For centuries rumors swirled about an abandoned ancient settlement in the jungles of Honduras, a region called 'The White City of the Monkey God.' The remains of the White City was reputed to contain gold, priceless cultural artifacts, and the remnants of temples and buildings - a veritable cornucopia for treasure hunters, archaeologists, and anthropologists.
Sketch of mythical Lost City of the Monkey God
Over the years many explorers tried to find the White City. Some never came back, others returned in defeat, and some were charlatans - pretending to explore while they searched for gold. Obstacles to success included ignorance of the city's exact location, impassable jungles, venomous snakes, biting and stinging insects, jaguars, and - in recent times - narcotraficantes (drug cartels).
Then, in 2012, documentary filmmaker Steve Elkins got the idea to use LIDAR - a type of radar that uses laser beams - to look for the White City. Elkins arranged for a LIDAR-equipped plane to survey 'La Mosquitia' - the easternmost part of Honduras along the Mosquito Coast (named for the Miskito people, not the insects). The LIDAR scans revealed the remains of three formerly populated areas, called T-1, T-2, and T-3.....which might very well correspond to the White City.
Documentary film maker Steve Elkins
LIDAR equipped plane
LIDAR image of Mayan ruins
Elkins was thrilled with the results, and arranged an expedition into the jungle in 2015. Elkins' team included himself, a photographer, an archaeologist, an anthropologist, filmmakers, a squad of Honduran soldiers, pilots, technicians, a jungle safety expert, and others. Also joining the group was writer Douglas Preston, who had been in Honduras with Elkins for the LIDAR survey. This time, Preston was assigned to pen an article for National Geographic Magazine.
Writer Douglas Preston
In this book, Preston writes about the search for the White City.....and much much more.
The entire escapade into La Mosquitia was dangerous and difficult, starting with preparing landing sites for the team's helicopters. This was followed by setting up camping areas, hacking through the impenetrable jungle with machetes, wading across rivers, hiking up hills, sliding down hills, encountering snakes, being bitten by insects and spiders, and so on. In addition, the team members were continually soaked and muddy, had trouble keeping a fire lit in the wet jungle, and subsisted largely on MREs (freeze-dried meals).
The 'kitchen area' of the expedition's campsite
The Honduras expedition was difficult and wet
Preston describes his first campsite, where he set up his hammock under a tree inhabited by squawking spider monkeys - who didn't want him there.
Spider Monkey
When the author stepped out the first night - to relieve himself - the ground was writhing with a carpet of rainforest cockroaches.
Cockroaches
(When I lived in a tent for six weeks for geology field camp, I learned not to drink anything after 6:00 PM....to avoid night trips to the loo. Ha ha ha)
Preston also tells a memorable story about encountering a six-foot-long, venomous fer-de-lance near his camping area.
Fer-de-Lance
The writer summoned the jungle safety expert, Andrew Wood, who decapitated the snake after it squirted his hand with burning venom. Wood had to wash his hand immediately.....otherwise he would have just relocated the serpent with a forked stick. (The expedition carried antivenom shots, just in case.)
Even more ominously, Preston's tent was invaded by tiny sandflies night after night, which he took to skewering on one of his notebooks - a ledger that became so damaged he had to throw it away. Unfortunately the writer - and other members of the expedition - were repeatedly bitten by the little critters, which had dire consequences later on.
Sandfly
Though there were hardships, the team members were able to make their way to T-1, where they found a treasure trove of pre-Columbian remains, including asymmetrical mounds and a large cache of (almost) buried artifacts. These artifacts include beautiful stone bowls and carved stone figures, some of which have half-human, half-monkey features. One striking statuette resembled a jaguar - which led to the site being called 'The City of the Jaguar.' The explorers' tenure in the jungle was limited by weather, finances, and helicopter rentals.....so the archaeological sites were marked and left for future exploration. By now, extensive studies are under way.
Many ancient artifacts were found in Honduras
City of the Jaguar
In an article about the 2015 expedition, Colorado State University anthropologist Dr. Chris Fischer - who was a member of Elkins' team - notes: "The excavated area [at T-1] encompasses less than 200 square feet of the enormous archaeological site, which includes at least 19 prehistoric settlements, probably part of a single chiefdom, spread along several miles of a river. One of the nearby sites has two parallel mounds that may be the remains of a Mesoamerican ball court similar to those left by the Maya civilization, indicating a link between this culture and its powerful neighbors to the west and north. The ballgame was a sacred ritual.....that was sometimes associated with human sacrifice, including the decapitation of the losing team or its captain. While the City of the Jaguar is spectacularly isolated now, at its heyday it was probably a center of trade and commerce."
Dr. Chris Fischer noted the City of the Jaguar was once a center of trade
So what happened to the historic city? Why was it abandoned? No one knows for sure but Preston suggests that infectious diseases decimated the population. It's well known that European explorers brought deadly illnesses, like flu, measles, and smallpox, to the New World. The native people, having no resistance, died in droves....often horrifically. According to Preston, Old World diseases wiped out 90 percent of many New World populations. It's possible that most residents of the 'T-sites' died, and the remaining occupants - thinking their gods had forsaken them - just walked away from their homes.
Indigenous people may have been wiped out by disease
Another illness may also have contributed to the ancient carnage. Months after Preston returned home, he noticed a 'bug bite' that refused to heal. The author came to learn that he (and many other members of the 2015 trip) had contracted leishmaniasis, a flesh-eating disease caused by a protozoan parasite that's transmitted by sandflies. Left untreated, leishmaniasis can cause skin ulcers; mouth and nose ulcers; and damage to internal organs. In the worst cases, the disease eats away the nose and mouth, causing horrible disfiguration. Luckily, Preston responded to treatment -which is harsh, and can take a long time.
Leishmaniasis
The disease didn't stop Preston from returning to T-1 for one more visit, however, during which he lamented the inevitable changes caused by official visitors, scientists, and the military - who protect the site from looters and narcotraficantes.
La Mosquitia (area in Honduras where ancient artifacts were found)
In addition to detailing the recent visits to La Mosquitia, Preston tells stories about early explorers to the New World; native peoples of the region; disease germs brought to the Americas by sick sailors; fortune hunters looking for the White City; the current President of Honduras - who's all for archaeological and anthropological exploration; Elkins' efforts to finance his expeditions and films; the author's (and his colleagues') struggles with leishmaniasis; and more. I liked all the stories and enjoyed the book, which I highly recommend to readers interested in the topic.
Rating: 4.5 stars
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