Ancient Lost City Revealed Deep Within the Amazon Rainforest

Archaeologists have unearthed a hidden colonial town. Amazon a rainforest with origins tracing back to the 1700s.

According to Eduardo Neves, the director of the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography at the University of São Paulo, who headed the research team, the Portuguese colony had been depicted on certain maps before; however, its precise position remained unclear.

"The site had been deserted, with the jungle reclaiming it, and many of the stones were taken away... We managed to map out the street plan of this city, which turned out to be quite an intriguing find," Neves stated, according to Brazilian media reports. Metrópoles .

Brazil’s colonization started in 1500 when Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral declared the territory as part of Portugal. Throughout the subsequent three hundred years, Portugal set up a comprehensive colonial governance system aimed at extracting Brazil’s abundant natural wealth, such as sugar, gold, and coffee, using slave labor predominantly brought over from Africa.

The settlement developed into a significant economic boon for Portugal; however, in the early 1800s, led by Prince Dom Pedro I, Brazil proclaimed its autonomy, concluding more than three centuries of colonial dominance.

The uncovering of the colonial settlement within the Amazon was announced during an event organized by the Amazon Museum in Manaus, which is part of the Amazônia Revelada initiative.

The objective of this project is to locate archaeological sites across various regions of the Amazon by integrating advanced technologies with the indigenous people’s traditional wisdom about forests.

"We aim to register these archaeological sites so they become part of our legacy and add another protective layer over these areas," stated Neves, one of the project leaders, in a press statement released by the Brazilian Socio-Environmental Institute, which is backing this initiative.

The initiative will encompass two synergistic approaches. The initial one involves using LIDAR technology to conduct a survey of the rainforest aiming to uncover concealed archaeological sites beneath the foliage.

LIDAR is a technique for remote sensing that utilizes laser pulses directed towards the ground to create three-dimensional representations of an area’s terrain. This approach allows for detailed mapping of surface topology as well as detection of concealed artificial structures that might otherwise remain unseen.

Essentially, LIDAR enables scientists to penetrate the forest canopy and generate precise 3D models of the underlying terrain features, as well as uncovering any hitherto undiscovered structures beneath the surface.

The second key aspect of the Amazônia Revelada initiative includes surveys carried out by local investigators, who are part of the Indigenous and traditional populations residing in these areas. These investigators will document archaeological locations or spots that hold importance for their communities.

The Amazon area has been occupied for at least 11,000 to 12,000 years; however, ancient relics suggest the possibility of human presence even before this period, which could extend the timeline as far back as possibly 13,000 years ago or longer.

Before Europeans arrived, indigenous populations established intricate civilizations within the Amazon, showcasing proof of extensive, permanent settlements, advanced farming methods, and refined strategies for managing their environment.

Previously, LIDAR technology has been employed to uncover concealed archaeological sites in the Amazon.

A research paper released the previous year in the journal Science , for instance, reported the finding of two dozen ancient constructions concealed under the foliage in the Amazon rainforest basin.

The earthworks were constructed during the pre-Columbian era—which refers to the time before European colonization. These formations stand as remains from various sites and structures created by early Indigenous populations.

The newly discovered earthworks encompass the remnants of a town, fortified settlements; defensive and ritualistic structures referred to as geoglyphs; along with riverfront locations on floodplains that might have served for collecting water-based foods; plus various additional architectural features, as stated in the research paper.

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