Relic Magazine

MYSTERY THAT BELONGS TO THE JUNGLE A legendary man vanished in the Amazon 92 years ago. The answers remain unseen.

May 2022 VOLUME: 5 ISSUE: 16

$9.95

SECRETS IN THE DEEP|VOID IN THE WONDER|ENDURE|MISSING IN ACTION FOR 70 YEARS

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INSCRIBED

Letter From the Editor

EXPOSE

Read about the latest ancient city uncovered and the answers it brings along with it.

REVEALED

Modern technology is changing the way of the world. Learn about LiDAR laser scans and how it works to help archaeology.

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ON SITE

Go on site of a current archaeological dig. See what it's really like on the ground and under the ground.

IMPACT

Learn about the importance of learning about these ancient cultures and how it impacts the world of today.

FRAGMENTS

Within each city, thousands of artifacts are uncovered. They help archaeologists learn what daily life was and how ancient people lived.

YOUNG MINDS

Read the amazing story of William Gadoury and how he studied stars and satellite images to discover the fourth largest Mayan City.

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TALK DIRT Y

Everything you wanted to ask an archaeologist. An interview with Chris Fisher answers all kinds of questions to what its like finding these places.

ONWARD

We've put together the greatest travel guide for you. Beautiful ruins and temples from around the world await.

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FEATURES 32

SECRETS IN THE DEEP

By Elaina Zachos The largest underwater cave recently discovered holds some ancient secrets. Flooded during the Ice Age, the cave preserved archaeological sites, including evidence of America's first settlers, Mayan culture, and extinct animals.

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MISSING IN ACTION FOR 70 YEARS

By Michele Debczak Two B-25 bombers associated with American servicemen missing in action from World War II were recently found in the ocean, by a team dedicated to locating aircraft and

Photography courtesty of Project Recover, B. Anthony Stewart, Copyright © R. de Montet–Gurin, Michael Nichols, Richard Hewitt, Stewart, Maynard Owen Williams

Archer Pro – Futura PT

MIAs from World War II.

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LEGEND TO TRAGEDY

By Michele Debczak Dare to be intrigued by the 90 year old mystery that surrounds explorer Percy Fawcett who vanished in 1925.

Hundreds of lives lost, desperate to recover the truth.

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ENDURE

By Scott Wallace The Yanomami tribe is believed to come to the Americas 15,000 years ago across the Bering Strait. Their people still thrive in the jungles today with little or no contact with the modern world.

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VOID IN THE WONDER

By Michael Greshko Scientists believed they had explored all the tunnels in the pyramids. New scans tell us otherwise. The first major structure revealed inside since the 19th century.

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EDITOR IN CHIEF Emily Pitnick CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jennifer Stank SENIOR DESIGNER Annie Allistair GRAPHIC DESIGNER Bonnie Rose JUNIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Judy Chernansky PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR Megan Ray MANAGING EDITOR Tamara Hunt COPY EDITOR Joseph James SENIOR EDITOR Gavin Sables MARKETING COORDINATOR Carly Rhodes SALES MANAGER Ann Morie SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR Eleanor Park SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER Juli Baker DON'T MISS A FIND To ensure you don't miss an issue, visit www.relicmag.com for best subscription offers. For subscription or back issue questions, please contact Relic Global at subscribe@relicmag.com MAIN OFFICE 1605 E Ground Dr. Pittsburgh PA, 18248 Phone: 570.410.1206 PRINTED AND PRODUCED IN THE USA 4

RELIC May 2022

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

The great Pyramids that stand

in Egypt, the streets that were once used by Romans, and the columns of the Parthenon. All are strong in the minds of people all over the world as ancient cultures that came before us. But there are cultures still lost to time. Cultures we know nothing about. Centuries worth of artifacts and evidence lay hidden beneath the surface.

