A network of very ancient cities has been discovered in the Amazon in Ecuador. Archaeologists have used new laser technology, lidar, to be able to see and map details in the rainforest's terrain.
The images that the archaeologists obtained show more than 6,000 mounds of earth in a geometric pattern. On the mounds there used to be homes and other buildings, connected by a large network of roads.
People from the Upano people lived in the cities.
They lived from 500 BC to somewhere between 300 and 600 AD. At least 10,000 people are believed to have lived in the area.
...............................................
Everything fell into place - after 20 years: "It's unbelievable"
More than 20 years ago, the archaeologist Stéphen Rostain discovered that there were a large number of earth mounds and buried roads in the Amazon in Ecuador. But then he did not know what the discovery meant.
- At the time, I wasn't sure how everything was connected, says Rostain.
Only now, two decades later, with the help of new laser technology, has he managed to show that the mounds and roads were a network of ancient cities, where people lived as long ago as 2,500 years ago.
- It was a lost valley of cities. It's incredible, says Rostain.
Inga kommentarer:
Skicka en kommentar