High Altitude, Underwater Archaeology and Sacred Landscapes in the Peruvian Andes
In 2011, Preston Sowell made the serendipitous discovery of ruins and artifacts submerged 15 ft beneath the waters of a large, remote lake located at 16,000 ft in the Peruvian Andes. Subsequent expeditions and research have revealed that the site held ceremonial significance to the pre-Incan and Incan peoples and its cultural resources may hold the key to protecting the rich ecosystem surrounding it. To the Incan culture and its predecessors, the landscape itself was sacred and archaeologists have come to realize that ceremonial structures were integrated with the landscapes surrounding them. Preston will present the team’s findings to date and the evidence suggesting that the lake and its surrounding watershed were part of a sacred, cultural landscape. He’ll also present the results of their August 2017 underwater artifact recovery expedition.
Preston is an environmental scientist, naturalist, photographer, and explorer residing in Boulder, Colorado. He is an Explorers Club Fellow, a National Geographic Explorer, and a Research Associate with the Denver Zoo. He has lead, supported, and photographed expeditions to 21 countries around the world, including 15 scientific expeditions to remote areas of South America.