet, inexplicably, here is one deep in the pyramid.

然而，令人費解的是，這裡的金字塔深處卻有一個。

And when they dig under the base of the pyramid, they find something even more out of place, the foundation of an ancient building.

當他們挖到金字塔底座時，發現了一個更不尋常的東西，那就是一座古代建築的地基。

This structure is completely new.

這種結構是全新的。

It consists of several steps in a talud shape.

它由幾個步驟組成，呈大廈狀。

Do you have an idea of when this might date to?

你知道這個日期是什麼時候嗎？

400, 500.

400, 500.

Wow.

哇

The pyramid dates to 800 A.D., but analysis of pottery fragments confirms the foundation under the pyramid is 300 years older, dating to 500 A.D.

金字塔可追溯到公元 800 年，但對陶器碎片的分析證實，金字塔下的地基要早 300 年，可追溯到公元 500 年。

But that is an impossible date.

但這是一個不可能的日期。

To understand why requires a trip south, back to Guatemala, 600 B.C., the earliest days of Maya civilization.

要了解其中的原因，就需要向南旅行，回到公元前 600 年的瓜地馬拉，即瑪雅文明的早期。

Scholars always believed it was here, in a region called the Mirador Basin, that Maya civilization was born.

學者們一直認為，瑪雅文明就誕生在這裡，一個叫做米拉多盆地的地區。

Early kings raised the jungles and built monumental cities.

早期的國王們開墾叢林，建造不朽的城市。

Over the next thousand years, the Maya civilization became the most advanced in the Americas.

在接下來的一千年裡，瑪雅文明成為美洲最先進的文明。

They mastered mathematics and astronomy, perfected the first written language of the Western Hemisphere, and produced stunning works of art.

他們掌握了數學和天文學，完善了西半球最早的書面語言，並創造了令人驚歎的藝術作品。

But in 700 A.D., there was a massive breakdown.

但在公元 700 年，出現了大規模的崩潰。

War, political strife, and famine rocked the Maya world.

戰爭、政治紛爭和饑荒震撼著瑪雅世界。

Cities abandoned, and hordes of refugees escape fleeing north.

城市被遺棄，大批難民逃往北方。

As part of this wave, one refugee king sets down roots in Kiwi, founds the town, and soon after, builds a pyramid.

在這股浪潮中，一位難民國王在基維紮下了根，建立了這座小鎮，並在不久之後建造了一座金字塔。

At least, that's what scientists had always thought.

至少，科學家們一直是這麼認為的。

Until now.

直到現在

With the discovery of the ancient building foundation, the dates don't add up.

隨著古建築地基的發現，日期也不對了。

The foundation dates from 500 A.D., but Maya refugees don't arrive here until at least two centuries later.

這裡的地基可追溯到公元 500 年，但瑪雅難民至少在兩個世紀後才來到這裡。

Was someone already occupying Kiwi when the refugees arrived?

難民到來時，是否已經有人佔領了奇異果？

Seventeen miles away, another discovery raises more questions.

在 17 英里之外，另一個發現引發了更多疑問。

Its location is being kept a closely guarded secret, for fear of looters.

由於擔心遭到搶劫，其位置被嚴加保密。

Few archaeologists have seen the discovery in person, including Farimat Tekpul.

包括 Farimat Tekpul 在內，很少有考古學家親眼看到過這一發現。

Getting to this discovery is no easy task.

要實現這一發現並非易事。

It's 230 feet underground, in the bottom of a cave.

它位於地下 230 英尺的洞穴底部。

The tunnel is narrow, and only one person can fit through at a time.

隧道很窄，一次只能容納一個人通過。

HIDDEN TREASURE There is a wall here, marking an entrance that separates the two areas, a public space and a sacred space.

隱藏的寶藏 這裡有一堵牆，是分隔公共空間和神聖空間兩個區域的入口。

He notices something curious.

他注意到一件奇怪的事。

It appears that countless torches and ritual fires once burned here.

這裡似乎曾經燃燒過無數的火把和祭祀之火。

The Maya believed that caves were the dwelling place of gods.

瑪雅人相信洞穴是神的居所。

Maya priests made pilgrimage here on special religious holidays, consuming hallucinogenic plants to commune with the deities.

瑪雅祭司在特殊的宗教節日來此朝聖，食用致幻植物與神靈交流。

The chamber is cluttered with broken pottery.

密室裡堆滿了破碎的陶器。

Here is an intentional deposit of ceramics where the Maya broke vessels as part of an offering.