In this issue of Relic, we are taking you all over the world, discovering ancient cities that are no longer hiding. We begin this expedition by visiting ancient cities that were discovered either by happen chance or the use of new technology. We will also be stopping by a village that emerged 15,000 years ago, but it was never abandoned. The inhabitants thrive in their

isolation and natural lifestyle. In our feature article, we learn about the Lost City of Z. A place many explorers thought to be real, and many lost their lives trying to find it. One man in particular went down in history after his disappearance in search of the city. We also learn about a brilliant 15-year-old who mapped the stars and may have discovered the location of Mayan cities. In addition, we tell you exactly where these locations are, so if you’re feeling adventurous after reading Relic, you have your destination set. There is much more behind the pages in this issue of Relic.

I sincerely hope you enjoy it. Get your hat and get your shovels, we’re about to uncover the truth.

Emily Plitnick, Editor–In–Chief

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MYSTERIOUS

LO ST M AYA N C I T I E S D I S C O V E R E D IN THE GUATEMALAN JUNGLE By: Tom Clynes By Tom Clynes

Using a revolutionary technology known as LiDAR, short for “Light Detection And Ranging,” scholars digitally removed the tree canopy from aerial images of the now-unpopulated landscape, revealing the ruins of a sprawling pre-Columbian civilization that was far more complex and interconnected than most Maya specialists had supposed.

Photography by Wild Blue Media/National Geographic

“T he LiDAR images make it

clear that this entire region was a settlement system whose scale and population density had been grossly underestimated,” said Thomas Garrison, an Ithaca College archaeologist and National Geographic Explorer who specializes in using digital technology for archaeological research. Garrison is part of a consortium of researchers who are participating in the project, which was spearheaded by the PACUNAM Foundation, a Guatemalan nonprofit that fosters scientific research, sustainable development, and cultural heritage preservation. The project mapped more than

800 square miles of the Maya Biosphere Reserve in the Petén region of Guatemala, producing the largest LiDAR data set ever obtained for archaeological research.

The results suggest that Central America supported an advanced civilization that was, at its peak some 1,200 years ago, more comparable to sophisticated cultures such as ancient Greece or China than to the scattered and sparsely populated city states that ground-based research had long suggested. In addition to hundreds of previously unknown structures, the LiDAR images show raised highways connecting urban centers and quar-

ries. Complex irrigation and terracing systems supported intensive agriculture capable of feeding masses of workers who dramatically reshaped the landscape. The ancient Maya never used the wheel or beasts of burden, yet “this was a civilization that was literally moving mountains,” said Marcello Canuto, a Tulane University archaeologist and National Geographic Explorer who participated in the project. “We’ve had

this western conceit that complex civilizations can’t flourish in the tropics, that the tropics are where civilizations go to die,” said Canuto, who conducts archaeological research at a Guatemalan site known as La Corona. “But with the new (continued on page 56)

1. Towering ancient Mayan pyramid 2. Aerial view of Tikal 3. Tikal, a popular tourist destination 4. Mayan temple peaks above trees 5. Scans reveal more than 60,000 unknown Maya structures.

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TECHNOLOGY THAT IS REWRITING HISTORY BOOKS Bluesky International Limited

If you think archaeologists spend all the time with trowel in hand in a muddy ditch, then it’s time to think again. More and more archaeologists are using sophisticated aircraft-mounted lasers, and it is opening up a new age of discovery.

How does LiDAR work?

The principle behind LiDAR is really quite simple. Shine a small light at a surface and measure the time it takes to return to its source. When you shine a torch on a surface what you are actually seeing is the light being reflected and returning to your retina. Light travels very fast — about 300,000 kilometers per second, 186,000 miles per second or 0.3 meters per nanosecond so turning a light on appears to be instantaneous. Of course, it’s not!

The equipment required to measure this needs to operate extremely fast. Only with the advancements in modern computing technology has this become possible.

The actual calculation for measuring how far a returning light photon has traveled to and from an object is quite simple: Distance = (Speed of Light x Time of Flight) / 2

Most LiDAR systems use FOUR main components: 10

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The LiDAR instrument fires rapid pulses of laser light at a surface, some at up to 150,000 pulses per second. A sensor on the instrument measures the amount of time it takes for each pulse to bounce back. Light moves at a constant and known speed so the LiDAR instrument can calculate the distance between itself and the target with high accuracy.

