3. The Mayans - Ruins Among the Trees

SUPPORT THE SHOW AND WATCH AD-FREE: www.patreon.com/fallofcivilizations_podcast
In the tropical forests of Central America, vast stone pyramids slowly crumble beneath the trees.
In this episode, we look at that great romantic mystery: the fall of the Classic Maya Civilization. Find out how this great civilization grew up among environmental conditions that no other civilization has ever contended with, learn about the fatal flaws that lay beneath its surface, and what happened after its final, cataclysmic collapse.
** Fall of Civilizations the book is now available to pre-order: linktr.ee/fallofcivilizations **
Support Fall of Civilizations on Patreon: www.patreon.com/fallofcivilizations_podcast
Credits:
Sound engineering by Thomas Ntinas
Voice Actors:
Bryan Thsiobi
Jacob Rollinson
Jake Barrett-Mills
Helena Bacon
Music by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-fre…isrc=USUAN1100209
Artist: incompetech.com/
Title theme: Home At Last by John Bartmann. johnbartmann.com/

[@Outlawcozyjails]

I’m grateful to have been alive during a time when free content like this is at my fingertips. The amount of work that clearly went into creating this flawless series is very much appreciated. Finally, I am learning a ton. You go far below the surface.

[@raymondreyes7787]

nu

[@charleshuguley9903]

Yes, works like this are a wonderful resource. The series is so beautifully done. Paul is a fine story teller.

[@VillageForSaleNY]

And high above the apex!

[@margaretgoodheart4167]

EricBuckley, said it so well, ty. Agree totally

[@bustermot]

Also a time when firewalls are everywhere making news a luxury. So yeah I agree.

[@damopryor2851]

It broke my heart when Delando said it distressed and dismayed the mayans to see the books burn so very sad.

[@jcra4195]

Did it break your heart when he talked about the human sacrifice?

[@damopryor2851]

@@jcra4195 slavery breaks my heart but I'm still sad if a European library burns down

[@MrTiti]

@@jcra4195 you are making a mistake. looking 3000years ago the same was done by Britons or some other folks. the point here is: there were no wilderers, but they had build a civilization and burning this will forever destroy it all. this is worse. i think you can understand that

[@canofsouls282]

@@jcra4195 did it break your heart when they commited genocide and enslaved the rest?

[@carloszenteno]

@@jcra4195 My heart was broken when I found out that the Vikings were a bunch of saints...

[@RobertScottAudio]

I lost my mom two days ago and I am home alone trying to find peace in my thoughts, and though this story is not good for the soul, your soft narrative voice, calms me. Thank you, sir.

[@saoirserosenstock8144]

I'm so sorry for your loss, I lost my father when I was a child, I feel your pain. Our bodies may not live forever, but love will. Take care of yourself during this time, this grief will soon pass and you'll be left with just love. I promise. I hope you're doing okay. 💖

[@sylvia106]

You’re not alone, she’s with you.

[@BloodSoilandSoul]

I hope time has brought you some peace and comfort.

[@duzins]

I’m sorry - I lost mine in 2019. It’s unbearable- but I’ve finally gotten to the point where I don’t cry as often but still a lot. Take all the time you need to grieve and don’t let anyone rush you. Hugs from far away!

[@colinmcgrathinsydney]

I am so sorry for your loss, Robert. I cannot help being affected by your loss and feel sadness. Stay well, stay safe.

[@marie-christinelafontaine6043]

I live in the State of Yucatan, Mexico and many of my neighbors are Mayan. They still speak the language (a version of it) and,for them, Spanish is a 2nd language. They carry their traditions as best as they can. They are welcoming, generous, and kind folks. Hopefully they will be able to share and continue their story thru their children and grandchildren.

[@Deridus]

It may be random, but I hope you have a great day.

[@swapshots4427]

I wept watching the 3 hour doc. So heartbreaking. And revolting.

[@carbine090909]

Thank you.

[@ten-tonnetongue]

You publishing these documentaries for public observance is a serious gift to humanity. Anyone wanting to know more about our collective histories and perhaps take a chance at understanding how we got to where we are now, having access to this collection of documentaries thoroughly describing the rise and fall of the world's greatest civilizations is an invaluable resource for such an endeavour. 🧡

[@keniadimas3146]

Im salvadorian my grandfather was pure Mayan. Just wanted to add that There's also ruins in El salvador. This hits home

[@sandraleiva1633]

Salvadoran. The word Salvadorian doesn't exist.

[@onesob13]

@@sandraleiva1633 sure it does, it's written right there

[@mosthighlatin1537]

Yes pround of my bloodline! Born in nyc but my familes from el salavdor and ive visited a few times and visited the mayan ruins in tazumal! Awsome sight!

[@f.c.2475]

yet you continue to keep the name of the ones that ruined what your ancestors built, Senor Dimas.

[@DakotaRomanLucas]

I’d give a lot to spend an afternoon with your grandfather. I’m sure he knew some things

[@chizpa305]

Well the wheel is seen as a measure of how advanced a civilization was, but we need to understand that the wheel is not always that helpful. In these rainforests where the terrain is very irregulat and filled with tree roots and vines, the wheel woukd not have helped much. Plus, the fact that there were no horses or large animals to pull carts, it just didn't make much sense to use them. Technologies are a reflection of the needs of a civilization based on their surroundings and the challenges they pose. But technology is not always linear and comparable.

[@9051team]

@chefaopt yeah but point still stands, not as useful to mayans as to others.

[@mr.fringeminority5426]

The wheel wouldn't be useful? I'm having a hard time getting on board with that. As the fellow said in the video, most of the area was de-forested to build cities, so the forest isn't actually much of an obstruction. If you can clear a forest to make a city, you can clear a forest to make a road. So that logic doesn't quite stand up. And the idea that you need a beast of burden to pull a cart is kind of silly in it's own way. The cart could be smaller, maybe wheel barrow sized. I have a wheel barrow, and I don't need a mule to push it around for me. In summary, the wheel would have been immensely useful for the mayans. We're looking at a civilization that could engineer pyramids - I'm sure they could have figured out the basics of road building. It strikes me as odd that they wouldn't have had the wheel, as It's such a simple technology "oh, wow - round things roll".

