in fact, they had shot at one in the jungle. they kind of hinted at whether or not we heard the gunfire. >> no, no, no. >> no. >> we said no. we all had the good sense to keep our mouth shut. after about an hour waiting around, another group of soldiers arrived. now there was maybe 30 or 40 soldiers, like right where we were. we don't know what the hell is going on. they separate us from victor. victor was nervous from the beginning, and i could kind of see it on his face. he was too far away to hear what he was saying, but he was talking to the squad commander. eventually victor came back and the squad commander launched into this speech about the revolutionary armed forces of colombia, the farc. they were members of the farc. they were there to protect the people of colombia. and we listened. when he was done speaking, victor started speaking to me in english. >> this man, i don't know. >> he was trying to appear casual, but he was struggling. he was really trying to pick his words carefully. >> say it again? >> this man is no

the darien is kind of mythical. it's jungle for hundreds of miles. it was challenging, this idea to cross the darien. frightening. but why should it be easy? i bought a machete, a pair of tropical combat boots, small military backpack. didn't really want to carry much. >> mosquitos? si, si. >> bought a baby blue mosquito net. it's almost comical. how does one shop for a jungle adventure? i was trying to shed my american appearance. i felt it would be easier for me to blend in. i don't know if i did a very good job. i look kind of like a bum, i think. >> hola. >> the last thing i needed before i left was a map. >> darien? >> not a lot of people ask for a map of the darien, obviously. and i'm looking at what kind of maps are there. and this guy walks in. he goes to the same counter. >> hola, senora. >> he asks about a map of the darien. >> si, darien. >> this is kind of strange. and i'm just all ears. i'm curious. >> that's a coincidence. i was just looking for a map of the darien as well. >> he introduced himself. >> robert. >> why are you so intereste

we're in the deep jungle now on the malaysian-thai border. this is the area that holds the darkest of secrets. there were more than 40 camps believed to be in this area. i'm standing in one of them. it's very makeshift. very little shelter, very little to protect people, and yet, some people were kept in these areas for as long as two years. there are more than 40 camps like this believed to be held in these woods. one of 140 bodies have been recovered, and the prediction is there could be hundreds more buried somewhere in this jungle. we've met some of those held in these camps. of dole staggered out of the jungle this week with just a pair of shorts to his name. he'd been held for an astonishing two years in the jungle. as the police closed in, the traffickers fled and migrants escaped. of dole -- abdul hakim has the face of a haunted man. he was starved, eaten, and tortured. >> at the end of this month, i would have been two years in the camp. we could not pay the ransom money, so we were tortured and kept there. they poured boiling oil on

but the jungles hide something sinister. camps run by human trafficker holding rohingya, who were looking for a better life. last month a grave was found holding hundreds. this man is from the rohingya heartland, and spent 4.5 months in camps and saw two dozen die. they have been living in a mosque >> translation: there were people killed by beatings i saw them die. i saw them wash and bury the bodies, and i performed burials. >> reporter: the camps are home to hundreds of people asking for more money to pay the traffickers. everyone has to pay. if you don't if you can't, you are subject to beatings depravation of food and water. >> on sunday thai authorities launched an operation in eight areas, putting more than 100 police and soldiers in the jungle with one purpose, to find the camps. >> this patrol this is an area they came across in the morning. they believe hours before that it was occupied by traffickers and some of those rohingya that they brought along with them. they are destroying the material here. that way the tr

and when you are working there - you have to be prepared for life in the jungle. research after sundown at the center can be challenging. a generator provides electricity only 7 hours a day - and lights out is 9pm sharp. a good headlamp is your best friend... along with your mosquito net to keep unwanted guests out of bed. and during mealtime - you have to keep an eye out for the occasional thief... this one targeted our techknow crew. >> pretty good, yeah? >> this macaw is inocencio - who nests near the center with his mate - chuchuy. they are both scarlet macaws - a species that can live to the ripe old age of 50 in the wild. scarlet macaws are doing well here - but endangered in other regions. in mexico, less than 250 survived in the wild as of 2013 - the result of illegal pet trade and habitat loss. inocencio has little fear of humans. that's because a little over 20 years ago - he and 19 other scarlet macaw chicks were chosen to be raised by hand at the center - then released into the wild. the macaws participating in the study are known as the chicos. >> the