By repeating this in quick succession the instrument builds up a complex ‘map’ of the surface it is measuring. With airborne LiDAR other data must be collected to ensure accuracy. As the sensor is moving height, location and orientation of the instrument must be included to determine the position of the laser pulse at the time of sending and the time of return. This extra information is crucial to the data’s

1Lasers

Lasers are categorized by their wavelength.

Lasers with a wavelength of 1550nm are a common alternative as they are not focused by the eye and are 'eye-safe' at much higher power levels. These wavelengths are used for longer range and lower accuracy purposes.

Another advantage of 1550nm wavelengths is that they do not show under night-vision goggles and are therefore well suited to military applications. Airborne LiDAR systems use 1064nm diode pumped YAG lasers whilst

integrity. With ground based LiDAR a single GPS location can be added for each location where the instrument is set up. Generally, there are two types of LiDAR detection methods. Direct energy detection, also known as incoherent, and Coherent detection. Coherent systems are best for Doppler or phase sensitive measurements and generally use Optical Heterodyne Detection. This allows them to operate at much lower power but has the expense of more complex transceiver requirements. In both types of LiDAR there are two main pulse models: micro pulse and high-energy systems. Micro pulse systems have developed as a result of more powerful computers with greater computational capabilities. These lasers are lower powered and are classed as (continued on page 67)

Bathymetric systems use 532nm double diode pumped YAG lasers which penetrate water with much less attenuation than the airborne 1064nm version. Better resolution can be achieved with shorter pulses provided the receiver detector and electronics have sufficient bandwidth to cope with the increased data flow.

2Scanners and Optics

The speed at which images can be developed is affected by the speed at which it can be scanned into the system. A variety of scanning

GPS satellites

The laser fires up to 150,000 harmless, invisible pulses per second at the ground while the aircraft flies a precise grid guided bu GPS and an inertial navigation system.

Photography by Wild Blue Media/National Geographic, Š Bluesky International Limited

laser pulses

LiDAR HOW IT WORKS

GPS signal

A detector recorded the time it takes to bounce back. Pulses that bounce off trees and buildings return first, followed by signals from the ground

GPS signal

GPS ground unit path of laser pulses

Sophisticated algorithms weed out pulses that bounce off trees and structures, and create a typographic map that essentially strips away vegetation.

Infographic Credits to LiDAR-UK.com

methods are available for different purposes such as azimuth and elevation, dual oscillating plane mirrors, dual axis scanner and polygonal mirrors.

The type of optic determines the resolution and range that can be detected by a system.

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Photodetector and receiver electronics

The photodetector is the device that reads and records the signal being returned to the system.

There are two main types of photodetector technologies, solid state detectors, such as silicon avalanche photodiodes and photomultipliers.

and 4 Navigation positioning systems

When a LiDAR sensor is mounted on a mobile platform such as satellites, airplanes or automobiles, it is necessary to determine the absolute position and the orientation of the sensor to retain usable data. Global Positioning Systems provide accurate geographical information regarding the position of the sensor and an Inertia Measurement Unit records the precise orientation of the sensor at that location. These two devices provide the method for translating sensor data into static points for use in a variety of systems. (continued on page 68)

Mexican City revealed to have as many buildings as Manhattan

Read more about it online at www.independent.co.uk RELIC May 2022

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THE

MYSTERY THAT BELONGS TO

JUNGLE

By Michele Debczak

In

1925 explorer

Pe r c y F a w c e t t

disappeared in the Amazon looking for evidence of a lost civilization.

What followed was a 90-year mystery and a deadly search for answers.

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THE GOLDEN ONE

Over time, the legend of El Dorado (“the

golden one”) morphed from being about a gilded man to a kingdom overflowing with riches. Many European explorers scoured South America looking for the fabled city, including Sir Walter Raleigh, whose son was killed by Spaniards during a fruitless expedition in 1617. After centuries of searching without a nugget of gold to show for it, El Dorado was widely regarded as fiction by the Victorian era—at least until explorer Percy Fawcett showed up.