[@chizpa305]

@@mr.fringeminority5426 it's not about it not being useful, is about it being necessary. If you had already invented the wheel, then it makes sense to build a wide road to fit carts, but if you still don't have the wheen why cut a road through a very dense forest in the first place. I've been in southamerican ruins of the Inkas, for example, who did not have wheels either. They did have roads, but these roads are more stairs than roads because Incas lived in the mountains. I don't think wheels and stairs work too well together, as a mater of fact it works worse, thats why even today, people who still live in those areas barelly use wheels and there are only very few drivable roads as of today, in 2020

[@Tadders]

The wheel is not a transportation tool, it's a concept. It's something that can rotate freely and is balanced as it turns, and as such, it's useful for many other things. Pulley systems are made up of wheels, after all.

[@chizpa305]

@@Tadders In that case, then the Mayans also discovered the wheel because the Mayan calendar is circular... (sarcastic tone)... Of course I am talking about the wheel, especifically when used for the transportation of people or goods across two distant points. The Mayans also invented plates, which are circular, therefore 'wheels'...(sarcastic tone)...

[@DakotaRomanLucas]

Such a shame to lose all of the Mayan literature, can you imagine the stories of the past Mayans, the politics, the royalty, the commoner, the strikes, the upheavals and everything in between. Would have loved to know that story.

[@bluewizzard8843]

Indeed. Also These books we're already ancient , the culture that produced them over centuries in decline. Maxbe these books even entailed the secrets about the end of the classical mayan periode.

[@cystarkman]

the science and the understanding of reality, farming and other knowledge.

[@Leftatalbuquerque]

This series is worthy of the National Geographic and what used to be The History Channel.

[@CobraGold2004]

Leftatalbuquerque Agree 100%. Just downloaded the podcast.

[@annwilliams6438]

Absolutely! Brilliant.

[@x10mark24]

bUT ISnt iT oBvioUS That aliens HElped THEm?

[@x10mark24]

@robert petty BuT HOw COulD THey haVe bUILt suCH ComplEx ThinGs WIThoUt ThE HElp oF EXtra TerResTriaLS? (for the sake of clarity the random capitalization thing is a meme used when being sarcastic)

[@henrygustavekrausse7459]

@@x10mark24 If itS more impressive thAn expected, iTs outside helP

[@ElaineOddsoxxx1]

I cannot praise your work enough! All the funds the BBC has and they could not touch your work, seriously, it is only a matter of time before your work is noticed. You should have a million subs! The video is great, I could hardly look at the part about the book burning. Thanx so much!

[@FallofCivilizations]

Thank you Elaine, that's really kind of you! So glad you've been enjoying.

[@backalleycqc4790]

The eradication of the Maya upsets me the most, this book burning makes me very very sad ....

[@BangFarang1]

@@backalleycqc4790 They burnt valuable books in Europe too, that's why we had to rely on Arabic sources to have knowledge about the ancient Greeks and their advanced science.

[@martinzitter4551]

@@FallofCivilizations Mayan is the name of the family of languages that the Maya speak. The people, culture, etc. are Maya or Mayas.

[@highstandards6226]

@@backalleycqc4790 as it does with any civilization!😭💔

[@josefking9216]

I had to pause a moment there when I learned he burned their books that hurts.

[@googiegress7459]

There are certain things that can never be forgiven.

[@cr4zyj4ck]

One of the go to standards in the conquerors toolkit throughout history has always been destruction of books, literature, and culture. The amount of loss humanity insists on inflicting upon itself is staggering.

[@DreamingCatStudio]

Yes. Such a gut-punch. I love the narrator’s point that the very (bleep) who was responsible for the books’ destruction was pivotal in deciphering the Mayan alphabet.

[@zaphodbond]

Same thing, I am currently on that pause while I calm down. May the name of "Diego de Landa" live in infamy forever. Ironically we know about his stupidity because he cared to document it, I am sure that there is so much more enemies of human knowledge and civilization like him who simply never documented their atrocious acts.

[@lindamaemullins5151]

@@DreamingCatStudio what did he find out that scared or belittled him so to destroy all that knowledge?

[@kyle18934]

If I meet a history teacher teaching these eras, im definitely recommending your videos for classes. These videos are so much better than the dry history documentaries they have in classes

[@CorePathway]

You tryin’ to make them jealous?

[@elizabethford7263]

I'm using these in my classes 💖

[@YenkammaNe]

Totoise worship by ancient Mayans is a close parallel to Kurma Avatar of Lord Vishnu .. Snakes and Tortoises are found in alomost all Mayan temples - Ekbalam ,Uxmal, Kabah, Tulum... may be many more .. all Anicent Native Americans (Mayans, Aztecs, Incas,...etc) and Asian Hindus are CONNECTED by Divinity, faith and spirit, religion, knowledge of Math, geometry, Temple architectures.. eating rice, vegetables.. since BC times..

[@jangelbrich7056]

It is hard for me to find any words for THIS utterly high quality! This is so professional and informative. Absolutely great!

[@dougg1075]

Yep

[@frankwillow-rogersjr.3253]

I hear you 'Jan Gelbrich'. But riddle me this one: 300-ton stones--some of the hardest found. Dragged hundreds of miles to a space where Pyramids and Temples were precisely constructed up to 24-stories. Many Hundreds of these whole CITIES...without any Metal tools; no Wheel nor Pack animal and no Math to plan the preciseness of these vast spread(s) of empires!! (Not even a huge squadron of trained Yale and Cornell PhD-students [utilizing the very same Pulley-less materials] can accomplish these feats--EVEN in this the 21stCentury!! hummm, alright... .

[@anonamouse8061]

@@frankwillow-rogersjr.3253 They most definitely had Math... And paleolithic peoples all over the planet, were able to lift and move huge stones. 10k years before this. We absolutely could accomplish everything they did, we just have no reason to go through what that would require.

[@andromedamusic9751]

I’m in awe that this isn’t more popular. It should be!! This is fantastic!

[@beyondalpha1072]

There was not literature from the Mayans , why lie about that?

