2,500-Year-Old Largest Urban Network Discovered in Amazon Rainforest Using LiDAR Technology Reveals Upano Valley Was Densely Populated
Upano Valley in Ecuador was once densely populated. Researchers detected a cluster of old cities at the foothills of the Andes in the Amazon rainforest.
Largest Region in the Amazon Rainforest Discovered
A new study titled "Two thousand years of garden urbanism in the Upper Amazon" discovered a vast city in Upano Valley. The find was reportedly the largest and oldest in the area, with an extensive network of roads and farms.
The discovery shows how heavily populated Ecuador's Upano Valley was from 500 BCE to between 300 and 600 CE.
A multi-national team led by French archaeologist Stéphan Rostain of the National Center for Scientific Study examined data from over 20 years of multidisciplinary study in the area, which was recently extended by light detection and ranging (LIDAR) mapping.
The LIDAR mapping covered 300 square kilometers (115 square miles) of platforms, plazas, and streets in a geometric arrangement. These were interspersed with terraces, agricultural drainage systems, and extraordinarily long, straight highways that connected several metropolitan locations.
"This research revealed the largest urban network of erected and excavated features known in Amazonia, whose beginnings date back to 2,500 years ago," the team wrote.
"The Upano sites are quite different from other monumental sites of Amazonia, which are all more recent."
LIDAR measures the distance between an airplane and ground objects by using the 'echoes' of laser pulses that include different wavelengths of light. This allows for creating a three-dimensional map to reveal landscape aspects buried beneath thick vegetation.
It's a potent instrument that has already revealed hidden Maya towns and delineated the designs of historic villages tucked away in the dense vegetation of the Amazon.
Pre-Hispanic humans significantly impacted the Amazon, as evidenced by the present coverage of LIDAR data, which suggests that over 90% of the region's human history is still unknown.
The open areas between ancient towns were drained fields for growing crops, including maize, beans, sweet potatoes, and cassava, a woody plant with starchy root tubers, according to the LIDAR data.
The researchers concluded that the 'garden urbanism' of the Upano Valley provides further evidence that Amazonia is not the pristine wilderness traditionally described, citing the organization of the settlements as evidence of these ancient people's knowledge and engineering prowess.
What Is LiDar Technology?
LiDAR stands for Light Detection and Ranging. It is a remote sensing that measures ranges- variable distances- to the Earth using light as a pulsed laser. These light pulses produce exact, three-dimensional information on the Earth's structure and surface properties when paired with other data captured by the aerial system.
The three main components of a lidar device are -- a laser, a scanner, and a specialized GPS receiver. Airplanes and helicopters are the most widely used devices for gathering lidar data over large areas.
Topographic and bathymetric lidar are the two types available. While bathymetric lidar employs water-penetrating green light to determine seafloor and riverbed elevations, topographic lidar typically maps the terrain using a near-infrared laser.
Scientists and cartographers may analyze natural and artificial settings with flexibility, accuracy, and precision thanks to LiDAR equipment. NOAA scientists use LiDAR for various purposes, including creating digital elevation models for geographic information systems, producing more accurate shoreline maps, supporting emergency response efforts, and much more.
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