MAN MYTH LEGEND If there was any explorer alive in the 20th century capable of forging a path through the rainforest to an undiscovered city, it was Percy Fawcett. While other men floundered in the South American jungles, succumbing to disease, pestilence and psychosis, Fawcett could plow into the deepest tracts of forest, at ease with the hostile environs, seemingly impervious to fever and fatigue. There were rumors that this British giant, born with

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a supernatural constitution, was impossible to kill. After a career in the British military, he led a daring series of surveying expeditions in previously uncharted parts of South America. He was more successful than most in the Amazon. His exploits traversing the Ricardo Franco hills of Bolivia, while surveying that country’s boundary with Brazil, even inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1912 novel The Lost World. At some point in these journeys during the early 1910s, Fawcett formed the theory that sparked his most famous expedition—that of a lost city of riches, not called El Dorado, but simply Z. Victorian experts generally believed that the Amazon was too inhospitable to support civilization. A few tribes scattered throughout the rainforest can survive, but nothing that compared to the cities of Europe. Fawcett’s own experiences led him to believe otherwise.

The natives he spoke to convinced him it was possible for large communities to remain isolated in the Amazon for centuries. He studied petroglyphs, gathered ancient shards of pottery, and read accounts from the continent’s first European explorers to gather more support for his ideas. One particular tome in the National Library of Brazil, written by a Portuguese soldier of fortune, mentioned the ruins of a vast, opulent, and "very ancient city" discovered in 1753. A complex city had once existed in the Mato Grosso region of western Brazil, Fawcett insisted, and its remnants were just waiting to be found. By the 1920s, Fawcett had refocused his life around what he

called the "Lost City of Z." Fawcett knew his search would draw comparisons to doomed missions of the past, but he claimed that this time was different. El Dorado, he said, was an “exaggerated romance,” while Z was a theory based on solid evidence he’d gathered over years. But two trips, in 1920 and 1921, ended with Fawcett returning home in defeat, finding no proof.

FINAL EXPEDITION Fawcett launched his third and most infamous expedition to find The City of Z in 1925. He secured funding from organizations including the UK's Royal Geographical Society and the U.S. Museum of the American Indian, and in January 1925, he boarded a ship for South America with his son, Jack, and his son’s best friend, Raleigh Rimell, filling out his party. His trip made international headlines.

“Fawcett Expedition [...] to Penetrate Land Whence None Returned,” one news bulletin announced. On his departure he challenged his doubters, shouting to journalists on the pier from his ship, “We shall return, and we shall bring back what we seek!” But before he left he shared some practical words of warning—if he did not return, he asked that no search parties come after him, lest they suffer the same fate.

Fawcett's team and their two native guides ventured into the rainforest on April 20, 1925, three months after leaving port in New Jersey. As they trekked deep into the Amazon, they endured stifling heat, bloodsucking parasites, and close calls

with unfriendly natives. Despite the harsh conditions, Fawcett and his crew were able to cover 10 to 15 miles of ground a day. By May 29th they had reached Dead Horse Camp, the location where Fawcett had shot his exhausted horse and turned around at the end of a failed expedition years earlier. What lay ahead was unknown territory, and Fawcett and his two companions would be continuing alone, without their guides. In a letter he sent back with them, he wrote to his wife:

Photography Courtesy of Royal Geographical Society, Copyright © R. de Montet–Gurin

“You need have no fear of any failure.”

That was the last anyone heard of Fawcett or his company. After two years passed without further correspondence from Fawcett’s team, people began to fear the worst. The Royal Geographical Society’s George Miller Dyott organized the first official expedition to find the men, disregarding Fawcett’s earlier instructions to stay away. Dyott called it quits after concluding that surviving in such a cruel environment for that amount of time would have been impossible. But when Dyott returned to civilization without a body to show, the lack of evidence confirming Fawcett’s death opened the floodgates for more search parties to follow. To the end of her life, his wife Nina believed that Fawcett would come back. She never believed that her husband had died. Over 90 years, more than 100 wouldbe-rescuers died trying to find him. The man, already a legend, transcended into myth.

