A complex system of lost cities dating back more than 2,500 years and connected by roads and canals has been discovered in the mountainous region of the Andes, a region that is part of Ecuador's Amazon region.
The civilization, which is believed to have lasted around a thousand years, is believed to be the first known complex society in the Amazon region and was discovered using the latest laser mapping technology.
The discovery is impressive and drastically changes what is known about the history of the ancient civilizations of the Amazon.
The Urbanism of the Lost Cities of the Amazon
Studies indicate intense urbanization in the Upano Valley region that occurred between 500 B.C. BC and 600 AD was settled
During this period, five large and ten smaller settlements emerged, all surrounded by extensive agricultural fields and terraces for growing various foods.
The estimated population is comparable to that of London in Roman times, indicating a dense settlement and an extremely complex society.
Lidar technology reveals ancient buildings
The existence of such ancient cities in the dense Amazon rainforest has been revealed through lidar technology, which allows researchers to see through the forest cover and reconstruct the ancient sites beneath.
“Lost cities in the Amazon have always been a myth, but now modern technologies allow us to reveal ancient secrets hidden beneath the dense vegetation cover of the world's largest tropical forest,” explains archaeologist Pedro Paulo Funari of the State University of Campinas ( Unicamp).
The settlements were connected by extensive roads, creating a complex system of integration.
Additionally, evidence from thousands of mounds that served as the foundation for several buildings confirms the greatness of this lost civilization.
The discovery of these settlements changes the perception that the Amazon was a nearly uninhabited region before colonization.
With each new study, the history of the ancient civilizations of the Amazon is rewritten, revealing complex and organized societies capable of building and managing large cities.
Source: G1