FAQ

This time frame was known as the Post-Classic Maya period. While a large portion of the Mayan culture did collapse well before Europeans arrived, the Northern Mayan culture persisted until Spanish conquerors arrived. Mel Gibson commented on the DVD that he based the landing scene on the fourth Christopher Columbus expedition in 1502, when Columbus landed in Yucatan. The eclipse scene of the film is reminiscent of an episode during Columbus' fourth voyage; Columbus impressed local Arawaks in what is now Jamaica by predicting a lunar eclipse.

A tapir.

A Guatemalan black howler (Alouatta pigra).

The poster features Gerardo Taracena posing as holcane "Middle Eye". He's the one that killed the hero's father "Flint Sky", and also nicknamed him "Almost".

The teaser features an unknown actor named Mauricio Amuy Tenorio playing the part of Jaguar Paw. He was recast in favor of Rudy Youngblood. The logical explanation is that the premature teaser trailer was sliced together from sample shots and footage, before the official casting was finished.

It's just plaster/limestone used for building. Pure limestone is almost white. Because of impurities, such as clay, sand, organic remains, iron oxide and other materials, many limestones exhibit different colors, especially on weathered surface. It has been discovered that the Mayan process of creating the lime stucco cement that covered their temples required a great deal of energy to heat up the limestone to convert it to quicklime. One calculation estimates that it would take five tons of jungle forestry to make one ton of quick lime. The slave seen coughing up blood has probably been breathing the dust too long and it's severely damaged his lungs.

It certainly is. The use of underwater birth for labour and childbirth is a relatively common phenomenon practiced in Eurasia, Scandinavia, native North America and certainly also in the older South American cultures. Water birth is an effective form of pain management during labor and delivery for the mother. Properly heated water helps to ease the transition from the birth canal to the outside world because the warm liquid resembles the familiar intra-uterine environment. Although it is known to occur in rare cases, there is little alarm for water inhalation or drowning. The newborn will instinctively not attempt to breathe with its lungs once it is delivered into the water because it has not yet been exposed to the air, and is still being fed oxygen through the umbilical cord.

Waldo is the star of the "Where's Waldo?" series. The character is known for his distinct wardrobe of a red and white striped shirt, blue pants, shoes, red and white striped socks, glasses, and his red and white bobbled hat. In that series of books, readers (kids) are given pictures with a large amount of people in them. The kids then try to find Waldo in the picture. It teaches them how to find and recognize objects and can even teach them about different types of people, cultures, social settings, etc.

Waldo appears in the cinematic version of Apocalypto for just one (1) frame, where Jaguar Paw falls into the pit of disposed corpses with matching red and blue background colours. This inlay is not animated, rather a one frame human-mannequin setup. In Apocalypto, Waldo is laying dead among the corpses with an arrow shot through his head. The DVD edition has this frame cut out. Gibson himself jokes about the scene in the film's DVD and blu-ray commentary track.

Underway from the forest to the Maya City the group of holcanes and their captives meet the Oracle Girl. Laying beside her dead mother and apparently sick of diesease herself, the girl calls out the prophecy:

"You fear me? So you should. All you who are vile. Would you like to know how you will die? The sacred time is near. Beware the blackness of day. Beware the man who brings the jaguar. Behold him reborn from mud and earth. For the one he takes you to will cancel the sky, and scratch out the earth. Scratch you out. And end your world. He's with us now. Day will be like night. And the man jaguar will lead you to your end."

This redirects and confirms the story, plot and theme of Apocalypto as mentioned in the movies taglines: "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it is destroyed from within." "When the end comes, not everyone is ready to go." as well as "No one can outrun their destiny."

Also, as you watch the film you'll notice that all her predictions come true. The eclipse causes day to become night. Then, during the chase, Jaguar Paw "brings the jaguar", and he falls in quicksand and is "reborn of mud and earth." Then he leads the surviving warriors to the beach where they witness the Spanish conquistadors' arrival, thereby leading them to "the one who will cancel the sky, and scratch out the earth."

Poison dart frogs are a group of small and often brightly colored frogs native to Central and South America. In the wild they are "poisonous". The difference is that poison is ingested and venom must be injected into the body. These frogs received their common name from the numerous types of poisonous alkaloids found in the skin of many species. Many poison dart frogs have brightly colored skin and are small. Its alkaloid poison prevents nerves from transmitting impulses, leaving the muscles in an inactive state of contraction. This can lead to heart failure or fibrillation. An average dart frog contains about one milligram of poison, which is enough to kill 10,000 mice-perhaps enough to kill 10 to 20 humans if the poison reaches their bloodstreams. This extraordinarily lethal poison (a steroid alkaloid, called batrachotoxin) is very rare. Scientists have found this poison only among three poisonous frogs in Central and South America.

Ten Holcanes pick up the chase on Jaguar Paw but only eight of them are killed. Here's the rundown:

1. Cut Rock, son of Zero Wolf, was the finisher in the "killing games". He was killed by Jaguar Paw with the arrow head.

2. Speaking Wind was mauled by the jaguar.

3) Drunkards Four was the snake bite victim.

4. Snake Ink was stabbed by Zero Wolf prior to the waterfall jump.

5. Buzzard Hook smacked his head on the submerged rock during the waterfall jump/

6) Hanging Moss was darted by Jaguar Paw.

7. Middle Eye was clubbed by Jaguar Paw.

8. Zero Wolf was killed by the tapir trap.

9 and 10. Monkey Jaw and Ten Peccary are still alive at the beach.

The Mayans, incorporating naturally-occuring underground caves and sinkholes, created holes such as these to serve as cisterns (similar to a well, except not drawing underground water). The surrounding surface areas were designed to channel the bulk of rainwater into them.

Pre-Hispanic history of Mexico varies according to different sources. One can see from well-documented evidence from Aztec civilizations, just before being conquered, that they ritually sacrificed thousands of captives for causes such as inaugurating a temple. Find out about the true pre-Hispanic history of Mexico through decent sources.

One good source for the history of the region and events is the monumental work by William H. Prescott titled 'The Conquest of Mexico' Vols. I & II, written in 1842-43 and drawing from many contemporary sources including eyewitness accounts of surviving Conquistadors as recorded by the 16th century Franciscan Torquemada. Also, the work of the Italian Abbe' Clavigero's Storia Antica del Messico. Prescott's work is largely unsurpassed in the field and is fascinating reading.