Ancient Amazonian Cities [3 examples...kind of]

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What's going on with these ancient Amazon cities!
Sources:
Prümers, Heiko, et al. “Lidar reveals pre-Hispanic low-density urbanism in the Bolivian amazon.” Nature, vol. 606, no. 7913, 25 May 2022, pp. 325-328, doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04....
Rostain, Stéphen, et al. “Two Thousand Years of garden urbanism in the Upper Amazon.” Science, vol. 383, no. 6679, 12 Jan. 2024, pp. 183-189, doi.org/10.1126/science.adi6317.
Šprajc, Ivan, et al. “Origins of mesoamerican astronomy and calendar: Evidence from the olmec and maya regions.” Science Advances, vol. 9, no. 1, 6 Jan. 2023, doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abq7675.
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
1:02 Thanks to Betterhelp
2:26 Spanish Accounts
6:22 LIDAR
7:17 Paper 1
11:25 Paper 2
15:19 Paper 3
Huge thanks to my generous patrons
/ stefanmilo
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[@HistoryTime]

Stefan Milo vid …. Cities in the Amazon .. .. cancel everything else… Must watch immediately!

[@MrBukkakebandit]

Hey big dog great channel you got there.

[@ruththinkingoutside.707]

Fancy seeing you here! Lol

[@erinmac4750]

So happy to see my favorite creators are connected! 🍀🦋

[@deadflee]

From which channel.. there are a lot video with the same name

[@DarinNiday]

Found this channel from yours...both are epic! Thank you fellas!

[@VERYEXCITED]

I wish there were more channels like yours for other academic subjects, where a host breaks down recent papers and explains them for laypeople.

[@msergio0293]

There a few, there is one about a woman working in physics and she shares advances and papers about cosmology and news about the JWSP

[@finesse49]

​@@msergio0293Dr.Becky?

[@erinmac4750]

Anton Petrov does this, too. He's also very relatable in his own unique way, just like Stefan. 🍀

[@rdklkje13]

There's a great weekly radio programme that does this for earth systems sciences: Radio EcoShock. An hour a week with two or three interviews with authors of the studies in question. Archive goes back about a decade and a half, everything is available on the website. Paul Beckwith makes frequent videos here on YT in which he breaks down new climate science studies for lay people. He does these for the content, not the presentation, i.e. they're very informative, not flashy. Anton Petrov, of course, natural science videos every day pretty much, mostly about new research. If you want something more niche, Russell Barkley, a retired psychiatrist specialising in ADHD, does a brief research update every Friday, also here on YT. There are also some Religious Studies scholars with great academic YT channels for lay people. They don't necessarily focus on recent papers, but do present much up-to-date information from their field for the rest of us: Religion for Breakfast, Let's Talk Religion, Esoterica and Angela's Symposium. Plus some specialised ones = Bart Ehrman on the New Testament and Al Muqqadimah on the (secular) history of Islam. The latter guy isn't a scholar himself but he does produce academically informed content of great quality.

[@rdklkje13]

Hmm, my reply seems to have disappeared. Let's hope it works this time. There's a great weekly radio programme that does this for earth systems sciences: Radio EcoShock. An hour a week with two or three interviews with authors of the studies in question. Archive goes back about a decade and a half, everything is available on the website. Paul Beckwith makes frequent videos here on YT in which he breaks down new climate science studies for lay people. He does these for the content, not the presentation, i.e. they're very informative, not flashy. Anton Petrov, of course, natural science videos every day pretty much, mostly about new research. If you want something more niche, Russell Barkley, a retired psychiatrist specialising in ADHD, does a brief research update every Friday, also here on YT. There are also some Religious Studies scholars with great academic YT channels for lay people. They don't necessarily focus on recent papers, but do present much up-to-date information from their field for the rest of us: Religion for Breakfast, Let's Talk Religion, Esoterica and Angela's Symposium. Plus some specialised ones = Bart Ehrman on the New Testament and Al Muqqadimah on the (secular) history of Islam. The latter guy isn't a scholar himself but he does produce academically informed content of great quality.

[@drivernephi1002]

Travelling one way down an unknown river that seems to be never ending is both fascinating and horrifying.

[@erinmac4750]

I'm not fond of the conquistadors, but you have to respect their boldness.

[@theflamingone8729]

There's a movie about the expedition of Don Lope de Aguirre. Is some respects it's a boring as batshit, but that in itself conveys what it would've been like floating down a river as you die from starvation, disease, insect bites and hostile locals.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

@@theflamingone8729 Directed by Werner Herzog.

