Martti Pärssinen reveals LiDAR technology has uncovered a massive precolonial civilization in the southwestern Amazon rainforest.
New LiDAR surveys have revealed that the Aquiry civilization, a multicultural society in southwestern Amazonia, was significantly larger and more densely populated than previously assumed. Martti Pärssinen, an archaeo-anthropologist at the University of Helsinki, led the research which used laser pulses to penetrate the forest canopy and reveal hundreds of geometric earthworks. The study found that the Aquiry civilization likely supported a population of 1.25 to 3 million people at its peak around 200 CE. These people constructed monumental geoglyphs, characterized by deep ditches and high embankments, which served as ceremonial and political centers. The research suggests that the Aquiry were active stewards of the land, managing forests and cultivating crops like maize and squash. Martti Pärssinen noted that the findings challenge the traditional view of the Amazon as an untouched wilderness, showing instead a landscape shaped by large human populations. The civilization was eventually abandoned between 850 and 950 CE, though the specific reasons for its disappearance remain a mystery.