Recently I have been studying the legend of El Dorado and Francisco de Orellana. Do you know if the two have anything in common? I know Orellana was an important conquistador that explored the Amazon River and El Dorado was the chief of the Muisca Indians. Jacob M Dean (15)

Hi Jake, unfortunately, all my experience is in the archaeology of Britain and so I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to your question. I think I’m going to have to go away and do some reading!

The British Museum’s online collection of South America has some great photos of artefacts that you might find interesting, including some objects from the Muisca cultures. Their curator, Jago Cooper also made a TV series called the Lost Kingdoms of Central America which you can watch on YouTube. In episode three he looks at the Muisca culture, perhaps you’ll find some answers there.

Answered by:

Dr Claire Corkill

Claire is the Development Manager at the Council for British Archaeology. She grew up on the Isle of Man surrounded by loads of exciting archaeology and studied archaeology at the University of York where she did her PhD in First World War archaeology. Claire has excavated on lots of different sites around the British Isles and was once lucky enough to excavate the site of a coin hoard which led to the discovery of a medieval chapel. When she’s not working Claire loves to explore archaeological sites around Scotland where she now lives. 

More questions answered by Dr Claire Corkill

Are there any active sites in London at the moment? Kate (8)

Hi Kate Thanks for your question. As I live in York I’m not too sure about what’s happening in London now, but I certainly know some people that […]

What do you love about your job the most? What is the most interesting thing you have ever found? Camille Jones (11)

Hi Camille, those are tricky questions, it’s so hard to pick my favourites! I think the thing I like best about my job is that I get to […]

Hi, I live in Mumbai, India, how can I become an archaeologist? Adwaith Komban (8)

Hi Adwaith, thank you for your question. The best thing you can do to help you become an archaeologist is to see what there is in your local […]