Archaeologist Michael Smyth is a Maya scholar who has been leading research teams to the Yucatán for more than 20 years. Currently a professor at Rollins College in Florida, Michael has received more than a dozen grants from the National Geographic Society to fund his digs and research since 1992. At Chac, a Maya site where Michael has spent ten seasons, his excavations have revealed that the Maya were settled and actively trading with distant neighbors several hundred years earlier that once believed. His current work at Xcoch near Uxmal is revealing that the Maya were thriving well before the time of Christ. Michael looks forward to sharing his in-depth knowledge of the Maya with you as together you visit many of the most spectacular Maya sites on this expedition.