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Ancient “Urban Communities” discovered in Amazon Rainforest
By Assam on August 31, 2008
A remote area of the Amazon river basin was once home to densely populated towns, says a scientific paper set to appear Friday in Science co-authored by anthropologists from the University of Florida and Brazil, and a member of the Kuikuro, an indigenous Amazonian people who are the descendants of the settlements’ original inhabitants.
Ancient urban settlement in Amazon with open area and roads
In the Upper Xingu region of the Brazilian Amazon , researchers have found evidence of a grid-like pattern of settlements connected by road networks and arranged around large central plazas. Around the settlements the scientists found dams and artificial ponds that indicate inhabitants farmed fish near their homes. They also found the remnants of open areas and large compost heaps suggesting widespread near-town cultivation.
A house site in ancient urban settlement of Amazon
The communities are now almost entirely overgrown by rain forests. Although the remains are almost invisible, they can be identified by members of the Kuikuro tribe, who are thought to be direct descendents of the people who built the towns.
Professor Mike Heckenberger, from the University of Florida, said: “These are not cities, but this is urbanism, built around towns. They have quite remarkable planning and self-organisation, more so than many classical examples of what people would call urbanism.”
Prof Heckenberger and his colleagues first announced the discovery of the first settlements in 2003. The paper also reveals the largest date from around 1250 to 1650. The communities consisted of clusters of 60-hectare (150-acre) towns and smaller villages spread out over the rainforest.
Defensive ditch found around ancient urban settlements in Amazon
Researchers also used satellite images and GPS navigation to uncover and map the settlements over the course of a decade. They believe that the people who once lived in the settlements have been wiped out by European colonists and the diseases they brought with them. Source: University of Florida
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