Modern deforestation takes a toll on the planet in many ways but it can also reveal hidden secrets.

Modern deforestation takes a toll on the planet in many ways but it can also reveal hidden secrets. Along with technology, we can now make all kinds of new discoveries in faraway places.Recently, hundreds of geoglyphs were found within the Amazon rainforest. Researchers scoped out more than 8,000 square miles in the northwestern state of Acre in Brazil and discovered more than 450 geoglyphs, with some measuring up to 36 feet wide and 13 feet deep and diameters from 300 to 1,000 feet around. Jennifer Watling, a post-doctoral researcher at the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography at the University of Sao Paolo, collected soil samples from holes 5 feet deep inside and outside two of the geoglyph sites.The team then analyzed the soil profiles seeking charcoal and stable carbon isotopes to find the indicator of dominant vegetation species that were present before, during and after construction of these monuments. They were also looking for phytoliths, which are a type of microscopic plant fossil made of silica. Helping to identify ancient plant species, this allowed the team to reconstruct vegetation and fire history surrounding the two geoglyph sites. Results revealed that the bamboo forest existing in that region now was indeed present throughout the past 6,000 years.Results also show the architecture is made up of geometrical circles and squares, suggesting this place was occasionally used as a public gathering site for carrying out rituals and ceremonies. It also revealed that these structures were created long before European contact. Their construction also showed no signs of deforestation or grand altering of the land surrounding. Large populations were able to live and flourish alongside the Amazonian forest without causing environmental degradation.Watling stated that these features “rival the most impressive examples of pre-Columbian monumental architecture anywhere in the Americas.” The discovery of these huge structures is significant not only because of the answers to this new puzzle, but also because this overturns the notion of the Amazon rainforest being a pristine wilderness.Watling explains, “The study shows that long-term, regional-scale deforestation in the Amazonian rainforests is strictly a modern phenomenon. Our results are another testimony to the ingenuity and importance of indigenous knowledge for creating more sustainable land-use alternatives in Amazonia.”–MiImage Credit – http://bit.ly/2mxY8CrSource – http://bit.ly/2mf21Ln -- source link

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