In January 2023, archaeologists uncovered a cluster of lost cities in the Amazon rainforest that was home to at least 10,000 farmers about 2,000 years ago, revealing a pre-Columbian civilization in an area previously thought to have been sparsely inhabited. The discovery offers new perspectives on the history of Brazil and the Amazon region, changing the understanding of ancient civilizations in Latin America.
The lost cities, hidden beneath dense rainforest vegetation, were uncovered using LiDAR technology, which allowed scientists to map over 300 square kilometers of the Amazon jungle.
Archaeologists identified around 6,000 rectangular platforms covering an area of 300 square kilometers, some up to 140 meters long, forming a network of residential and ceremonial areas, according to La República. The roads exhibit straight construction with precise angles, formed by excavating soil and building it up on the sides, and connected the different platforms and areas of the city, with some extending up to 25 kilometers, as detailed by GreekReporter.com.
The settlements supported a dense population, with estimates ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 inhabitants during their peak, according to The Brighter Side of News. The presence of architectural structures, such as octagonal and rectangular platforms built on hills, challenges traditional views that Amazonian civilizations were small nomadic communities, as noted by La República.
More than two decades ago, archaeologist Stéphen Rostain first noticed a series of earthen mounds and buried roads in Ecuador, playing a key role in uncovering these ancient urban centers, according to La República. "It was a lost valley of cities. It's incredible," said Rostain, who directs investigations at France's National Center for Scientific Research, according to GreekReporter.com.
These civilizations were sedentary agrarian societies that cultivated maize, beans, manioc, and sweet potatoes in fertile volcanic soils. The inhabitants shaped the land not only for survival but also for ceremonial and social purposes.
Rostain describes these communities as "garden cities" due to their sparse distribution of buildings and emphasized their scale and complexity, comparing them to Roman-era London. The network reveals a civilization that featured architecture, expansive roadways, and intensive agricultural practices, demonstrating the level of organization achieved by this civilization, as noted by La República.
Sources: OK Diario, Mundo Deportivo, La República, GreekReporter.com, El Cronista, The Brighter Side of News
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.