Unearthed Season 9 Episode 4 Lost City of the Maya Queens

In season 9 episode 4 of Unearthed, titled "Lost City of the Maya Queens," the show takes us on a journey to uncover the mysteries of a lost Maya city that was home to powerful queens. The episode begins with an aerial view of the dense jungle in Mexico, where ancient Maya civilizations once thrived. The camera then zooms in on the ruins of a large temple-like structure, where we meet archaeologist Tom Garrison and his team.

Garrison has been studying the site for over three decades, but it wasn't until recently that he discovered an inscription that pointed to the existence of a lost Maya city close by, which he dubbed the City of the Maya Queens. The inscription, combined with his knowledge of the Maya civilization's matriarchal society, leads him to believe that powerful women ruled this city. But the question remains, why was such a civilization forgotten in history?

Garrison and his team begin the arduous task of mapping and excavating the site. Using drones and ground-penetrating radar, they uncover several structures that indicate the presence of a well-established city, including a palace, ball court, and temple. However, most of the buildings still lie hidden under dense vegetation, making the team's work challenging.

As they begin to uncover more of the site, Garrison and his team come across some intriguing finds. They unearth a statue of a Maya queen with a monkey on her lap, which hints that she may have been powerful enough to keep exotic animals as pets. They also discover a large, circular structure with a depression in its center, which they believe was used for a unique form of Maya ritual that involved filling it with water and possibly performing human sacrifices.

The episode also delves into the methods that Garrison and his team use to piece together the story of the lost city. By examining the artifacts and structures, they are able to make educated guesses about how the people who lived here functioned on a day-to-day basis. For example, they find several pieces of intricately carved pottery that suggest the Maya queens possessed a sophisticated artistic culture.

The show also touches upon the downfall of the Maya civilization, which is usually attributed to political disunity, drought, and overuse of resources. However, Garrison believes that this doesn't explain why the City of the Maya Queens was lost to history. He proposes that it may have been demolished by other Maya factions who viewed the matriarchal society as a threat to their power.

As the team continues to uncover more artifacts, the true scale of the city becomes apparent. The palace structure alone covers over a football field's worth of land, indicating that the queens who ruled here were some of the most powerful people in Maya society.

The episode concludes with Garrison and his team reflecting on the significance of their discoveries. By piecing together the history of the City of the Maya Queens, they are able to shed new light on a society that has been shrouded in mystery for thousands of years. The team's work proves that there is still so much left to discover about the ancient civilizations that once ruled the world.