Orellana likely truthful about Amazon civilizations despite skepticism. Scholars historically believed Orellana fabricated stories of huge snakes, sprawling cities, and Amazon women warriors European diseases (influenza) spread across the Amazon ahead of Spanish exploration Diseases wiped out millions of Native Americans, causing entire civilizations to disappear overnight
Scholars once dismissed Orellana's accounts of sprawling Amazon cities. But European diseases (especially influenza) spread ahead of explorers, wiping out millions. Orellana's writings in Gaspar de Carvajal's account may have been remarkably accurate about what he witnessed.
Key Facts
- Scholars historically believed Orellana fabricated stories of huge snakes, sprawling cities, and Amazon women warriors
- European diseases (influenza) spread across the Amazon ahead of Spanish exploration
- Diseases wiped out millions of Native Americans, causing entire civilizations to disappear overnight
- By the time Percy Fawcett explored in the late 1800s/early 1900s, populations had collapsed
- The speaker argues Orellana's accounts in Gaspar de Carvajal's writings were not significantly exaggerated
Source: 6 Questions about the Amazon that keep me up at night by Luke Caverns