Friday, 26. May 2006, 20:56:52
Title: Ancient Voices
Year: 1998
Company: BBC / TimeLife
Narrator: Mark Hamill
Runtime: 11 episodes * 50 minutes
Type: History / Archaeology
Overview:This series tries to unveil some of history and archaeology’s greatest mysteries, using reconstructions, re-enactments, location filming and, mainly, testing many of the different theories.
With 11 episodes, it covers a few different subjects, but while some of them are really interesting and well made, others seem to present the subject, and then just throw theories, creating even more confusion. Still an interesting series overall, though.
Mark Hamill as a narrator wouldn’t probably be my first choice, but he ended up making a good job… until the last two episodes. I can’t believe I had to look for subtitles to understand the “Spanish” works he kept throwing in...
Episodes:1 – Tracking the First AmericansIn this episode, we’re shown evidence of the first American settlers. Not Mongols, not by crossing the Bering Strait, but Australian aborigines that travelled by boat. They claim that the first settlers arrived at about 50000 years ago, much earlier than previously thought.
That evidence was found in north-eastern Brazil, mainly in the form of rock paintings. The program tries to form a story from that, showing how they lived happy, peaceful lives, until the arrivals of the Mongols. Their encounter was destructive, with the Mongols eliminating nearly every single one of the former inhabitants.
In the end, we’re shown what could be the last “remains” of that civilization. Presumably, some of the original setters were able to escape, by running away to Tierra del Fuego, in the southern tip of South America. Two of their descendants might still live there…
It is a good program too much, if you tend to be sceptical about it (I think that’s always a good principle with everything…). Mixing solid archaeological facts with pure speculation is a dangerous game, and, if I tend to believe aborigines were the first to reach America, it’s much harder to believe in the paradise they describe. I don’t think a few rock paintings are enough to prove that, as well as the description of their encounter with the Mongols.
An interesting theory that deserved a better show.
6/10
2 – Egypt's Lost CityThis episode tells the story of the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten. His name has been constantly removed from the Egyptian history, including by his own son, Tutankhamun, due to his religious beliefs (monotheism), in contrast with the predominant view of the time, his personality cult and his megalomania. One of its biggest projects was a city devoted to the sun-god Aton, named Akhetaten (now Amarna), which is the main focus of the program.
Unlike the first one, this episode is based on some strong evidence, apart from the possibility of Akhenaten being Tutankhamun’s father, and the various roles of Nefertiti throughout her life.
Overall, an interesting episode.
8/10
3 – Cahokia: America's Lost CityThis program focuses on Cahokia, an ancient Native American city, in what is now Illinois. It shows some of its best known features, such as the mounds and Woodhenge, (named after Stonehenge) and about the life of its people, including some disturbing evidence of human sacrifices. It also tries to find the Cahokian heritage in today’s Illinois.
7/10
4 – Seeking Noah's FloodIn this episode, archaeologists try to find the origin on the Noah’s flood story. They expect the story to be passed in the Black Sea, and in fact they can gather some evidence of a big flood, provoked by the opening of the Bosporus. It was a quite interesting episode, although the coincidence of dates between the real events and Noah’s story seems too badly supported.
8/10
5 – In Pursuit of the Holy GrailThe title says it all. In this program we’re presented with some theories about the Holy Grail, what it is, where it is, what it does, … As expected, this was a very speculative program, but it was still interesting to watch at times, especially if you view as an episode, not about the Holy Grail, but about the history of the quest for it.
6/10
6 – Traders of the Dead Sea ScrollsThis episode focuses on the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls, in mid-20th century, in 11 caves near the Dead Sea. These texts are of great importance, both historical and religious, as they were written around the time of Christ, being the only known remaining biblical documents of that time. With many of them in a terrible state, some new techniques are used to find more about them, as well as more traditional methods. A quite interesting episode.
8/10
7 – The Secret of StonehengeThis is probably the most studied Neolithic and Bronze Age monument, and still there are few definite answers about it. It starts with the history of it, showing the various phases of its construction, and proceeds with some possibilities to explain the reason for its construction and its meaning. There’s really nothing new in here, with most major theories being described, together with the evidence that supports it. It goes from an alien built structure, to an astronomic observatory, to a burial place, to a religious temple. Despite the lack of definite answers and new discoveries, it was still one of the best episodes of the show.
9/10
8 – Riddle of Nubia's TombsThe Nubian empire is probably one the least known of the ancient big civilizations. Being considered as a part of the Egyptian empire until recently, it is now regarded as a quite different civilization, despite all the influences it had from Egypt.
This episode in centred in it, and especially in trying to understand one of its most distinctive features: human sacrifice. One episode in particular is shown as an example of what that civilization might be. When the skeletons of hundreds of servants are found in their king's grave, a big question has arisen: was this a voluntary mass suicide, or mass murder?
It was not a bad episode, and many of the things were new to me, but it’s not one of the best episodes in the program, in my opinion.
7/10
9 – The Mystery of the Taj MahalDespite the presentation of some theories that have been in part refuted since then, this was still one of the best episodes in the show.
The story of the Taj Mahal is well known: a mausoleum built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
Yet, there are probably some hidden meanings behind it. This program tries to find some of those meanings, ending up as the story of an egomaniac emperor, who might have taken the chance to create a representation of Heaven, complete with the throne of God…
9/10
10 – Aztecs Inside the Hidden KingdomAnother one of my favourite episodes, despite its nearly complete lack of new findings or theories.
It goes to modern-day Mexico, to look for the remains of the ancient Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, trying to understand how a civilization with such an advanced science, architecture and way of life can also be so superstitious and violent (human sacrifice was very common).
9/10
11 – The Search For El DoradoThis final episode tells the story of the search for El Dorado, a mythical city totally made of gold. It shows the quest of Gonzalo Pizarro, also showing much about the natives’ way of life and how they were affected by the Spanish invaders.
The program goes on to end up presenting the theory that the El Dorado was actually a man, the Golden Man, and not the Golden City.
While it is very hard for me to believe there is a golden city somewhere, still waiting to be discovered, the conclusion of this episode is also quite hard to grasp. Anyway, I’ve always been very interested about the ancient Central and South American civilization, so there was still plenty to enjoy in this episode.
7/10
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