Riddle of the Mayan Cave
odd: label: Local Number
content: HSFA 1991.21.4
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Explorers Club
setName: label: See more items in
content: Explorers Club films
physdesc: label: Extent
content: Film reels (53 minutes, color sound; 1872 feet)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1968
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Human Studies Film Archives
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Film reels
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Television broadcast produced by Nicholas Webster and ABC News in collaboration with the Explorer's Club and narrated by Peter Jennings. Film documents an Explorer's Club expedition to Alta Verapaz, Guatemala in search of caves to prove that ancient Mayan Indians used caves for religious and ceremonial purposes. Russell Guerney leads an expedition of 10 men and one woman who also collect specimens of natural history of the area and caves for further study. Footage includes: contemporary Mayan ritual which takes place in a cave; Mayan masked dancers; Tikal; market; farming; tarantula with young being born; bats; birds; campsite activities; and exploration of several caves including one with long staircase and terraces leading to several rooms with human remains and pottery artifacts. Cave is thought to prove the expedition's hypothesis.