[@dannguyen655]

I've been playing Civilization V the past couple weeks and this is exactly the kind of history-food I need. Your visual compilation must've taken forever, thank you for sharing your craft.

[@FallofCivilizations]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@PedroFerreira-ze5yp]

Well, I for one have managed to quit playing civ for a while but I keep getting this craving for playing as I watch the episodes!

[@soldiernew5187]

Canyou provide insights fo wat in theworld is Civilizations V is ?

[@soldiernew5187]

Canyou provide insights fo wat in theworld is Civilizations V is ?

[@EvilSmurf76]

@@soldiernew5187 A video game

[@dangerdan2592]

"True Magician Jaguar" and "Smoke Serpent" are great names. Can't forget about "Lady Shark Fin" and "Double Bird" either! I like their style.

[@zackstump5425]

Sun eyed lord jaguar

[@chrisb7398]

I first watched the documentary on the Sumerians. It was only after a while I noticed that it is actually the product of a KZbin channel. This is amazing quality! Pure well structured information with well placed visuals. You reignited my love for history and antient cultures. Thank you!

[@Werrf1]

The Mayan script is so beautiful and...well, _playful_ is the only word I can come up with for it. They seem to have delighted in coming up with different ways of spelling or writing the same word, sometimes using their glyphs as pictograms, sometimes as ideograms, sometimes as letters, all combined into an artful whole. It's absolutely fascinating. A fact I love about it is that the linguists working on deciphering the text have also started teaching what they've learned to the modern Mayan speakers, and those they teach are running classes teaching others how to read and write in their own script. After so many centuries of repression, the Maya are able to read their own history in their own words again.

[@vaderdudenator1]

How are they sure they’re translating it correctly?

[@kb9oak749]

MesoAmerican Anime.

[@Bager22253]

Werrf1 /€’/gu

[@91lilfrozone23]

if only those texts were not burned and lost forever :(

[@chadbusch8541]

That's beautiful!

[@YoseffTutorcientificoAmaru]

I have studied two mayan languages (of our own 21 mayan languages here in Guatemala, Mexico speaks only 4 mayan languages). The good thing is that mayan people have kept intact their way of transmitting culture. I am studying my second mayan language, highlands one, I have studied native languages at Peru too. It is highly possible that all these cultures communicated in the very distant past. Remember that, aztecs as well as incas were the peak of an enormous iceberg of complex and variegated cultures in America. In Peru, for instance, Moche were contemporary to classical maya, and moche were long time extinct when inca roused as dominant culture in the region. In Guatemala, classical mayan declined for over 400 hundred years, and mayanization mixed with mexicanization took place among the dominant tribes in the region. Fascinating.

[@complimentary_voucher]

You're lucky to have kept so much of your culture, and to live in your own ancestral lands. I'm mostly Irish, my family were deported from their island and our language and culture were nearly destroyed. I love where we ended up, but it's hard not to regret the loss of my heritage. I'm glad Maya is still meaningfully spoken, it's so important.

[@margaretgoodheart4167]

TYVM...a great privilege to read stories such as yours, from an originating perspective. Also grateful to Fall of CivilIzations...history essence does repeat itself.

[@edwardsmith7088]

The Mayans video is my 3rd of this 100% different/superlative/super-thorough/super-comprehensive series. This series' information makes all others......TOTALLY AMATEURISH!!

[@playtakataka1547]

Thankfully mayan descendants are still around us, there are many towns in the Yucatán peninsula where some people still speak only maya, and many more are bilingual, speaking both spanish and maya is very comon, at least in Yucatán.

[@ekinathkhedekar4248]

Your comment give me some kind of solace. I’m glad that people from that great civilisation still exist and speak that language. Or else, so called missionaries would have done well to wipe out another humanities beautiful creation. I’m going to check it on KZbin if I can listen to that language. Their belief in natural forces as gods is more logical than missionaries mad following off person who perhaps fool everyone with equal superstitious miracles.

[@nkel6111]

of course they exist. I have two here with me. They live, recreate, study, and learn, and seek a better world. Such an utterly foolish comment YOU made. You think they got on a boat and went to Mars?? haahaaa silly one

[@sodinc]

@@nkel6111 many peoples not only lost their countries and culture after the arrival of colonisators, but were exterminated at all, it is lucky for you to be alive. Your laughing about it doesn`t make any sense.

[@ekinathkhedekar4248]

@@nkel6111 I would have loved to know your age my friend but I’m sure you’re more than seven so it doesn’t matter.

[@albionides]

Certainly, but the Maya triana buiding is am opportunity for developement, but also It may bring the inflyence of western vulture that could contribute to an erasing of the traces left until now

[@diogopinto6039]

I think this is the best historic podcast I've ever listened to! The way they the story makes me feel like I'm actually living that!

[@FallofCivilizations]

Thank you, glad you think so!

[@robby319]

Very persuasive narrative. It is, of course, as once believed, that there were earlier European contacts. The phonecians were quite capable of following Columbus, although his ships were technically better suited for the crossing. But this is all speculation given the lack of writing.

[@carylhalfwassen8555]

McNeil Lehrer Productions in the ‘70’s and early ‘80’s and Kenneth Clark about European civilization produced quality TV programming such as the Story of English. Not much from TV programmers since. Thank you.

[@lorimiller4301]

You might want to see the book that Martin Liedtke found about the Phonecians. It is incredible.

[@AllinAllisAllweAllare]

Burning books is terrible. It's horrible what's been lost.

[@jennijennifer5129]

Yes it's very sad. A lot could have been learned from them

[@privatemessage1111]

Lost. Its sad whats been stolen from natives across this globe.

[@CovfefeDotard]

Rise and Shine people who preach hate should be banned

[@marthaletherwood3671]

Much as I love them, too, books are the very least thing; only a symbol of what humanity lost at the hands of greedy, ignorant, hypocrites.

[@lonneljohnston7087]

things that europeans are and were afraid ofthe truth

[@SHurd-rc2go]

Been there, saw those as a visitor. I'm almost weeping at visiting these sites again via this podcast, because I won't be returning. Thank you for this wonderful series.

[@peskymacaw9033]

Man, that's a shame, why you won't come back? Cheers from México, if you ever manage to visit us again, we'll welcome you with open arms, mate.