這裡是瑪雅人有意堆放陶瓷的地方，瑪雅人把打碎的器皿作為祭品的一部分。

They broke the vessel as part of an offering.

他們打碎了容器，作為祭品的一部分。

Scholars suspect that breaking ceramics released the power of the offering.

學者們懷疑，打破陶瓷可以釋放祭品的力量。

They would break the vessel and scatter it around the cave.

他們會把容器打碎，散落在洞穴周圍。

There is almost always one piece missing.

幾乎總是缺一不可。

So we think that the Maya took one piece with them and perhaps buried it outside the cave.

是以，我們認為瑪雅人帶走了一塊，也許是埋在了洞穴外面。

The team pushes deeper into the cave.

隊伍向洞穴深處推進。

Maya priests relied on ropes made of vines to get here.

瑪雅祭司依靠藤蔓編織的繩索來到這裡。

But even with modern climbing gear, Fatima's journey still takes three hours.

但即使有了現代化的登山裝備，法蒂瑪的旅程仍然需要三個小時。

She finally reaches the cave's most sacred point and discovers an extraordinary underworld.

她終於到達了洞穴最神聖的地方，發現了一個非同尋常的地下世界。

Ancient Maya paintings adorn the walls of the cave's burial tomb.

古瑪雅繪畫裝飾著洞穴墓室的牆壁。

One image uses the contours of the cave to create a unique three-dimensional jaguar.

其中一幅圖片利用洞穴的輪廓創造出一隻獨特的三維美洲虎。

Another portrays a mythical hunt with a ghost-like jaguar and deer.

另一幅畫描繪的是神話中的狩獵場景，畫中有一隻幽靈般的美洲豹和鹿。

What's striking about this painting is that the representations are not real.

這幅畫引人注目的地方在於，畫中的表象並不真實。

They are in the underworld, in the world of death.

他們在陰間，在死亡的世界裡。

Look at the body of the jaguar.

看看美洲虎的身體。

It's skinny.

它很瘦。

It hasn't been well fed.

它還沒吃飽。

And it has a deliberate mark in the middle.

中間還有一個特意做的標記。

We think these marks represent illness.

我們認為這些標記代表著疾病。

Fatima has studied art in many Maya caves, but never has seen paintings like these.

法蒂瑪在許多瑪雅洞穴中研究過藝術，但從未見過這樣的繪畫。

They are clearly Maya, but their unusual style suggests that whoever painted them was not part of the Maya civilization of the south.

它們顯然是瑪雅人的作品，但其不同尋常的風格表明，繪製它們的人並不屬於南方的瑪雅文明。

Stylistic analysis of the paintings and the ceramic artwork and the offerings in the chamber indicate the murals were painted around 100 B.C.

對壁畫、陶瓷藝術品和墓室中的供品進行的風格分析表明，壁畫繪製於公元前 100 年左右。

That makes them among the oldest Maya paintings ever discovered in Mexico.

這使它們成為在墨西哥發現的最古老的瑪雅繪畫之一。

The paintings date to the dawn of the Maya civilization.

這些繪畫可以追溯到瑪雅文明的初期。

Scholars call it the pre-classic period.

學者們稱之為前古典時期。

That was 800 years before the refugees from the south arrived in the Yucatan.

這比南方難民抵達尤卡坦半島還要早 800 年。

So who painted these murals?

這些壁畫是誰畫的？

Discoveries at another extraordinary new site may answer that question.

在另一個非同尋常的新地點的發現可能會回答這個問題。

Just outside the modern Yucatan city of Mirta, excavation for a new road network is unearthing scores of sites just by chance. 190 new Maya towns to date and counting.

就在現代尤卡坦米爾塔城外，新公路網的挖掘工作偶然發現了數十個遺址。迄今為止，已發現 190 個新的瑪雅城鎮。

The map of the ancient Yucatan is shifting rapidly, exploding with previously unknown cities and towns.

古代尤卡坦半島的版圖正在迅速變化，出現了許多以前不為人知的城市和城鎮。

We found that there's a lot more people, a lot more agriculture, and a lot more happening here than we ever imagined, and at a much earlier date than we ever imagined.

我們發現，這裡有比我們想象中更多的人、更多的農業和更多的事情發生，而且發生的時間比我們想象的要早得多。

We thought there were just little hamlets out here.

我們以為這裡只有一些小村莊。

Now we have very complex towns, and we might even have urban centers.

