Paititi

Paititi is a legendary Inca lost city or utopian rich land. It allegedly lies east of the Andes, hidden somewhere within the remote rainforests of southeast Peru, northern Bolivia or southwest Brazil. The Paititi legend in Peru revolves around the story of the culture-hero Inkarri, who, after he had founded Q'ero and Cusco, retreated toward the jungles of Pantiacolla to live out the rest of his days in his refuge city of Paititi. Other versions of the legend see Paititi as an Inca refuge in the border area between Bolivia and Brazil.

Recent findings

In 2001 the Italian archaeologist Mario Polia discovered the report of the missionary Andres Lopez in the archives of the Jesuits in Rome.[1] In the document, which dates from about 1600, Lopez describes a large city rich in gold, silver and jewels, located in the middle of the tropical jungle called Paititi by the natives. Lopez informed the Pope about his discovery. Conspiracy theories maintain that the Vatican has kept Paititi's location secret for its own reasons.[2] Lopez' report and its discovery were widely publicized, though its content is third-hand and far from reliable, Lopez himself having never reached Paititi but only having heard about it from the natives. It focuses on the story of a miracle performed at the court of the king of Paititi by a crucifix taken there by a group of baptized Indians. Many other historical sources of the Colonial period (16th to 18th centuries) refer to Paititi, to its possible locations and to expeditions searching for it. Some of the most informative of these documents include those of Juan Álvarez Maldonado (1570), Gregorio Bolívar (1621), Juan Recio de León (1623–27), Juan de Ojeda (1676), Diego de Eguiluz (1696).

In 2001 two researchers from the University of Helsinki, Dr. Ari Siiriäinen (archaeologist) and Dr. Martti Pärssinen (historian), put forward a hypothesis relating the Paititi legend to the Inca expeditions into the Amazonian jungle and to the possible Inca military presence in the region of the Beni and the Madre de Dios rivers.[3] In order to test this hypothesis, a joint Finnish-Bolivian archaeological expedition in 2001–2003 investigated the fortified site Las Piedras near the town of Riberalta in Eastern Bolivia. Some fragments of imperial Inca ceramics were found during the excavations, but the presumed Inca origin of the site remains questionable.[4]

Historian and anthropologist Vera Tyuleneva has contributed to the idea of the non-Peruvian origin of the name "Paititi" and its original locale; she has made expeditions to northern Bolivia and provided extensive and detailed written reports on her findings.[5][6][7]

On 29 December 2007 members of a local community near Kimbiri, Peru, found large stone structures resembling high walls, covering an area of 40,000 square meters; they named it the Manco Pata fortress.[8][9] However researchers from the Peruvian government's Cusco-based National Institute of Culture (INC) disputed suggestions by the local mayor that it could be part of the lost city of Paititi.[10] Their report identified the stone structures as naturally formed sandstone. In 2008 the municipality of Kimbiri decided to promote it as a tourist destination.[11]

Recent historical work by the explorer Andrew Nicol examined primary historical texts and concluded that a jungle city or remote Inca outpost, such as the city described by the Paititi legend, could theoretically exist within the Peruvian Amazon Basin.[12]

