Conquistadors, explorers, treasure hunters, and many others have long sought the famed El Dorado or Golden City. Throughout history, elaborate stories and myths have circulated about the existence of such a place and bits of evidence have been assembled to attempt to prove its reality. Dr. Clark Erickson, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, explores the origins of El Dorado, the complex narratives that circulate, and the historical, ethnographic, and archaeological...

The contemporary Maya living in the Yucatan today identify their heritage and past as related to the Caste War of the mid 19th Century, one of the most successful indigenous rebellions in the Americas. They make few direct ties to the ancient Maya past. A new Penn project in Quintana Roo explores the nature of this past and heritage and is focused on the integration of the contemporary Maya into the archaeological, ethnohistoric and ethnographic study of the Caste War. By Dr. Richard...

Ethnomusicologist John Burkhalter demonstrates how the Maya would manipulate the pitch of the conch shell.

This is some of the earliest color footage of Machu Picchu in Cuzco, Peru taken in June and July of 1950. The film begins at a railroad station with people in a cattle car and men on the roof playing instruments. A woman spins at a busy marketplace. The camera pans a narrow steep gorge approaching Machu Picchu revealing terrace farming on side of steep mountain, the valley at base of Machu Picchu, sunrise over terrace farms and ruins, and water coming out of " princess" quarters. Inca stone...

After its “discovery” in 1911 by Hiram Bingham and subsequent research, competing hypotheses have been proposed about the site’s purpose and meaning. Dr. Erickson will evaluate these interpretations. A part of the 2010 "Great Discoveries Lecture Series."