This CSU Professor Battled Vandals And Incurable Diseases To Study Ancient Cities

Chris Fisher could give the Spielberg hero a run for his money (and hat).

Fisher studies ancient cities with names like the "Lost City of the Monkey God" in countries including Mexico and Honduras. After surviving choppy helicopter rides, he and his team then face deadly snakes, artifact-swiping vandals and sand flies carrying incurable diseases such as leishmaniasis (which Fisher has contracted).

He's also explored an ancient city that was even denser than Manhattan is now when it was built between 1,000 and 1,350 A.D.

He talked to Colorado Matters about his research, and what he's learned about ancient societies' traditions and behaviors.