現在，我們有了非常複雜的城鎮，甚至有了城市中心。

The whole idea of a much more complex society is emerging up here, and it's on a par, I think, with Guatemala.

這裡正在出現一個更加複雜的社會，我認為它與瓜地馬拉不相上下。

We were walking right by these sites for decades without understanding them.

幾十年來，我們從這些遺址旁邊走過，卻不瞭解它們。

It wasn't like we had to go dig for these places.

我們又不是非得去挖掘這些地方。

They were right under our noses.

他們就在我們眼皮底下。

We just weren't seeing them, which is amazing if you think about it.

我們只是沒有看到它們，如果你仔細想想，這真是不可思議。

George Bay and his team resume their work in Kiwi, clearing stones from the side of the pyramid.

喬治-貝和他的團隊在奇異果繼續工作，清理金字塔側面的石塊。

They're doing detective work, trying to figure out why a vault stone, typically used to hold up the ceiling of a building, was found buried inside the pyramid.

他們正在進行偵查工作，試圖弄清為什麼會在金字塔內發現一塊拱頂石（通常用於支撐建築物的天花板）。

Another clue emerges, suggesting something is very different about this pyramid.

另一條線索出現了，表明這座金字塔與眾不同。

This is something the workers found, and they happened to, at the last second before they threw it away, they turned it over, and noticed that, in fact, it's a piece of sculpture, a sculptured face.

這是工人們發現的東西，他們在扔掉它的最後一秒，碰巧把它翻了過來，發現它其實是一件雕塑品，一張雕刻好的臉。

Here's the face with the nose and the upper part of the mouth.

這是臉部的鼻子和嘴的上半部分。

So then you have to ask yourself, what's this that's over this face?

所以，你要問自己，這張臉上蒙著的是什麼？

And what it is, is part of a large headdress and mask that this lord would have been wearing.

它就是這位領主戴著的大頭飾和麵具的一部分。

The ancient Maya often attached sculptures like this one to the facades of royal buildings.

古瑪雅人經常把像這樣的雕塑附著在皇家建築的外牆上。

It's a watershed clue.

這是一條分水嶺線索。

Further excavation reveals the corner of a building.

進一步挖掘發現了一棟建築的一角。

This is the upper part of the preserved building, and this is what we call a broken molding over the doorway.

這是保留下來的建築的上半部分，這就是我們所說的門洞上的破損造型。

This pile of rubble here is still filling the doorway.

這堆瓦礫還堆滿了門口。

You can see remnants of the stucco here, probably modeled and painted.

你可以在這裡看到灰泥的殘留物，可能是模型和油漆。

As the team peels back the pyramid, a royal palace emerges.

當隊員們剝開金字塔時，一座皇家宮殿出現在眼前。

It consists of three buildings, a temple on one side, the royal family's residential quarters on the other, and a throne room in the middle.

它由三座建築組成，一邊是寺廟，另一邊是王室居住區，中間是王座廳。

But why would the king of Kiwik build a pyramid on top of a palace?

但是，基維克國王為什麼要在宮殿頂上建造一座金字塔呢？

The Maya like to see spaces as having power.

瑪雅人喜歡把空間看作是有力量的。

It's not an idea.

這不是一個想法。

It's not uncommon to see in many different forms the building of one building on top of another because sacred spaces, important places, are powerful.

在許多不同的形式中，我們經常可以看到一棟建築建在另一棟建築之上，因為神聖的空間、重要的場所都具有強大的力量。

Our argument is that this is attempts to legitimize power.

我們的論點是，這是企圖使權力合法化。

George believes an early king of Kiwik, perhaps even the founder of the town's royal dynasty, built the palace.

喬治認為，基維克的早期國王，甚至可能是該鎮王室王朝的創始人建造了這座宮殿。

Centuries later, another king built the pyramid over his ancestor's home, making a direct connection to his ancestor's power, enhancing his own.

幾百年後，另一位國王在祖先的故居上建造了這座金字塔，與祖先的力量直接聯繫在一起，增強了自己的力量。

The palace may be most remarkable for another reason.

這座宮殿之所以引人注目，可能還有另一個原因。

The king who built the pyramid was not a late transplant from the south, but a descendant of a royal family that had been in Kiwik for a very long time.

建造金字塔的國王並不是後來從南方移植過來的，而是一個在基維科居住了很長時間的王室後裔。

It now seems clear that here in the Yucatan there was a previously unknown Maya mega-society that was just as old and just as powerful as the south.