putting more than 100 police and soldiers in the jungles with one purpose. to find the camps. we traveled with some. so this patrol what they're doing this is an area they came across in the morning. and they believe that just several hours before that it was occupied by traffickers and some of those rohingya that they brought along with them. what they're doing is destroying the material here that way the traffickers can't come back here and use any of these supplies. they'll continue in this area of operation and it's very close to the border. just two kilometers from the border. they'll continue deep in the jungle and they'll continue to search for any more camps. >> the police announce that two local officials were arrested and some police have been reassigned. on wednesday they launched a command center for the anti-trafficking operations. >> we have a clear direction of the country's national action plan to counter human trafficking. the situation in thailand is considered a crisis. >> but it might an bit late for this round of the crisis. as they continue their jungle p

they wear clothes like these to get around in the jungle. >> at a border point in the rain forest, weind a second sign of life. among the clan of migrants sent here, many are children detained for months in dozens of secret traffic camp's like this one. >> from now on, we are going into the unknown. you don't know who you might come across. that's why we are here. >> the unknown -- another transit can detect it the day before. >> this makeshift prison has been abandoned. there were at least 100 burmese and bangladeshi migrants here. they vanished with their smugglers. >> they made it through to malaysia. i think they are no longer in thailand. malaysia is just there a few hundred meters away. >> 100 meters down the hill, a new discovery. in all, four bodies were buried here in a hurry. desperate migrants for from the journey through unknown lands and oceans in the middle of the jungle. three men and a woman whose identities and circumstances of death will be a mystery forever. starved or killed by traffickers, these migrants had no choice but to risk their lives in search of a better

they wear cloaks like these to get around in the jungle. at a border point lost in the rain forest, we find a second sign of life. many of the migrants are children, detained for months in dozens of secret transit camps like this one. >> from now on we are going into the unknown. we do not know who we might come across. that is why we are here. >> the unknown, another transit camp the day before on the other side of the mountain. it is four hours away in the jungle. this makeshift prison has been abandoned. there were at least 100 army's -- 100 burmese and migrants here. they vanished with the smugglers. they made it through -- >> they made it through to malaysia. i think they are no longer in thailand. malaysia is just there, a few hundred meters away. >> 100 meters down the hill, a new discovery. in all, four bodies were buried here in a hurry. desperate migrants for whom the journey through unknown lands and oceans ended in the middle of the jungle. three men and a woman whose identities and circumstances of death will be a mystery foreve

tonight "tech know" journeys into the jungle, this is one of the iconic animals of costa-rica with post cards of this thing. a beautiful and fragile place on the planet is under attack. happening. >> how extensive is the damage, we are going to find out. that is why we are going to walk every trail, stream and swamp we come across to see what is out there. i'm an into enintoeninto entomologist. i'll share my findings with a biologist specializing in ecology and evolution and an engineer who has designed everything from bionic eyes to space satellites. that's our team, now let's do some science. ♪ welcome to "tech know," i'm phil and you guys know i spend a lot of my time in the jungles and do my research in the tropics and usually looking at spiders on butterflys and i went to costa-rica to look at something different and there are scientific issues out there and protecting the rain forest is one of them and maybe it's not quite high enough on the list because we are realizing now that rain forests are doing incredible services for us in society. >> they are doing them completely for fr

. >> reporter: the world's largest retailer is aiming for the king of the jungle. walmart confirms it is testing a new $50 per year subscription program offering unlimited free shipping for one million of the seven million products on its website. the retailer says the orders will arrive in three days or less and, for now, it's invitation only. it's another shot fired in the battle of bricks versus clicks as retailers large and small try to compete with amazon and the strength of its prime membership program. in its tenth year an amazon prime membership is $99 per year for two-day shipping on 20 million items as well as streaming video and tv shows, music, a kindle lending book library and cloud storage. and it's a valuable group. according to consumer intelligence research prime members spend $1100 per year compared to $700 per year for other amazon shoppers. while amazon says its prime membership rates are growing, it won't say how many total prime customers it has. analysts and consultancy groups estimate it's likely between 40 and 50 million. many analysts have

they make their way into the jungle camps in pickup trucks or through forests. if there are children in the group, it can take up to two days. >> this is where they end up in hidden jungle camps. this was abandoned hours before we arrived. in some cases, they are held for months waiting for ransom money to reach the traffickers. >> this is a group of 10 soldiers, they're going to hike sue into the jungle and put barbed wire between the countries. >> there are two provinces that border malaysia that the army is focused on. these operations searching out for camps and traffickers that run them, that's because this area is a known root for the rohingya going from thailand into malaysia. >> that's just the area where the carves are thought to be. thailand has called for three way talks to deal with what they call a crisis situation, one that ended with hundreds of rohingya held here. some were killed by the captors or died along the way. al jazeera near the thai-malaysian border. >> south africa's main opposition party the democratic alliance has elected its first bl

