Customer Reviews

Archaeology: Secrets of the Aztecs and Maya

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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.