What They Found Hidden in the Amazon

For centuries, explorers told stories of golden cities and lost civilisations in the Amazon Rainforest. Most were dismissed as myth. But new evidence has changed everything we thought we knew...

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This video explores the hidden cities of the Amazon: how they thrived, why they were forgotten, and what we’re learning today. From the Upano Valley in Ecuador to the geoglyphs of Acre in Brazil, we uncover how ancient societies adapted to one of the most challenging environments on Earth.

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00:00 Hidden Mysteries of the Amazon
02:31 The Scale & Dangers of the Amazon Rainforest
04:43 Myths vs. Science: The Old Consensus
07:28 New Tools & New Evidence (Lidar + Terra Preta)
09:15 Hidden Cities Emerging (Upano Valley, Acre Geoglyphs)
11:16 Why It Matters: Rethinking Civilisations
12:39 The Collapse
13:55 Modern Stakes
14:52 Questions for Today

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Key scholarship referenced:
Meggers, Amazonia: Man and Culture in a Counterfeit Paradise (1971)
Meggers & Evans, Archaeological Investigations at the Mouth of the Amazon (1957)
Lathrap, The Upper Amazon (1970)
Denevan, The Pristine Myth (1992)
Roosevelt, Moundbuilders of the Amazon (1991)
Rostain et al., Science – Upano Valley lidar study (2024)
Prümers et al., Nature – Casarabe lidar study (2022)
Watling et al., PNAS – Acre geoglyphs (2017)
Erickson, Nature (1992) – Amazonian fish weirs
Clement et al., Proc. Royal Society B (2015) – Domestication of Amazonia
Levis et al., Science (2017) – Domesticated tree enrichment

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Image credits (linked):
Conquistadores — AlextronB — CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Spanish conquistadors discovering victims of human sacrifices among the Incas — Wellcome Collection — https://www.lookandlearn.com/history-...
The capture of Cuauhtémoc (Conquest of Mexico) — Unknown author — Public domain — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Percy Fawcett — User Daniel Candido (pt.wikipedia) — Public domain — https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
Orlando Villas Bôas — Brazilian National Archives — Public domain — https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
Jack Fawcett and Raleigh Rimell (1925) — Public domain — https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...

Additional credits (license pages):
CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
CC BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
CC BY 3.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

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#AmazonRainforest #LostCities #ancientcivilizations

Music ID:
0VOZJCJP6LL2LZYJ