Scientists have found 11 previously unknown sites of casarabe cultural settlements in the southwest of Amazon, which existed from about 500 to 1400 A.D These findings show a previously unknown tropical low-density urbanity in the Amazon region, indicating that the Western Amazon was not as sparsely populated as previously thought in the pre Spanish period. The related research was recently published in nature.
Lidar reveals the low-density urban life of pre Hispanics in the Amazon region of Bolivia. Drawings provided by the author
Lidar reveals the low-density urban life of pre Hispanics in the Amazon region of Bolivia. Drawings provided by the author
Due to the dense vegetation, it is difficult to map the tropical forest. People only know about casarabe culture from some evidence from a single site, and little about the public or ritual buildings of its important sites and the regional organization of casarabe residence.
Heiko prumers of the German Academy of archaeology, the first and corresponding author of the paper, and his colleagues investigated six 4500 square kilometers of Llanos de Mojos in the Amazon region of Bolivia, which belongs to the casarabe culture.
Using a technology called optical radar (optical detection and ranging), the author can virtually "erase" dense vegetation and visualize the land and archaeological relics under the forest canopy. They found two settlements, named cotoca and landivar, and 24 smaller sites, of which only 15 were previously known.
Based on the size of the rammed earth platform, the building structure on it and the river water storage system, the author has generated a four story classification of the site. These structures include U-shaped structures, rectangular platform piles and conical pyramids up to 22 meters high.
These findings challenge the existing understanding of the pre Spanish history of the Amazon region and enhance people's understanding of the ancient tropical civilization of the Amazon.
"This study shows that the southwest of the Amazon is not a sparsely populated and isolated area, but part of a densely populated, hierarchical world of the great Amazon," said a paper reviewer
Relevant paper information:
https：//doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04780-4
Author: fengweiwei source: China Science Daily