Sunday, February 22, 2009

Interest Revived in Lost Amazonian Civilization

Artist's conception of El Dorado, based on conquistadors' accounts.

A book entitled The Lost City of Z by journalist David Grann ~ plus the recent discovery of some jungle-covered ruins in the Amazon basin ~ are igniting interest in the legendary golden city of (take your pick) Paititi, El Dorado, or simply Z.

Grann’s book follows the trail of Victorian adventurer Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett who died in the Amazonian jungles searching for Z. There is some speculation, however, that he may have found his legendary destination prior to his death.

For more information on Fawcett’s search, plus far-more-speculative information collected by New Age author Eric von Daniken, Allan Colston’s blog “The Last Days of Tolemac” has interesting recent posts on Fawcett, Juan Moricz, and Padre Carlos Crespi.

The entire Paititi-El Dorado-Z story is fascinatingly on a par with speculation about Atlantis and Lemuria, with tantalizing tales of current-day artifacts worth far more than their weight in gold when it comes to the evidence they could shed on a major lost civilization.

Click here for the Time magazine article on Fawcett.
Click here for the Last Days of Tolemac blog, then scroll down a few posts.

Fawcett (second from right) and his team in the Amazonian jungle, 1925.


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