Product Details

• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Wgbh Boston
• VHS Release Date: March 6, 2001
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000056C1L
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #178,593 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Documentary, June 13, 2003

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T. Belton "tbelton1" (Richmond, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nova - The Lost King of the Maya [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This well done documentary surrounding the mysterious first king of Copan, (Yax K'uK Mo) and the 400 year dynasty he established was very enlightening and a must see for any student of Maya history. For that matter, anyone who has visited the ruins of any Maya city will find this video entertaining; especially those who have been to Copan.

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting... but not the best documentary I have seen., November 29, 2007

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M. ravasizadeh "Massi Ravasizadeh" (Andover, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nova - The Lost King of the Maya [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This documentary only covers one king, king K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' who lived in Copan, today's Honduras. Unbelievable how the archaeologists decoded the Mayan hieroglyphics!

5.0 out of 5 stars The rise and fall of one of the great Mayan dynasties, August 1, 2006

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nova - The Lost King of the Maya [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This NOVA presentation, which originally aired on PBS on February 13, 2001, takes us 1600 years back in time, to Copan, "the Athens of Central America." Here, an ancient Mayan civilization flourished for four hundred years, leaving behind a wealth of stone-carved hieroglyphics we have only recently been able to begin translating (thanks in no small part to those Spanish priests that burned every Mayan book they could get their hands on). The Mayans are a fascinating people, having built a culture of great scientific, particularly astronomical, achievement while, at the same time, practicing a religion awash in blood. These are the guys who ripped sacrificial victims' beating hearts out of their chests and beheaded the losers of their ancient ballgames. You just can't tell me that doesn't make for a fascinating story.

This documentary centers around the 400-year dynasty that held sway in Copan from the fifth to ninth centuries A.D. One of the most magnificent of Mayan cities, the site was only rediscovered in the Honduran jungle in 1839. The hieroglyphs that decorate seemingly every structure there obviously told a story, but it was not until recent years that researchers have begun to get a grasp on the Mayan writing system (one of only five truly original writing systems in the world). After figuring out the calendar system (which the Mayans used to accurately predict eclipses, calculate time, closely identify the orbit of Venus, etc.), experts such as David Stuart managed to begin translating this vast storehouse of ancient knowledge - and, in doing so, follow the story of the rise and fall of this historical dynasty.

Here, we join archaeologists as they continue their important work at Copan, an investigation that almost has to begin with K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' (Great Sun Green Quetzal Macaw), founder of the dynasty. Once viewed in somewhat mythic terms, the story of K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' has now taken on a largely historical truth. In fact, we join archaeologists exploring the mighty Copan acropolis in viewing the great king's human remains (strong circumstantial evidence links them with K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo'). Having rather confidently proven the dynastic founder's existence, the video then goes on to describe this man - who was not native to Copan - and the manner in which he was able to prevail over local warlords and consolidate power in the fifth century AD. A surprising amount of this history is there in plain site - in the walls, stelae, monuments, etc. Only recently, for the first time in well over a millennium, can we learn the secrets these hieroglyphics have kept to themselves for so long. Altar Q, a remarkable monument featuring the sixteen kings of the K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' dynasty, is a particular focus of the presentation. All of this begs the question: just how did this dynasty retain power through sixteen generations? Here we get into some of the rituals the kings performed, from conjuring visions of K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' to human sacrifice. We then follow the decline of the dynasty in the wake of the 13th ruler's capture and beheading, the story culminating in the 16th and final ruler's failed attempts to hold together a society that had already fallen apart.

One could argue that Mayan civilization was just as advanced as that of ancient Egypt, yet its wonders have never been able to escape from the shadows of the Pyramids and the Sphinx. Now that many ancient ruins are reemerging from the jungles of Central and South America and experts are translating more and more Mayan hieroglyphics, this area is becoming the real epicenter of archaeological discovery. If you're unfamiliar with the Mayan story, this documentary would certainly make for a most instructive introduction to one of the greatest Mayan cultures so far discovered.