What's Hidden Under the Trees of the Amazon Rainforest?

Summary by Krater

This video explores the Amazon Rainforest's hidden history, mapping ancient pre-Columbian settlements and large-scale urban centers revealed through recent lidar scanning and archaeological discoveries.

From the video

Answers: What are the hidden civilizations of the Amazon Rainforest?

• Amazon Rainforest history
• pre-Columbian civilizations
• lidar archaeological mapping
• Terra Preta dark earth
• Upano Valley archaeological site
• Llanos de Mojos settlements
• Percy Fawcett expeditions

What it concludes

• For centuries, mainstream academia viewed the Amazon as a pristine wilderness untouched by large-scale human civilizations.
• Soil quality in the Amazon is poor and acidic, leading scientists to believe large-scale agriculture was impossible.
• Trade winds transport 28 million tons of Saharan dust across the Atlantic to the Amazon annually, providing vital phosphorus nutrients.
• Terra Preta dark earth was created by indigenous people mixing charcoal, bone, and compost into Amazonian soil to make it fertile.
• Lidar scanning technology has recently revealed vast pre-Columbian urban centers and complex networks of roads and canals beneath the Amazon canopy.
• Recent archaeological discoveries in the Upano Valley and Llanos de Mojos show that the Amazon was densely populated by advanced pre-Columbian civilizations.