[@SHurd-rc2go]

@@peskymacaw9033 Hola Macaw. Disabled, stuck in the house, but 22 years in a beautiful southwestern Mexican state. Lucky to have seen the Militaries. Take care.

[@thorodinson6649]

@@peskymacaw9033 i really want to visit

[@mpforeverunlimited]

I've only been to teotihuacan. I wish I visited more of these places. I lived in a town called zapopan for a year

[@gentilgentile6571]

Amazing documentary.. I hope the day comes when this type of documentaries are shown in US television...We are sort of living inside a box here.

[@daniverson5860]

I'm really quite blown away; this is quite simply the best, most enjoyable documentary on the Maya that I have ever seen, and I've been a Mesoamerican obsessive for more than a decade. I just love how you tell the story of the Maya as an actual history, outlining the major trends and changes through the classic and postclassic period AND also manage to sketch out many of the high points the history of the scholarship on the Maya. And I love how up to date and coherent the information is. You completely avoid the usual "unknown/unsolvable MYSTERY of the Maya junk one usually finds. Tremendous, tremendous job.

[@citizendavid]

To learn something new everyday is always a good thing. These postings are a fantastic learning device. Now that school is canceled for months .. this channel is worth being a learning tool. Thanks ... wish I wasn't so damn-poor, I'd help fund ya. Thank You !

[@FallofCivilizations]

Thank you, very kind of you!

[@Gun4Freedom]

@@FallofCivilizations Your work is truly of a quality that far surpasses any documentary on the ancient world that I have ever seen. As you gain viewership and funding, as you most assuredly will, I humbly ask if you could please keep this simple format you have mastered so completely. It is perfect, and you have the voice and talent for storytelling like none I have ever seen or heard. Your words and works are a sacred blessing to humanity. Thank you for boldly sharing them so.

[@skatingfreak1670]

@@Gun4Freedom You must be a teen or somewhere around that age because believe it or not docs/shows like this and some even better too) used to be all over t.v. Like somebody else pointed out sadly they decided to abandoned these in exchange for aliens, duck dynasties, pebble eating children and obese children....

[@Gun4Freedom]

@@skatingfreak1670 If only I were still a teen ;)

[@stevenrichardson9880]

467 people dislike? What can you dislike about this epic bit of film documentary, honestly?

[@johnpick8336]

Maybe Vatican Spanish Historians don't like this video because it exposes the truth of there atrocities ?

[@annalisette5897]

I think some people just love to give thumbs down. We see it all the time on great videos that people have put a lot of time into producing, that are not controversial, etc. I almost never give a dislike and when I do it is for blatant misinformation.

[@sueloh5035]

@Shifu Sage There are always nay sayers every where. Born to be negative 😂

[@allthingsbegin]

Answer: just a bunch of idiotic trolls who are not educated nor care to be.

[@disasterpiece652]

I'd imagine Christians don't like being reminded of how their belief actually spread through the world 🤔 many ancient civilisations lost because they refused to surrender to another, and it wasn't just indeginous people's that experienced this as so did anyone who stood in the way of jesus and his very strange love for all 🤣

[@maiakoluckanowak5131]

When I lived in Chiapas, Mexico, I would go frequently to Tenam Puente Mayan ruins. About 25 years ago it was a very lonely place and we were the only visitors. It was very hot and no chance of getting something to drink. I used to wonder how such a huge urban center could survive without a drop of water in sight. I still have no idea...I highly recommend this place, it is not far from Tonina ruins and now it is more "civilized" with guides and Coca Cola...

[@2msvalkyrie529]

Is there a KFC...?

[@AncientAmericas]

Great job on a very big and complex topic! Love the work you guys are doing. Keep it up!

[@FallofCivilizations]

Thank you! Will do!

[@kamakirinoko]

Finally. A quiet, non-screaming, non-inundated with a hounding smarmy narrator, PLUS cool, very informative . . . podcast? Perhaps once it as a podcast but now it's a documentary, through and through (and you should be super proud of it!)

[@onesob13]

It's a podcast. With slides

[@eduardoauache2830]

Every episode has both a podcast and a... visual presentation?version. Anyway you can find both in this channel.

[@astrumrimor2450]

Right?! It’s such a relief to just receive information and not all the excess noise, drama, repetition, and condescension. I appreciate this so much.

[@bertiecurlynoodie]

I imagine for the Maya watching their civilisation crumble, the “sense of doom” would be somewhat similar to the sense of disquiet being experienced around the world now. The fear of the unknown yet to come pervades as we witness the transition of our own civilisation from one system into an as yet unknown other.

[@Ptaku93]

you're comparing peanuts to coconuts - but yes, they are both parts of plants

[@gimmebrain5865]

This time period is time when the richest are causing all of this division with fake two party differences as they have enriched themselves via theft while people were too ignorant to pay attention. Now we will see their plans for a far less crowded world come into full motion. I thought UN agenda 21 may have been delayed somehow, but no its in full cycle. We haven't seen anything yet.

[@Nierez]

@@Ptaku93 I take it you must live in country that is very stable.

[@jgarbo3541]

Excellent. I was in the Tikal in 1976, staggered by the size and structures of the place. Back then we knew little but the sight from the top of the main temple I'll never forget. Many thanks for the explanations.

[@jmartinez7144]

This was easy to listen to, while being educated about my culture. My great grandma was of Mayan descent. It makes me proud to hear about our pre Columbian civilizations and their great achievements under this bright educational informative light. And stating of the fact that no spanish conquistas and subsequent "subjugations" guised as religious conversions to Christianity, under the authority of self righteous aggrandizing padres/misioneros who for a great part there of, were cruel despots, with absolute power. Look into missionaries/indigenous relations all over the Americas. Im a new subscriber soon to be a contributing one as well. Thank you. For your thought provoking, well made documentary MUCHAS GRACIAS.

[@jcra4195]

Your ancestors ripped people’s hearts out while they were beating and ate their flesh with chilies and tomatoes.. salt if they were near the ocean. Thank your lucky stars the Spanish showed up.

