Aerial surveys have revealed the largest pre-colonial cities in the Amazon yet discovered, linked by an extensive network of roads.
“The settlements are much bigger than others in the Amazon,” says Stéphen Rostain at the French National Center for Scientific Research in Paris. “They are comparable with Maya sites.”
What’s more, at between 3000 and 1500 years old, these cities are also older than other pre-Columbian ones discovered in the Amazon. Why the people who built them disappeared isn’t clear.
It is often assumed that the Amazon rainforest was largely untouched by humans before the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus reached the Americas in the 15th century. In fact, the first Europeans reported seeing many farms and towns in the region.
These reports, long dismissed, have in recent decades been backed up by discoveries of ancient earthworks and extensive dark soils created by farmers. One estimate puts the pre-Columbian population of the Amazon as high as 8 million.
[…]
In 2015, Rostain’s team did an aerial survey with lidar, a laser scanning technique that can create a detailed 3D map of the surface beneath most vegetation, revealing features not normally visible to us. The findings, which have only now been published, show that the settlements were far more extensive than anyone realised.
The survey revealed more than 6000 raised earthen platforms within an area of 300 square kilometres. These are where wooden buildings once stood – excavations have revealed post holes and fireplaces on these structures.
[…]
The survey also revealed a network of straight roads created by digging out soil and piling it on the sides. The longest extends for at least 25 kilometres, but might continue beyond the area that was surveyed.
[…]
“This is the largest complex with large settlements so far found in Amazonia,” says Charles Clement at the National Institute of Amazonian Research in Manaus, Brazil.
What’s more, it was found in a region of the Amazon that other researchers had concluded was sparsely inhabitated during pre-Columbian times, says Clement.
Journal reference:
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.adi6317
Source: Ancient cities discovered in the Amazon are the largest yet found | New Scientist
Robin Edgar
Organisational Structures | Technology and Science | Military, IT and Lifestyle consultancy | Social, Broadcast & Cross Media | Flying aircraft