Claims › Amazon & LiDAR lost cities › More than 10,000 earthworks are still hidden under the Amazon canopy
More than 10,000 earthworks are still hidden under the Amazon canopy
The claim: Thousands of pre-Columbian earthworks remain undiscovered across Amazonia, most of them in the southwest.
Why this label: A 2023 Science paper found 24 new earthworks in sampled LiDAR strips and used a statistical model to estimate how many more exist. The new finds are measured; the total is a model projection, and estimates of this kind are debated.
Background
The study also found 53 domesticated tree species associated with places where earthworks are likely, pointing to long-term forest management. It is a forecast that future LiDAR can test directly.
What has been measured
Dates, measurements and documented findings, kept separate from interpretation.
- 24 previously unknown earthworks detected in LiDAR transects across the basin. [1]
Evidence and arguments for
- The model predicts between 10,272 and 23,648 large-scale sites still to be found. [1]
Evidence and arguments against, or limits
- Predictions depend on environmental variables and the sample of known sites, which is biased toward accessible areas. [1]
Open questions & what would change the label
Wider LiDAR coverage of predicted hotspots will test the model directly.
Sites
Casarabe culture sites (Cotoca and Landívar)
Related claims
Sources
- Peripato, V. et al. (2023). More than 10,000 pre-Columbian earthworks are still hidden throughout Amazonia. Science 382. doi:10.1126/science.ade2541 data
More in this section: Amazon & LiDAR lost cities.
Sources checked against Crossref and publisher pages on 2026-10-22. Labels describe the claim, not the people who hold it. Methodology.