Unknown Ancient Amazon civilization discovered

[guy]

 

Using LiDAR technology, a previously unknown civilization has been found in the Amazon jungle:

Quote

“The findings indicate the mysterious Casarabe people — who lived in the Llanos de Mojos region of the Amazon basin between A.D. 500 and 1400 — were much more numerous than previously thought, and that they had developed an extensive civilization that was finely adapted to the unique environment they lived in, according to the study, published online Wednesday (May 25) in the journal Nature.

The study researchers used airborne lidar — "light detection and ranging," in which thousands of infrared laser pulses are bounced every second off the terrain to reveal archaeological structures beneath dense vegetation — and discovered several unknown settlements within a network of roads, causeways, reservoirs and canals that was centered on two very large Casarabe settlements, now called Cotoca and Landívar.”

Screenshot from 3D animation of the Cotoca site.

 

https://www.livescience.com/lidar-reveals-pre-hispanic-amazon-settlements

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04780-4?utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=commission_junction&utm_campaign=CONR_PF018_ECOM_GL_PHSS_ALWYS_PRODUCT&utm_content=textlink&utm_term=PID100052172&CJEVENT=e2f3587fdc5411ec81e701100a1c0e10

 

Edited May 25, 2022 by guy

[caldrail]

I knew it! There were interesting reports about the Amazon Basin going back a couple of decades or more. The foliage wasn't primary jungle so they knew there had been a human presence and some alignments in the terrain looked odd. Finally something more concrete.

[Elisa]

Fascinating

[guy]

A good video summary on the use of the LiDAR technology used in this discovery and it’s new insights into the Casarabe people: