About a decade and a half ago, The Lost City of Z seemed to have been placed front-and-cenÂter in most bookÂstores of the EngÂlish-speakÂing world. It was the first book by jourÂnalÂist David Grann, and it handÂiÂly proved that he knew how to deal with hisÂtoÂry in a way that could capÂture the pubÂlic imagÂiÂnaÂtion. (His secÂond, Killers of the Flower Moon, proÂvidÂed the basis for the acclaimed MarÂtin ScorsÂese film now in theÂaters.) SubÂtiÂtled A Tale of DeadÂly ObsesÂsion in the AmaÂzon, the book tells of British explorÂer CapÂtain PerÂcy FawÂcett, who went missÂing with his son in that vast junÂgle back in 1925. They’d been lookÂing for the “lost city” of the title, of whose exisÂtence FawÂcett had been conÂvinced by what may now strike us as rather scant eviÂdence.
“The idea was based on rumors that had cirÂcuÂlatÂed for cenÂturies that there were once large cities, filled with peoÂple, deep in the AmaÂzon,” says the narÂraÂtor of the Vox Atlas video above, fired by the disÂcovÂery of grand capÂiÂtals like TenochtiÂtÂlan in modÂern-day MexÂiÂco and CusÂco in Peru. Experts, for their part, “believed that this rainÂforÂest was simÂply too hosÂtile and too remote to ever have supÂportÂed cities.”
More recentÂly, sciÂenÂtists startÂed idenÂtiÂfyÂing man-made ditchÂes and mounds all over the AmaÂzon, which comÂpliÂcatÂed the picÂture conÂsidÂerÂably. Instead of the extravÂaÂgant metropÂoÂlis intiÂmatÂed by explorÂers in the cenÂturies before him, FawÂcett only encounÂtered small groups of natives livÂing in simÂple vilÂlages. The conÂsenÂsus came to hold that a host of enviÂronÂmenÂtal, geoÂlogÂiÂcal, and bioÂlogÂiÂcal facÂtors conÂspired against the growth of large-scale civÂiÂlizaÂtions in the rainÂforÂest.
But “it turns out, FawÂcett was lookÂing in the right place, just for the wrong thing.” He nevÂer took note of patchÂes of intenÂtionÂalÂly culÂtiÂvatÂed ferÂtile soil, ditchÂes where once stood walls leadÂing to a plaza, and “delinÂeatÂed areas for garÂdens and orchards.” Though none of this quite sugÂgestÂed the fabled El DoraÂdo, “over the past few decades, experts have uncovÂered eviÂdence of large setÂtleÂments all over the AmaÂzon,” a sinÂgle one of which could have had up to 60,000 inhabÂiÂtants. By the time FawÂcett arrived in the earÂly twenÂtiÂeth cenÂtuÂry, most of those locals had long since died of EuroÂpean-importÂed disÂeases, leavÂing their wood- and-Earth strucÂtures to decomÂpose. GivÂen how far transÂport and conÂstrucÂtion techÂnoloÂgies have come since then, perÂhaps it’s time to try out a difÂferÂent obsesÂsion: not over findÂing old AmaÂzonÂian cities, but buildÂing new ones.
RelatÂed conÂtent:
Tour the AmaÂzon with Google Street View; No PassÂport NeedÂed
Hear Ernest ShackÂleÂton Speak About His AntarcÂtic ExpeÂdiÂtion in a Rare 1909 RecordÂing
LisÂten to PlaÂto Invent the Myth of Atlantis (360 B.C)
Based in Seoul, ColÂin Marshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities, lanÂguage, and culÂture. His projects include the SubÂstack newsletÂter Books on Cities, the book The StateÂless City: a Walk through 21st-CenÂtuÂry Los AngeÂles and the video series The City in CinÂeÂma. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall or on FaceÂbook.












