In the year 1976, a NASA satellite captured a mysterious structure protruding from the thick vegetation of the Amazon in Peru: it was a series of evenly distributed pyramidal structures. The question arose: has an ancient man-made construction been discovered in the middle of the jungle or is it just a natural formation?
NASA photograph number C-S11-32W071-03 shows something very strange amidst the dense jungle of southeastern Peru: evenly spaced pyramidal objects lined up in seemingly orderly rows.
An old artificial construction or simply a natural formation?
Known as the paratoari pyramidsor as some detractors called them “the dots,” sent researchers into a frenzy as to what they might be.
The image, so striking against the labyrinthine backdrop of the jungle, has spurred theories of an ancient civilization, perhaps a testament to a society that once ruled the vast jungles of the Amazon.
Contrary to the beliefs of some enthusiasts, in 1996 these structures were studied by Gregory Deyermenjian, an experienced explorer affiliated with the Explorers Club of Peru. Although Deyermenjian found signs of an ancient Inca presence in the area (through the discovery of petroglyphs and stone pathways), it was ruled out that these were man-made pyramids. Deyermenjian concluded that they were natural sandstone formations known as truncated buttresses which, viewed from certain angles, resembled pyramids.
NASA satellite image titled C-S11-32W071-03 showing the so-called Paratoari pyramids. Image: Public domain
the mystery reappears
In the year 2001, the possibility of a “lost city” with included pyramids was revived, when the Italian archaeologist Mario Polia, while digging through the archives of the Jesuits in Rome, found a report of a missionary who spoke of an Inca city known as Paititi. it was said that it existed in the region. No conclusive proof of the existence of a lost city has yet been found, and a “fort” discovered in 2007 turned out to be, like the pyramids, a natural sandstone formation.
The story of Paratoari, from a NASA satellite image to legends of lost cities, encapsulates the fascination with the unknown. Thanks to nature’s ability to deceive and intertwined ancient knowledge, the Amazon maintains its status as one of the world’s last great frontiers, still luring explorers to its depths.
The references: dark atlas / curiosities
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