Cracking the Maya Code

Watch the Program

This one-hour program is divided into five chapters. Choose any chapter below and select QuickTime or Windows Media Player to begin viewing the video. If you experience difficulty viewing, it may be due to high demand. We regret this and suggest you try back at another time.

Technical Help | Feedback | Program Credits | Program Transcript


Chapter 1
Chapter 1 thumbnail

watch chapter 1 in
Quicktime
Windows Media: hi | low

THE FORGOTTEN MAYA TEMPLES

In 1774, Spanish explorer Jose Calderon rediscovers the temples of Palenque and the ancient hieroglyphs of the Maya, a people whose culture was decimated by the Spanish conquistadors.
running time 9:11

Chapter 2
Chapter 2 thumbnail

watch chapter 2 in
Quicktime
Windows Media: hi | low

A HIDDEN HISTORY

Toiling away in the basement of Harvard's Peabody Museum, archeologist Tatiana Proskouriakoff discovers that Maya monuments contain a decipherable history rather than mere pictures and symbols.
running time 10:20

Chapter 3
Chapter 3 thumbnail

watch chapter 3 in
Quicktime
Windows Media: hi | low

POLITICAL ROADBLOCK

Working behind the Iron Curtain, Russian linguist Yuri Knorosov posits that Maya glyphs may represent sounds, but his ideas are discredited in the West.
running time 10:31

Chapter 4
Chapter 4 thumbnail

watch chapter 4 in
Quicktime
Windows Media: hi | low

CHILD'S PLAY

David Stuart submits his first scholarly paper on glyphs at age 12 and later becomes a major player in Maya studies with his advances in script decipherment.
running time 8:27

Chapter 5
Chapter 5 thumbnail

watch chapter 5 in
Quicktime
Windows Media: hi | low

CULTURAL REVELATIONS

An image of the ancient Maya comes to life, and their descendants in modern-day Mexico and Central America begin to relearn their lost language and history.
running time 10:34

Cracking the Maya Code Home | Send Feedback | Image Credits | Support NOVA


© | Created April 2008