The Lost City of Z
In this book, David Grann (2009) dives into the Fawcett approach of exploration of the South America Amazon Forest, the most massive jungle of the world. Fawcett, termed as the greatest explorer to give insights of the Amazon forest, as survived it, told its story and gained recognition from the Royal Geographical Society for his expedition works of mapping of South America. Fawcett explains how he, in the company of his son Jack, and the best friend Raleigh survived through the jungle of the Amazon where explorers got lost, died, and were never found- terming it as the lost city Z. The approach used by Fawcett has been exemplary useful to the current group of explorers and anthropologists in their mission of expedition as he displays skillfulness, geometry mastery, and high survival tactics.
Approaches used by Fawcett in his expedition
As Fawcett sets mission into the Amazon, he tags his son jack, along with Jack’s best friend, Raleigh. Fawcett believed that moving into the hostile environment of Amazon should not have been done using a large group of explorers from the Royal Geographic Society. He demonstrates how this would endanger even more lives in quest of the lost city Z. His son Jack, a very muscular young man, followed his footstep; he enjoyed adventures. Raleigh is described as Jack’s lieutenant, who was committed to the course. Fawcett believed that sailing into the Lost City Z would be easier to survive if it was done in small groups than sailing with a large group of explorers who would be left behind and face numerous challenges. From this, the current anthropologists and explorers have shown how essential it is to move into the expedition with the right company of skillful partners, who can contribute enormously to the mission set on a journey.
Fawcett, in his expedition into the Amazon, had already acquired meaningful and necessary skills required to survive the hostile environment that saw previous explorers die and disappear. He had essential medical tips, knew how to make himself throw up in case he ingested poison. He also knew how to treat wounds infected with venomous snake bites. He would apply gun power on the fresh wound and ignite it. In the case of dehydration, Fawcett would drink animal blood, and during starvation, he would have edible locusts, grasshoppers, and other insects. This was one of the most useful tactics to survive the thirst and hunger embedded in deep forests of the Amazon (2009). The ability to survive and maneuver the hostile territories full of cannibals, Fawcett would demonstrate how one would seek cover, and be tactful to engage the danger ahead.
Mastery of the survey. Fawcett demonstrated skillful understanding and knowledge of navigation and geometry. The complex geographic area required one to understand how to navigate; otherwise, it would all be back to square one as Fawcett puts it (Grann, 2009). This is one of the lessons the current explorers are putting into their work, even as navigation technology is advancing. One still needs to understand the sophisticated astronomy in situations of in-depth exploration, such as the Brazilian Amazon forest. Galton points out how Fawcett and his classmates were taught the fundamentals of achieving an expedition, even demonstrating on the type of animal that would best fit for traveling. The kind of information would be useful to the current explorers and anthropologists who set expedition journeys to rough and far lands with zero or no access to roads.
In conclusion, the narrations from Fawcett and stories shared of his experiences in the Amazon forest has been helpful to the modern explorers and anthropologists. His approach has been evident in the expedition works of the current explorers enabling them to adapt to their areas of the expedition.