Amazon Jungle Holds Secrets of Ancient Civilization with 3 Million Inhabitants

Deep in the southwestern Amazon jungle lies an ancient civilization known as Aquiry. Researchers estimate that up to 3 million people lived there between 100 CE and 300 CE, rewriting what historians thought they knew about early inhabitants of the rainforest.

A team of archaeologists led by University of Helsinki's Martti Pärssinen used aerial laser scanning to map a small section of the region and discovered over 20,000 precolonial earthworks. These structures feature ditches and embankments, often in geometric shapes like circles, squares, octagons, and pentagrams.

The team believes these sites may have been built without metal tools or animal labor. With an average size of seven acres and the largest approaching 123 acres, the earthworks were likely used for ceremonial or political purposes.