"Lost Cities of the Amazon: Uncovering Ancient Urban Centers"
Archaeologists have discovered a cluster of lost cities in the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador, home to at least 10,000 farmers around 2,000 years ago. The settlements, occupied by the Upano people, featured residential and ceremonial buildings on over 6,000 earthen mounds, surrounded by agricultural fields and drainage canals. The discovery, made possible through recent mapping by laser-sensor technology, sheds light on the complex and early society that once thrived in the region, challenging the perception of the Amazon as a pristine wilderness with only small groups of people.