European explorers had not yet reached the coast of South America when an advanced civilisation emerged in the Amazon rainforest around 600 BC, inhabited by millions of people. A recent study has made this revelation.

For a long time, researchers held misconceptions about what the Amazon rainforest was like in the pre-Columbian era. Italian explorer Christopher Columbus reached the northern coast of South America (in modern-day Venezuela) in August 1498 via the Island of Trinidad from Spain during his third transatlantic voyage. Earlier, he discovered America (in 1492) and the period prior to his discovery of America is known as the pre-Columbian era.

For a long time, experts thought the Amazon had no big cities or prosperous civilisation before the arrival of Europeans. However, latest scientific research proves this idea wrong as ancient people built huge, complex towns with roads, farms and earthworks deep in the rainforest. Just a few years ago, archaeologists discovered a massive, previously unknown ancient temple complex, called Palaspata, in the highlands of Caracollo, Bolivia. They claimed that the site, developed between approximately 500 and 1400 AD, belonged to the pre-Inca Tiwanaku Civilisation. Now, an even more ancient civilisation, called the Aquiry Civilisation, has been traced in southwestern Amazonia (primarily modern-day Brazil and Bolivia) that flourished between 600 BC and 850 AD. In other words, this civilisation began its journey nearly 2,000 years before the arrival of Europeans in the Amazon.

According to researchers, the Aquiry Civilisation flourished across an area of approximately 183,000sqkm in the southwestern Amazon and the region was once home to between 1.25 million and three million people. The research paper by experts from the University of Helsinki in Finland has recently been published in the journal Nature.

Researchers from the University of Helsinki identified more than 400 ruins within a specific area of the Amazon rainforest. There were some houses among them, as well. Based on this information, researchers used laser scanning to survey the area of rainforest through LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) method. They have claimed that there were approximately more than 20,000 man-made earthen structures across 124 acres of land.

In fact, this research has been conducted in only 3% area of the massive Amazon rainforest and it has challenged long-held ideas about the pre-Columbian Amazon. Scientists had long estimated that the population of the Amazon region during the pre-Columbian era was limited to 10 million. However, recent findings show that older estimates of 8-10 million people may actually be too low for the entire basin. Advanced laser mapping has revealed dense networks of ancient settlements, suggesting that a few small regions alone held millions of people. “Our findings overturn our understanding of the Amazon region’s past,” said Martti Pärssinen, the Emeritus Professor at the University of Helsinki.

Researchers are of the opinion that the people of this ancient civilisation used to cultivate maize, squash and manioc (a type of vegetable). Alongside agriculture, they also practiced horticulture and built wide roads. As large natural stones are not commonly found in this region, no stone ruins from the Aquiry Civilisation have been discovered. All the ruins found here are made of earth. Various terracotta pieces featuring geometric patterns have also been discovered. It indicates that the people of this ancient civilisation were quite prosperous and well-organised.

However, the reason why this civilisation suddenly collapsed in 850 AD still remains unclear. Coincidentally, the Maya Civilisation of Central America also collapsed around the same time (750-900 AD). Researchers believe that further detailed research is required to find the reason behind this coincidence.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das