Joyce
characterized the book as having 3 sections, almost like 3 separate books: 1)
Searching for the site of the lost city and the history of the legend, 3) the actual work and
experience at the archaeological site, and 3) criticism of the expedition and
medical sequelae.
A conversation
during the meeting:
Marilyn asked how the archaeologists figured out what
the carvings were meant to symbolize.
Claudia said she had the same question when reading the
book, and then had later decided that the archaeologists had been trained to
notice similarities between specific artifact markings and shapes that had been
documented and photographed over the years.
Dennis said that it seemed that a lot of the documentation of
the artifacts seemed to be just made up. An example was that some artifacts were
noted to be colorful, but these colors were barely, if at all, noticeable in
the photos taken at the time when the items were described.
Cindy V. mentioned that at archaeological exhibits at museums,
the onlooker often can’t figure out what something is until reading what is written about it on the exhibit label.
Joanne noted that the excavations were slow, and not much had
been uncovered by the end of the book.
Marilyn agreed with Dennis’s observation that some of the
history seemed to stem from imaginations. She exclaimed that it seemed arbitrary
when a drawing of an animal was created after a dig had exposed just one bone.
Ah, the
comments:
Pam said
that while reading the descriptions of the expedition, she had felt like she
was there in the forest.
Joanne agreed,
stating that after reading about a day and night in the forest, she had felt
like taking a shower.
On the lost
city and large numbers of people who seemed to have deserted suddenly:
Pam thought interesting the idea that there had been a city and that large groups and numbers of people had left because of diseases.
She suggested that many people might have left and scattered to other civilized
places and that those who didn’t leave might have had fewer connections with
other villages.
Joanne suggested that when word spread that deathly disease
was spreading, other villages might have been unwilling to allow new people in.
For those whose interest was piqued and/or anyone who finds
themselves in the vicinity, Lydia told us that in April, 2018 Honduras opened a
new archaeological center to house White City finds. Archaeology
Research Center
Here’s another website from 2016 that has information about
the lost White City: Web
Page about White City Discoveries
There is more online. Search to your heart’s content.
2 comments:
You might be interested in these lidar findings in Guatemala. https://themindunleashed.com/2018/02/hidden-mayan-city-10-million-people-discovered-researchers-guatemala.html?fbclid=IwAR2bjdAHeseP7bR-5_o_cyUhEvJMEI2k4cUKRtMF7AYXV4D7j3kjKV2nZjU
Interesting article!
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