Lasers Reveal Hundreds of Geoglyphs Made by a Mysterious Civilization in the Amazon Rainforest Thousands of Years Ago
Researchers found 396 previously unknown earthworks and said the Aquiry may have supported up to 3 million people at its peak.
- On Wednesday, July 29, 2026, a study published in the journal Nature revealed 396 previously undocumented earthworks in the Amazon rainforest, identified using LiDAR technology to peer beneath the dense forest canopy.
- Researchers utilized airborne laser scanning to map the Aquiry civilization, which thrived in southwestern Amazonia between 600 BCE and 850 CE, transforming understanding of the region's past.
- By extrapolating survey results, the team estimates the Aquiry supported 1.25 million to 3 million people at its peak between A.D. 100 and 300, with more than 20,000 additional earthworks potentially hidden across the region.
- These geometric sites likely functioned as ceremonial and political centers rather than permanent residences, with Indigenous Arawakan people historically referring to the Aquiry as a network fostering community relations.
- University of Helsinki archaeologist Martti Pärssinen notes these findings fundamentally reassess human influence on the Amazon, with Aquiry land management practices significantly affecting the region's carbon production and biocultural history.
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13 Articles
Lasers reveal hundreds of geoglyphs made by a mysterious civilization in the Amazon rainforest thousands of years ago
Using laser scanning technology to peer beneath the dense canopy of the Amazon rainforest, archaeologists have discovered hundreds of ancient earthworks that were made by a complex, enigmatic society over two millennia ago, a new study finds.This ancient civilization, called the Aquiry, arose 2,500 years ago in Brazil. Based on the large number of earthworks, called geoglyphs, the Aquiry may have had 3 million people before the society collapsed…
An ancient civilization of millions once flourished in the Amazon
New research conducted using airborne laser scanning reveals that a multicultural civilization that flourished in southwestern Amazonia between 600 BCE and 850 CE was home to millions of people. Spanning roughly 183,000 square kilometers (71,000 square miles), the Aquiry civilization built large centers for political and ritual purposes.
A group of Brazilian and Finnish scientists today announced the discovery of 396 geoglyphs: the large earth structures built by the Aquiry civilization, which inhabited the southeast of the Amazon before the arrival of the Portuguese and Spanish. Using airplanes with handling devices, a laser radar technology for 3D mapping, the researchers were able to find these large terraplanning fences and barriers in geometric shapes in various areas in th…
A study identifies tens of thousands of these earth movements and estimates that between 1.25 and 3 million people inhabited just 3% of the rainforest almost two thousand years ago.
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