Huge network of ancient cities uncovered in the Amazon rainforest

Archaeologists working deep in the Amazon rainforest have discovered an extensive network of cities dating back 2,500 years.

Archaeologists working deep in the Amazon rainforest have discovered an extensive network of cities dating back 2,500 years. The highly structured pre-Hispanic settlements, with wide streets and long, straight roads, plazas and clusters of monumental platforms were found in the Upano Valley of Amazonian Ecuador, in the eastern foothills of the Andes, according to a study published in the journal Science on Thursday. The discovery of the earliest and largest urban network of built and dug features in the Amazon so far was the result of more than two decades of investigations in the region by the team from France, Germany, Ecuador and Puerto Rico. The research began with fieldwork before deploying a remote sensing method called light detection and ranging, or lidar, which used laser light to detect structures below the thick tree canopies. Lead study author Stéphen Rostain, an archeologist and director of Research at France’s National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), described the discovery as “incredible.” “The lidar gave us an overview of the region and we could appreciate greatly the size of the sites,” he told CNN Friday, adding that it showed them a “complete web” of dug roads. “The lidar was the cherry on the cake.”