[@Algrenion]

@@MarcosElMalo2 and starring Klaus Kinski, the most insane human being to ever grace a film set am i right in remembering that he was so bad to work with, half the crew offered to kill him? 😭

[@theflamingone8729]

@@MarcosElMalo2 don't get me wrong, it's worth watching.

[@caseyhartnett4894]

LIDAR used to require a plane equiped with a very expensive equipment. I used some of this in my research in Mathematics and Biology. We could never pay for one because it was in the 50-100k range for basic work in the 2010s. Drones and cheaper electronics are making it much easier. I looked into it as a side business lots of options for work including the simplest of a person with land wanting to monitor its contours closely.

[@00CooG00]

Im in the “business” so to speak and there’s for sure a revolution in the field going on right now. Laser scanning is being used heavily to create what is called digital twins. This is something that came from aerospace engineering that is now being applied to cities. The lasers/sensors themselves have gotten a lot better, a lot lighter, and a lot cheaper. Same things have happen ld with drones. Also we have better software for error correction of gnss signals. The result is that you get high quality and very dense point clouds, Much much denser than what is possible from an airplane, at way less cost and complexity.

[@gmw3083]

​@@00CooG00Is this stuff available to regular people at a reasonable price?

[@bookman7409]

And there you have it, the answer to why things changed comes down to economics driven by technological advances, as you and Coo have correctly noted. I'll add that for the most part, the answer to 'why did/didn't They do that' is almost always money, and the majority of the exceptions to that involve gov't actors. 'Follow the money', sure, but be careful not to stop digging down when you reach a convenient conclusion. It's never that simple.

[@heitormaiarodrigues8493]

Hi there. I am brazilian and lived for about 1 year deep in the amazonian jungle while serving in the army (frontier with colombia and Venezuel). Lots of weird tales are told over there by the original habitants… Nice to see some recognizement out here!!!

[@XCILE625]

Cool man please share some of these stories

[@thiagolaguna4991]

Pessoal zuou o Bolsonaro por causa dessas pesquisas, vai entender

[@racudo1898]

​@@thiagolaguna4991 fica difícil confiar em um sujeito que esculhambou com o financiamento da ciência no brasil

[@tengen2251]

​@@thiagolaguna4991o pessoal zoou ele por conta de ratanabá, que é algo absurdo. Nos ja sabemos da existencia de cidades na amazonia muito antes disso. Ibclusive uma cidade bo araguaia que tinha fazenda de peixes. Tido feito pelas universidades daqui e nao pela galera do et bilu.

[@user-lt3kd8zq3t]

​@@tengen2251 Ratanaba a cidade mais do que velha que os vertebrados terrestres 😂😂😂 A educação e a ciência falhou quando tantas pessoas acham isso razoável ou verídico

[@LimeyLassen]

What's amazing to me is how quickly the forest reclaimed the land. Just a few centuries and a bustling metropolis is reduced to mounds of earth that can only be seen by a computer.

[@refindoazhar1507]

In wet tropical climate, it takes less than a decade for structures to be completely swallowed by the jungle. And while stone and earthen component will leave its mark for a very long time, wooden structure quickly disappear like it had never existed at all.

[@orangeyewglad]

But actually rainforests are some of the most difficult ecosystems to restore when they have been clear cut because the tree roots hold so much of the nutrients and soil from erosion, that once they are removed it can take hundreds of years for the land to be reclaimed. In contrast, temperate forests are more easily regenerated because the soil is much more rich even when trees are removed, and therefore the rewilding process is much more rapid when left to restore itself.@@refindoazhar1507

[@mrbaab5932]

Lidar

[@patavinity1262]

Nature abhors a vacuum.

[@fabianojota]

We shouldn't be so excited with mounds. No structure remains? Maybe just a city of huts

[@8ahau279]

17:16 It's not an error. The second dot is just broken off. When there is just one dot, it is placed in the center, if there are two dots, they are placed on the left and right extremes. The left side is missing, but the position of the dot we see tells us there was another one.

[@StefanMilo]

Oh thank you for that! I was wondering what had happened

[@gmw3083]

Two suns vs. One sun? 260 day years. 20 day moonths. That's still 13 moonths. Exactly 13. With no imbalances in the clockwork. The shortened moonth period creates a more powerfully luminous moon. A second sun. The great return is at hand.

[@hazenoki628]

Was about to comment this myself.