現在看來很清楚，在尤卡坦半島，有一個以前不為人知的瑪雅大社會，它和南方一樣古老，一樣強大。

We don't really know where the cradle or genesis of Maya society is anymore.

我們真的不知道瑪雅社會的搖籃或起源在哪裡了。

What we're learning is that there may have been multiple cradles.

我們瞭解到，可能有多個搖籃。

Guatemala can no longer lay sole claim to the title birthplace of the Maya.

瓜地馬拉再也不能獨享瑪雅人發源地的稱號了。

Now that the existence of this northern mega-society is confirmed, the questions rapidly multiply.

既然這個北方巨型社會的存在已經得到證實，那麼問題就會迅速增多。

Who were these lost Maya?

這些失落的瑪雅人是誰？

And why were they forgotten?

他們為什麼會被遺忘？

The average person that thinks about Maya sees these great monumental cities.

一般人一想到瑪雅，就會想到這些偉大的紀念性城市。

What they don't realize is that for every one of those cities there are dozens of medium-sized towns like Kiwik that house maybe 3,000, 4,000 people.

他們沒有意識到的是，在每一個這樣的城市中，都有幾十個像基維克這樣的中型城鎮，容納大約三四千人。

From a lookout tower near Kiwik, it's easier to make sense out of the entire site.

站在基維克附近的瞭望塔上，更容易理解整個景點。

In Bay's view, Kiwik was the quintessential northern town.

在貝看來，基維克是典型的北方小鎮。

You're actually looking at what would have been downtown Kiwik, the city of Kiwik.

你現在看到的其實是基維克市中心，也就是基維克市。

Where that small hill is, that's the center of the city.

那座小山所在的地方，就是城市的中心。

When Bay began his research, he believed the extent of Kiwik was limited to the core area around the pyramid.

貝開始研究時，認為 Kiwik 的範圍僅限於金字塔周圍的核心區域。

But LiDAR mapping later revealed a sprawling hilltop estate with a massive staircase across the valley, suggesting Kiwik might have been the hub of a much bigger complex.

但後來的激光雷達測繪顯示，山頂上有一座佔地廣闊的莊園，一條巨大的階梯橫跨山谷，這表明基維克可能是一個更大建築群的中心。

Every morning, the excavation team climbs the 200-foot hill.

每天早上，挖掘隊都要爬上 200 英尺高的山坡。

The ancient Maya would have come up that path, which would have led right to this spot.

古瑪雅人就是從這條小路上來的，而這條小路就通向這個地方。

What you see is basically a pile of rocks, but if you were standing here 850 A.D., what you'd be standing at the base of is an enormous stairway, which would have taken you up to the top of what we think is the palace or the plantation.

你看到的基本上是一堆石頭，但如果你站在公元 850 年的這裡，你所站的地方是一個巨大的樓梯，它可以把你帶到我們認為是宮殿或種植園的頂部。

The plantation house or the big house, even in the modern sense, a very palatial kind of construction.

即使是現代意義上的種植園房屋或大房子，也是一種非常豪華的建築。

They've dubbed the site Stairway to Heaven.

他們將該網站命名為 "通往天堂的階梯"。

A place like Stairway to Heaven is amazing in the sense that they built a 9, 10-room mansion up there.

像 "通往天堂的階梯"（Stairway to Heaven）這樣的地方令人驚歎，因為他們在那裡建造了一座有 9、10 個房間的豪宅。

And that's a very nice building, a 9th century McMansion, okay, living up on top of that hill.

那是一棟非常漂亮的建築，9世紀的豪宅，好吧，就住在山頂上。

Really.

真的

But who would have been rich enough and audacious enough to build such over-the-top real estate?

但是，誰會有足夠的財力和膽識來建造如此誇張的房地產呢？

Archaeologist Stephanie Sims is digging for answers, tearing up the floor of one of the 22 large stone buildings that make up the estate.

考古學家斯蒂芬妮-西姆斯（Stephanie Sims）正在這座莊園的 22 座大型石砌建築中的一座建築內挖掘地板，尋找答案。

Under the floor, a tantalizing clue.

地板下有一條誘人的線索。

Here I am sitting beneath the floor, leveled in right here, of a 3-room elite residence up on the hilltop.

我現在就坐在山頂上一棟三室一廳的精英住宅的地板下，就在這裡。

And here, just beneath the floor, are a few capstones covering a dedicatory offering.

這裡，就在地板下面，有幾塊蓋著獻祭祭品的毛石。