VALLEY OF LOST CITIES THAT FLOURISHED 2,000 YEARS AGO FOUND IN AMAZON
Archaeologists have uncovered a cluster of lost cities in the #Amazon rainforest that was home to at least 10,000 farmers about 2,000 years ago.
The #settlements were occupied by the #Upano people between about 500BC and AD300 to 600 – a period roughly contemporaneous with the Roman empire in Europe, the researchers found.
While it is difficult to estimate populations, the site was home to at least 10,000 inhabitants –
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and perhaps as many as 15,000 or 30,000 at its peak, said archaeologist Antoine Dorison, a study co-author at the same French institute. That is comparable to the estimated population of Roman-era London, then Britain’s largest city.
The Amazon is often thought of as a “pristine wilderness with only small groups of people. But recent discoveries have shown us how much more complex the past really is,” he said.
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#Scientists have recently also found evidence of intricate #rainforest societies that predated European contact elsewhere in the Amazon, including in Bolivia and in Brazil.
“There’s always been an incredible #diversity of people and settlements in the #Amazon, not only one way to live,” said Rostain. “We’re just learning more about them.”
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https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/jan/11/amazon-archaeology-lost-cities-ecuador
@anna_lillith You might enjoy this 2002 Horizon programme, if you haven’t seen it already!
anna_lillith 🇺🇦🌱🐖
Pauline von Hellermann