[@daniel3231995]

What constitutes Columbia

[@colinmcgrathinsydney]

@@jcra4195 I'd rip your heart out for your thoughtless narrow minded, bigoted comment. No one is applauding you or human sacrifices. What the Spanish Conquistadors did to men, women and children of the americas is far far worse than the "state sanctioned human sacrifices".

[@MQuadrucci]

that comment was a starving man [pooping] on a delicious and nourishing handmade meal offered with an open heart to any and all... because someone else praised it for reminding them of their great grandmother's recipe.

[@marimota5083]

Exacto, por fin un documental donde ponen un punto de vista verdaderamente objetivo, es el mejor documental que haya visto de los Mayas, los Aztecas y los Incas, realmente increíble.

[@jdsalinger3731]

Your work is superb. I appreciate your starting the narrative by articulating the reason for and intent of your work. So informed, the viewer can be compelled or not by this. You do not resort to dramatic tricks to compel the viewer to stumble into the work. . Your narrative has the form of a well-constructed essay. This is honest, respectful of your viewer's intellect, and deeply compelling.

[@FallofCivilizations]

Thank you, I really appreciate the kind words!

[@marimota5083]

Exactly my thoughts, what an amazing job

[@yveslacroix3221]

It is a miracle to me that your channel isn't more well known, but if you keep producing work like this you'll get huge. This is the second of your podcast that I've listened to, and I'm hooked! Simply great story telling and imagery. I can't thank you enough for your work.

[@jeff6777]

Incredible work on this! It’s amazing to think event just in the last couple months, 417 new Mayan cities were discovered in Guatemala. Hopefully we’ll be able to learn more in the future as they’re excavated and explored.

[@joyceramirez4995]

I found your site three days ago. I've been watching one each day, and I must say, I have learned so much. I especially like the high quality and professional manner you present each podcast. I am totally addicted. Thank you for your time and knowledge you share with the rest of us who love history.

[@FallofCivilizations]

Thank you Joyce, I really appreciate it!

[@lorimiller4301]

Exceptional, truly.

[@BlowinFree]

@@FallofCivilizations I’d like to second what Joyce said ☝️☺️

[@28misterluna]

This is one of the best documentaries on the Mayan civilization. You did a excellent work. The way you described their history was like watching a very good movie inside my head. Thank you!

[@FallofCivilizations]

Thank you very much!

[@MC-gt6yp]

Environmental factors are so important in all our lives. Respect towards flora and fauna is so undervalued.

[@morganzoeclanthem2847]

Ahh, no. Modern farmers have much respect for flora and fauna.

[@janosmarothy5409]

@@morganzoeclanthem2847 Not in the slightest. The profit motive is in direct contradiction with sustainable food production -- as we speak, modern agribusiness is destroying the Amazon to grow cattle feed, which is incredibly wasteful, destructive and, yes, disrespectful to flora and fauna.

[@maineeveryday3991]

How does anyone dislike these videos?? They're like expensive University History classes. Unbelievable..

[@Ulyssestnt]

Such a striking visual,imagine fleeing trough the jungle and stumbling upon a lost city with pyramids overgrown with vines.

[@Bellmere]

Informative and compelling. Working from the perspective of the mass of people witnessing and responding to the collapse of the world around them is inspired. Much more engaging and thought-provoking than the 'great wars and great persons' approach used in other documentaries. Bravo!

[@FallofCivilizations]

Thank you, I really appreciate it!

[@anarchoutis]

This series is far superior to any of the bilge that the BBC et al offers these days. Thankyou so much.

[@rolandboucher3791]

This is the second installment that I have watched. We are all the richer for your work. My personal interest and work in ancient studies has been in the metrology that is the study of how the ancient civilizations developed their standards of measure, many of which have been handed down even as of today. I can only hope that the almost universal use of the Metric system does not obscure the standards of the past. 5000 years. Before the French created their two metric system, the Sumerians in Lagash did exactly the same thing. Their mathematics was sexadecimal, that is counting to 60 rather than 100, so sometimes the similarity is not obvious. The French, essentially declared the polar circumference of the earth to be 40 million meters. The Sumerians declared the length of 360 "yards" to be 1/360 of a degree on the polar circumferenceof the Earth. In a time before the building of the great pyramid they had measured the polar circumference with an error of less than 1/4 percent.

[@lordamory1785]

A treat for the mind and body. A history with heart and soul, not so much about decline of empire, but rather a study of cycles of rise, fall, and renewal as an ongoing process of human civilisation.

[@FallofCivilizations]

Thank you, this is a beautiful description!

[@JammaLamma]

Well said.

[@zzebowa]

It is so nice to hear an intelligent presentation of a subject these days. All we get on main TV these days are idiots talking about their feelings, or presenting it in a way fit for 6 year olds.

[@dangerdan2592]

If this was a documentary on the History Channel or Discovery, it would have tons of annoying sound effects, weird editing, and a narrator that sounds way too intense. Oh, and there would be some alien connection thrown in somewhere. This channel is a breath of fresh air. Can't stand the way TV documentaries are done nowadays (in America).

[@culwin]

@@dangerdan2592 You still watch TV? LOL There's tons of great science content on the internet. More than you can watch or read in a lifetime.

[@dangerdan2592]

@@culwin No lol I never watch TV, I don't even have the basic channels, I just remember how they were when I used to watch. I've also seen them at people's houses from time to time.

[@dangerdan2592]

@@culwin And yeah I know, it's pretty great. I just recently found this channel and definitely been enjoying it.

[@thomaswilke9771]

The people who be lament be the modern be mind be are right I b left the be army army in Alaska guarding our oil and be backs pardon be the best typos and the machines desire for be this is what Dr Frankenstein uncountered and Faust also

[@shaneen6813]

This guy is so vastly underrated .... I love every piece of work he's done...its a pleasure to watch and listen to his work

[@JayDeeChannel]

I’m just blown away by this series. I love the content and poignant intro..

[@Mauricio-qs9up]

Im getting addicted to your content! Fall of Civilizations Podcast rocks!