the tail end of thailand. it is beautiful, but these jungles hide something more sinister. day a mass grave containing 26 bodies was found in a camp that held hundreds. 19-year-old is from the rohingya heartland. he spent four and a half months in this camps he said he saw two dozen people die. >> translator: there were people killed by beatings. i helped wash and bury the bodies. and i even performed islamic burials in the hills. >> reporter: the deaths are the result of a scene that is played out in numerous camps to hundreds of people. calls to families asking for more money to pay the traffickers. everybody has to pay, and if you don't pay, you can't pay, you are subject to beatings you are subject to deprivation of food and water. >> reporter: the thais put more than 10 0 soldiers in the jungles to find the camps. this is an area they came across in the morning, and they believe just several hours before it was occupied by traffickers, and some of those rohingya that they brought along with them. they are destroying the material here that way the traffickers can't come

then they make their way to the jungle camps. some are bundled into the back of pickup trucks. others trek through national forests. if there are children in the group, it could take up to two days. this is where they end up in hidden jungle camps. this one was abandoned just hours before we arrived. in some cases, they are held for months waiting for ransom money to reach the trafficers. >> this is a group of about ten soldiers. they are going to hike up into the jungle and put barbed wire along the border between malaysia and thailand. this is the first time they have done it. they are going to stay there for a week. >> it's a remote area where people can come and go across the unmarked border. sol there are two provinces that border malaysia that the army is focused on. these operations searching out for these camps and the trafficers who run them, that's because this area here is a known route tot for the rahinga going from thailand into malaysia. but that's just a small part of the 144 kilometers of border area where the trafficker camps are thought to be. thailand's gover

the united states and south vietnamese armies sprayed large quantities over the jungle. r aim was to strip the trees bare. without cover, enemy soldiers couldn't carry out attacks. agent orange contains dieoxin, a substance toxic to the human body. this family has been suffering from the effects for three generations. t imt et is a former soldier who was exposed to agent orange on the battlefield. soon after being discharged, he began experiencing live and kidney problems. he's been on daily medications ever since. his son started suffering joint problems at the age of 6 and eventually lost the use of his hands and feet. >> translator: i had a sickness. none of the people around me wanted anything to do with me. i felt like a pariah. >> now the family facesa i -- a new ordeal. >> translator: my grandson is not well. i'm worried sick. the doctor says something is wrong with my grandson. >> from parent to child, to grandchild. in this program, we examine the ongoing effects of agent orange. ♪ ♪ >> tam sun, west hanoi. home to a medical facility that treats victims of agent

avenger in the jungle. t of the plane is in the water nearby and they've been searching for it the past nine years. >> scannon: we've never been able to find the fuselage, so somewhere out here there's a fuselage with... possibly, with two m.i.a.s on it. >> cooper: to find the avenger bent prop has now been joined by a team from the scripps institution of oceanography and the university of delaware. they bring high technology to the hunt. this research torpedo called remus can scan large areas of ocean with sonar. eric terrill leads the effort. >> eric terrill: we ran the remus a few hours off of the mangroves here and found a couple of targets. drop down, get some visuals on the targets. >> scannon: if there's a place it ought to be, it's right here. >> cooper: terrill leads the way with a handheld sonar device and is the first to come across debris, including part of the plane's tail. when the sonar shows signs of something ahead, he turns around to get pat scannon. >> scannon: he comes swimming up to me,

the jungle between malaysia and thailand is said to be used for smugglers and migrants. >> the only thing that is surprising about this is that the malasian government didn't find these camps earlier. we've known there's been these camps on both sides of the border. now malaysia really has to investigate what was happening there. whether there was official complicity in the running of these camps and others and prosecute everybody who was involved. >> human rights watch also says there needs to be international pressure put on the myanmar government to sop the persecution on the rohingya people. it's feared many more will perish in trafficking campletion or attraffickingtrafficking camps orat sea. florence louie, al jazeera myanmar. >> iraqi security forces are advancing towardsen beijing towards beaj. baiji. >> i.s.i.l. have set off at least nine car bombs killing dozens of iraqi security forces and shia militia fighters. be iraqi security forces say the destruction is hindering their efforts to recapture the refinery. >> translator: we are about two kilometers radius from the refinery y