FAWCETT’S LEGACY Several theories have emerged surrounding the expedition’s outcome. Some said Fawcett succumbed to predators or malaria, while Popular Science speculated in 1928 that he was living as a god among native tribesmen.

A New York writer, David Grann may have come the closest to uncovering any answers in 2005. While retracing Fawcett’s route through the Amazon, Grann spoke with Kalapalo Indians, who shared a story passed down by their ancestors. Decades ago, Fawcett and his group had stayed with the tribe. Before they continued on their way, the Kalapalos had warned them to avoid the hostile Indians that lived in the territory ahead. Fawcett ignored the advice, and as Grann later explained, the Kalapalos “watched his party head off and saw their fires at first at night but then they stopped.” And what of Fawcett’s lost city? His fervent belief in a lost Amazonian civilization doesn’t seem as unlikely today as it did a century ago. Archaeologist Michael Heckenberger recently discovered the remains of over 20 pre-Columbian communities, some as large as medieval European cities, in the same area that Fawcett hoped to reach. Whether or not Fawcett lived to lay eyes on the ruins is another mystery that, unfortunately, belongs to the jungle. w

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It was not until the eighteenth century that the first western European explorer, Alexander Humboldt, encountered the Yanomami. He described them as a dangerous war mongering people and their reputation has changed little since this time.

By Scott Wallace

However, in recent years some people have suggested that the Yanomami are perhaps not as deserving of the title ‘the fierce people’, as they were once thought to be. In reality the Yanomami live quite peacefully on the whole and are more likely to approach outsiders with curiosity than with a huge spear.

Photography by Sebastião and Michael Nichols, National Geographic Creative

The Yanomami are just one of the Amerindian

tribes that inhabit the thick rainforests of the most southernmost state in Venezuela, Amazonas.

Like most tribes on the continent, they probably migrated across the Bering Straits between Asia and America some 15,000 years ago, making their way slowly down to South America. Today their total population stands at around 35,000.

The Yanomami live in large, circular, communal houses called yanos or shabonos. Some can house up to 400 people. The central area is used for activities such as rituals, feasts and games. Each family has its own hearth where food is prepared and cooked during the day. At night, hammocks are slung near the fire which is stoked all night to keep people warm.

Roles and Beliefs The Yanomami believe strongly in equality among people. Each community is independent from others and they do not recognize ‘chiefs’.

Decisions are made by consensus where everybody has a say. Like most Amazonian tribes, tasks are divided between the sexes. Men hunt for game. Although hunting accounts for only 10% of Yanomami food, amongst men it is considered the most prestigious of skills and meat is greatly valued by everyone. No hunter ever eats the meat

that he has killed. Instead he shares it out among friends and family. In return, he will be given meat by another hunter. Women tend the gardens where they grow around 60 crops which account for about 80% of their food.

The Yanomami have a huge botanical knowledge and use about 500 plants for food, medicine, house building and other artifacts. They provide for themselves partly by hunting, gathering and fishing, but crops are also grown in large gardens cleared from the forest. As Amazonian soil is not very fertile for planting, land for a new garden is cleared every two or three years.

The Yanomami and the Modern World This unique way of life that the Yanomami have preserved for so many centuries is not something that they are in a hurry to lose, and by no means do they want to be absorbed into the alien land beyond the borders of the Amazon. But this is not to say that the Yanomami tribes are completely against learning about some of the technologies of the outside world, on their own terms, to make their lives easier. The Yanomami know better than anyone that something as simple as being able to fashion steel hooks for fishing would make an unfathomable difference to their daily existence. O