Expeditions in search of Paititi during the past 100 years

Ruins reached by Joseph Kittelson and his crew in 2004

Notes

  1. Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu Archived November 24, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. See http://www.palkiewicz.com/ekspedycje/index.php?p=paiti4
  3. Siiriäinen, Ari and Pärssinen, Martti. The Amazonian Interests of the Inca State (Tawantinsuyu). In: Baessler-Archiv Nº49. Berlin. 2001.
  4. See Pärssinen, Martti y Siiriäinen, Ari. Andes Orientales y Amazonía Occidental Ensayos entre la historia y arqueología de Bolivia, Brasil y Perú. UMSA – Colegio Nacional de Historiadores de Bolivia. Producciones CIMA: La Paz. 2003.
  5. Tyuleneva, Vera. La Tierra del Paititi y el Lago Rogoaguado. In: Estudios Amazónicos Nº6, June 2007. Lima: Centro Cultural José Pío Aza. Pp. 97-162.
  6. Tyuleneva, Vera. Apolobamba: Zona de contacto entre la sierra y los Llanos Amazónicos. Informe de la temporada de campo 2007, presentado a la Dirección Nacional de Arqueología de Bolivia. La Paz, 2008.
  7. See also Tyuleneva, Vera. La leyenda del Paititi: versiones modernas y coloniales. In: Revista Andina Nº36, 2003. Cusco: Centro Bartolomé de las Casas. Pp. 193-211. The first part of this article concerning Paititi in the oral tradition is still relevant, while the second part related to the historical sources has been since radically reconsidered by the author
  8. "Peru: Archaeological Fortress Discovered in the town of Kimbiri, Cusco". Living in Peru. ANDINA. January 10, 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  9. "New archeological vestiges found in Manco Pata fortress". ANDINA - Peru News Agency. Jan 29, 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  10. Kelly Hearn (Buenos Aires) (February 25, 2008). "Peru's "Lost City" Is a Natural Formation, Experts Rule". National Geographic News. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  11. "Peru: Cusco authorities to promote Manco Pata archaeological site in Kimbiri". Living in Peru. ANDINA. August 5, 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  12. Andrew Nicol (2009). "Paititi: The Last Secret Of The Incas? A Critical Analysis Of The Legends Surrounding The Lost Inca City Of Gold". International Journal of South American Archaeology (5).
  13. Fawcett, Percy Harrison. Exploración Fawcett. Santiago de Chile: Zig-Zag. 1955.
  14. Hans Ertl (1956). Paititi: Ein Spähtrupp in die Vergangenheit der Inkas, Anden-Amazonas-Expedition 1954/55. München: Nymphenburger Verlag.
  15. Carlos Neuenschwander Landa (1983). Paititi, en la bruma de la historia. Cuzzi. ASIN B0046QFQ62. OCLC 11724089.
  16. Carlos Neuenschwander Landa (1963). Pantiacollo. Lima: Organizacion Peruana del Libro. OCLC 8604014.
  17. Gregory Deyermenjian (2003). "Mameria: an Incan Site Complex in the High-Altitude Jungles of Southeast Peru". Athena Review 3 (4).
  18. Preston Peet (2005). "A Conversation with Greg Deyermenjian". Underground!. The Disinformation Company. p. 286. ISBN 1-932857-19-2.
  19. "Ancient "Lost City" Discovered in Peru, Official Claims". National Geographic News. 2010-10-28. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  20. Interview with Greg Deyermenjian FN’88 at explorers.orgExpedition 2000 at Athena Magazine
  21. "Expedition 2006 at explorers.org" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  22. "Expedition 2008" (PDF). The Explorers Club. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  23. "FOLLOWING THE TRAIL OF THE INCAS". Thirteen (Two). Expedition News. February 2006. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  24. "Gregory Deyermenjian, who has been looking for the city for 20 years has found about 15 different settlements". 3 August 2011. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
  25. "Lars Hafskjold's disappearance". Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  26. "The Kota Mama Expedition". Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  27. "Buscan la ciudadela perdida de los incas en selva del Manu". Perú 21 (in Spanish) (Peru). 11 November 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  28. "Jacek Palkiewicz: traveler, explorer". Palkiewicz.com. 2002-02-04. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  29. Quest for Paititi
  30. "Le site des chercheurs du Gran Paititi". Retrieved 2008-12-20.
  31. Yuri Leveratto (2010). Cronache indigene del Nuovo Mondo. ASIN B007H9DMHU.
  32. "Expedicion a las piramides de Pantiacolla". Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  33. "Expedition in the jungle of Guaporé River: the enigma of the lost city of Labyrinth". Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  34. "Expedition in the jungle of Rondonia: the discovery of Madeira Fortress". Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  35. "Dundee explorer's search for 'lost city' of Paititi". BBC News. 3 August 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  36. The Secret of the Incas (2011, October 6) Retrieved March 14, 2015
  37. Expedition Unknown, City of Gold Season 1, Episode 5

Partial bibliography

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