- In full:
- Douglas Eugene Savoy
- Born:
- May 11, 1927, Bellingham, Wash., U.S.
- Died:
- Sept. 11, 2007, Reno, Nev. (aged 80)
Gene Savoy
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Who was Gene Savoy?
Gene Savoy (1927â2007) was an American explorer, amateur archaeologist, and religious leader. He explored and discovered over 40 Inca and pre-Inca cities in Peru.
Savoy's archaeological expeditions led to the discovery of Vilcabamba, the Inca's secret mountain stronghold, in 1964. This disproved the theory that Vilcabamba and Machu Picchu were the same place. In 1985, he found Gran Vilaya, which proved ancient settlements existed in Peruvian forests. In 1999, he brought attention to the Gran Saposoa ruins, supporting this theory.
Also interested in religion, he founded Cosolargy and the International Community of Christ, Church of the Second Advent in 1959. Savoy wrote over 60 volumes on religious topics. People magazine called Savoy "the real Indiana Jones" because of his larger-than-life personality.
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What kinds of places did Gene Savoy explore?
Gene Savoy explored various Inca and pre-Inca archaeological sites in Peru, including Vilcabamba, the secret mountain stronghold where the Incas hid from Spanish conquerors in the 16th century. He also claimed to have discovered Gran Pajatén, a pre-Inca stone city, though this is contested.
Savoy's explorations extended to proving ancient Andean contact with Mesoamerica, sailing from Peru to Panama on a raft of ancient Peruvian design. In 1985, he found Gran Vilaya, which showed ancient settlements in Peruvian forests, particularly by the Chachapoya people. In 1999, he brought attention to the Gran Saposoa ruins in a northern Peruvian cloud forest, further supporting this theory.
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Why is Gene Savoy known as a religious leader?
Gene Savoy is known as a religious leader for founding a theology called Cosolargy and establishing the International Community of Christ, Church of the Second Advent in 1959 to promote it. Cosolargy is a theology developed by Savoy that proposes Christâs Second Coming is manifest as the âspiritual Sun,â a celestial force that perpetually generates divine energy from the thought and will of God to regenerate the physical world. Savoy believed that humans, illuminated by the âtransformed sunlightâ carrying this Christ force, could become spiritual participants with God in renewing themselves and the world. Throughout his life, Savoy wrote over 60 volumes on religious topics.
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What were some of Gene Savoyâs major discoveries in South America?
Gene Savoy, an American explorer and amateur archaeologist, made significant discoveries in South America, including over 40 Inca and pre-Inca cities in Peru. In 1964, he located Vilcabamba, the Incas' secret mountain stronghold, disproving the theory that it was the same as Machu Picchu.
Savoy also claimed to have discovered Gran Pajatén, a pre-Inca stone city, in 1965, though this is contested. His 1985 discovery of several thousand stone structures, known as Gran Vilaya, showed ancient settlements existed in the Peruvian forests, particularly those of the Chachapoya people. In 1999, Savoy brought the Gran Saposoa ruins to the world's attention, further supporting this theory.
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How did Gene Savoyâs explorations affect our knowledge of ancient civilizations?
Gene Savoy's explorations significantly broadened the understanding of ancient Andean civilizations. His rediscovery of Vilcabamba debunked the idea that it was the same as Machu Picchu, providing insights into the Inca's retreat from Spanish conquerors. His 1969 voyage on a raft of ancient Peruvian design aimed to prove ancient Andean contact with Mesoamerica, and in 1997, he sailed a wooden catamaran from Peru to Hawaii to demonstrate ancient Peruvians could have sailed on the open seas. Additionally, his findings at Gran Vilaya in 1985 and Gran Saposoa in 1999 highlighted the presence of ancient settlements, particularly of the Chachapoya people, in the Peruvian forests, challenging previous assumptions that these civilizations were confined to the Andes and coast.
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What religious group did Gene Savoy help found, and what were its main beliefs or goals?
Gene Savoy founded the International Community of Christ, Church of the Second Advent in 1959 to promote Cosolargy, a theology he developed. Savoy believed that Christ's Second Coming manifests as the "spiritual Sun," a celestial force that perpetually generates divine energy from God's thought and will to regenerate the physical world. He proposed that humans, illuminated by the "transformed sunlight" carrying this Christ force, can become spiritual co-participants with God in renewing themselves and the world.
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Gene Savoy (born May 11, 1927, Bellingham, Wash., U.S.âdied Sept. 11, 2007, Reno, Nev.) was an American explorer and amateur archaeologist who discovered and explored more than 40 Inca and pre-Inca cities in Peru. Deeply interested in religious topics, Savoy also was the founder of a theology that he named Cosolargy.
At age 17 Savoy enlisted in the U.S. Navy. After World War II he attended the University of Portland and worked briefly as a journalist. He became eager to begin exploring after reading Hiram Binghamâs Lost City of the Incas (1952). Savoy moved to Peru and organized his first archaeological expedition in 1957.
Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, Savoy made a series of expeditions to Peru, discovering various Inca and pre-Inca archaeological sites. In 1964 he discovered Vilcabamba, the secret mountain stronghold where the Incas hid from Spanish conquerors in the 16th century. His discovery disproved Binghamâs notion that Vilcabamba and Machu Picchu were the same place. In 1965 Savoy took credit for the original discovery of the site he named Gran PajatĂ©n, a pre-Inca stone city, but this finding was contested by other researchers. In 1969 he sailed a raft of ancient Peruvian design from Peru to Panama in an effort to prove that the people of the Andes had contact with the Pacific coast of Mesoamerica, and in 1997 he sailed a wooden catamaran from Peru to Hawaii to demonstrate that ancient Peruvians could have sailed on the open seas. His discovery of several thousand stone structures known as Gran Vilaya in 1985 demonstrated that the Peruvian forestsâin addition to the Andes and the coastâhad been locations of ancient settlement, particularly by a people known as the Chachapoya. The Gran Saposoa ruins, which Savoy brought to the worldâs attention after encountering them in a northern Peruvian cloud forest in 1999, added credence to this theory. Savoy wrote a number of books about his archaeological expeditions, including Antisuyo: The Search for the Lost Cities of the Amazon (1970). Noted for his larger-than-life persona, he was dubbed âthe real Indiana Jonesâ by People magazine.
Savoy was also intrigued by the beliefs of ancient religious groups, especially those of the Essenes, an ascetic Jewish sect that apparently revered the Sun and (he believed) presaged the coming of Jesus Christ. Developing a theology that he called âCosolargy,â Savoy proposed that Christâs Second Coming is manifest as the âspiritual Sun,â a celestial force perpetually generating divine energy from the thought and will of God in order to regenerate the physical world. Illuminated by the âtransformed sunlightâ that carries this Christ force, human beings can become spiritual coparticipants with God in the renewal not only of themselves but of the world. In 1959 Savoy established the International Community of Christ, Church of the Second Advent to promote Cosolargy. Throughout his life he wrote more than 60 volumes on religious topics.