[@fleetskipper1810]

10 fingers +10 toes equals 20. Perhaps that’s why 20 seemed to be a logical way to break time into predictable segments. Also, 13 of those “months “does equal 260 exactly. What I would like to know more about is how those time periods corresponded with the local seasons.

[@kore_persephone_]

„BABE, new Stefan video just dropped!” „hell yeah! Let’s watch it on the TV!” You are a legend sir!

[@EGO_OUTAtadistance70]

This is the same idiot that debunks the ancient apocalypse narrative and he's about to be proven wrong about all the bulshit he spouts

[@mathewhex7045]

These kind of comments make me barf a little everytime. It's a declaration of creative bankruptcy.

[@communismisthefuture6503]

@@mathewhex7045I was about to say the same thing about your comment

[@ShapeshiftedCow]

@@mathewhex7045 what are you even on about

[@bubarowe]

So fascinating. Slightly tragic to consider that in the '20's Percy Fawcett searching for his lost city of Z was viewed as a bit of a crackpot but was essentially correct. I wonder if he was just lucky and it's coincidental of if he was actually that inciteful? I remember from reading the book about him he talked about "black soil" that was obviously enriched by humans.

[@Madferreiro]

*insightful?

[@cal2127]

terra praeta?

[@Madferreiro]

Yes, terra preta. Its a marvel of bioengineering. Extremely advanced for its time, something equivalent to roman cement in terms of how ahead of its time it was.

[@SamAronow]

Fawcett’s observations were correct but his conclusion (theosophical race-spiritualism) were indeed crackpot. For obvious reasons that stuff wasn’t in the movie and I’d venture it dissuaded a lot of people from listening (while attracting a smaller number of people).

[@bubarowe]

@@SamAronow I've not seen the film and it's quite a few years since I read the book so I must admit I'd forgotten about that stuff. I mean he was quite potty, but then that sort of spiritual nonsense wasn't uncommon then and many respectable upper class types were into mediums and seances and suchlike.

[@levitatingoctahedron922]

I strongly recommend reading "The Discovery of the Amazon" by Gaspar de Carvajal to anyone interested in this subject. It's one of my favorite reads, full of adventure and is rich with anthropological material. I believed the account even before it was popular to do so, and I'm glad that it's been vindicated in the last decade.

[@flamencoprof]

Ooh! ooh! Have you read Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America By Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca? It's available as a free e-book if you search.

[@chacmool2581]

​@@flamencoprof No. But I watched the movie.

[@flamencoprof]

@@chacmool2581 I couldn't believe there was a movie of such an obscure book. I just looked it up, it seems a long way from the book. I'd suggest the book above it.

[@stephenbrand5661]

There's so much funny hipsterishness going on here! 😂

[@chacmool2581]

@@flamencoprof Que te hace pensar eso?

[@raymi987]

Here in the Andes, we look to the south, not to the north, because our guiding constellation is the CHAKANA or South Cross, and it has a directly relation with U-Temples. In the Formative peruvian period, there are many of these U-temples like Chavin, Cardal, Manchay, etc., a it's amazing that in bolivian amazonas we have this same archeo-astronomic architecture practice. Gracias por tu contenido y saludos desde Perú, maestro

[@roberto24hn]

The Mayas have two calendar systems; the agricultural calendar based on 365 days (20 days in a month x 18 months = 360 + 5 day resting month = 365) and the spiritual calendar based on 260 days (20 days in a month x 13 months = 260). Mayan math is base 20 because we have 20 fingers so a finger per day gives 20 days. The agricultural calendar is based on astronomy and the spiritual is based on our bodies. They chose 13 months because there are 13 main joints in the body; two feet, two knees, two hips, two hands, two elbows, two shoulder joints and the final joint being the neck giving a total of 13 joints. When you convert 260 days to modern months you get 8.6 months which is approximately the amount of time we have to be in the womb and for this reason it is considered spiritual. Most Mesoamerican civilizations were descendent from the Olmecs so no surprise in the similarities with the cultures. The buildings have 20 structures because they were used to keep track of two calendars both based on 20 day months.

[@athought3060]

Thank you for your concise presentation of the calendar and the metaphysical underpinnings that make them culturally meaningful. Excellent contribution to this discussion.

[@brawndothethirstmutilator9848]

You have 20 fingers? What species are you?

[@eslnoob191]

@@brawndothethirstmutilator9848Digits. The original poster obviously meant we have 20 digits, which is inclusive of fingers and toes. In a lot of languages, there is not a clear distinction between the word finger or toe and you need to say something like "hand fingers" or "foot fingers" to distinguish them.

