The Facts
- Archaeologists announced on Thursday in Science Magazine the discovery of a valley of lost ancient cities in Ecuador's Amazon rainforest, which was found to be home to at least 10K — and perhaps up to 30K at its peak — Upano farmers between about 500 BC and 300 to 600 AD, roughly contemporaneous with the Roman Empire.
- This comes as researchers used the laser mapping technology called lidar in 2015 to survey Ecuador's Upano Valley, where excavations have been made over the past decades, seeing beneath the dense vegetation and reconstructing the ancient sites.
- The scans revealed a network of some 6K mounds that once were homes and community spaces, grouped into 15 settlements and connected by a complex road system and agricultural fields to grow maize, beans, sweet potatoes, and yucca. Additionally, archaeologists on the ground found tiered gardens close to homes.
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The Spin
Narrative A
This international study seems to corroborate the centuries-old descriptions of Francisco de Orellana and Gaspar de Carvajal about pre-Hispanic urban networks in the forest, which were long thought to be fabricated. It's fantastic that the lidar remote surveying has found these cities after decades of archaeological study in the Amazon rainforest. This discovery is just the beginning of a new understanding of how these societies functioned.
Narrative B
It's unclear whether similar discoveries will ever be made as culturally significant sites in the Amazon are at risk from criminal enterprises, climate change, mineral extraction, and land clearing for agricultural expansion. As little has been done to protect the archaeological heritage, governments must immediately begin to integrate preservation with climate diplomacy before it's too late.
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