Scientists uncover lost Aquiry civilization in southwestern Amazon using LiDAR
Technology
Scientists just uncovered a lost civilization called the Aquiry, hidden deep in the southwestern Amazon for almost 1,500 years (600 B.C. to A.D. 850).
Using LiDAR technology, they found 432 earthworks (think ceremonial centers and road networks) under thick jungle.
The Aquiry covered an area of roughly 183,000 sq kms and may have been home to up to three million people.
Aquiry managed Amazon landscapes and biodiversity
The Aquiry built massive geometric earthworks for gatherings and ceremonies, and they actively shaped their environment by farming crops like maize and encouraging useful trees such as Brazil nut and peach palm.
Their land management shaped local biodiversity, showing that the ancient Amazon was far from untouched: it was carefully managed by people long before modern times.