writing has helped reveal the history of ancient sumer. in the heartland of the maya, another time capsule awaits discovery. what stories lie locked within these strange symbols ? decipherment of the maya glyphs began with the discovery of rare maya books, survivors of the tropical climate and the spanish conquest. archaeologist george stuart. stuart: this is a color facsimile of the dresden codex -- actual size, real colors. it's made on, like the others, on bark paper sized with lime plaster, on which the images were painted with fine hair brushes and pigment in about, oh, five or six different colors. keach: many of these books were discovered by the sixteenth century spanish. they were said to be filled with genealogies, prophesies and religious beliefs. but to the spanish conquerors, they were blasphemous. in 1562, bishop diego de landa ordered them destroyed. "we found a large number of books in these characters, "and as they contained nothing "in which there were not to be seen "superstition and lies of the devil, "we burned them al

despi last sumer's drought, the value of farmland in the federal reserve's seventh district, which includes iowa and illinois, continued to increase in the double digits. jim farrell is the president and c.e.o. of an omaha-based farm real estate firm. he says last month alone, his company oversaw more than $160 million in farmland sales. >> the level of interest was phenomenal, and we were selling them at higher prices than we anticipated they would sell at before we went into the auction. >> reporter: who's buying farmland? some are investors like these attending the chicago federal reserve bank's annu agriculture conference. while farmers still account for about three-quarters of the farmland purchased in the u.s., investors account for the rest and their numbers are growing. jon brorson manages three agriculture funds for mesirow financial that include 26 farms. he says individual and institutional investors are only beginning to realize the profit potential of farming. >> it's an asset that they fly over to florida or drive through to visit grandma. they're not used to thinking of it in

. >> this cob sumer expert says the extra shopping time means retailers won't be showing their full handre will be more and in many cases, better deals to come as we creep closer to christmas. >> they have a lot of field time. so mystery best deals may come later. >> consumers need to be ready. >> have a list, know what you want. if there is scarcity with the item, grap it when the deal is good. otherwise, you might wait it out. >> if you are shopping from your computer, keep this date in monday, monday, december 17, free shipping day online. another retail expert says the best deals on electronics come earlier, as for clothes, think of it as the store would, if you have big sweaters still in stock as christmas draws near, you will keep cutting. winter apparel's the last thing you want in the inventory after the holidays, so deals can be had. >> always appreciate yourviates, year round. >> thank you. >> shannon: stress is high around the holidays and financial burdens generally play a role. so with the fiscal cliff looming, you may be feeling the financial stress more than ever. how to c