[@FallofCivilizations]

Thank you! Really glad you're enjoying

[@victorbillings9104]

Fall of Civilizations y

[@ernestochevy9772]

Shawny Lord kk

[@joealdridge4827]

@@FallofCivilizations sszsssss is a great place for the funeral service and the funeral of the funeral home in the funeral s the funeral home in the city hall of fame and the city of the city of the city of the city of the city of the city of the city of the city of the city of the city of the city of ddw

[@martyjansing2675]

Good production and information. Richard Hanson's research of El Mirador has revealed that it took 1,000 acres of green timber to produce enough lime plaster to coat a large structure. El Mirador ran from 900 bc to 200 ad. Its demise is accredited to the production of plaster as they always built larger and increased volume of coating. Whereas a lime floor in 900 bc was 3-4 centimeters thick by 100 bc the floors were 10 centimeters and a few hundred years later they were increased to 20 centimeters.

[@SHurd-rc2go]

@Paul Deland cochineal?? Don't know. It's here in southwestern Mexico.

[@BP-kx2ig]

I have been fascinated with the Maya since I was a teenager. Now retired I have visited Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Belize to see most of the great cities. This documentary is the very best I have seen and I learnt a lot a lot. Thank you.

[@lighttheway4694]

Another masterpiece among Paul Cooper’s masterpieces in this incredible series. Its depth and breadth leaves one awed and humbled.

[@jluis333]

recently I ventured on a 5000 km road trip in the Yucatan peninsula. I visited 9 ruined ancient cities and 3 colonial towns and the archeological museum in the capital. The legacy of these extinct civilizations is awe inspiring as is this documentary. I met some indigenous pure mayans that did not understand spanish and ate with them in the jungle. A mere glimpse of an era that still shines for those who understand the power of History. And 2012 was not the end of us all after all.

[@FallofCivilizations]

Sounds like an incredible trip!

[@ELEMENTJ21]

Sometimes, when I read history of past fallen civilizations, it makes me wonder what would become of our present global civilization at some distant future. We humans live with a sense of Existential Narcissism and Naive Optimism, thinking that everything is going to be okay in the long run. All empires in the blip of human existence on this planet are all like the sun that rises in the morn, and falls in the eve just as surely. A humble beginning, a golden age, and a twilight of decline; either by the hands of its own people, or by nature herself. None has truly endured in the long run. Perhaps one day, when the torch of civilization passes from our hands to our distant descendants in the far future, it will be their turn to tell tales of our people. Of towering cities made of glistening glass and metal, of ambitions and aspirations, of wars and strife, and our vibrant society would have passed in memory so distant and faded that we would become myths and legends to those people. It truly helps put our existence into perspective. Thank you for this series. Can't wait to see more!

[@MrGsullivan]

We may just go out with a whimper, jerking off into our phones and refusing to propagate a future generation.

[@robby319]

If civilizations rise and fall over large expanses of time. then a future civilization probably will know as little about us as we know about previous ones.

[@Luboman411]

Yeah. But this is true of all civilizations and all empires, not just our own--the extreme myopia that leads to existential narcissism and naive optimism. I don't think anyone in 700 AD Tikal, when the golden age was in full swing, thought that within 250 years their grand city would be ruined, their great dynasty deposed, with poor peasants living in the grand palaces, scratching out a living in the ruins. I feel the same holds for us now. I tremble sometimes to think in what state human civilization will be 250 years from now. I hope for the best. But I truly fear for the worst, especially with regards to climate change and the cataclysms it'll hurl toward humanity.

[@dietrevich]

Why distant future? For all we know it could be the next 50 yrs.. they descendants will discover, once a new civilization arises, that we were so close to leaving our planet and creating colonies... but never made it. Just left relics on the moon and Mars.

[@underscoreellipsesdothyphe1563]

I guess the same as any other? All civilisations get displaced and decend into irrelevancy, no "empire" has stood the test of time, because empires are a short sighted way of looking at things, so all inevitably fall, or most fail before they get started. Empires involve conquering and imposing their will on others, and thus get displaced by other Civilisations/empires seeking to conquer and impose or simply by natural anomolies (volcano, tsunamis etc). I assume it'll be no different to people today. Human nature doesn't really change, though, people still hunt, as did the mayans, people still carve stone, as did the mayans, people still worship gods, as did the mayans. Its only society that changes around it. The towering glass cities will eventually be knocked downl, as people today have knocked down houses built in the 1900s and before, as old churches built stand in ruins, so shall today's. But what will history say, you ask, same as has been said for every other time; "There were wars, people bred, politicians politicised, painters painted, poets lamented, singers sung, composers composed, dreamers dreamed .... other than that ....... not alot changed." So too, just as it ever was, so shall it ever be.

[@gatsbynewman1658]

Mr Cooper you have truly reached a point further than the BBC, good luck and look forward to next episode.

[@politicallycorrectredskin796]

That is a very low bar these days...

[@pcatful]

This series, this body of work is epic. To be cherished for centuries to come. Thank you!

[@NDZ33NDZ]

Watching this video was truly remarkable experience. I've found this channel after watching some conspiracy "Ancient Civilizations" videos. If 1 of 1000 will hit this podcast after watching conspiracy videos, they are doing their part. You never know, what you will find on KZbin. I've just found a pure gold today. Thank you and your whole team for an amazing work.

[@scottschauer7088]

Excellent. Having studied this for years and traveled many times to this region, this podcast was amazing. I am a fan. Well done!

[@FallofCivilizations]

Thank you Scott, I really appreciate it!

[@kolearian]

I started listening to these on google podcasts months ago. this channel was so small at the time. I'm very happy to see them thriving.

[@carlosfigueroa790]

Thanks Mr. Paul, surely I got something out of it!!! been my self decendent from the Mayan folk!! Cheers from Guatemala city!!

[@mdstanton1813]

What a compelling overview! After reading dozens of books of the Mayan civilization it never fails to get me thinking. I think I just found my new favourite history podcast

[@MrUndersolo]

I have listened to your discussions of the Roman Empire and the Bronze Age collapse, and now I am totally hooked...

[@dianneraymont5971]

Just fabulous - so wonderful this is now matched with a full visual production. I found this by accident and was instantly ADDICTED. Thank you - the content and narration is the most interesting, in-depth and accurate that I have experienced - yes indeed worthy of much more attention.

