Back to Show
Watch Preview
NOVA
Ancient Maya Metropolis
Season 48
Episode 22
The ancient ancestors of today’s Maya people thrived in large sophisticated cities across Central America for centuries. Why, around 750 CE, did they begin to abandon many of their major cities? Archaeologists investigate dramatic new evidence of the catastrophic droughts and instability that pushed cities beyond their limits.
Support Provided By
53:16
Sir David Attenborough explores a site with traces of ancient mammoths and Neanderthals.
53:30
In the Arctic, enormous releases of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, threaten the climate
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:21
Intrepid paleontologists discover that dinosaurs thrived in the Arctic’s cold and dark.
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:28
Take a tasty look at insect foods that could benefit our health and our warming planet.
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:28
Join the hunt for the universe’s most common—yet most elusive and baffling—particle.
53:36
As state-legalized cannabis spreads, NOVA explores its little-known risks and benefits.
53:46
NASA launches its most ambitious search yet for traces of ancient life on Mars.
53:32
Discover the fascinating chemistry that makes our world and everything in it—including us.
53:30
Discover the fascinating chemistry that makes our world and everything in it—including us.
53:31
Discover the fascinating chemistry that makes our world and everything in it—including us.