Amazonas vor den Europäern

[Schneemann]

Das scheint mir der ideale Strang zu sein.

Huge network of ancient cities uncovered in the Amazon rainforest

(CNN) — Archaeologists working deep in the Amazon rainforest have discovered an extensive network of cities dating back 2,500 years.

The highly structured pre-Hispanic settlements, with wide streets and long, straight roads, plazas and clusters of monumental platforms were found in the Upano Valley of Amazonian Ecuador, in the eastern foothills of the Andes, according to a study published in the journal Science on Thursday. The discovery of the earliest and largest urban network of built and dug features in the Amazon so far was the result of more than two decades of investigations in the region by the team from France, Germany, Ecuador and Puerto Rico. [...]

The research began with fieldwork before deploying a remote sensing method called light detection and ranging, or lidar, which used laser light to detect structures below the thick tree canopies. Lead study author Stéphen Rostain, an archeologist and director of Research at France’s National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), described the discovery as “incredible.” [...]

However, between approximately 500 BCE and 300 to 600 CE, the Kilamope and later Upano cultures began to build mounds and set their houses on earthen platforms, according to the study authors. These platforms would be organized around a low, square plaza. [...]

The team also discovered monumental complexes with much larger platforms, which, they said, probably had a civic or ceremonial function.

At least 15 clusters of complexes identified as settlements were discovered. Some settlements were protected by ditches, while there were obstructions to roads near some of the large complexes. This suggests the settlements were exposed to threats, either external or resulting from tension between groups, the researchers said. Even the most isolated complexes were linked by pathways and an extensive network of larger, straight roads with curbs. [...] The overall organization of the cities suggests “the existence of advanced engineering” at the time, according to the study authors, who concluded that the garden urbanism of the Upano Valley “provides further proof that Amazonia is not the pristine forest once depicted.”

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/12/ameri...index.html

Beinahe musste ich an die berühmt-berüchtigte, gemutmaßte Stadt Z denken, der Percy Fawcett nachjagte (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Fawcett).

Schneemann