Percy Fawcett, Manuscript 512, and a Lost City in the Amazon, Pt. 1

Fawcett’s life has invited controversy and speculation, because he was a man who did a mix of great and shady things. Part one covers his early life, marriage, military service, and early visits to South America.

Research:

• Biello, David. “Ancient Amazon Actually Highly Urbanized.” Scientific American. August 28, 2008.
• “The Brazilian Indigenous People.” Survival International. https://www.survivalinternational.org/peoples/brazilian
• Britannica Editors. "Mato Grosso". Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Jan. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/place/Mato-Grosso
• Canal-Soler, Jordi. “The man who died searching for the Lost City of Z.” National geographic. June 13, 2024. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/percy-fawcett-search-lost-city-of-z
• Fawcett, Lt-Col P.H. “Exploration Fawcett.” Hutchinson & Co. London. 1953.
• “Fawcett’s Bones Believed Found; Explorer Lost in Brazil Jungle in ’25.” New York Times. April 4, 1951. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/04/04/82103136.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
• “Fawcett Mystery Unsolved.” New York Times. Nov. 5, 1951. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/11/05/81775504.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
• Grann, David. “The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon.” Doubleday. 2009.
• “Hidden City Is the Goal.” Los Angeles Times. Jan 12, 1925. https://www.newspapers.com/image/380427463/
• Hutchison, Percy. “Hunting for Lost Explorers in the Jungles of Brazil.” New York Times. Jan. 26, 1930. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/01/26/96041140.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
• Moutinho, Sofia. “A Foundation of Trust.” Science. Nov. 6, 2025. https://www.science.org/content/article/unearth-their-past-amazonian-people-turn-language-white-men-understand
• “'Lost' report exposes Brazilian Indian genocide.” Survival International. April 25, 2013. https://www.survivalinternational.org/news/9191
• “On Colonel Fawcett’s Train in Unknown Brazil by Air and River.” Illustrated London News. Sep 10, 1932. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1143308620/?match=2&terms=%22Vincenzo%20Petrullo%22&search-id=72603589-1171-4291-b93b-9c5eeffb7d90&search-rank=1
• “Percy Fawcett.” Spike Island. https://www.spikeislandcork.ie/percy-fawcett/
• “Lieutenant Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett DSO, (MiD).” Tiegnmouth & Shaldon Remembers WW1. Teign Heritage. https://www.teignheritageworldwar.org.uk/index.php/lieutenant-colonel-percy-harrison-fawcett
• Pezzati, Alessandro. "The Lost Explorer." Expedition Magazine59, no. 2. September, 2017. https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/the-lost-explorer/
• Potts, Mary Anne. “Finding Machu Picchu: A Look at Explorer Hiram Bingham, A Real-Life Indiana Jones.” National Geographic. May 26, 2010. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/machu-picchu-hiram-bingham
• “Remembering Col. Fawcett in WWI.” Torquay Museum. Nov. 4, 2021. https://torquaymuseum.org/news/view/remembering-col-fawcett-in-wwi
• Ribeiro, Taisa Alves and André Luiz Alves Moreno. “Towards an Archaeology of the Written Culture of Chapada Diamantina-BA: The Case of Manuscript 512.” Garimpus: Journal of Languages, Education and Culture in Chapada Diamantina. Vol. 2, no. 1. 2021. https://www.revistas.uneb.br/garimpus/article/view/8740
• “Son of Lost Explorer Says Bones Are Not Fawcett's.” New York Times. Nov. 4, 1951. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/11/04/96221387.html?pageNumber=66
• Squires, Cole. “TRANSCRIPTION/TRANSLATION NOTES (Manuscript 512).” Harvard. https://people.math.harvard.edu/~knill/teaching/mathe320_2021/exhibits/manuscript512/translation.pdf
• “Sustainable Mato Grosso.” Amazon Fund. https://www.amazonfund.gov.br/en/projeto/Sustainable-Mato-Grosso/
• “Swindon Woman Awaits News of Colonel Fawcett.” Swindon Advertiser. April 13, 1932. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1209686028/?match=2&terms=%22percy%20fawcett%22&search-id=667a33c0-fac9-457e-bcf9-349a1d9b7e9f&search-rank=2
• “Why do they hide?” Survival International. https://www.survivalinternational.org/articles/3104-why-do-they-hide

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