[@wordgeezer]

I learned more about the Mayans here than anything I've read. Kudos

[@craziprice]

Lul kudos

[@jcra4195]

This is revisionist history. If you want true history read Mayan and Spanish first hand accounts. The two are never in contradiction. I’d recommend Conquistador Voices I & II.

[@alihunter84]

Very positive reviews and i whole heartily agree! Its REALLY refreshing to get a series of documentaries that take us back to before the time docuseries try so hard to entertain they forget to be informative. You just produced one of the best documentaries on post colonial South American Civilizations and you didn't get derailed and start talking about aliens ...Thank you :)

[@jirim727]

This is fantastic! This format is the best and also the cinematography... just wow... I cannot imagine what it felt like for the fugitive priest to unexpectedly stumble upon this silent, abandoned monuments...I don't know... It reminds me the Shadow of the Colossus...

[@Dertrend]

I visited Coba a year ago and the ruins had a truly eerie feel in the jungle. I had no idea that the jungle would not have even been there all those years ago. We can only marvel at the achievements of the past in the short time we walk this world.

[@jeffersonjones3066]

I love the updated materials about the world. Never stop learning. Never stop teaching.👍👍👍👍👍

[@ironsnowflake1076]

Where has this channel been all my life?? Subbed.

[@kevinhayes6933]

Iron Snowflake love the name you use. Hard for iron. Snowflake for beauty

[@worldofwoolol6082]

Iron Snowflake... Great Name. i too really enjoy this channel. Peace People

[@furorteutonicus9045]

@@robbyz512 Are they not called "simps" now?

[@anno5936]

@@furorteutonicus9045 nope... they're called "snowflakes"

[@myst1c164]

Furor Teutonicus simps is the correct one, incels hate woemn

[@ironwoodnf9128]

There is soooo much hidden under the jungle canopy of central and South America, glad that technology to find more is getting better.

[@charlessanders]

I guess they have recently discovered that a huge part of the Amazon rain forest had been developed and cleared for cities and agriculture by the native South Americans. The forest had grown back hiding this all.

[@ironwoodnf9128]

@@charlessanders I wish the ranchers knew what they are slash and burning on top of(or cared)

[@charlessanders]

@@ironwoodnf9128 I'm sorry what I meant was these were not ranchers. These were natives that had built cities and cleared land for cities and agriculture. This happened hundreds and even thousands of years ago.

[@robokill387]

@@charlessanders Yes, what he means is that modern ranchers are building on top of ancient sites.

[@stupidbeetle]

Mayan stories passed down through generations still circulate in my Costa Rican side of the family. Thank you for making this video. Hearing more stories makes me feel like hearing about home.

[@McVet3]

This is the absolute highest quality of this genre. Amazing.

[@armchairgravy5148]

The names are pure metal. The Lords of the Snake \m/

[@chrissiek8706]

Animal Skull

[@patricktsao9630]

@@chrissiek8706 "And me! ....Two Birds!" .... .... ... *loses Tikal utterly*

[@SpiderManpeterxxxparker]

K'uk B'alam for me :)

[@producersteve1330]

Why do you think Sepultura was so hard? \m/

[@bermudasmith]

Yes this is awesome work, majestic in its presentation. I first stumbled onto the arresting work done on the Vikings and then this caught my eye. The pace of your narrative and supporting info and visuals were mesmerizing. In a strange way I have become acutely aware of powerful forces outside my control that will determine the fate of my singular existence

[@FallofCivilizations]

Thank you, I'm really glad you enjoyed it.

[@lamartore]

Just amazing narration. I try to spend as much time as I can visiting those ruins in yucatan. And your story telling could make me spiritually traveling again and again indefinitely.

[@13minutestomidnight]

This is an excellent documentary that clearly and succinctly analyses and summarises what knowledge we have of the Maya. However, the sadness of the Maya's tragedy is overshadowed by the absolutely chilling parallels to our modern world. Today the entire world of human civilisation is running into the same exact problems as the Maya. Farming for food occurs in all available space in energy-rich and environmentally-disastrous ways, depending on a tiny variety of plants to feed a population straining the limits of our infrastructure. Over-population is getting worse while the energy and resources to fuel our civilisation - not just luxury goods but basic necessities - destroys our environment at ever-faster rates. Sound familiar? Humanity is running into a dead-end faster than reforming our ways of living (as the rich get ever-richer, the poor and middle-classes spend most of their time and energy just struggling with the demands of living in a money-obsessed society). Unlike the Maya, we have the technology and opportunities to change things, to alter our destination. .But although most individuals in our civilisation have the capacity to make small-scale changes that do make a difference, beyond that, it's the companies/corporations and people with most of the world's money and power that will need to make changes because they have the control and capability to fund new options/directions for humanity (like changing sources of energy production, ways of using resources etc.). If our civilisation falls as it is now, not just a world of people but a global ecosystem of plants and animals will suffer too. This time, the stakes are so high we cannot afford to fall. ….Okay, I apologise for turning this into a minor rant, but all the same, to this vid's creator (if they happen to read this): thank you for creating these brilliant documentaries (they are both educational and entertaining, and these are lessons humanity needs to remember) .

[@brandietherington4338]

You are making history come alive like some of my best teachers were able to do. Awesome job on creating scripts that are both entertaining and educational.

[@JJ-ew9lq]

This is awesome! The one on the Bronze Age was awesome too.

[@CathyCrothers]

Kinda feels exactly whats going on TODAY with our own civilization. And no, we haven't learned. Thanks for your excellent production.

[@morganzoeclanthem2847]

Huh, how so?

[@politicallycorrectredskin796]

Or it's being done on purpose from above.

[@allisonwren3147]

What an enjoyable podcast - so well researched and described - and learning experience! More please

[@justpettet3506]

wow this is so much different than just listening really great pics man.

[@FallofCivilizations]

Thanks, really glad you think so!

[@BangFarang1]

I agree, although I grew up with radio broadcasts (I'm a boomer), I find audio only quite boring, now that video exists.

[@devmartin7427]

I thought that was probably the difference but I didn't want to pause this to see! This is great to watch on my TV on chromecast. I'll probably watch some with my mom during this lockdown.

