Voir History Specials - Episode 95

Archaeologist Jim Turner was island-hopping somewhere near the Marshall or Solomon Islands when he discovered a giant monolith he claims the Mayans believed their Gods would descend to observe the end of the world. Hidden for centuries to all but a handful of people, Mayan symbols on the statue predict the site to be the best vantage point for observing the total solar eclipse they believe will signal the dreaded 2012 apocalypse. The shock is that the island is located in the South Pacific, a long way from home for the Mayans, who are thought to have been a non-seafaring people. How could the Mayans have navigated so far across the sea to this location, and how could they have known their destination? Travel with HISTORY to this hidden place, where Turner, who spent ten years preparing for this expedition, will attempt to prove the significance of the ancient statue through extensive analysis, including carbon dating techniques to pinpoint the era when the rock was carved and where it came from, and interviews with elders of the ancient tribe that has called this the island home for centuries.