Scientists discovered a valley of lost cities built about 2.5 thousand years ago in the Amazon
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Archaeologists have discovered a cluster of lost cities in the Amazon rainforest, where at least 10,000 farmers lived approximately 2,500 years ago.
The results of the research of the team of archaeologists were published in the journal Science. A series of earthen mounds and buried roads in Ecuador were first noticed by researchers more than two decades ago, writes The Guardian.
Recent mapping using laser sensor technology has shown that these sites were part of a network of settlements and roads located in the forested foothills of the Andes.
“It was a lost valley of cities and it is incredible“, said archaeologist Stephen Rostain from France.
| Image: Steven Rosstein |
The team of archaeologists focused on two large settlements – Sangai and Kilamope. There they discovered mounds organized around central squares, as well as pottery decorated with paint and incised lines, large jars containing the remains of the traditional corn beer chicha.
Residential and parade buildings built on earthen embankments surrounded agricultural fields with drainage canals. The largest roads were 10 meters wide and stretched for 10-20 kilometers.
The researchers found that these settlements were inhabited by the Upano people between about 500 BC. and 300-600 AD – the period that coincided with the existence of the Roman Empire in Europe.
It is difficult to estimate the population, but according to scientists, at least 10,000 people lived in this place. At the same time, their number could reach 15-30 thousand people “at the peak of development”. This is comparable to the estimated population of Roman-era London, Britain’s largest city, said archaeologist Antoine Dorison, co-author of the study from the French institute.
Jose Iriarte, an archaeologist from the University of Exeter (Britain), noted that the construction of roads and thousands of earthen mounds required a complex system of organized labor.
“The Incas and Mayans built with stone, but people in the Amazon usually didn’t have it to build with – they built with clay. The Amazon is often considered a “pristine desert” where only small groups of people lived. But recent discoveries have shown us how much more complex the past really is“, Iriarte added.
Read also: In Greece, the palace where Alexander the Great was crowned was opened for the first time in 16 years
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