Roads, farming threaten Ecuador 'lost city' complex

FEBRUARY 13, 2024
by Paola LÓPEZ



The extent of what is now believed to be the largest and oldest network of pre-Hispanic cities was first unveiled in 2023 after a project scanning the area with laser-mapping techonology from above.


Shielded by the jungle for hundreds of years, the remains of a massive 2,500-year-old network of Ecuadoran cities are being threatened by road and farm encroachment just as its long-held secrets are being revealed, researchers say.

Traces of an Amazonian "lost city" were first discovered in 1978, but the full extent of what is now believed to be the largest and oldest such urban expanse were only revealed last year with the help of laser mapping.

The vast site, which covers more than 1,000 square kilometers (385 square miles), lies deep in the Upano valley on the foothills of the Andes mountain range in eastern Ecuador.

It consists of ancient settlements of different sizes, connected by what researchers describe as a complex system of roads.

Archaeologists have also identified some 7,400 mounds in various shapes, made by human hands millennia ago.

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Intricately designed items have been found at the site of the ancient settlements in recent decades.

More:
https://phys.org/news/2024-02-roads-farming-threaten-ecuador-lost.html