Movies can be great tools for learning about history. And if you ever saw Mel Gibson's "Apacolypto" from 2006, you'll have a accurate picture in mind when you hear our next story. Recently in Guatemala, archaeologists at the Mayan city of El Mirador have turned up some violent, but enlightening discoveries.

According to archaeologists, the grand Mayan city of El Mirador may have died out in a bloody battle atop a huge pyramid between a royal family and invaders from hundreds of miles away.

Researchers are carrying out DNA tests on blood samples from hundreds of spear tips and arrowheads. These relics were dug up with bone fragments and smashed pottery at the summit of the El Tigre pyramid in the Mayan city, buried beneath vegetation in the jungle.

Many of the excavated blades are made of obsidian, which the archaeologists have traced to a source hundreds of miles away in the Mexican highlands. They believe the spears belonged to warriors from Teotihuacan, an ancient civilization near Mexico City, which was an ally of Tikal, and an enemy of El Mirador.


El Mirador is one of the largest ancient cities in the Western Hemisphere. At its height, it is thought to have been home to between 100- and 200-thousand people. Historians believe it was built around 850 BC and flourished for hundreds of years before it was mysteriously disappeared in 150 AD.

Last year, President Alvaro Colom announced the creation of a huge park in the Peten region to encompass both El Mirador and the already excavated Tikal, a popular tourist site. The two sites are currently only accessible by helicopter or a two-day hike through the jungle.

Source: CCTV. com