Paititi
Encyclopedia
Paititi is a legendary Inca lost city
or utopian rich land said to lie east of the Andes
, hidden somewhere within the remote rain forests 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 Cuzco
, 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.
maintain that the Vatican
has kept Patiti's location secret for its own reasons. 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 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 according to which the Paititi legend was related 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 . In order to test this hypothesis, a joint Finnish-Bolivian archaeological expedition was carried out in 2001-2003 to investigate the fortified site Las Piedras near the town of Riberalta
in the Eastern Bolivia. Some fragments of imperial Inca ceramics were found during the excavations but the presumed Inca origin of the site remains questionable.
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 .
The most serious and extensive investigations of lost sites among the Peruvian mountains and jungles associated with Paititi have been carried out by the Peruvian medical doctor and explorer Carlos Neuenschwander Landa, the Argentinian Salesian
priest and explorer Juan Carlos Polentini Wester, and, as recently as 2009, by American psychologist-explorer Gregory Deyermenjian
and the Peruvian frontiersman, cartographer and explorer Paulino Mamani.
On December 29, 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. 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. Their report identified the stone structures as naturally formed sandstone.
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.
Lost city
A "Lost City" is a term that is generally considered to refer to a well-populated area which fell into terminal decline, became extensively or completely uninhabited, and whose location has been forgotten. Some lost cities whose locations have been rediscovered have been studied extensively by...
or utopian rich land said to lie east of the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
, hidden somewhere within the remote rain forests of southeast Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, northern Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
or southwest Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. The Paititi legend in Peru revolves around the story of the culture-hero Inkarri
Inkarri
The Inkarri myth is one of the most famous legends of the Inca. When the Spanish conquistadores tortured and executed the last ruler of the Inca people, Atahualpa, he vowed that he would come back one day to avenge his death...
, who, after he had founded Q'ero
Q'ero
Q'ero is a Quechua community or ethnic group in the province of Paucartambo, in the Cusco Region of Peru.The Q'ero became more widely known due to the 1955 ethnological expedition of Dr...
and Cuzco
Cusco
Cusco , often spelled Cuzco , is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region as well as the Cuzco Province. In 2007, the city had a population of 358,935 which was triple the figure of 20 years ago...
, retreated toward the jungles of Pantiacolla
Manú Province
Manu Province is one of three provinces in the Madre de Dios Region of Peru. The capital of the Manu province is the city of Salvación.-Political division:The province is divided into four districts , each of which is headed by a mayor :...
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 . 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 theoriesConspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
maintain that the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
has kept Patiti's location secret for its own reasons. 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
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
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 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
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but was founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, at that time part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...
, Dr. Ari Siiriäinen (archaeologist) and Dr. Martti Pärssinen (historian), put forward a hypothesis according to which the Paititi legend was related to the Inca expeditions into the Amazonian jungle and to the possible Inca military presence in the region of the Beni
Beni River
The Beni River is a river in the north of Bolivia.It rises north of La Paz and flows northeast through the pampas. One of the tributary rivers is Tuichi River in the Madidi National Park. Tuichi River joins the Beni River upstream from the town Rurrenabaque. South of Rurrenabaque, Río Beni runs...
and the Madre de Dios
Madre de Dios River
The Madre de Dios River, homonymous to the Peruvian region it runs through, then becomes the Beni River in Bolivia and then turns northward into Brazil, where it is called the Madeira River...
rivers . In order to test this hypothesis, a joint Finnish-Bolivian archaeological expedition was carried out in 2001-2003 to investigate the fortified site Las Piedras near the town of Riberalta
Riberalta
Riberalta is a town in the Beni Department in northern Bolivia, situated where the Madre de Dios River joins the Beni River. Riberalta is on the south bank of the Beni River....
in the Eastern Bolivia. Some fragments of imperial Inca ceramics were found during the excavations but the presumed Inca origin of the site remains questionable.
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 .
The most serious and extensive investigations of lost sites among the Peruvian mountains and jungles associated with Paititi have been carried out by the Peruvian medical doctor and explorer Carlos Neuenschwander Landa, the Argentinian Salesian
Salesians of Don Bosco
The Salesians of Don Bosco is a Roman Catholic religious order founded in the late nineteenth century by Saint John Bosco in an attempt, through works of charity, to care for the young and poor children of the industrial revolution...
priest and explorer Juan Carlos Polentini Wester, and, as recently as 2009, by American psychologist-explorer Gregory Deyermenjian
Gregory Deyermenjian
Gregory Deyermenjian is a psychologist and explorer. In 1981 he visited the ruins of Vilcabamba la Vieja at Espíritu Pampa, and then turned his attention to the northeast and north of Cusco, Peru...
and the Peruvian frontiersman, cartographer and explorer Paulino Mamani.
