[1] In the broad sense, the name refers to an archaeological complex including twenty towns and villages, spread out over an area of around 7,700 square miles (20,000 km2), where close to 50,000 people may have once lived.
[2] Early conquistadors that explored this area likely saw the last moments of these towns, and their records provide insight to what these locations would have looked like.
Directly to the north of the X11 site there is a Kuikuro village, the small size of which provides an interesting comparison to the large area of egepe which indicates the prehistoric settlement.
[4][5] Dams and ponds which appear to have been constructed in the area also suggest that the inhabitants of Kuhikugu may have been involved with fish farming, which is still practised by some of their modern-day Kuikuro descendants.
There is a possibility that legends regarding Kuhikugu may have convinced the British explorer Lieutenant Colonel Percy Fawcett to go on his expedition for "City Z".
There are over 20 sites that Kuhikugu encompasses, each of which could have supported over 5,000 people, and the sophisticated city planning and remaining structures could have been what Fawcett was looking for.