Lost Amazon Complex Found

[JGolomb]

I love that we live in a world where there are still undiscovered ancient civilizations...

 

"Lost" Amazon Complex Found; Shapes Seen by Satellite

Hundreds of circles, squares, and other geometric shapes once hidden by forest hint at a previously unknown ancient society that flourished in the Amazon, a new study says.

 

Satellite images of the upper Amazon Basin taken since 1999 have revealed more than 200 geometric earthworks spanning a distance greater than 155 miles (250 kilometers).

 

Now researchers estimate that nearly ten times as many such structures

[Ursus]

I love that we live in a world where there are still undiscovered ancient civilizations...

 

Ditto. Makes me want to be Indiana Jones.

 

I'm sure the next decade will bring some amazing discoveries from the Amazon!

[Nagelfar]

The discovery adds to evidence that the hinterlands of the Amazon once teemed with complex societies, which were largely wiped out by diseases brought to South America by European colonists in the 15th and 16th centuries, Schaan said.

 

Since these vanished societies had gone unrecorded, previous research had suggested that soils in the upper Amazon were too poor to support the extensive agriculture needed for such large, permanent settlements.

 

It seems a bit aggressive to attribute the disappearance to European diseases. Is there any evidence to support this?

[JGolomb]

The discovery adds to evidence that the hinterlands of the Amazon once teemed with complex societies, which were largely wiped out by diseases brought to South America by European colonists in the 15th and 16th centuries, Schaan said.

 

Since these vanished societies had gone unrecorded, previous research had suggested that soils in the upper Amazon were too poor to support the extensive agriculture needed for such large, permanent settlements.

 

It seems a bit aggressive to attribute the disappearance to European diseases. Is there any evidence to support this?

In general, European-borne diseases wiped out millions of indigenous populations in North, Central and South America. That's well documented. In this articles and others, I think scientists speculate that since the diseases were so wide-spread, easily spread, and did such damage in documented circumstances, that it's not a stretch to conclude that similar may have occurred in other undocumented societies from a similar timeframe.