Uncovering a Mayan Massacre [8min]

Researchers in Guatemala have found evidence of a 1,200-year-old massacre in an ancient city called Cancuén, the capital of one of the richest kingdoms of Maya civilization. The discovery, deep in the jungle of highland Guatemala, provides a snapshot of the Maya civilization as it began to collapse. A team led by Arthur Demarest, a professor of anthropology at Vanderbilt University, has uncovered dozens of skeletons buried in an old reservoir in the ruins of a royal palace located in Cancuén. Precious adornments found near and on the skeletons -- including jade, carved shells and jaguar-fang necklaces -- led the team to conclude that the people massacred had been nobles. The National Geographic Society has provided support for the research. As part of an ongoing series of interviews for Radio Expeditions, a co-production of NPR and the National Geographic Society, Alex Chadwick talks with Demarest about his research team's latest finds in the Petén jungle region of Guatemala.