What's happened
New research using canopy lasers reveals the Anquiry civilization built earthworks across the Amazon, challenging the idea of an untouched forest and suggesting populations up to 3 million at its peak. The findings indicate a planned network of geoglyphs and roads, with ceremonies and political centers at their heart.
What's behind the headline?
Critical Analysis
- The headline’s claim that Amazonia was not an untouched wilderness is supported by the new geoglyphs, but the exact function of these structures remains debated.
- The study’s scale—1,700 square miles—shows a major expansion of what counts as ‘settled’ landscape in the Amazon; this reframes how we imagine Indigenous impact on soil, forest structure, and biodiversity.
- The concentration on ceremonial venues hints at social complexity, yet the absence of detailed daily life data leaves gaps about governance, economy, and resilience.
- The findings invite re-evaluation of climatic models that tie soil health and forest composition to precolonial human activity.
- Readers should consider how newer remote-sensing methods reshape our understanding of ancient populations and what this means for conservation narratives today.
How we got here
Researchers surveyed over 1,700 square miles of Amazon rainforest, uncovering 432 earthworks, with 400 previously unknown. The work implies a large precolonial population and a significant environmental footprint, questioning long-held views of Amazonia as pristine wilderness. The decline of the Anquiry around AD 850 remains unexplained.
Our analysis
New York Post (Martti Pärssinen) reports on the Nature study; New Scientist and other outlets provided corroborating context; the Guardian reviews a broader narrative about precolonial societies in Amazonia and their environmental footprint.
Go deeper
- What does this mean for the narrative of untouched forests?
- How reliable are laser-based surveys in dating and mapping these earthworks?
- Could there be more undiscovered sites across the Amazon?
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