In 1542, the Spanish Conquistador, Francisco de Orellana ventured along the Rio Negro, one of the Amazon Basin's great rivers. Hunting a hidden city of gold, his expedition found a network of farms, villages and even huge walled cities. At least that is what he told an eager audience on his return to Spain. The prospect of gold drew others to explore the region, but none could find the people of whom the first Conquistadors had spoken. The missionaries who followed a century later reported finding just isolated tribes of hunter-gatherers. Orellana's story seemed to be no more than a fanciful myth. When scientists came to weigh up the credibility of Orellana's words, they reached the same conclusion. As productive as the rainforest may appear, the soil it stands in is unsuited to farming. It is established belief that all early civilisations have agriculture at their hearts. Any major population centre will have connections with a system of intensive agriculture. If a soil cannot support crops sufficient to feed a large number of people, then that serves as an effective cap on the population in that area. Even modern chemicals and techniques have failed to generate significant food from Amazonian soil in a sustainable way . The thought that indigenous people could have survived in any number - let alone prospered - was dismissed by most scientists. Scientific consensus was sure that the original Amazonians lived in small semi-nomadic bands and that Orellana must have lied.
| Title | Horizon - Season 39 Episode 18 : The Secret of El Dorado |
|---|---|
| Alternative Titles | BBC Horizon |
| Subtitle Available |
 ETC.
|
| First Air Date | 1964-02-04 |
| Last Air Date | 2024-07-22 |
| Number of Episodes | 1169 |
| Number of Seasons | 60 |
| Genres | Documentary, |
| Networks | BBC Two, |
| Casts | |
| Plot Keywords | , |
Episodes List
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 1 Helike - The Real Atlantis Helike - The Real Atlantis
2002-01-10Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 2 Volcano Hell Volcano Hell
2002-01-17Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 3 Fatbusters Fatbusters
2002-01-24Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 4 The Lost Pyramids of Caral The Lost Pyramids of Caral
2002-01-31Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 5 Death of the Iceman Death of the Iceman
2002-02-07Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 6 Parallel Universes Parallel Universes
2002-02-14Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 7 The Dinosaur that Fooled the World The Dinosaur that Fooled the World
2002-02-21Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 8 The Fall of the World Trade Center The Fall of the World Trade Center
2002-03-07Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 9 Archimedes' Secret Archimedes' Secret
2002-03-14Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 10 The Mystery of the Jurassic The Mystery of the Jurassic
2002-03-28Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 11 Killer Lakes Killer Lakes
2002-04-04Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 12 The A6 Murder The A6 Murder
2002-05-16Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 13 The England Patient The England Patient
2002-05-23Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 14 Freak Wave Freak Wave
2002-11-14Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 15 Stone Age Columbus Stone Age Columbus
2002-11-21Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 16 Homeopathy: The Test Homeopathy: The Test
2002-11-26Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 17 The Day the Earth Nearly Died The Day the Earth Nearly Died
2002-12-05Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 18 The Secret of El Dorado The Secret of El Dorado
2002-12-19Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
