Digging for the Truth — Season 1, Episode 13: Mystery of the Anasazi

Episode synopsis

In the American Southwest, there is no more puzzling mystery than the magnificent stone cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde. Why did the Anasazi Indians suddenly move their villages to these perilous cliffs in the 13th century--and then abandon them just decades later--and seemingly disappear from history? Was it drought? Invading tribes? Or an insidious ""cancer"" from within that may have caused them to turn to fierce warfare and even cannibalism? In search of answers, our host, the intrepid explorer and survival expert Josh Bernstein, travels from Mesa Verde, Colorado to remote canyons in Utah where the Anasazi took refuge. Piecing together the story from both archaeologists and Native Americans, he finally ends up, in his search for the truth, in the eerie and desolate ruins of the Anasazi's greatest cultural center--Chaco Canyon.

About Digging for the Truth

Digging for the Truth was a History Channel television series. The first three seasons of the show focused on host Josh Bernstein, who journeyed on various explorations of historical icons and mysteries. Bernstein is the president and CEO of BOSS and has a degree in anthropology and psychology from Cornell University. The show airs every Monday night at 9:00 EST on the History Channel. The series premiered in January, 2005 and has since become the highest-rated series in the history of The History Channel, which was surprising given the previous show "Time Titans" from the production crew never made it past the pilot. The third season premiered on January 22, 2007, with a 2-hour special event on the quest for Atlantis. Bernstein announced on February 20, 2007, that he would be leaving The History Channel and Digging for the Truth, and would, as of April, join The Discovery Channel as an executive producer and host of a new prime-time series and specials. Hunter Ellis, host of Tactical to Practical and Man, Moment, Machine for The History Channel, then replaced Josh Bernstein as host.

More episodes from Season 1

• E1Who Built Egypt's Pyramids?
• E2Nefertiti: The Mummy Returns
• E3Pompeii Secrets Revealed
• E4Hunt for the Lost Ark
• E5The Holy Grail
• E6The Iceman Cometh
• E7Quest for King Solomon's Gold
• E8Passage to the Maya Underworld
• E9The Lost Tribe of Israel
• E10Secrets of the Nazca Lines
• E11The Search for El Dorado
• E12Giants of Easter Island