Product Details

• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Wgbh Boston
• VHS Release Date: October 17, 2000
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004R60Y
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #309,432 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

The mute sentinels of Easter Island are mysteries locked in stone. Nearly 1000 haunting human sculptures are the only remaining citizens of a vanished culture that existed 1500 miles from the nearest inhabited island. Weighing up to 80 tons each, the "moai" say nothing. But, with some investigation, they speak volumes. Take a look behind the stone faces and discover how such a remote society achieved monolithic greatness—and then disappeared.

- Travel back one thousand years and investigate how the massive monuments were carved, transported and raised without modern technology - Discover how the islanders’ headstone obsession may have led to the society’s collapse - Understand why master "moai" carvers received elevated status in the culture - Visit El Gigante, the island’s largest statue, and learn why he sits undisturbed and unfinished - See how competing transportation theories and intense passions divide the experts - See how a fallen ancient moai gives clues to how it was placed on its pedestal

Secrets of Lost Empires II Unlock mysteries and uncover lost history with the experts as they use yesteryear’s thrilling technology to recreate five ancient engineering marvels and to discover what daily life was really like in these communities. Travel around the globe from Egypt to Rome and take a fresh, "hands-on" look at mankind’s greatest cultures and civilizations. It’s history from a whole new point of view!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Myopic documentary. - A waste of money., February 28, 2007

By 

J. M. Barbera "jimbarbera" (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secrets of the Lost Empires II: Easter Island [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The story of Easter Island is a fascinating case study in poor environmental resource management. Think "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss. There are two NOVA specials on Easter Island, one that is very comprehensive and deals with the entire history of the island focusing on the arrival, rise, and fall of it's people. Then there is this one where they spend the entire hour speculating on how they moved the statues (Moai) from the quarry to their final locations around the island. Booooringgg! This video gives scant attention to the fascinating history of the island. Recommendation: Buy the book A New Green History of the World: The Environment and the Collapse of Great Civilizations by Clive Ponting for an excellent chapter on the story of Easter island.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Testing theories on Easter Island, December 8, 2004

By 

J. S. Kaminski "j_s_k" (Aberdeen, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secrets of the Lost Empires II: Easter Island [VHS] (VHS Tape)

As there isn't much but oral tradition left to tell us about Easter Island, people have often wondered: how did they move those big statues around? This program attempts to explain this oft-asked question.

Several engineers and scientists who have studied how other cultures have transported heavy items convene on Easter Island to test their theories; some work, and some don't. Tempers flare and conversation gets heated as each seems to think of his or her own theory as best. In the end, they settle on a few workable but time-consuming methods. Was this how the island natives moved the stone? We may never know, but it was interesting to see nonetheless.

Three stars.