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Archaeologists Find Hundreds of Ancient Glyphs in the Amazon
The New York Times • • world
Key Points:
- Archaeologists have discovered nearly 400 ancient earthworks, including circles, squares, and geometric figures, in the southwestern Amazon rainforest, dating from 600 B.C. to 850 A.D.
- These monumental designs, known as geoglyphs, suggest the presence of complex societies in the Amazon a millennium before European colonization.
- The findings challenge the traditional view of the Amazon as a largely untouched wilderness prior to the arrival of Spanish and Portuguese colonists in the 15th century.
- Researchers used lidar technology to penetrate the dense forest canopy and reveal these previously unknown archaeological sites near the borders of Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru.
