'Pristine' Amazon rainforest hiding thousands of ancient human-made structures

Once seen as an untouched nature paradise, the lush Amazon rainforest, as per recent research, is hiding thousands of ancient human-made structures.

As per research recently published in the journal Science, Amazon was, for many millennia, home to human cultures. This find was made using laser mapping and modelling. 

Humans and pristine forests

"Closed-canopy forests across Amazonia are likely to contain thousands of undiscovered archaeological sites around which pre-Columbian societies actively modified forests," write scientists in the journal Science.

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This discovery "opens opportunities for better understanding the magnitude of ancient human influence on Amazonia and its current state," they note.

Scientists used LIDAR (light detection and ranging), an airborne laser mapping technology, to make this important discovery. 

Laser findings

The laser detection system allowed scientists to "see" human-made structures long hidden under soil and dense vegetation. This wasn't possible using satellite imaging.

Human-made structures discovered in the Amazon include ditches, geoglyphs, ponds, and wells, along with geometric shapes. Some of these earthworks are up to 1,500 years old and also include varieties of domesticated trees and crops.

"The Amazon is not a pristine forest," says archaeologist Eduardo Neves of the University of São Paulo. Neves, who is not a part of this research, also noted that the lush forest "has been transformed by indigenous people over millennia."

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The Amazon rainforest is not merely an ecological treasure, it is also a bio-cultural heritage, says Neves, adding that the forest is "really a result of the coevolution of Indigenous peoples and a forest over the millennia."

Based on the findings, researchers speculate that most of the ancient human earthworks are concentrated in the southwest of the Amazon basin.

Aside from the obvious human history aspect, these discoveries also have a major implication for land rights for indigenous groups. In recent days, this has become a thorny topic in Brazil, and as per the authors, the findings "serve as tangible proof of an ancestor’s occupation, way of life, and their relationship established within the forest."

(With inputs from agencies)

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