Lost Amazon civilisation may have numbered 3 MILLION as vast ‘cities’ with 30k structures & roads found in rainforest

AN EXTRAORDINARY lost Amazonian civilisation which once hosted up to 3 million inhabitants and 30,000 remarkable earthworks has been discovered. The South American rainforest was once home to a sprawling network of communities connected by roads and shared public spaces, scientists say. An ancient civilisation has been uncovered in the Amazon rainforest Credit: Martti Pärssinen LiDAR technology was used to find the communities Credit: M. Pärssinen & F. de Novaes An ancient civilisation known as the Aquiry is believed to have transformed huge swathes of Amazonia. But following the release of new research, boffins say the community was even bigger than originally thought. Sign up for the Tech newsletter Thank you! A bombshell study by the University of Helsinki suggests as many as 3 million locals lived in the area, which hosts around 30,000 earthworks. Archaeo-anthropologist Martti Pärssinen said: “I first experienced such a moment in 2002, when I flew with Alceu Ranzi and Sanna Saunaluoma over the monumental geometric earthworks and observed ancient roads connecting the sites in the state of Acre, Brazil, a region that had long been regarded as pristine rainforest. Around 30,000 structures have been discovered Credit: Martti Pärssinen Ancient objects were found under the forest Credit: E. Ferreira “It completely transformed my understanding and made me realize how mistaken earlier assumptions had been. “More recently, I felt something similar when I came to understand that there may actually be up to ten times more of these earthworks in the region than I had previously imagined.” The Aquiry civilisation was not a single city, but rather a diverse network of communities. The cities were connected by shared traditions and transport links. Most read in Tech Laser scans showed the structures Credit: Nature Canopy-penetrating LiDAR data showed where the lost structures were found (green circles) Credit: Nature They left behind several structures such as roads and ditches – as well as public spaces where ceremonies or political events were hosted. Boffins said the discovery could transform previously held beliefs on how ancient people lived in one of the world’s most challenging environments. Pärssinen said: “Our findings overturn our understanding of the Amazon region’s past.” The researchers used an airborne laser scanning technique called LiDAR. This involves firing millions of laser pulses through gaps in the forest canopy to create a detailed map of the ground hidden beneath the trees. Computer modelling was also used to estimate how many similar sites are likely to remain undiscovered. They concluded there could be around 30,000 earthworks spread across an area of roughly 400,000 square kilometres. Many of them served as ceremonial or political hubs rather than homes or forts. Native oral traditions reveal these centres were built to foster relationships between different communities. They acted as venues for decision-making and hosting vibrant ceremonies packed with ritual dance, music, athletic contests, and ball games. Far from being isolated villages scattered through the trees, the largest sites were linked by remarkably straight roads and causeways. This suggests the settlements formed part of a carefully planned regional network. The findings show that the mysterious Aquiry people transformed the landscape on a grand scale while still maintaining extensive areas of forest. Researchers explained that they burned sections of jungle to clear land for their ceremonial centres and for fields of maize, squash, and cassava. The civilisation also managed valuable tree species and practised horticulture. Pärssinen explained the Aquiry were not a single realm, but a network of many different communities. It remains unknown what languages they spoke or what they called themselves, and experts are still baffled by what caused the civilisation’s rapid collapse around 850AD. Only a tiny proportion of the rainforest has been surveyed so far – meaning thousands more settlements could be uncovered in the future. Comment now