Amazon Pyramid Mystery Solved... "Evidence of Ancient Civilization Existence" [Reading Science]

German Archaeological Institute Confirms Collective Settlement Through Laser Observation Survey Results

Ancient Amazon Pyramid. Photo by Nature

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The mystery of the ancient pyramid discovered in the Amazon region has been unraveled. It has been revealed that there were densely populated cities in the Amazon, and pyramids were constructed at their centers. This is a historic discovery that breaks the prejudice that the Amazon area was sparsely populated and lacked developed civilizations.

A research team from the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin published these findings in the international academic journal Nature on the 25th of last month. Archaeologists had long believed that before Europeans invaded in the 16th century, the Amazon region was sparsely populated by small nomadic tribes at best. Early explorers from Europe in the early 16th century reported discovering villages and towns, but those who arrived later saw only dense jungle. Until the 2000s, archaeologists argued that the Amazon’s poor soil made large-scale agriculture impossible, thereby preventing population growth and the emergence of tropical civilizations like those found in Southeast Asia or Central America.

However, since the 2000s, some archaeologists began to challenge this view after discovering unusually dense crop plant communities and clearly man-made fertile soils in the Amazon rainforest. Opinions emerged suggesting that densely populated settlements and urban civilizations might have existed in ancient Amazonia. This claim gained momentum especially after hundreds of burial mounds were found during deforestation in the southern Amazon rainforest region in 2018. Although these remains clearly indicated the presence of ancient civilizations, direct evidence had yet to be found.

Ancient Amazon Pyramid. Photo by Nature

Decisive evidence came from excavations and laser surveys conducted since 1999 in the Amazon Basin within the Bolivian border. This area is a floodplain swamp during the rainy season, dotted with tree-covered hills. Previous excavations estimated this site to be a settlement of the Casarabe culture dating back to around 500 AD. From 2019, the research team equipped helicopters with laser remote sensing devices to extensively survey and analyze the area. As a result, 26 residential sites were discovered. What would have taken 400 years using traditional methods was found in an instant with advanced equipment. They also confirmed the existence of a city covering about 100 hectares?more than three times the size of Vatican City?centered around two pyramids. The footage captured by the team vividly shows a complex structure surrounded by walls with wide terraces rising 6 meters above the ground. At one end stood a conical pyramid made of earth. The researchers estimate that residents lived around these terraces and moved to other places via embankment roads connecting them.

Heiko Pr?mers, a researcher at the German Archaeological Institute, said, "We have thought of the Amazon as a 'green desert' where no one lived, but considering examples from other tropical regions, there is no reason why people would not have lived in the Amazon." He added, "The images show reservoirs, suggesting that this area was not flooded in the past and was habitable." He also noted, "Analysis of pollen collected from the soil shows that maize was continuously cultivated in this region for thousands of years, indicating sustainable agriculture."