The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story

Images and stories of looted archaeological sites and massive deforestation are emphasized throughout the book. Archaeological sites are under constant threat of looting in our modern world, where almost nowhere is free of human occupation. Unprotected sites are left defenseless from looters who sack ancient temples, tombs, and burial sites for valuable artifacts to sell on the black market. Many of these artifacts make it to supposedly legitimate auction houses, where they sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more. This has created an entire industry based around objects looted from archaeological sites. Deforestation is also a critical problem throughout the world, particularly in Central America, where illegal settlement is gradually destroying biosphere preserves and national parks. Such deforestation is often motivated by illegal logging, cattle grazing, or farming. Drug traffickers also clear trees in remote forests to make off-the-grid runways for planes smuggling drugs.

While these issues do not drive the central narrative, Preston explores them throughout the book as he flies over newly deforested areas of Mosquitia and as the team worries whether such deforestation signals the imminent threat of looting at the T1 site. He even addresses how deforestation affects indigenous communities such as Wampusirpi, who rely on rivers and wildlife that are drying up and disappearing due to environmental degradation. Preston even muses on the effects that their discovery of T1 and subsequent research has had on the valley’s environment. While he suggests that the knowledge they have gained is worth such changes, especially as deforestation is likely to reach T1 soon anyway, he does provoke worthwhile questions about the ethics of conducting large-scale research in pristine environments.

Preston notes that Western thought often downplays or ignores the heights of indigenous American civilization. While people are familiar with the scale and achievements of Old World civilizations, less attention has been paid to that of the New World. Preston does note that a few New World cultures, such as the Maya, have been well-studied by archaeologists. Yet other advanced cultures have been tragically understudied, including the still-unnamed civilization of Mosquitia. In the case of Mosquitia, he reasons that the isolation and dangers of the region have contributed to the lack of research there.

This situation only makes the team’s lidar data, ground-truthing, and excavations even more impactful and important. Due to their research, Preston notes, we now know that a massive, advanced civilization existed in Mosquitia that rivaled the Maya in its complexity. Preston provides a descriptive reconstruction of what the T1 site may have looked like at its peak, with colorfully painted temples and massive earthen constructions interspersed with urban gardens and brilliant stone sculptures. While perhaps surprising to many people, the heights of indigenous American civilization, including that of the Mosquitia people, should be recognized.