Expedition

It's clear the Maya were capable of brutal killings to please the gods. But Memo thinks they were willing to sacrifice even those who were closest to them. (birds chirping) (feet shuffling) Do many people come down here, Memo? No. Fortunately, this is like still very well preserved. There's another cave a short distance away from the well that Memo wants me to see. (lights click) (soft dramatic music) Seriously, got a chill went up the back of my neck as soon as I saw that. (soft dramatic music) So you're looking at a piece of Maya history. We call it Little Handscape. This is really pretty special. These are the hand prints of a Mayan child left over a thousand years ago. -

Memo

Yes, yes. - And they're still here as crystal clear as if a child just put their hand in paint and whacked it on the wall. (children laughing) It's interesting that I've seen prints like this in many caves around the world. In New Guinea and Borneo and in Europe. There's clearly something universal about leaving your mark behind like this. Right where you are, if we look up, we should find some little feet, maybe a one, two-year-old. So there's no way that a child could've deliberately put their hands-- -

Memo

Exactly. And feet up there. -

Memo

Exactly. - Had to be done by someone else, by an adult. There was a lot of respect for caves and there was fear about caves. We believe it could be maybe a signature of something or a reminder of an event, or a rite of passage. These might have been children that were sacrificed afterwards. It was part of a ritual. (children laughing) That's an incredibly macabre thought. We're looking at the hand prints of a Mayan child from well over a thousand years ago that may soon after have been sacrificed. Yes, oh yeah. Yeah, maybe this was the last thing they do in their life. They look like they were left yesterday. (children laughing) (soft dramatic music) There are over a hundred hand prints in this cave. If Memo's theory is correct, each one could belong to someone who was ritually sacrificed. (water dripping) There are even prints from children as young as two. If they were killed here, their remains are missing from this cave.