Giant Structures Discovered Under the Amazon Forests
Laser scanning using Lidar technology has revealed about four hundred previously unknown geometric earthworks beneath the Amazon forests in northern Brazil. Researchers link them to the Acuiri civilization, which flourished between the first and third centuries AD. It is estimated that the territory may have been home to between 1.25 and 3 million people. Ancient communities built settlements away from rivers. Geoglyphs were used for rituals and gatherings. The reasons for the decline between 850 and 950 AD remain a mystery.
Laser scanning of the Amazon rainforest using Lidar technology has revealed about four hundred previously unknown geometric earthworks in northern Brazil. These findings, according to scientists, belong to the Acuiri civilization, which reached its peak between the first and third centuries AD. Researchers estimate that the studied area may have been home to between 1.25 and 3 million people. Ancient communities built settlements away from major rivers, contradicting traditional views of ancient cultural centers. The geoglyphs were likely used as public spaces for rituals, gatherings, and celebrations. Some structures have a complex octagonal shape covering more than one hundred acres and deep ditches, created without metal tools. The reasons for the civilization's decline between 850 and 950 AD remain a mystery, but it coincides with the crisis of other pre-Columbian cultures such as the Maya, Tiwanaku, and Huari. The study's lead researcher, Martti Pärssinen from the University of Helsinki, notes that the region requires further research.