COSMOS GLOBAL: South America (In the Land of Maya and Inca)
Cosmos Global: In the Land of Maya and Inca
Television Director: Ullman, Frank
Producer: Scarson, Peter O.
Catalogue Number: CDG-DVD-117
UPC: 883629300405
Myths, secrets and mystery surround the archaeological sites of the Maya and Inca in both Middle and South America. The city of Teotihuacan is no exception. The founding of this ancient and historically important city probably dates back to the 2nd or 3rd century AD, when construction of the mighty Sun Pyramid, crowned by a temple, was completed.
The rain god Tlaloc and the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl were the major deities in the flourishing ancient city, in some parts of which the magnificent decoration and beautiful reliefs of various sanctuaries have been preserved to the present day.
In Chichen Itza, the association between the beautifully-decorated ancient monuments and temples and their function as a place of human sacrifice is more than evident. Heavy stone tables and human-shaped sacrificial altars, such as the Chac Mool, create a rather disturbing and mysterious ambience, and even today little is known of the true nature of the horrifying rituals that once took place there.
Despite its rather modest size, the magnificent Tulum, located in the northern part of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean coast, is still one of the most popular and well-known Mayan sites in the world. Tulum was once entirely surrounded by a massive defensive wall with towers and battlements. In the 14th century, the small port developed into one of the most important trading centers in the region.
The desolate and extensive desert in southern Peru hides one of the most spectacular secrets of Nazca culture, the legendary and mysterious geoglyphs engraved on the surface of the desert. There are illustrations of various animals that measure 100 meters and further images that extend for several kilometers. The precision and huge dimensions of these lines is simply breathtaking. For some time, it was believed that they could only be discerned from the sky, but they can be seen from the neighboring hills.
Perhaps at some time in the future and with the help of more archaeological discoveries, there will be further revelations with regard to the mysteries of the Inca people. However, in this region, each discovery leads to a new mystery!
