That’s the cheesy title of what should be a fascinating National Geographic documentary on a subject that we’ve covered here a number of times: the idea that the Amazon was once thickly settled. If anyone sees it, do let us know what it’s like.
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Agrobiodiversity is crops, livestock, foodways, microbes, pollinators, wild relatives …
That’s the cheesy title of what should be a fascinating National Geographic documentary on a subject that we’ve covered here a number of times: the idea that the Amazon was once thickly settled. If anyone sees it, do let us know what it’s like.
Let’s hope the documentary at least tips a nod and a wink to the estimable Colonel P.H. Fawcett (the inspiration for Professor Challenger of Conan Doyle’s Lost World), whose entertaining journals (“Exploration Fawcett”) in his ultimately fruitless quest to find remnants of Amazon civilizations a hundred years ago make a ripping yarn: Heart of Darkness meets Monty Python. A rousing, superb read.
Indeed: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Fawcett. There’s an Avenida Fawcett in Lima. Or there used to be. It may no longer be considered politically correct to invoke the crusty old colonel.
I think the Avenida Faucett, leading to the airport, was called after Elmer J. Faucett, a Peruvian airline pioneer.
What are the odds?
Oh yeah, Percy Fawcett was mentioned quite a bit, and there was even a reenactment of his journey in and long quotes from his letters. I liked Lost Cities the best of any of the new documentaries I saw, although I must admit that Peter Coyote’s sonorous voice was a little much. Not very many excavation photos, but a lot of video shot in the Xingu park, and considerable emphasis on the archaeology.