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Search For the Lost City of Gold is a 2003 documentary commissioned by The History Channel and Five (UK). It traces Tahir Shah's epic quest for the lost city of. Jan 06, 2015 For hundreds of years, treasure hunters and historians alike have searched for El Dorado, the lost city of gold. The idea of a city filled with gold and other riches has a natural appeal, drawing the attention of individuals from all over the world in hopes of discovering the ultimate treasure, and an ancient wonder.
Guatavita Volcanic Lagoon, Cundinamarca, Colombia, the sacred lake and center of the rites of the Muiscas. Source: BigStockPhoto.Nonetheless, the search for El Dorado continues, even without the ability to search Lake Guatavita. The legends of the Muisca tribe, the Gilded One and their ritualistic sacrifice of treasures have transformed over time into today’s tale of El Dorado, lost city of gold. To many individuals, El Dorado is a real city, and the desire to discover this city is great. Whether led by greed, a desire for fame, or a desire to unravel the mysteries of an ancient legend, these individuals have gone on conquests in hopes of finding El Dorado.
As the legends have shifted and transformed, so has the location of El Dorado. Searches for the city are not restricted to Colombia, or Lake Guatavita, where the Muisca tribe practiced their rituals, but span all areas of Latin America. Expeditions to find El Dorado have been conducted far and wide.Gold artifacts from the Muisca tribe of Colombia (public domain)England’s Sir Walter Raleigh made two attempts to find El Dorado. In 1595, it was rumored that El Dorado could be found at Lake Parime in the highlands of Guyana. Raleigh set sail, in hopes of discovering the lost city, establishing an English presence in the Southern Hemisphere, and creating an English settlement in the lad of Guyana.
His desire to find El Dorado remained strong, although he only discovered bits and pieces of gold along the way. In 1617, Raleigh returned to South America with his son, in hopes of finding El Dorado. His son was killed in conflict with the Spaniards, and Raleigh did not find El Dorado on his second, disastrous expedition. Upon his return to England, he was executed for disobeying King James’ orders to avoid conflict with the Spanish. I can't remember the source, but I read somewhere that because gold was the 'sweat of the sun' or something along that lines, it was used only for ceremonial and decorative purposes. It had absolutely no economic value in a barter driven society. It just struck me how that fact serves to really highlight the sheer wanton avarice of the western colonials.
Both societies thought of gold as precious but in the New World this was generally creative, whereas in the Old World it caused greed and was generally destructive. At Ancient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings.
Guatavita Volcanic Lagoon, Cundinamarca, Colombia, the sacred lake and center of the rites of the Muiscas. Source: BigStockPhoto.Nonetheless, the search for El Dorado continues, even without the ability to search Lake Guatavita. The legends of the Muisca tribe, the Gilded One and their ritualistic sacrifice of treasures have transformed over time into today’s tale of El Dorado, lost city of gold. To many individuals, El Dorado is a real city, and the desire to discover this city is great. Whether led by greed, a desire for fame, or a desire to unravel the mysteries of an ancient legend, these individuals have gone on conquests in hopes of finding El Dorado.
As the legends have shifted and transformed, so has the location of El Dorado. Searches for the city are not restricted to Colombia, or Lake Guatavita, where the Muisca tribe practiced their rituals, but span all areas of Latin America. Expeditions to find El Dorado have been conducted far and wide.Gold artifacts from the Muisca tribe of Colombia (public domain)England’s Sir Walter Raleigh made two attempts to find El Dorado. In 1595, it was rumored that El Dorado could be found at Lake Parime in the highlands of Guyana. Raleigh set sail, in hopes of discovering the lost city, establishing an English presence in the Southern Hemisphere, and creating an English settlement in the lad of Guyana.
His desire to find El Dorado remained strong, although he only discovered bits and pieces of gold along the way. In 1617, Raleigh returned to South America with his son, in hopes of finding El Dorado.
His son was killed in conflict with the Spaniards, and Raleigh did not find El Dorado on his second, disastrous expedition. Upon his return to England, he was executed for disobeying King James’ orders to avoid conflict with the Spanish. I can't remember the source, but I read somewhere that because gold was the 'sweat of the sun' or something along that lines, it was used only for ceremonial and decorative purposes.
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It had absolutely no economic value in a barter driven society. It just struck me how that fact serves to really highlight the sheer wanton avarice of the western colonials. Both societies thought of gold as precious but in the New World this was generally creative, whereas in the Old World it caused greed and was generally destructive. At Ancient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings.
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