- Scientists have discovered a group of lost cities dating back thousands of years in the Amazon rainforest.
- Scientists said the Upano people occupied this site in Ecuador.
- The area has been inhabited for about 1,000 years, with an estimated population of at least 10,000 people.
Archaeologists have discovered a cluster of cities in Ecuador hidden by the Amazon jungle for thousands of years. Associated Press report.
A team of archaeologists working in the Upano River Valley region of eastern Ecuador discovered an intricate network of roads and canals connecting houses and plazas, suggesting that the Amazon is inhabited only by nomads or small settlements. It cast doubt on my previous thinking.
“This settlement is much larger than other settlements in the Amazon.” Stefan Rostainsaid the study director and lead researcher at France’s National Center for Scientific Research. new scientist report.
“They are equivalent to Maya sites,” he added.
The cities are estimated to have been founded about 2,500 years ago, inhabited for about 1,000 years, and had a population of at least 10,000 people, said study co-author Antoine Delison.
To study the city, researchers flew over the area and Light detection and ranging, or ridera laser sensor to find its debris under dense vegetation.
Lidar technology identified 6,000 rectangular platforms placed around the plaza. Scientists said they were likely used as housing or ceremonial sites.
“It was a valley of lost cities,” Rostain said. Associated Press. “That’s unbelievable.”
Dollison said the most interesting part of the discovery was the road network leading to and from many of the platforms.
“The road network is very sophisticated. It stretches over vast distances, everything is connected, and the right angles are very impressive,” he said. BBC report.
Researchers discovered artifacts on the platform, including pits, hearths, and pots and stones used for crushing plants, shedding light on the daily lives of the residents.
Michael Heckenberger, an archaeologist at the University of Florida who was not involved in the study, told The Associated Press that the society is “really in a class of its own in terms of how early it is” “for this region.” Told.