• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News Environment

Parts of the Amazon thought uninhabited were actually home to up to a million people

Parts of the Amazon previously thought to have been almost uninhabited were really home to thriving populations of up to a million people, new research shows. Archaeologists have uncovered evidence that there were hundreds of villages in the rainforest away from major rivers, and they were home to different communities speaking varied languages who had […]

Jack Peat by Jack Peat
2018-03-27 16:00
in Environment, News
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Parts of the Amazon previously thought to have been almost uninhabited were really home to thriving populations of up to a million people, new research shows.

Archaeologists have uncovered evidence that there were hundreds of villages in the rainforest away from major rivers, and they were home to different communities speaking varied languages who had an impact on the environment around them.

Huge parts of the Amazon are still unexplored by archaeologists, particularly areas away from major rivers. People had assumed ancient communities had preferred to live near these waterways, but the new evidence shows this was not the case.

The discovery fills a major gap in the history of the Amazon, and provides further evidence that the rainforest – once thought to be untouched by human farming or occupation – has in fact been heavily influenced by those who lived in it.

Archaeologists from the University of Exeter found the remains of fortified villages and mysterious earthworks called geoglyphs – man-made ditches with strange square, circular or hexagonal shapes. Experts still don’t know the purpose of these earthworks, as some show no evidence of being occupied. It is possible they were used as part of ceremonial rituals.

Archaeologists uncovered the remains in the current Brazillian state of Mato Grosso. By analysing charcoal remains and excavated pottery they have found a 1,800 km stretch of southern Amazonia was continuously occupied from 1250 until 1500 by people living in fortified villages. The experts estimate that there would have been between 1,000 and 1,500 enclosed villages, and two-thirds of these sites are yet to be found.

RelatedPosts

Sweden joins Finland in seeking Nato membership as Russia moves nuclear missiles towards Finnish border

Poll shows Ukraine war means govt should halt plans to repeal human rights act

Brexit bouncer: Govt urged to ‘act fast’ to remedy door staff shortage

Parody of Minister calling for us to get a better job goes viral as it’s too real

The new study shows there are an estimated 1,300 geoglyphs across 400,000km2 of Southern Amazonia, with 81 found in the area surveyed as part of this research. Villages are often found nearby, or inside the geoglyphs. They are connected through a network of causeways and some have been elaborately constructed over many years.

The earthworks were probably made during seasonal droughts, which allowed forests to be cleared. Drier areas still had fertile soils, where farmers would have been able to grow crops and fruit trees like Brazil nuts.

Dr Jonas Gregorio de Souza, from the University of Exeter’s Department of Archaeology, a member of the research team said: “There is a common misconception that the Amazon is an untouched landscape, home to scattered, nomadic communities. This is not the case. We have found that some populations away from the major rivers are much larger than previously thought, and these people had an impact on the environment which we can still find today.

“The Amazon is crucial to regulating the Earth’s climate, and knowing more about its history will help everyone make informed decisions about how it should be cared for in the future.”

Professor José Iriarte, from the University of Exeter, another member of the research team, said: “We are so excited to have found such a wealth of evidence. Most of the Amazon hasn’t been excavated yet, but studies such as ours mean we are gradually piecing together more and more information about the history of the largest rainforest on the planet

“Our research shows we need to re-evaluate the history of the Amazon. It certainly wasn’t an area populated only near the banks of large rivers, and the people who lived there did change the landscape. The area we surveyed had a population of at least tens of thousands.”

The research, funded by National Geographic and the European Research Council project PAST, is published in the journal Nature Communications and was carried out by academics from the University of Exeter, Federal University of Pará, Belém, National Institute for Space Research—INPE and the Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso.

RELATED 

Climate change: Once we no longer deny it, then we just might have the will to try drastically to change course

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Quelle surprise! Cameron had ‘big economic investment’ in Greensill Capital…but won’t say how much

Watch – Manual discovered after 125 years was written by a real-life ‘Mary Poppins’

Russia-Ukraine conflict puts UK food supplies at risk, farming boss warns

Teenager in hospital after “appallingly violent” knife attack

Restaurant Review: Kym’s

Restaurant Review: Halo Burger

Tory MP speaks out after signing letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson

Detectives probing death of a wealthy farmer who died 35 years ago amid claims his £6 million estate was stolen

Nullify far left and reject ‘wokeism’ to win power again, Blair urges Labour

Ethics is a County Just to the East of London, in the Eyes of British Workers

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.