This new documentary from National Geographic's Expedition Week is the most archaeological of any of them.
Long House and Xingu People at the Parque Indígena do Xingu.
Photo (c)2008 National Geographic
The Lost Cities of the Amazon reports on the archaeological investigations of Michael Heckenberger and Eduardo Goas Neves in the Amazon River basin of South America. These two archaeologists have spent the greater part of the last decade studying the surprisingly complex communities which thrived there between about 0-1550 AD. Still do, for that matter--about 4,000 of their descendants live at the Parque Indígena do Xingu, in the center of one of the old capital cities. Well, maybe not what you think of when you say 'city', in terms of stone structures--but cities none the less.
It seems shocking to us 21st century types that there could be sophisticated farming cultures supported by the famously thin, acidic soils of the Amazon jungle, doesn't it? But in the mid-sixteenth century, Spanish conquistadors lost on the Amazon reported that they met huge parties of people and obtained abundant amounts of food. They were disbelieved, too.
This is a really fascinating story, and so meticulously researched and published that I had to build a separate bibliography page.
Lost Cities of the Amazon airs tonight, November 20, 2008, 9pm ET/PT, but be sure to check local listings.
- Lost Cities of the Amazon, Viewers Guide on About.com
- Lost Cities of the Amazon on Nat Geo
- Bibliography for Lost Cities
- Search for El Dorado, on PBS
Comments
What I forgot to mention, because I’m not absolutely positive about this, is that I think this story is part of the underlying plot of the latest Indiana Jones movie. Please, somebody correct me if I’m totally out of line here.
No,this program have nothing to do with the plot of the latests “indiana Jones” movie,although the character of Francisco de Orellana,discoverer of the Amazon River was one of the subplots,etc…
Also I watched the premiere of Lost Cities of the Amazons” and once again National Geographic kill all the magic mystery of the topic of real lost civilizations of the amazonic jungle.
In its traditional line of reduccionism and debunking mood –in this case the figure of outstanding explorer Percy Fawcett–and capitalizing by going suspiciously ahead of the coming of “Lost City of Z” by journalist David Grann–NG instead to incentivate new generations of explorers precipitae in simple explanations when this coming from reputated people backed by universities or academic status.
Fawcett was not the only explorer to sustain the claim of advance constructions from lost civilizations,and if you read about his expeditions you will have a better panorama of the men as real explorer.
The amazonic region and the andes contain many lost cities,some made of stone/megalitic and prehistoric,and not made of black clay or wooden walls.I had the privilige to see and recorded one of them,in a real expedition of discovery,not expeditions made for travelling academics in controlled conditions.That’s also NG should change the term of Expedition week to Travelling week with the experts……
You put your finger on the exact reason why I was so impressed by the programs—because they were based on scientific research. But then, I like to get science in whatever form I can get!
Hi Kris,
They can be all scientific and academic they want and hidden inside of the NG ‘s logo,but you cannot be reduccionist with the facts.The Amazon ‘s region and surroundings as Matto Grosso have many regions with lost cities built in stone and not only with wooden walls.Fawcett follow a real legend,as Schliemann follow a legend and found Troya.
Using a scientific method in archeology doesnt mean you are a real scientist.A real scientist is an explorer,and an explorer you open a new path in the unknown territories.Percy Fawcett was one of them,and the documentary debunk him as he have some mystic interest and believe that an advanced civilization was in the core of the Amazon.This was probed with the Chachapoyas ”s lost cities discovered by Gene Savoy during forty years of expeditions,neither honored by the scientific academicism,and less by National Geographic Television,who profited his discoverings,similar as there are doing before the release of Grann’s book,also an upcoming movie.
Is not science,is power and money,and mediatic bucannerism in the lesser cost possible…only that….
Well, you have some valid points here, Alex. But I have to say–there’s only an hour in a documentary, and you can’t pack all those details in an hour. I know that from my own work, that if you DO try to put all the details in, people won’t read after the first 500 words anyway.
But there’s nothing to stop you, is there? from putting this all out someplace and telling us where to find out about it.
Much is to be learned from the not so primitive tribes of the Amazon. They had developed soils through some process which sustained a large population. The rediscovery of this process could save the rain forest from further degradation by replacing the slash and burn agricultural practices and cattle ranching which often follow logging, both unsustainable in the long run due to poor soils and thus producing barren lands.
The trans-national logging companies must be induced into changing their short-sighted and unsustainable practices of clear cutting. The eventual development of the process of soil making does give some hope for preserving the richness of the Amazon’s biodiversity, a source of many valuable medicines not to mention their “lungs of the planet” function.
The key is ecologically sound sustainable development to preserve the rich potential of the rain forest. Logging companies need to know that their practices may be harming the planet and, as such, their/our bottom line.
We can begin at home by requesting lumber coming from ecologically sound logging practices.
“Act locally, think globally!”