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Hi all a few folks are querying a few things about this new rock art find - I keep trying to respond but am repeating myself quite a bit. So apologies if you are getting repetition!
So again this particular site in la Lindosa is a NEW rock art site, there are other sites... 1/
So again this particular site in la Lindosa is a NEW rock art site, there are other sites... 1/
... in neighbouring Chiribiquete National Park. To our knowledge it doesn’t appear to have been known about to locals either. We sometimes find a new, significant pyramid in an area known for pyramids or a new, significant mummy in an area with mummy’s. It happens and it’s...2/
... a big deal. To say this is a not a new site is factually incorrect.
As I keep saying many of the pictures associated with this site in the press are NOT of the new but in fact of a neighbouring site called Cerro Azul, a tourist spot, also in la Lindosa. We asked the...3/
As I keep saying many of the pictures associated with this site in the press are NOT of the new but in fact of a neighbouring site called Cerro Azul, a tourist spot, also in la Lindosa. We asked the...3/
... Observer to correct this and label it accurately and now have, the other publications don’t appear to have corrected it. Many publications are also incorrectly stating that it is in the neighbouring region - Chiribiquete national park, it is in la Lindosa. Again...4/
... I tried with the Mail and got nowhere on changes.
As for Colombian archaeologists Javier Aceituno & Gaspar Morcote-Rios only getting some press mentions, that is a problem. The research and discovery is a collaboration between British and Colombian researchers. We are...5/
As for Colombian archaeologists Javier Aceituno & Gaspar Morcote-Rios only getting some press mentions, that is a problem. The research and discovery is a collaboration between British and Colombian researchers. We are...5/
... explaining that it’s a collaboration and naming them (insisting even) but sadly very few publications are naming them. This isn’t unusual as the press often just want one name representing a whole team and don’t like lists but obviously in contexts like...6/
... this it ends up being Western heavy and the Global South’s institutions don’t get their fair share. The Observer did say it was a British-Colombian collaboration but didn’t give the names. It’s a real shame as Javier Aceituno & Gaspar Morcote-Rios are the Colombian... 7/
... part of that join team.
Now as for the TV show, as people will see in the show there was an issue with the FARC. We had originally got two of the archaeological team to join us to show us their discovery, a Colombian and a Brit. For some reason and quite suddenly when... 8/
Now as for the TV show, as people will see in the show there was an issue with the FARC. We had originally got two of the archaeological team to join us to show us their discovery, a Colombian and a Brit. For some reason and quite suddenly when... 8/
... we arrived (the archaeologist were still in the city, we had gone ahead) the rebels were nervous and there was hostility to the idea of a Colombian from a government institution joining us. It was complicated and and a long story but I and others made the decision that...9/
it was not worth the risk. We had clearly negotiated hard with them but it was uneasy and to me it didn't feel right. So we sadly only proceeded with the British archaeologist.
I have to say in TV it is incredibly rare to include the whole team. It makes the storytelling...10/
I have to say in TV it is incredibly rare to include the whole team. It makes the storytelling...10/
clumsy. But in our show we were careful about including a good number of South American academics. To be blunt without them we couldn't have made this show, their expertise and generosity were its backbone. They talked us through their research in 4 of the countries of the... 11
...Amazon: Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru.
Importantly, our series consultant is Professor Jose Iriarte, he is to many, the current go to researcher for Amazonian archaeology. He is based out of Exeter Uni in the UK but Jose is also South American, let's not forget... 12/
Importantly, our series consultant is Professor Jose Iriarte, he is to many, the current go to researcher for Amazonian archaeology. He is based out of Exeter Uni in the UK but Jose is also South American, let's not forget... 12/
... that.
Finally & most importantly, this is a story about indigenous people, their brilliance and their plight. This is about the people who made everything from the rock art to the geoglyphs. About the people who suffered a 90% population crash upon the arrival of... 13/
Finally & most importantly, this is a story about indigenous people, their brilliance and their plight. This is about the people who made everything from the rock art to the geoglyphs. About the people who suffered a 90% population crash upon the arrival of... 13/
..Europeans, people who even today are still very, very much under attack. We keep saying we care about the Amazon, we can't care about the Amazon unless we care about its protectors. We're desperately trying to educate a British public on all of this in a watchable manner. 14/
... We haven't got it all right - far, far from it. But we are desperate for this story to be told and told so that not just the converted watch, but your average British Tom, Dick and Harry would watch. Fingers crossed.
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