Word: lennons
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...those who found there was no room at the top: John Belushi, Freddie Prinze, Dylan Thomas, Janis Joplin, Marilyn Monroe. Yet some of the deceased, like proper legends, have regained their power in death. Humphrey Bogart is a greater celebrity now than when he was alive; so is John Lennon. The fade-out has become as important in life as onscreen; no wonder Hollywood repartee has become standardized: "Elvis Presley is dead." "Good career move...
...grueling trek. Reason: to launch a new study of what could be one of the magnificent "Lost Cities" of the Andes. The remarkably well-preserved complex, known as Gran Pajaten, is thought to have been built by an advanced pre-Incan civilization almost 1,500 years ago. Archaeologist Thomas Lennon, head of the expedition, believes that once excavated, the ancient site may rival even Machu Picchu, one of the grandest Incan ruins...
...decorated with stone carvings of birds, animals, geometric designs and human stick figures capped by feather headdresses. Colorful paint survives on some walls, and large swatches of fabric were found scattered among the burial sites. Terraced fields sculpted into the slope indicate sophisticated agricultural techniques. Perhaps most amazing, says Lennon, 3-ft.-high wood carvings on some building eaves have weathered the humid climate so well that their "assertively male" forms can still be seen. Marvels Anthropologist Jane Wheeler, co-leader of the study: "We have no idea why the carvings would be so perfectly preserved--but there they...
...researchers hope to learn much about the civilization of Gran Pajaten, which Lennon describes as "unique" and "totally distinct from the Incas'." He and others suspect that the people were dominated by the more powerful Incas some 500 years ago and then disappeared in the collapse of the empire in 1533, soon after the Spanish conquistadors arrived. Why the Incan culture declined so quickly remains unknown; many authorities blame European-borne diseases like smallpox, against which the natives had no defenses...
That puzzle could be partly resolved next summer, when the investigators begin prying open tombs. Says Lennon: "We think there's a good chance we'll find mummies, and they may tell us whether there were epidemics that swept through the area." He would also like to understand why anybody would have lived in such a godforsaken area. Indeed, Gran Pajaten seems more like a place to put a prison than a great city...