On December 29, 2007, members of a local community near Kimbiri
Kimbiri
Kimbiri is a town in Southern Peru, capital of the district Kimbiri in the province La Convención in the region Cusco.-External links:...
, Peru, found large stone structures resembling high walls, covering an area of 40,000 square meters; they named it the Manco Pata
Manco Pata
Manco Pata was a name given to a fortress like area in the Apurímac-Ene River Valley , in the district of Kimbiri, Cusco, Peru.-Natural Formation:News reporters in early January, 2008, asked experts if the Paititi claim was true or fiction...
fortress. However researchers from the Peruvian government's Cusco-based National Institute of Culture
National Institute of Culture
The National Institute of Culture of Peru is a government organization under the authority of the Ministry of Education. Its headquarters are located in the city of Lima and its rector is Cecilia Bákula.-Objectives:...
(INC) disputed suggestions by the local mayor that it could be part of the lost city of Paititi. Their report identified the stone structures as naturally formed sandstone.
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.
Expeditions in search of Paititi for the past 100 years
- 1925: Percy Harrison FawcettPercy FawcettLt. Colonel Percival Harrison Fawcett was a British artillery officer, archaeologist and South American explorer....
(Mato Grosso, Brasil). - 1954 to 1955: Hans ErtlHans Ertl (cameraman)Hans Ertl was a German mountaineer and cinematographer.He was a camera man during the Nazi era, also known as "Hitler's photographer". After the war he resettled in Bolivia and became a farmer. He did some filming in Bolivia but ceased after his film and tractor fell through a wooden bridge...
(Bolivia) - 1971: A French-American expedition led by Bob Nichols, Serge Debru, and Georges Puel travelled up the Rio Pantiacolla from Shintuya in search of Paititi. The party's guides left after a 30 day agreement expired, and though the three continued on, they never returned. Japanese explorer Yoshiharu SekinoYoshiharu Sekinois a Japanese explorer, travel writer and photographer, anthropologist, and doctor.Sekino was born in Tokyo. In 1971, while still a student at Hitotsubashi University , he cofounded and participated in a university team that descended the entire length of the Amazon, thereafter travelling around...
contacted Machiguenga Indians in the area the following year and confirmed that the expedition members had been killed. - 1984 to 2000: Altogether 12 expeditions led by Gregory DeyermenjianGregory DeyermenjianGregory Deyermenjian is a psychologist and explorer. In 1981 he visited the ruins of Vilcabamba la Vieja at Espíritu Pampa, and then turned his attention to the northeast and north of Cusco, Peru...
These included: - the documentation of Incan remains in MameriaMameriaMameria is an area of high-altitude jungle to the northeast of the Paucartambo range in southeast Peru, drained by the Mameria river, an affluent of the Nistrón river. Until the 1960s this remote and sparsely populated area would have been considered a part of the Callanga jungle area...
(1984), (1985), (1986) and (1989); - the first ascent of Apu Catinti (1986);
- the documentation of Incan "barracks" at Toporake (1989);
- the exploration and documentation of the petroglyphs at PusharoPusharoThe Petroglyphs of Pusharo constitute a unique and extensive ancient rock art site in southeast Peru's Manu National Park, a jungled expanse that still contains unexplored and little known areas, and for which an official government permit is required for entry....
(1991); - a traverse of the Incan "Road of Stone" past the Plateau of Toporake (1993);
- the discovery and documentation of Incan and pre-Incan remains in Callanga (1994);
- the discovery and the first ascent of an Incan complex at base of Callanga's peak "Llactapata" (1995);
- the first visit, exploration, and documentation of the true nature of Manu'sManú ProvinceManu Province is one of three provinces in the Madre de Dios Region of Peru. The capital of the Manu province is the city of Salvación.-Political division:The province is divided into four districts , each of which is headed by a mayor :...
Pyramids of Paratoari (1996); - following the Incan "Road of Stone" onto the Plateau of Pantiacolla, discovery of "Lago de Ángel" and its Incan platforms north of Río Yavero (1999);
- full investigation of claims that Paititi was to be found on Río Choritiari (2000).
- 1997 Lars Hafskjold set out from Puerto MaldonadoPuerto MaldonadoPuerto Maldonado is a city in Southeastern Peru in the Amazon forest west of the Bolivian border on the confluence of the Tambopata and Madre de Dios River, a tributary of the Amazon River. It is the capital of the Madre de Dios Region....
