3 million people lived here? The discovery that brings us closer to solving the mystery of the lost golden city
Using aerial laser scans, researchers have uncovered 396 previously unknown geometric earthworks in northern Brazil, belonging to the ancient Acuri culture. At its peak, around 2,500 years ago, between 1.25 and 3 million people lived in the area. The discovery strengthens the hypothesis that legends about vast civilizations in the Amazon were based on real societies.
For centuries, conquerors and adventurers searched for the lost golden city of El Dorado in the forests of South America. The city was never found, but a new archaeological discovery in the Amazon proves that at least some of the stories about vast civilizations swallowed by the forest may not have been far-fetched. Using aerial laser scans (LiDAR), researchers managed to penetrate the thick forest canopy in northern Brazil and reveal 396 previously unknown geometric earthworks. The structures belong to the Acuri culture, an ancient society that developed in the area about 2,500 years ago. At its peak, between 100 and 300 CE, between 1.25 and 3 million people lived in an area of about 183,000 square kilometers. The structures served as public, ceremonial, and political centers. Around 850-950 CE, the centers were abandoned, and researchers still do not know how to explain the rapid collapse. The discovery challenges the perception that the Amazon before Europeans was mostly a wild and sparsely populated area.