209
Archaeologists have discovered a group of ancient lost cities in the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador, where about two thousand years ago lived about ten thousand people. The results of the study are published in the journal Science.
Mapping using LIDAR technology revealed that these Amazonian sites are part of a dense network of settlements and connecting roads lost in the forested foothills of the Andes.
The settlements were inhabited by the Upano people between 500 BC and 300-600 AD. Structures were built on more than 6,000 earthen mounds surrounded by agricultural fields with drainage channels. The largest roads were 10 metres wide and 10 to 20 kilometres long.
