Movie buffs would probably agree that “#KingdomOfTheCrystal” skull wasn't exactly the most exciting #IndianaJones instalment.

But did you know, there’s a real story behind the plot around the 'lost city' of #Akator and the #Ugha tribe - and that it is no less movie material?
Okay, 'real story’ may be a bit of a stretch in this case, admittedly.

It's more 'story' than real, to be honest - but still, let's take a closer look ...
That story starts with a mysterious 'Indian' all of a sudden appearing in Brazil from the depths of the jungle in the summer of 1972 - introducing himself as #TatuncaNara ("big water snake"), chieftain of the #UghaMongulala (yes, you read this correct) tribe …
The fact that this mysterious white 'Indian' (you guess where the story’s going, don’t you?) barely spoke Portuguese, but fluently German was … remarkable (and still will play a role in this story).

The more remarkable was the tale he kept telling everyone who would listen.
#KarlBrugger, a German author and foreign correspondent was one of those who would listen to #Tatunca’s tale, apparently believing enough of it (or it's potential) to publish this "#ChronicleOfAkakor" in 1976 (preface contribution of English edition depicted here major spoiler).
Ah, #Akakor - an alleged ancient underground city deep in the jungle somewhere between Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru which, according #Tatunca's story, has it all: lost pyramids, occult wisdom, and divine (a.k.a. 🙌 #AncientAliens 🙌) technology …
That #TatuncaNara spun a colorful story and history of this powerful ancient empire, not just one #LostCity™ but several of those, mandatory treasure included.

Sounds more like a pulp novel you say? Well, you’re probably right …
While #Brugger seemed convinced by the #Akakor story (at least enough to find a publisher for it), it had one big flaw. There was only one single source for this fantastic tale: #TatuncaNara.

And of course, if a story sounds to good to be true - it usually is …
In 1990 German confectioner-turned-adventurer and activist #RüdigerNehberg dug deeper. Together with film maker #WolfgangBrög they convinced #Tatunca into taking them on an expedition and - exposed the #hoax.

irisfilm.de/iris2-4.htm
The self-proclaimed Indian #TatuncaNara was ... a German citizen: #HansGüntherHauck, born in 1941 in Coburg – who had been 'disappeared' in the 1960s (due to financial difficulties, apparently).
Ok, so what? A roguish prank, a fooled a journalist and his readers. An old story of lost cities and treasure in yet another variation ...

No harm done? Not quite.
For one, #Tatunca/Hauck turned his fame into a business, guiding tourists into the jungle - a prospect of #Akakor included assumedly.

After some of his clients went missing under unclear circumstances (at least one found dead), questions were raised:

latimes.com/archives/la-xp…
Additionally, the whole #Akakor story's still out there. Despite having been debunked long ago, it’s a still often cited trope fuelling #pseudoarchaeology narratives about ancient civilisations, incl. the racist deprivation of ancient and #Indigenous people's culture and history.
It gets worse: According #Brugger’s record of #Tatunca’s story 2,000 Nazi soldiers made it to Brazil in WWII, teaming up with the #Ugha. Their (white) descendants still living in the underground cities to this day, the rightful heirs to all this ancient super technology etc. pp.
TL;DR: If you thought "#IndianaJones and the #KingdomOfTheCrystalSkull" was not the most creative movie ever written, brace yourself to find the background story of its plot even more outlandish.

spiegel.de/international/…

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More from @jens2go

2 Aug
#HumanAnimalEntanglement. - Today: "The Curious Case of the #Dancing #Cranes".

1/ Among the many naturalistic animal depictions at early #Neolithic #GöbekliTepe in southeastern Turkey there are some bird depictions with suspiciously odd legs ...
2/ Generally, birds seem to take up a noteworthy role in the iconography at #GöbekliTepe (and other related #Neolithic sites).

The #cranes mentioned above in particular stand out due rather muscular legs and what seems a more human-like #anatomy, including 'knees' and 'toes'.
3/ Do these #crane representations evoke the impression of #masked people?

Yet it was suggested that this even could be more than simple #masquerade: The visualisation of a transformation into the animal itself in the course of #shamanistic rituals?

dainst.blog/the-tepe-teleg…
Read 14 tweets
31 Jul
"Your task is not to foresee the future, but to enable it."

Remembering Antoine de #SaintExupéry - who #OnThisDay in 1944 disappeared during a reconnaissance mission in the Rhone Valley. Image
Only in September 1998, a fisherman, Jean-Claude Bianco, found a silver identity bracelet ('gourmette') with the name of Saint-Exupéry east of Riou Island, south of Marseille - far from his originally intended flight path. Image
In May 2000, diver Luc Vanrell finally found the remains of a Lockheed P-38 Lightning on the seabed off the coast of Marseille near where previously the bracelet was found.

Three years later the aircraft's remnants were recovered - and identified as Saint-Exupéry's. Image
Read 5 tweets
9 Apr
Another day in the office? - Ever wondered what we’re doing on such an #excavation day out there in the field?

Here‘s a "Tale from a Tell", some little thread from the #archaeologist‘s field #journal and #sketchbook: Image
"4.30 o'clock. Ante meridiem. It's still dark outside, the dim light barely enough to distinguish a black thread from a white one: The muezzin just called the faithful to prayer and, probably unintentionally, the archaeologists to finally get up as well." Image
"Breakfast at such an early hour basically consists of not more than some strong tea, a slice of soft white flatbread (which will be rather dry within the hour), and a handful of olives ..." Image
Read 24 tweets
1 Jan
Thanks to @kimbiddulph it’s #Archaeology31 time again! - Starting with prompt number one: #new.

Which in this case is: New year, new journal. Empty pages waiting to be filled with thoughts, notes, sketches ... opportunities. Image
#Archaeology31 day 2, #future, offers a great chance to highlight a topic I found particularly interesting as of late:

How will an #ArchaeologyOfTheFuture look like - What do *we* leave behind for future colleagues?

(Weekend reading recommendations included. 😉) Image
Starting with the question what actually constitutes #CulturalHeritage, #sites, and #monuments of our age ...

(#Archaeology31, 2. #future)
Read 42 tweets
10 Aug 20
"Indigenous peoples have suffered from historic injustices as a result of, i.a., their colonization and dispossession of their lands, territories and resources ..."

"Declaration on the Rights of #Indigenous Peoples" (#UNDRIP, 2007)

un.org/development/de… #IndigenousPeoplesDay
Article 1:

"Indigenous peoples have the right to full enjoyment (...) of all human rights and fundamental freedoms as recognized in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights law."

motherjones.com/environment/20…
Article 2:

"Indigenous peoples and individuals are free and equal to all other peoples and have the right to be free from any kind of discrimination, in the exercise of their rights, in particular that based on their indigenous origin or identity."

nytimes.com/2020/08/06/wor…
Read 80 tweets
26 Apr 20
@PlutoPittbull Site chronology at Göbekli Tepe is not based on, but backed by 14C dates.

There are many other dating methods to set up a chronological frame in archaeology.
@PlutoPittbull Archaeological dating by stone tool typology compared to other known sites: Late PPN A-PPN B.

Cf. e.g. Kozlowski & Gebel (eds.) 1996:

exoriente.org/docs/00061.pdf
@PlutoPittbull Comparing other material culture (stone vessels, more stone objects like e.g. shaft straighteners and plaquettes etc.) and typical iconography in the region: PPN.

Dietrich et al. 2012 (with further literature): cambridge.org/core/services/…
Read 8 tweets

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