[@RaimoKangasniemi]

Tikal inscriptions do mention few royal, ruling queens and spouses of kings. One ruling queen was Ix Yo K'in(b. 504), who ascended the Tikal throne in 511 and was alive and ruling in 527 (with a male co-ruler), but had been succeeded by an another king by 537.

[@cristeros33]

It is peculiar, Europe went dark about the same time. I don't think human activity did it nor a regional volcano. I think debris came in at 35 km / sec and either an air burst similar to Tanguska 1908 or a bit worse. It can't be a coincidence that both hemispheres experienced an abrupt halt, no? Maya were and are the Valedictorian's of the cosmos. As much the Old world as anything in the eastern hemisphere.

[@RaimoKangasniemi]

@@cristeros33 There is evidence of a significant volcanic eruption about the middle of the 6th century which would have caused severe whether effects causing damines etc. No evidence of an impact has been found. In Mesoamerica the fall of Teotihuacan happened around 550. In Tikal, whose dynasty had been installed, as recounted here, by a Teotihuacano warlord in 378, the decades around that date show decreased use of Teotihuacano garb and official attempts to press the links to rulers before 378. Certainly Tikal's military position seem to have been weakened by the fall of Teotihuacan, and after its own major defeat in 562 there goes over a century with minimal surviving records and very limited building activity until the revival in the 690s. In Europe the Byzantine reconquest of the Mediterranean stalls after 554 and then, starting from 568, Germanic and Slavic tribes start to pour Italy and the Balkans. So far the evidence points at a volcano, but of course new evidence can change that.

[@icarusCFO]

I've watched four of your episodes in the last day. Can't get Enough of this high quality dive into cultures of history. Keep it up. Your storytelling really makes this a grade a level of content

[@victorialaunders5129]

I am fascinated by civilizations and their life cycles and was lucky enough to visit the area a couple of years ago. The ruins are astounding, but wonderfully the Mayans are still around, speaking Mayan and many looking like the carvings. Our guide in Tikal was almost identical to his ancestors. This is a fantastic podcast and I'm a fan now!

[@saavedra77]

49:39: Meggars' Thermodynamic theory of human civilization. Quantity of energy supply available to social group (+time?) -> degree of cultural complexity. Fascinating.

[@alexriddles492]

It gives a far greater importance to the idea of post peak oil than I had considered before.

[@michaelk19thcfan10]

My wife is from Guatemala. I had the privilege of visiting many of the sites mentioned in this video.

[@ianmurray378]

I have to say that these series of videos are the best thing on youtube or any mainstream platform. The world needs these quality productions. If you would like to expand your portfolio into spirituality /science and religion let me know...

[@michaelharris679]

I'll never forget when I got to the top of a temple in Tikal and looked over the forest canopy. We spent a while walking out to the site under the forest. All I could think about is how supernatural it would have been to look out above the forest you spent your entire life under.

[@sirkyoj1]

I now have 2 historical podcast favorites. This channel and Dan Carlin. Fantastic and so well done.

[@quetzalflight5790]

" i am Guatemalan, i thank you for you And All who work continuously on the history OF the Mayan culture...where many disregard it , You and others continue To search for that truth. From the Israelis to us Guatemalans " we have a connected Truth; a truth to be completed" thank you again and may GODCHRIST & HOLY SPIRIT GUIDE PROTECT BLESS ALL OF YOU IN THIS ROAD OF LIFE , THANK YOU.

[@adrianseanheidmann4559]

Christianity destroyed most of your unique culture.

[@itstriplem2069]

@@adrianseanheidmann4559 Catholicism, not Christianity.

[@aver28357]

What do you think about us in central and South America being the lost tribes of Israel?

[@ruthwalker7846]

I've just discovered this series by chance on KZbin and agree totally with all the positive comments. Brilliant - clearly explained, well researched, full of insight, great images, thoughtful and thought-out. Deserves a prize in recognition. Even the subtitles don't interfere too much. Wish I'd found these wonderful videos (¿What's a Podcast?) ages ago.

[@joeysingingchannel]

Amazing that they made such beautiful cities with no wheels, pulleys, animals and all with stone tools! Simply incredible!

[@chubbymoth5810]

Loved the combination of narrative and pictures. And a very interesting overview of current understanding of the Mayan world.

[@FallofCivilizations]

Thank you, glad you thought so!

[@ertmanis]

chilling echoes of current events . . . . your concise wording and observations are deeply elightening

[@dixiemcgovern6546]

Well done!!! After living with the Mayan's for ten years, one thing I learned is their dependance on wood for cooking beans, eggs and corn tortillas, morning and evening. Therefor, if one would considerer the amount of wood needed to feed a village, and how far the women and children would have to journey for the wood. Relocating makes perfect since.

[@2msvalkyrie529]

They should have discovered electricity if they were so advanced...!!

[@resuriie]

Thank you so much for putting this together. It's great quality and super informative! I learned a lot about this amazing culture and will continue checking out your videos to learn more :D

[@MrTrailer123]

True

[@carlabroderick5508]

Best documentary channel ever. The writing is phenomenal. Please consider another if translation of more Mayan hieroglyphs elucidate the fall.

[@FallofCivilizations]

Thank you! I'm really glad you think so.

[@robby319]

The new aerial mapping has revealed even more detail of this lost civilization. Makes one wonder if it can find evidence of other, more ancient civilizations. And of course, so much land once used has slowly sunk beneath the rising sea since the glaciers receded.

[@2112LifeIsGood]

I have one comment, Wow. I'm totally amazed by the rich history of the Americas, and this video illustrates it better for all the world to understand. American history offers a dynamic and interesting view to our worlds ancient past, and it also appears to be the least understood. We need to cherish, study and preserve this ancient culture for all of mankind.

[@ricardosalazarrey2424]

My intro to Latin American students love the Maya and Inka episodes. I just found the KZbin channel and I can’t wait to show them. Happy to support your excellent work on Patreon.

[@FallofCivilizations]

Thanks Ricardo, glad to hear it!

[@gravy1219]

My 10 year old is learning about the Mayans at school right now and i love having this as a resource to teach her a little extra, i like to listen when im struggling to sleep, its a win win because i either fall sleep and learn a little or listen all night and learn a lot, thank-you so much!