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TEEN DISCOVERS LOST MAYAN CITY USING ANCIENT STAR MAPS

By BBC Trending

What was your biggest achievement at the age of 15? Well, a Canadian teenager may have outshone the experts after discovering a lost Mayan city. William Gadoury, from Saint-Jeande-Matha, Quebec, made the discovery by comparing star charts with satellite images. The new city, discovered in a Mexican jungle, is thought to be the fourth biggest Mayan city, and has been named 'Mouth of Fire' by the teenager. he revelation went viral after a report on the findings was posted on Reddit with hundreds of commenters amazed by the teenager's discovery. William has been fascinated by the Mayans for much of his childhood, ever since a Mayan calendar predicting the 2012 apocalypse sparked his interest. His hobby eventually turned into serious research. The imaginative youngster theorized that the locations of Mayan cities might correspond to stars in Mayan constellations. He analyzed 22 Mayan star maps from ancient books, known as the Madrid Codex, and overlaid the star positions onto Google Earth images of the Yucatan Peninsula. He was able to show that the 117 Mayan cities did indeed match the star positions, with

the brightest stars representing more major cities. William then overlaid a 23rd constellation, finding a discrepancy; three stars but only two known ancient cities. The location corresponding to the third star was on the Mexico-Belize border. But the yet undiscovered city was covered in thick vegetation, making his findings inconclusive. Thankfully, the teenager had a close relationship with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA); he had won a science competition a year earlier for his theory — and they had already been providing him with images from their RADARSAT-2 satellite, which has cutting-edge terrain mapping abilities.

They gave him images of the new location. He also scoured the internet for other satellite images from 2005, when

William Gadoury Age 15 So what next for William? He plans to go to the International Science Fair in Brazil in 2017 to present his findings. He also hopes that archaeologists will visit the site very soon. On the possibility of an archaeological dig, Rocque is realistic, telling The Montreal Journal

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a fire had engulfed the area leaving it more exposed — and any remains more visible. Armed with his images, he then collaborated with Remote Sensing Expert Dr. Armand Larocque from the University of New Brunswick. By studying the satellite images and applying digital image processing a fascinating discovery was made; LaRocque concluded that the 15-year-old had found a major city with 30 buildings and a large pyramid.

His findings have been met with widespread praise, with scientists from the Canadian Space Agency describing his work as 'exceptional'. They also presented him with a medal of merit.

William named the city K'ÀAK 'CHI' which means Mouth of Fire.

"It's always about money. An expedition's costs are horribly expensive". Regardless, William's legacy will almost certainly be etched into history. According to reports, the findings are soon to be published in a scientific journal, and it is thought that methods similar to his could lead to the discovery of more lost Mayan Cities.

Photography by Greg Rakozy

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NEW TRAVEL DESTINATIONS EVERY MONTH EXPLORE THE WORLD WITH THIS HELPFUL TRAVEL GUIDE Collected by Christian Mirasol

Mayan Ruins Tulum

Ta Prohm Temple

Angkor Wat Temple

Built in 13th century Tulum Ruins are the only Mayan city built on the coast.

Located on the beautiful, lush cliffs overlooking the turquoise Caribbean Sea and with a small beach, the ruins will spark your imagination of how life must have been here centuries ago.

Locked in the embrace of the vast root systems that are still reclaiming it, the temple is the most atmospheric ruin at Angkor Archaeological Park. A route around the various structures, close courtyards, and narrow corridors is an enthralling experience.

The largest religious monument in the world. Built in the12th century as the centerpiece of the mighty Khmer empire.

The structure is estimated to have taken around 30 years to build. Sunrise over the iconic temple remains one of the essential experiences in Southeast Asia.

EUROPE ASIA

NORTH AMERICA

AFRICA SOUTH AMERICA

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Temple of the Masks

Ollantaytambo

Candi Prambanan

It will give you a jolt to see these crumbling Mayan temples in the middle of the Guatemalan jungle. You have to climb to the top of the tallest tower and seethe temples jutting up through the tree line to get a sense of what the ancient people must have seen and how they were kings of all they surveyed.

Ollantaytambo is the best surviving example of Inca city planning, with streets that have been continuously inhabited since the 13th century. Ollanta is perfect for wandering the hazy, narrow byways, past stone buildings and babbling irrigation channels, pretending you’ve stepped back in time.

Go back in time with these partially ruined temples from the 9th century. Rising above the concentric squares are three temples decorated with reliefs illustrating the epic of the Ramayana, dedicated to the three great Hindu divinities, and three temples dedicated to the animals who serve them.

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To find out more go to https://www.afar.com/

Photography by Massimo Pizzotti, Danuta Hyneiwska

AUSTRALIA

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