Video: What secrets of the ancient peoples of the Amazon were revealed to archaeologists by space villages
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
To this day, there are places in the Amazon jungle where no man has gone before. In addition, somewhere out there, in the depths of these impenetrable rainforests, there are people who prefer complete isolation. These peoples have lived from time immemorial in their villages, far from civilization and from prying eyes. Recently, archaeologists on the territory of modern Brazil have discovered ancient villages of the mysterious civilization of the Acreians, built in the shape of the sun. What did scientists find out?
Late last year, a team of archaeologists explored a remote rainforest area in Brazil from a helicopter. They scanned the area with lasers. Unique modern technologies LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) allow experts to look deep into the history like never before. Suddenly, an incredible picture opened up to the eyes of scientists: a village in the form of an hour dial!
The ancient Amazonian peoples lived in sun-shaped villages. These pre-Columbian villages, shaded by dense tropical vegetation, date from AD 1300-1700. At the moment, experts have counted more than thirty-five such villages.
They are located in the form of circles, and sometimes rectangles and are called "kurgans" villages. The villages are located at a distance of about five kilometers from each other. Round villages, experts say, have an average diameter of about a hundred meters. Rectangular villages occupy half the area.
Researchers, including archaeologists from the University of Exeter, studied southern Acre. Various soil crops were found there, which, apparently, were cultivated by these peoples. All of this was quite consistent with certain social models in the construction of their communities.
The mounds are located around the central squares, and the villages form an extensive social network connected by roads. From above, the road networks appear to be the hands of a clock. The photographs taken from the helicopter show that the main roads connect the villages with each other. Smaller routes connected people to the water, they lead to streams and main streams of water.
Why are Acreians considered familiar with astronomy? Experts believe that when creating the general layout of the villages, it was in the arrangement of the heavenly bodies that they looked for inspiration. The elongated hills from the helicopter resemble the rays of the sun. The archaeological team uses the Portuguese word "Sóis" or "sun" in their finds. So there are definitely signs of astronomical influence.
The concept of a populated Amazon is relatively new to the public. Information about this is very fragmentary and is constantly being added. The point is not even that archaeologists did not know about this before, on the contrary, mention of such communities has been around since the 16th century. The Spanish Dominican missionary monk, Gaspar de Carvajal, wrote about the developed road networks he saw during his stay there. Then, a couple of centuries later, a certain Colonel Antonio Pires de Campos declared that the area was full of people. However, only now, in the 21st century, that old information can be finally concretized.
This latest discovery in the state of Acre provides a compelling picture of local life during the pre-Columbian era. Historians have studied individual kurgans, but never a single study has ever dealt with the structure of these kurgans as interconnected parts of a single whole.
LIDAR technology is a game changer for experts, challenging assumptions and rapidly expanding knowledge. After all, little is known about what happened in the Amazon before the arrival of the Europeans. What used to be a painstaking process is now being done relatively quickly. “The results continue to challenge traditional views that portray the interfluve and western Amazon as sparsely populated,” archaeologists say.
With LIDAR, billions of pulsed lasers are directed to the target location. When they return to the sensor, accurate measurements are taken and the 3D map can be digitally simulated. You no longer have to wade through the undergrowth or cut down a forest to uncover ancient secrets. Satellite data is also critical to getting the most detailed imagery possible.
This latest find is featured in the new documentary series Secrets of the Jungle: The Lost Kingdoms of the Amazon. This film talks about the latest advances in exploration of previously inaccessible territories, including this unexpected discovery. A very epic and artistic spectacle unfolds on screen, depicting hunter-gatherers interacting with plants and giant creatures of the Ice Age.
An important role in the study was played by the fact that political tensions have recently eased. The region has become safer. Little by little, these inhospitable areas are becoming accessible to specialists from different countries. Perhaps this is good and useful for the whole world. Whether this will be so good for indigenous peoples in the long term remains to be seen …
If you are interested in history, read our article what secrets are kept by the ancient Armenian ghost town of 1000 and 1 churches, which today is located in Turkey.
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