Archeologists Uncover Huge Network Of Ancient Cities In Amazon Rainforest
FEBRUARY 27, 2024
BY MARCELA BONET - 377 WORDS
Lidar technology helped scientists detect a vast complex of ancient settlements in the Amazon rainforests (Credit: Stéphen Rostain and Lidar A. Dorison/ CC-BY-SA-2.0)
Researchers have always suspected that the Amazonian rainforests were once home to ancient cities. However, looking for remains of urban structures in the thick, remote forests was a difficult endeavor. But the use of Light Detection and Ranging, or Lidar, has been a game changer. The remote sensing technology uses laser light to help identify human-made features on the ground, such as walls, roads, or buildings. It has led to several exciting discoveries. The latest to be revealed is a network of 15 ancient settlements in the Upano Valley of eastern Ecuador in South America.
"It was really a lost valley of cities," said Stéphen Rostain, the study's lead author and director of Research at the National Center for Scientific Research in France (CNRS). "It's incredible."
A complex of earth platforms found in the Upano Valley (Credit: Stéphen Rostain/ CC-BY-SA-.2.0)
The discovery of what is believed to be the earliest and largest urban settlement in the Amazon, was revealed in the journal Science on January 11, 2024. It is the result of nearly 30 years of investigation by Rostain and his team. The 15 cities are sprawled out over 115 sq miles (300 sq km) on the foothills of the Andes Mountains. They are connected by a network of pathways and large, straight roads. The archeologists unearthed about 6,000 rectangular earthen platforms believed to be homes. The 66-foot by 33-foot (20-meter by 10-meter) dwellings were built around communal centers and plazas.
Large-scale archeological excavation on one earth platform in Upano Valley, Ecuador (Credit: Stéphen Rostain/ CC-BY-SA-2.0)
The scientists also found larger platforms that may have been used for civic or ceremonial functions. Between the settlements was evidence of cultivated land, complete with drainage fields and terraces. Many settlements were surrounded by ditches or other obstructions to keep intruders away. The carefully planned cities suggest the ancient people had surprisingly advanced engineering and building skills.
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The research team said there were five major settlements in the area surveyed.
World NewsEdited by Amit ChaturvediUpdated: January 12, 2024 12:16 pm IST
A huge city hidden by the luxuriant vegetation of the Amazon rainforest has been discovered in Ecuador. According to the BBC, the houses and plazas in the ancient city in Upano valley were connected by a network of roads and canals. The area lies in the shadow of a volcano that created rich local soils, the outlet further said. The discovery was made using LiDAR, a popular remote sensing method that uses light to measure distances and is also known as laser scanning or 3D scanning.
"This is older than any other site we know in the Amazon. We have a Eurocentric view of civilisation, but this shows we have to change our idea about what is culture and civilisation," Prof Stephen Rostain, director of investigation at the National Centre for Scientific Research in France, who led the research, told the BBC.
"It changes the way we see Amazonian cultures. Most people picture small groups, probably naked, living in huts and clearing land - this shows ancient people lived in complicated urban societies," Antoine Dorison, a co-author of the study, said.
New Scientist said the city is between 3,000 and 1,500 years old - older than other pre-Columbian ones discovered in the Amazon. It also said that people lived there for up to 1,000 years.
Though the LiDAR survey was carried out in 2015, the results were published recently. It revealed more than 6,000 raised earthen platforms within an area of 300 square kilometres.
The report said these are where wooden buildings once stood and excavations have revealed post holes and fireplaces on these structures.
The research team said there were five major settlements in the area surveyed. Talking about the road network there, the survey revealed the longest one extends for at least 25 kilometres.
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/3-000-year-old-city-hidden-in-amazon-rainforest-discovered-4847729
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This article refers to a later LIDAR viewing:
Lidar reveals lost cities in the Amazon
January 22, 2024 - By Jesse Khalil
A lidar map of the city of Kunguints in the Ecuadorian Amazon reveals ancient streets lined with houses. (Image: Antoine Dorison and Stephen Rostain)
Archeologists have discovered a vast and highly complex system of ancient cities dating back nearly 3,000 years in the Amazon rainforest. Complete with a complex network of farmland and roads, the discovery is the oldest and largest of its kind in the region.
Located in Ecuador’s Upano Valley, the structures lie in the eastern foothills of the Andes mountains, according to a study published in the journal Science. After more than 20 years of research, the ancient urban centers were only discovered when the Ecuadorean government employed lidar technology.
“I have explored the site many times, but lidar gave me another view of the land,” archaeologist Stéphen Rostain, lead author of the study and director of research at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), told Live Science. “On foot, you have trees in the way, and it’s difficult to see what’s actually hidden there.”te
A team of researchers from France, Germany, Ecuador and Piuerto Rico conducted a lidar survey that covered roughly 300 km2. The survey revealed a landscape full of organized human activities, including more than 6,000 rectangular earthen platforms, as well as agricultural terraces and drainage systems.
More:
https://www.gpsworld.com/lidar-reveals-lost-cities-in-the-amazon/
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There will probably be recurring estimates made of the age of this place the "experts" will be publishing concerning this area they just "discovered" after never knowing it was there, since Europe raped, plundered, nearly emptied of occupants, and stole the "New World." Be sure there will be more coming ahead!