Secrets of the Dead puts cryptic codices to the test and questions Associate Producer Giorgio Murru about the making of Aztec Massacre and some of the challenges and surprises he faced in his journey through Zultepec, Mexico — the site of the ancient Aztec territory.

SotD: The film uncovers the story behind the four hundred skeletons buried in a mass grave in Zultepec. It seems like a daunting project. But you succeeded not only in unlocking who the victims were but also explaining why they were killed. Explain what led you to this gravesite and why you think it will rewrite history?

Giorgio Murru: It was the summer of 2006, when the development team at Firefly productions read about Zultepec. Edwina Silver, the head of development, asked me to do some research in order to find out what it was all about. I realized that it was a great story.

The West has an idea of the Spanish Conquest as an easy ride for the Spaniards, but that wasn’t the case. The general public still believes that the Aztecs welcomed the Conquistadors as returning gods, but this is blatantly untrue. We have textual, archaeological and physical evidence that this was not the case.

SotD: The film uses modern forensic anthropology to carry the story. Was it difficult to gather all of the skeletal evidence, including the drawings and images from Aztec codices?

GM: Dr. Enrique Martinez and his team started excavating the site of Zultepec in the early 1990s, unearthing a wealth of artifacts and human remains. The village was not considered vital to unravel the mystery behind the end of the Aztec empire. It was merely mentioned on indigenous codices and on the diaries of the Conquistadors. Dr. Martinez isolated a few quotes from the letters of [the conqueror of Mexico] Hernando Cortes that were written to the King of Spain, where he mentions that some of the men have been attacked by Aztecs. He realized, with the help of a team of anthropologists, that the bones they found belonged to those Spaniards. This was a clear example of how multilayered the job of an archaeologist is.

SotD: Did you have to do any detective work? What skills were necessary?

GM: Not really, it was all there– under our eyes.

SotD: Did any of the forensic techniques not work? Did you have to change the direction of the story, as new evidence emerged?

GM: Everything went [according] to plan. You have to keep in mind that before we started filming the documentary Dr. Enrique Martinez and his team had been doing 15 years of intensive research.

SotD: Why did it take so long for the evidence to surface?

GM: Archaeology is a slow process. It takes years to unearth portions of a site. It is even slower when you deal with bones. They are incredibly fragile after almost 500 years. Enrique has found nearly 400 bodies. Imagine all the hard work behind that.

SotD: Are you trying to convince or sway viewers to accept a certain point of view, or are you just presenting the facts about these past events? How would you characterize the film?

GM: We presented facts and evidence in an objective fashion, trying to question all the discoveries.

This documentary is a travel through one of the most painful moments in Mexican history. Our presenter, Elizabeth Baquedano, a leading expert in Pre-Colombian Mexico is there to ask the questions our audience would ask the archaeologists. She did a great job on this documentary by breaking down the most complex issues and turning them into manageable chunks for the viewers — particularly since most [viewers] have no knowledge of Mexican history. The program also deals with big issues such as human sacrifice and cannibalism, which are still considered taboo amongst academics.

SotD: Some of the most compelling evidence of the film comes from the archaeologists who are uncovering the bones. Can you tell us about your discussions with them and how they influenced the piece?

GM: Enrique and his team provided the backbone to the documentary. We obviously questioned their discoveries through independent experts we’ve had on the documentary, and through Elizabeth.

SotD: At what point in the production process did you know you were getting close to the heart of the real story of what happened at Zultepec? Was the evidence a surprise to you or did you always know the end to the story? Is the story over or is there more evidence to still uncover– maybe an “Aztec Massacre Part 2?”

GM: We’ve always known the end of the story, but we’ve been good enough to keep it secret. I don’t think there will ever be an Aztec Massacre Part 2. But, there are plenty of mysteries to be discovered in Aztec history.

SotD: How did you get exclusive access to the site at Zultepec?

GM: When I started on this project there was quite a lot of frenzy over the site. Several production companies had already contacted the archaeologists at Zultepec and the National Institute of History and Anthropology (INAH). I think we were running against three or four other production companies, some of which were pretty big and world-renowned. I think we got exclusive access by presenting the best proposal to Enrique and INAH. They realized that we could have given a voice to their scientific investigation by making a great film accessible to a wider audience. It was the first time that INAH agreed on giving exclusive access to a site and it took six months of intense negotiations to sort out boring legal problems.

SotD: How many years were you in production?

GM: We developed this documentary in early September and we finished shooting in July. So it’s about 10 months.

SotD: What response have you had from the science community and historians?

GM: At first, [the response] was skeptical. I have been in touch with some of the most famous Aztecs experts since filming the documentary and they claim it was a well-balanced film.

SotD: What is your next project?

GM: I’ve just finished filming a documentary in Egypt. I have managed to X-ray King Tut’s stillborn children to prove links between their death and a rare genetic disorder. I don’t really know what I’ll be doing next.