Scientists believe that thousands of ancient Mayan structures may be hidden under the Amazon

Few places on the planet can change the way we think about untouched natural environments the way the Amazon does - the heart of a legendary forest that covers an area of 6.7 million square kilometers. Here, virtually every piece of soil, every leaf and every body of water is reflected by wildlife that cannot be conquered.

Yet among the intertwining roots of decaying trees and plants, hidden beneath layers of soil and piles of plant debris, there is growing evidence of human impact that has lasted for millennia. Science Alert writes about this.

Read also: Scientists say they have solved the mystery of the ancient Mayan calendar

In the latest study, researchers led by Vinicius Peripato of the National Institute of Space Research in Brazil studied traces of human activity detected by LIDAR technology over an area of 5315 square kilometers.

LIDAR is a radar system that uses laser flashes emitted from aircraft to penetrate the upper layers of plants, soil, and other materials to detect changes in structures that may indicate human activity.

This technology has been successfully used to detect traces of human activity in the tropics, including the discovery of ancient Mayan settlements and the ruins of ancient villages deep in the Amazon.

Unfortunately, the presence of traces of human impact in the Amazon is not sensational news. However, the scale of the impact can be staggering. At one point, a team of scientists discovered 24 previously unknown changes in the soil that indicate human architectural activity.

"We discovered a fortified village in the southern Amazon, defensive and ceremonial structures in the southwestern Amazon, mountains and megalithic structures on the Guiana Shield, and riverine sites in the central west of the Amazon," the research team reports.

In the southern Amazon, in a region once home to tens of thousands of people connected by a network of roads as good as those in Europe, city-like traces were found.

In the southwest, researchers found geometric motifs created from the ground that were far from visible roads.

Predicting the spread of possible archaeological sites throughout the Amazon, scientists say that between 10,000 and 24,000 structures could be discovered that still remain hidden under foliage, rainfall, and forests.

This means that more than 90% of the Amazon's history remains unexplored and unreleased for analysis.

Read also: Evidence that ancient tribes cut off people's heads for rituals found in Maya pyramid

Traces of the ancient flourishing of society may also remain in the structure of the Amazon ecosystem itself. The researchers measured the occurrence and abundance of 79 tree species distributed in nearly 1,700 patches of forest, including areas near the remains of ancient settlements.

Of these tree species, more than half were more common in areas where ancient settlements once existed, such as the Brazil nut. About a quarter of the species were less common than expected.

Overall, the occurrence or abundance of 53 of the 79 tree species was related to the history of human settlement.

Given that many species were of great importance to humans, including those that provided edible fruits and nuts, it is possible that the forests retain traces of well-tended crops, devoid of weeds and competing plants, which may indicate how the Amazon ecosystem was transformed into a large settlement.

Thus, unlike the wild, the Amazon can be perceived as an uncontrolled garden in which humans have sown their marks.

Studying the physical traces of these activities can reveal more information about how cultures have changed the forest to provide for large and diverse communities without encroaching on the Amazon ecosystem itself.

Earlier, archaeologists unearthed a huge 1500-year-old palace in the Mayan city. Earlier, experts from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in Mexico found another Mayan burial site. The sacrificed person was wearing a precious jewelry - a jade ring.

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