Archeologists uncover “lost valley” of ancient cities in the Amazon rainforest

Left: Map of the Middle Upano with five major settlements and 10 secondary sites (m a.s.l. = meters above sea level). Right: Map of pre-Hispanic dug roads. (Rostain et al., Science, 2024)

When intact, the Amazonian forest is dense and difficult to penetrate, both on foot and with scanning technologies. Over the past several years, however, improved light detection and ranging scans have begun to penetrate the forest canopy, revealing previously unknown evidence of past Amazonian cultures. Consequently, archeologists are now uncovering clusters of lost cities in […]