[Aztlan] LOST CITY OF PAITITI FIND RULED A FRAUD

[Hoopes, John W]

It's nice to learn my archaeological instincts are still keen!

John Hoopes

-----Original Message-----
From: aztlan-bounces at lists.famsi.org
[mailto:aztlan-bounces at lists.famsi.org] On Behalf Of michael ruggeri
Sent: Monday, February 25, 2008 5:11 PM
To: aztlan at lists.famsi.org
Subject: [Aztlan] LOST CITY OF PAITITI FIND RULED A FRAUD

Listeros,

A few weeks ago, I posted a story on the possible find of the lost  
city of Paititi. Experts have arrived at the site and found that the  
stone blocks found there were shaped by natural processes including  
earthquakes. The stones are made of sandstone and there is no mortar  
or construction evidence at all.

National Geographic has the story here;
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080222-lost-city.html

Mike Ruggeri

-----Original Message-----
From: aztlan-bounces at lists.famsi.org
[mailto:aztlan-bounces at lists.famsi.org] On Behalf Of Hoopes, John W
Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2008 10:59 AM
To: aztlan at lists.famsi.org
Subject: Re: [Aztlan] NG Video On Possible Site of Paititi

It would be wonderful if this is an archaeological find, but the
"masonry" in the video looks suspiciously like naturally fractured stone
and not the hand-cut blocks that are so characteristic of Inca pirca
masonry.  I don't mean to be overly skeptical, but natural geological
formations have been mistaken for archaeological ruins in the Bahamas
(the Bimini "beach rock" claimed to be evidence of lost Atlantis), in
eastern Honduras (the legendary "Ciudad Blanca"), in eastern Nicaragua,
and in Bosnia (the so-called Bosnian "pyramids").  Limestone, in
particular, can fracture into regular rectangular blocks that look a lot
like stone masonry.
 
If it's an Inca (or even pre-Inca) site, there should be stone that has
been obviously cut as well as diagnostic pottery.  Neither of these has
yet been reported in the posted articles.
 
Just my two cents...
 
John Hoopes

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