Word: pajaten
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Last week a University of Colorado scientist announced that he had recently led an expedition on that 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...
...Gran Pajaten had long been the subject of legend when, in the 1960s, a group of archaeologists managed to locate and partly explore it. The 8,600-ft.-high site was eventually abandoned, however, in favor of more accessible and hospitable digs. That decision may now prove a boon to the University of Colorado; the school has reached an exclusive five-year agreement with Peru to excavate the ruins and study the surrounding area. And because Gran Pajaten's remote location has been a deterrent to looters as well as scientists, most of the artifacts are expected...
...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...
...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...
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