The mystery of Peabirú road, the ancient path that leads from Brazil to Potosí
For several years now, some Brazilian archaeologists and independent researchers have been studying an ancient road, known by the name “Peabirú”.
In the Tupí Guaraní language, “Peabirú” means “way to and from.” In my personal interpretation, since “pe” means “path” in Guaraní and Birú was the ancient name of Peru, the name “Peabirú” could be translated as “road to Peru.”
The trail, approximately 1.4 meters long, bifurcates in the area of San Vicente (State of San Pablo) and on the coast of Santa Catarina, specifically in the bay known as Cananea during the era of geographical discovery.
The two sections join in the current state of Paraná, to then continue towards the current border with Bolivia, in the city of Corumbá. After having crossed the Chaco prairies, the road heads to Potosí.
In reality, the trail continues, dividing into two branches: one that goes towards Oruro, Tiahunaco and then Cusco, and another that goes towards the Pacific Ocean, in present-day northern Chile.
In historical times, the Portuguese Aleixo García (1524 AD) traveled the road to Peabirú and arrived in Upper Peru (present-day Bolivia), nine years before Pizarro arrived in Cusco.
The existence of the old Peabirú road is very important because it proves that it was possible, in ancient times, to reach Cerro Rico de Potosí (the richest mountain in silver in the world) from the coasts of Santa Catarina or San Vicente (Brazil) on an approximately 2 months trip.
In practice, the Peabirú road was interconnected with the Inca trails of the empire that in turn linked Samaipata, the southernmost Inca fortress (present-day Bolivia), with Cusco.
Who were the builders of the Peabirú road?
According to researcher Rosana Bond, author of the book “El Camino del Peabirú”, it could have been both the Guaraníes and the Incas, but she does not exclude that the road may have been opened in much older times.
Even today, members of the Guaraní ethnic group attribute the construction of the road to their legendary demigod Sumé, who was a civilizer and colonizer who lived before the flood.
The myth of Sumé, who taught the Guaraníes agriculture, crafts and imposed the foundations of law, is strangely similar to that of Viracocha, a legendary character from the Andean world.
Was Sumé-Viracocha the same person?
On the contrary, the Spanish conquerors and then the Portuguese thought, confusing themselves, that Sumé was none other than Sao Tomé, or Saint Thomas, who had gone to India to spread the word of Christ.
According to the late Bolivian archaeologist Freddy Arce, the Peabirú road could have been used in very ancient times by peoples of the Middle East, such as the Sumerians, and later by the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, to enter the interior of the continent and thus reach the largest silver mine on the planet.
We know that there are several finds that are reminiscent of Middle Eastern cultures in South America, starting with the Fuente Magna, the large stone ceremonial vessel discovered near Lake Titicaca, within which there are inscriptions in the Sumerian language. Also important is the Pokotia Monolith, on the back of which there are other inscriptions in proto-Sumerian.
Regarding the petroglyphs that testify to the arrival of the Phoenicians to South American lands, I remember the famous Pedra de Ingá (Paraíba), which I was able to study and document on a recent trip; the Gavea Stone, located near Rio de Janeiro, in addition to the Paraíba Stone, now lost.
What could have been the reason for the Atlantic voyages of the Phoenicians?
According to a recent theory, it is possible that the legendary land of Ophir, rich in gold but especially in silver, was Upper Peru (today Bolivia), and particularly the area of Potosí, where the famous Cerro Rico, the mountain of silver.
The Phoenicians who sailed in the service of King Solomon would not have had to travel the road to Peabirú, but perhaps exchanged their products for silver and gold directly in the Bay of Cananea (which was located on the coast of the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil).
For now it is only a hypothesis, but the existence of several petroglyphs and cave paintings along the Peabirú road, which are now little known, could increase the value of this thesis.
If other signs were found that evoke the ancient writing of the Phoenicians, this thesis would gain more strength.
There is also the mystery of Manuscript 512, which I recently translated from ancient Portuguese. According to it, the Portuguese explorers of the 18th century found the remains of a city in ruins, in an imprecise place in the immense sertón.
The strange inscriptions that the Portuguese transmitted in the Manuscript would be attributed to a Punic language, ancient Aramaic or Phoenician.
It is further proof that some Phoenicians or their Carthaginian descendants entered Brazil for unknown reasons, perhaps following the path of Peabirú, settling in the city described in Manuscript 512 or building it themselves.
Is it possible that the Portuguese explorers of the 18th century headed north, locating the lost city in the Huanchaca mountain range, inside what is today the vast and almost unexplored Noel Kempff Mercado National Park ?
YURI LEVERATTO