the main highway. to uncover a gold rush that's turning lush jungle into utter devastation. >> high preessure water hoses blasted out... >> and it's not just the land. people are stepping into mercury. i'm philtorres i'm an entomologist i've conducted extensive research in this rain forest so this story is personal. it really pains me to see this. marita davidison is a biologist specilaizing in ecologyand evolution now she shows us the high tech tools that are exposing what even the eye can't see. >> so where it's blood red that's where the mercury polution is most intense. >> we'll share our findings with lindsay moran she's an ex -cia anaylist. that's our team, everything we've been seeing... it's for this... now let's do some science. hey guys welcome to techknow i'm phil torres joined by lindsay moran and marita davidson. this upcoming episode is an important one to me it takes place in peru where i've done alot of my research and it is a tale of contrast we will see a rainforest full of new species and then we will see the devastation that humans have done to extract gold. >> and as we know with dev

of the deepest jungle that bordered right up to the border with malaysia and not patrolled and markedhey were going up there with barbed wire and a stretch of 100 meters and it never has been done before and clamp down on trafficking routes and an effect on the boats that we are waiting out at sea. we contacted someone who is close with the networking groups, these trafficking groups and they say there were still boats out there waiting to do whatever they can with those on board. they obviously couldn't come ashore in thailand and went off to other directions and what we are seeing in malaysia and indonesia the boats coming to shore and a lot of them were supposed to be trafficking through here in the southern part of the country. >> live for us there in bangkok. now less than 24 hours from the start of a proposed ceasefire in yemen more cities have been bombed by saudi-led air strikes and saudi territory has been attacked bety houthis as well. saudi civil defense says one person was killed in near the southwest border of yemen and last week eight people were killed by shells and aft

. >> concealed in the jungles of thailand police try to root out human traffickings organizations. >>making a return top barcelona, the details in around 30 minutes in sport. sport. >> there are now 38 million people who have been forcibly displaced within their own countries. the norwegian refugee council released its annual report showing a 15% increase last year. that's a figure distinct from refugees forced to leave their countries. 11 million people were nearly displaced. that's 30,000 every day 60% of those are in five countries. iraq south sudan syria the democratic republic of congo and nigeria. europe saw large numbers of displaced people, nearly 650,000 were additional placed by the war in ukraine but it was iraqi civilians suffering the most with at least 2.2 million people forced from their homes. >> al jazeera has more now from a camp for displaced people in iraq's capitol baghdad. >> you can see the conditions that people have to endure in this camp. now according to the u.n., there's at least 140,000 anbar residents that fled the recent fighting there and wound up in pl

the exact number of dead. and malaysia police believe two jungle camps where they found graves of trafficking victims were abandonst two weeks, on monday they removed body parts from the site in the northern malaysia state close to the border with thailand. many of the migrants who were trafficked in the area are from myanmar ethnic rohingya minority and decades they faced persecution and wayne reports from new zealand where some rohingya escaped years ago have found better lives. >> reporter: these men and families have come a long way and been through a lot and he and his brother escaped from myanmar 20 years ago and after working in thailand and malaysia were granted residency in new zealand but the people they left behind are never far from their thoughts. >> it's like they are living in the open space prison because they have no rights to go out and they have no rights to study. >> reporter: if they had stayed in myanmar in the hometown in rakin state this is where they would likely be with four of their brothers and sisters in camps. since 2012 more than 100,000 people mainly rohingya muslims have been forc

may are continuing the task of exhuming trafficking victims from shallow graves in the jungle. day they removed body parts from the site in the northern malaysia state and 139 graves were discovered in a grave that is by thailand and they called for help to solve the migrant crisis and we have been to the jungle camps in the state. >> reporter: malaysia police have begun to exume graves close to the thai border and now police today took us to an area a burial site which they say has 37 suspected graves and the forensic team was there digging up one body and they found one body it was wrapped in cloth or an shroud indicating the person could have been buried in accordance with muslim rights. not far from that burial site about 200 meters away was a camp and police say it had been abandon by the time they found it and believe the camp could have been two years old and much of the structure was already falling down and we could make it out it was a camp to hold at least 200 people. now, in this camp there were traces of human activity that we saw. there were plates, crockery thrown

