Tikal and the Gods of the Maya (18/39)

Over 3000 years ago the Maya emerged from the mists of history and created a civilization which lasted six times as long as the Roman Empire. Between 750 and 900 A.D. this people abandoned their cities. Apparently without reason.

 

The disappearance of the Maya is as mysterious as their rapid rise from nowhere. Yet the veil surrounding this people is gradually being lifted. A small group of scientists is currently decoding, character by character, the missives of this jungle people. The research scientists are constantly discovering ever more amazing and fascinating facts about a culture which we normally only associate with inhospitable temple pyramids and cruel blood sacrifices.



Vor mehr als 3000 Jahren tauchten die Maya aus dem Nebel der Geschichte und schufen eine Hochkultur, die sechsmal länger bestand als das römische Reich. Zwischen 750 und 900 n.Chr. verließ dieses Volk seine Städte wieder. Scheinbar ohne Grund.

 

Das Verschwinden der Maya ist so rätselhaft wie ihr kometenhafter Aufstieg aus dem Nichts. Doch der Schleier um dieses Volk lüftet sich langsam. Eine Handvoll Wissenschaftler entziffert derzeit Schriftzeichen um Schriftzeichen des Dschungelvolkes. Die Forscher entdecken dabei immer wieder Verblüffendes und Faszinierendes über eine Kultur, die wir meist nur mit abweisenden Tempelpyramiden und grausamen Blutopfern verbinden.

This series portrays landscapes, metropoles, sacred sites and monuments, all of which have made a unique contribution to the cultural heritage of mankind. Each episode breathes life into civilizations which thrived in the past ten thousand years, some of them then vanishing without a trace into the shadows of history. The films describe epochs whose legacy lingers in the perceptions and ideas of our own age, and cult sites which have managed to preserve their religious and cultural power up to the present day.