Product Details

• Actors: DAVID LETTERMAN, JERRY SEINFELD, STEVE MARTIN, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, TOM HANKS
• Rated: Unrated
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Vision Quest
• Run Time: 48 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B0001EBSEC
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #347,972 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

A journey into higher consciousness through the eyes of Artists, Healers and Visionaries. Two women unsure about their pregnancies, the sage wisdom of a 96-year-old Hopi Indian and a band of spiritual adventurers, explore the mysteries of the paranormal and metaphysics on the powerful vortexes in Sedona, Arizona, This fast paced film moves you from Earth to the mysteries of the Universe when these seekers encounter another dimension that holds the answers to mankind's greatest questions. I: "The Fall of the Maya" The Maya were thought to be a utopian race of peaceful stargazers who lived peacefully among neighboring tribes.Their temples, embedded deep in the emerald jungle, are adorned with intricate, enigmatic stone carvings. Only recently have scolars broken the hieroglyphic code to reveal startling details of a people who thrived for millenniums on the rituals of human sacrifice. II: "City of the Gods" The Aztecs spoke of a legendary city from their mythic past where a powerful people flourished and then disappeared in a catastrophic blaze. Now arcaeologists have uncovered Teotihuacan, a city bigger than ancient Rome, encompassing pyramids that rival those of Egypt. But far beneath the holy temples, which tower into the heavens, lie the remains of bizarre human offerings linked to sacred tribal astrology. Learn about these extraordinary civilizations that glorified their gods by slaughtering their own people. Ponder a culture that is at once unthinkable and frighteningly familiar.....

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to the Aztecs and Maya., March 18, 2007

By 

James P. Zaworski (Shenzhen, China) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Archaeology: Secrets of the Aztecs and Maya (VHS Tape)

I am an archaeologist, and have experience studying the Maya. The documentary by Archaeology series, Secrets of the Aztecs and Maya, is a good introduction to each of these wonderful Mesoamerican civilizations.

Using the most recent archaeological interpretations and data, the Secrets of the Aztecs and Maya is a very instructive and informative program. It is less sensationalistic than most programs of its ilk.
Narrator John Rhys Davis is an excellent narrator for this program, and he lends authority to this program. Even more, the archaeologists, particularly the Maya archaeologists, lend credence to this documentary.

The Maya were a wonderful and unique civilization. There was a time when the Maya were thought to be a peaceful, star gazing culture. Totally devoid of conflict and war? No, it was because the archaeologists and historians could not read the Maya glyphs and did not want to see what was really the complexity of this culture. It was not a utopian society of peaceable star gazers. But it was a loose group of city state polities who were constantly jockeying for position and authority and presitge, much like all of human cultures throughout all of time. Still, they weren't as violent as portrayed in Mel Gibson's recent film Apocalypto.

The second part of the film features Teotihuacan, the predecessor of many cultures, from the Toltec to Mixtec to Aztec and Zapotec. These cultures were more involved in human sacrifice than the Maya, a bit more involved in the violent conflict between states.

I studied under a Zapotec archaeologist who was married to an archaeologist who worked at Teotihuacan, and it is fascinating that the demographics of Teotihuacan was diverse.

I think that all in all, The Secrets of the Aztecs and Maya is great.