. >> the world's largest retailer is aiming for the king of the jungle. walmart confirms it is testing a new $50 per year subscription program offering unlimited free shipping for 1 million of the 7 million products on the website and the orders arrive in three days or less and for now it is invitation only. it is another shot fired in the battle of bricks versus clicks as retailers large and small try to compete with amazon and the strength of its prime mebship program. the prime membership is $99 per year for two-day shipping on 20 34i8onnite epz and streaming video and shows and a kindle lending book library and cloud storage. and a valuable group. according to consumer intelligence research prime members spend $1,100 per year compared to $700 per year for other amazon shoppers. while amazon said the prime member rates are growing it won't say how many total customers it has. the estimate is between 40 and 50 million but many believe if anyone can compete with the behemoth it would be wal-mart. >> the logistics are among the world's best and along with

cathery soi, al jazerra in south sudan. >>> our florence looi has made it to one of the jungle camps ave one report on the ground for a couple of days about a number of graves that have been found. she joins us live now on the phone from there. so florence,, what is happening where you are, what have you found? >> reporter: right, we are in here with a forensic team. this is an area where police say about 37 suspected graves have been found and there is a forensic team conducting a excavation exercise, they have put on protective clothing and. [ inaudible ] there are some human remains or bones that we saw. and this is about 15 -- maybe 150 meters from a nearby camp. authorities say they believe the camp has been abandoned for several years it's a pretty big camp. some parts of it used to be a two-story structured and remnants of barbed wire fencing around it. nails on trees. presumably to keep human cargo in. we knew it was for people. we saw in some pits the people that lived in those camps had flown plates, basins, crock are you in to the pits. and even along the road to the camp w

but i don't know how to escape because it was in the middle of the jungle. i'm not really a soldier, i did not know what direction to go. so i had to get help. i had the chance to talk to one of my friends. they are really soldiers. they know which way to go. he was able to get out and go in different directions to where we usually go in the morning. and then he agreed to escape with me. so he had a chance to talk to my wife. on the day we decided to escape, both of us, we go. every day i had to go out and work with the other people. as a doctor. i carried sulfide and medications. that is all we had. and some band-aids. and then we go out, and as soon as we go out, we don't join the group. we disappeared into the jungle. and i just followed the others. you know, my friends. we walked in the jungle for i don't know, and our two and then we came to a place. we don't see my wife yet. and then she came. and then we kept walking. in about an hour or so, and then finally we see her with a motorbike along with his brother. and then we escaped. >> can i add a little

i like the new york post's take on it, the guerrilla in the jungle. -- the guerrilla back in the junglea back in the jungle. erik: he spoke at a college that is not the same thing as getting up in front of the podium and talking to a bunch of investors. is there redemption after the financial crisis? will be back. ♪ olivia: google's developers congress kicks off in san francisco. you are looking at the bay bridge. in previous years this conference as seen larry page hold an impromptu q and a session. what can we expect? who better to ask than cory johnson? what are you expecting today? cory: you can see people lining up. the doors to not open for another 45 minutes. the big event the differences between that big mobile operating system apple and google. a new version of their operating system, a new photo app that spun off of google plus, some iterations on their car software , plans for a potential cardboard virtual-reality device. when you compare google to apple, it is like comparing say and orange to an apple. google is not really good at making big announcements. they release thing

disappear into the jungle. and then, i just follow the other you know, my friend, and then we walk in the jungle for, i don't know an hour or two, and then we come to a place. we don't see my wife yet. and she came and she, and then we keep walking and then, i think in about an hour or so it's finally we see her with the -- along with his brother. so then we escape -- >> can i add in a little detail? i had a permit to visit him every three months to provide supplies of food and money because they don't have enough money to give them food. so the last time it was on -- in january, 1979, and he already there for 2 1/2 years. so i -- i came to the camp on wednesday. and then we can stay together during the night on wednesday night. and then i told him that the plan and then i will come back on monday, four days after. so the next day when he had to go back to the camp with other people to go to do labor. and then he told his friend to meet me at the on the way he go to the labor and then i talk with his friend abou

we were down in the jungles and saw firsthand what the government was trying to do. what they're doing is they have more military and police in these jungles. they put bashed wire known to be a trafficking root from thailand into malaysia. they put 400 meters of bash barbed wire. they arrested a few local officials. they have over 50 arrest warrants out and reassigned police. that has an been act over shifts waiting out at sea to bring their human cargo ashore. what is believed to have happened because they knew they could not make landfall in thailand those ships went down south to malaysia and indonesia. >> now to yemen where there are battles along the border just a day before cease-fire is to begin. the houthi sheffield united the saudi city near the southwest border with yemen. they used rockets. the saudi civil defense say that people were killed. and last week people were killed in that city. there is estimated 1400 people have died in yemen since conflicts escalateed in mid-march. >>> meanwhile, the house of former president ali abdullah saleh has been the tar

