Nearly 400 previously unknown geometric earthworks, or geoglyphs, were just uncovered in a 1,740 square mile area of northern Brazil, revealing a vast ancient Amazonian civilization hidden for centuries, according to The Daily Galaxy. For centuries, the Amazon was considered a pristine wilderness, largely untouched by human settlements. Yet, LiDAR technology now reveals it was home to extensive, complex pre-Columbian societies, with over 20,000 human-origin structures identified across the region, corroborated by The Art Newspaper and Popular Mechanics.
This radical reassessment demands a complete rewrite of ancient South American history. Our understanding of pre-Columbian Amazonian populations and their environmental impact will be revised, suggesting a more active and sophisticated human role in shaping the ancient rainforest.
Unearthing a Hidden Metropolis: The Aquiry's Vast Network
- Surveys using LiDAR over the Brazilian states of Acre and Amazonas revealed more than 20,000 earthworks hidden beneath the rainforest canopy, according to The Art Newspaper.
- Aerial laser scanning of only 3 percent of a region assigned to the Aquiry civilization revealed evidence of a large precolonial population, reports Popular Mechanics.
- Researchers documented hundreds of geometric earthen structures connected by ancient roads across over 4,500 square kilometers in the state of Acre, according to LIGA.net.
A highly organized, interconnected Aquiry society, far beyond simple scattered settlements, was collectively revealed. The presence of hundreds of geometric structures linked by ancient roads across 4,500 square kilometers proves that complex, large-scale societies thrived sustainably within the rainforest. This level of social complexity, once thought unique to urban civilizations outside the Amazon, now demands a comprehensive re-evaluation of the region's historical human development and ingenuity.
