Archaeologists find two lost cities deep in Honduras jungle

[Judi Lynn]

Archaeologists find two lost cities deep in Honduras jungle

Archaeological team say they have set foot in a place untouched by humans for at least 600 years in a site that may be the ‘lost city of the monkey god’


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Archaeologists in Honduras have found dozens of artifacts at a site where they believe twin cities stood. Photograph: Dave Yoder/National Geographic
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Alan Yuhas
@alanyuhas
Thursday 5 March 2015 19.30 EST

Archaeologists have discovered two lost cities in the deep jungle of Honduras, emerging from the forest with evidence of a pyramid, plazas and artifacts that include the effigy of a half-human, half-jaguar spirit.

The team of specialists in archaeology and other fields, escorted by three British bushwhacking guides and a detail of Honduran special forces, explored on foot a remote valley of La Mosquitia where an aerial survey had found signs of ruins in 2012.

Chris Fisher, the lead US archaeologist on the team, told the Guardian that the expedition – co-coordinated by the film-makers Bill Benenson and Steve Elkins, Honduras and National Geographic (which first reported the story on its site) – had by all appearances set foot in a place that had gone untouched by humans for at least 600 years.

~ snip ~
Paredes and Fisher also said that the pristine, densely-wooded site was dangerously close to land being deforested for beef farms that sell to fast-food chains. Global demand has driven Honduras’s beef industry, Fisher said, something that he found worrying.

“I keep thinking of those monkeys looking at me not having seen people before. To lose all this over a burger, it’s a really hard pill to swallow.”

More:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/06/archaeologists-find-two-lost-cities-deep-in-honduras-jungle

[NaturalHigh]

1. This is truly amazing.

Cities that haven't been visited by people in 600 years? Very cool.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

2. I can already hear someone saying, "Any gold?"

[brer cat]

3. A fascinating find.

It is hard to believe that there are areas untouched for hundreds of years. We have polluted and destroyed so much of the land, it is amazing that something so pristine is still there. "To lose all this over a burger, it’s a really hard pill to swallow." Indeed.