. >> reporter: we are here at the site of the old jungle where san jose police have been conducting regular patrols for the past six months. arresting and citing people for trespassing all in an effort to keep people away from returning to the jungle. now today, a new report is out that is giving us a true look at the cost of homelessness in santa clara county and the number is quite staggering. we're talking about $3 billion spent over the course of six years. that is what santa clara county paid in trips to the e. r., jail and mental healthcare for the homeless. on average, that is more than a half billion dollars per year. santa clara county got these numbers by mining the data of 104,000 homeless people between the years of 2007 and 2012. now look at hospital, jail and counseling records. so here's the breakdown of that half billion dollar a year price tag. more than half of it goes to healthcare, a third of it goes to the justice system and a chunk 13% goes to social services, the findings will be presented later today to a community leader forum. one of the topics they'll be discussin

they'll go deeper into the jungle and look for camps. >>> the national police announce that two localicials were arrested and some have been reassigned. >>> they launched a command center for the anti trafficking operation. >>> we now have a clear direction, for the nation action plan to counter it. >>> it is considered a crisis. >>> it might be a bit late for this round. as they couldn't their jungle patrols, some feel they'll only find more evidence of the traffickers. not the traffickers themselves. >>> the border is so close, they could slip across and out of reach. >>> the asia pacific spokeswoman, and she says human traffickers are becoming more ruthless. >>> when they first started monitoring these movements most of these passengers were paying to be smuggled to thailand and malaysia, and now we're seeing a change intact particulars the smugglers are more desperate abducting children off-street, and offishing boats and making false promises to people. saying we'll find you jobs. and they're offering some people cash. and when they board the boats they fine, if they change their

the government was clamping down on that, we were down there in these jungles and saw firsthand what the government was trying to do. they have military in these jungles, put bashed wire across what is known as a trafficking route, 400 meters of barbed wire. they have arrested a few local officials, they have over 50 arrest warrants out they have reassigned police. all of this going on has backed up what normally would have been channels going over the last several years. that no doubt has impact on ships waiting out at sea to bring their human cargo to shore. what is believed to have happened is because they knew they couldn't make landfall in thailand those ships went to malaysia and indonesia. >> florence louie is in myanmar and reports on the plight of the rahinga there. >> preferring to view them as crossing over into bangladesh. they have been given no citizenship status. they aren't allowed to move across the country freely and three years ago things got worse for rahinga, more than 140,000 people mainly the rahinga were displaced, had to move into camps. still living in those

the newshour, live from doha. grim discoveries mass graves and prison cages used at junk l jungle camps in malaysia. forge a human chain to show their resilience. people in nepal mark a month since the round of earthquakes. >> angelotti being fired after just two seasons at the club. >> hello a tunisian soldier has opened fire on his colleagues at a military base in tunis. the soldier was shot dead. tunisia's defense minister said he had logic problems. psychological problems. nazanine moshiri has the story. >> one soldier grabbed his weapon and opened fire. the man had no connections to any armed groups. the military insists he must have killed for personal reasons. >> translator: this soldier had family problems. he suffered from behavior disorders. he has been recently transferred to a less sensitive unit where he was not allowed to carry weapons. now this is an individual case and the motives are under investigation. >> reporter: his motives will be crucial. investigators will want to speak to his friends and family, the base is in the heart of the capital. close to parliament and the bardo museu

the city would be destroyed and disappear into the jungle. in some ways, the expansion of the dos pilas kingdom through warfare was a great experiment on the part of the dos pilas kings. they attempted to move beyond the normal territory of conquest. but they did so without really changing anything fundamental in maya political or economic systems. and as a consequence they failed. the bubble burst very dramatically, and then the fall of the dos pilas kingdom was even more rapid than its rise. keach: even if the dos pilas expansion had succeeded, their kingdom would have been tiny compared with the territory conquered by the aztecs, who controlled an area of some 80,000 square miles. no maya kingdom expanded beyond a few thousand square miles. but despite their inability to expand, maya rulers often served well the needs of their individual kingdoms. their role inspired a universal culture that crossed political boundaries and produced extraordinary works of art an intricate writing system, and a religious life of immense complexity. the achie