Laser Technology Unveils Ancient Amazonian City 2,500 Years Ago

Recently, a team of researchers from the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) used cutting-edge laser mapping technology LIDAR to conduct an in-depth examination of the hidden landscape. The detailed images they mapped with the laser revealed a complex network of roads, platforms and plazas comparable in complexity to those built by the Mayan civilization in Mesoamerica.
The hidden sites were discovered in the upper Amazon and are thought to be from a society that existed 2,500 years ago. The findings are published in the journal Science.
"This 2,500-year-old primitive society constitutes the earliest and largest low-density agricultural urbanization ever recorded in the Amazon."
Confirming the discovery took 20 years
More than two decades ago, stenjophen Rostain, an archaeologist at France's Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), first discovered the remains of these cities within the Ecuadorian Upano Valley in the Amazon.
With the help of LiDAR technology, researchers were able to penetrate the dense forest canopy to reveal unknown features of mounds and other structures within these communities located in the eastern foothills of the Andes.
Through extensive fieldwork and the use of Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) technology, the team made the astonishing discovery of approximately 6,000 man-made rectangular earthen platforms and plaza structures. These architectural elements were intricately connected and covered a vast area of 300 square kilometers by means of sidewalks and roads, forming multiple independent settlements of varying sizes, as many as 15.
From the study of the buildings, road networks and other ruins, the authors deduce that the infrastructure was built and inhabited by the Kiramop and later Upano cultural communities between 500 B.C. and A.D. 300-600. As for the exact population of the region at any given time, the research team indicated that it was difficult to make an estimate, which reportedly could be in the tens of thousands.
It is worth noting that the eastern region of Ecuador was affected by volcanic activity, which may have contributed to the decline of the community. These new findings have far-reaching implications for our understanding of the history of the Amazon's inhabitants and could revolutionize our perception of the history of this region.