, Madre de Dios, Peru. He disappeared somewhere in the unexplored parts of Bolivia. - In August, 1998, a young Chilean explorer, Camilo Valdivieso, undertook his first investigations into the PusharoPusharoThe Petroglyphs of Pusharo constitute a unique and extensive ancient rock art site in southeast Peru's Manu National Park, a jungled expanse that still contains unexplored and little known areas, and for which an official government permit is required for entry....
petroglyphs and their relation with the lost city. - 2000 Explorations towards the river Alto Madre de Dios were made by Valdivieso and an international group.
- In June 2001, the Kota Mama II expedition led by John Blashford-Snell located some significant ancient ruins in the jungle east of Lake TiticacaLake TiticacaLake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It sits 3,811 m above sea level, making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world...
in Bolivia which are believed to be identical to those discovered earlier by Hans Ertl. - 2002 Camilo Valdivieso made some explorations in the area of the Sinkibenia River, finding important archaeological evidence of the presence of the Incas in previously unknown areas.
- 2002 Jacek Pałkiewicz undertook an expedition.
- The June 2004 "Quest for Paititi" exploration team of Deyermenjian and Mamani discovered several important Inca ruins along branches of the Inca Road of Stone at the peak known as Último Punto in the northern part of the Pantiacolla region of Peru.
- 2005 The French explorer Thierry Jamin and the French-Peruvian Herbert Cartagena discovered PusharoPusharoThe Petroglyphs of Pusharo constitute a unique and extensive ancient rock art site in southeast Peru's Manu National Park, a jungled expanse that still contains unexplored and little known areas, and for which an official government permit is required for entry....
petroglyphPetroglyphPetroglyphs are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images...
s and large geoglyphGeoglyphA geoglyph is a large design or motif produced on the ground and typically formed by clastic rocks or similarly durable elements of the geography, such as stones, stone fragments, gravel, or earth...
s in a valley nearby. They thought they might have found a "map" showing where Paititi might be located. Further expeditions were set up in the following years. - The 2006 Paititi Expedition: Beyond the Pantiacolla Plateau and the Furthest Reach of the Incas, carried out in June by Gregory Deyermenjian and Paulino Mamani, with Saulo César Huillca Mamani and Raul Huillca, to the Río Taperachi north of the Yavero, found the most remote Incan settlements yet identified beyond those that had been found in 2004 at "Último Punto."
- The 2008 Paititi/"Road of Stone" expedition, which traversed a more southern extension of the Incan road along the crest of the Paucartambo range, brought Gregory Deyermenjian and Hermógenes Figueroa Lucana to a previously undocumented fortress site that appeared to have been guarding the entrances to the jungles of Callanga to the northeast. 31
- June 2009: Italian researcher Yuri Leveratto with Peruvian guides Fernando Rivera Huanca and Saul Robles Condori reached one of the Pyramids of Pantiacolla (or ParatoariParatoariParatoari is a site within southeast Peru's Manu area of dense tropical rainforest composed of pyramid-shaped formations, first identified via NASA satellite photograph number C-S11-32W071-03, released in 1976...
), and explored the vicinity, proving that the "cumbre del condor" has a natural origin. They also described some petroglyphs of Amazonian origin near the Inchipato river. - In September 2009 Paulino Mamani and Gregory Deyermenjian led a film crew to an area of the Cordillera de Paucartambo where a newly discovered section of the Inca Road of Stone was identified and documented.
- During The 2011 Paititi/Pantayqoya Expedition, carried out in September, Gregory Deyermenjian, Mamani, Yuri Leveratto, Spanish photojournalist/explorer Javier Zardoya, and Luis Alberto Huillca Mamani located and delivered a formal report to Peruvian authorities concerning the Ruins of Miraflores, above the Río Ch´unchosmayu, which are on the way to and from the Meseta de Toporake and the Camino de Piedra that enters the Pantiacolla Plateau.
Partial bibliography
- Andrew Nicol (2010). "Legends and New Research about Paititi, Peru's Lost City of Gold". Living in Peru. http://www.livinginperu.com/features-1613-art-culture-lifestyle-legends-new-research-about-paititi-perus-lost-city-gold.
- Andrew Nicol (2010). "Peru: The Trail to Paititi". South American Explorers Magazine (94). http://www.saexplorers.org/magazine/featured-articles/on-the-trail-of-paititi-%E2%80%93-the-incan-el-dorado/.
- 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). http://www.scribd.com/doc/20483798/.