[@susanwestern6434]

​@@eslnoob191 Russian has a word for digets. Having to specify hand or foot ones.

[@patavinity1262]

​@@eslnoob191 Yeah, that was the joke buddy.

[@kathrynschwing8943]

About 20 years ago I had an internship where I was given the state's lidar data to play around with - it was brought over to my office in several briefcase-sized storage drives with about 1 terabyte of data each. I can definitely see how this data is much easier to work with these days :).

[@WilliamCarterII]

We were just talking about this in an anthropology class last week. I might actually go here to do research with them

[@MarcosElMalo2]

That might be the greatest experience of your life (and congratulations to future you if you have experiences even greater). I wonder how remote the site is. It could be quite a challenge if it’s way up river in the hinterlands. You don’t want to get eaten by a wild hinter, let me tell you!

[@OneOfTheFirstToWatchStarTrek]

Do it!! You have decades ahead to try other things, this is spectacular! Hinters be dam'd!!

[@NikoMoraKamu]

be careful with the monkeys they look cute but they are evil

[@WilliamCarterII]

@@NikoMoraKamu Believe me, I have had plenty of experience with monkeys in Brazil. I know their true intention 😂😭

[@MarcosElMalo2]

@@NikoMoraKamu Just don’t touch the monkeys. Maybe they wouldn’t be so evil if you people weren’t always trying to touch them, or worse yet trying to spank the monkeys. Look, I get it. Spanking the monkey is very pleasurable. But please try and control yourself.

[@thelostone6981]

One of my favorite, or should I say favourite?, shows is a British program called Time Team. And while I am just a layperson, I learned so much about archeology and the different methods used to learn about civilizations long since past. While so much is lost to history and we can only guess, I LOVE this type of thing! Like our bearded, then uh-bearded, and then slightly-bearded host said, it really gets my cogs going also! When I think of Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, USA, or Nan Mondol Micronesia, or even the artistic petroglyphs of Finnmark Norway, I am absolutely flabbergasted at how brilliant our species can be. Yes, there is a lot of broken people along the way and I don’t want to take away from the suffering to make such things happen….but we are capable of so much!

[@poppymason-smith1051]

Time team has some new digs up on their youtube channel, and reuploads on their time team classics channel. Also have you been watching Digging for Britain on the bbc. That has similar vibes to what time team set out to do.

[@cathjj840]

It was also an illustration of civilization in contemporary society, in the sense of people being supremely civil with each other and how reassuring, indeed heartwarming, it felt. I was surprised to see that half the commenters on the YT videos mentioned this and shared how the show was saving their emotional and mental health, giving them hope for humanity! Furthermore, one of the digs had this as a specific goal beyond the historical interest. If I remember correctly, the site was a former WWII airbase and a group of soldiers with PTSD were invited along to participate with the Time Team members. It was very touching.

[@jackdelvo2702]

For a long time it was thought that a large scale civilization in the Amazon was not possible due to the poor soil for agriculture. A few years back I saw an article that while typical slash and burn techniques and normal ways of fertilizing the soil did not work in the rainforest which erosion would wash away they found a pre Colombian settlement that used charcoal to enrich the soil which resisted erosion in the rainforest.

[@flamencoprof]

These fertile “dark earths”, or terra preta, may cover 150,000 square kilometres, much of it now reclaimed by rainforests.

[@jackdelvo2702]

@@flamencoprof Thank you for your response, It’s been quite awhile since I read that article and obviously there has been much more research. I’ll have to look into the subject again. Thank you once more.

[@flamencoprof]

@@jackdelvo2702 You could start with where I got that info: New Scientist website page: - Myth of pristine Amazon rainforest busted as old cities reappear By Fred Pearce 23 July 2015 The article mentions Gaspar de Carvajal. It has links as well.

[@jackdelvo2702]

Thanks again, read up on the current findings and it seams they added broken pottery, kitchen garbage and human waste to the porous charcoal along with the porous pottery which absorbed the nutrients and over time slowly released them into the soil. Sounds like they dumped all the settlement waste along with left over charcoal into one spot, let it “stew” for a while then spread it onto the fields. By simple observation they saw the area around their dumps had become fertile and used the mix on their fields. Kind of like observing the grass is always greener over the septic field. The addition of charcoal was the magic that made the rainforest furtile.

[@flamencoprof]

@@jackdelvo2702 Well researched, I didn't know about the waste and pottery aspect. We humans are nothing if not observant. IIRC they think that's how agriculture could have arisen, by observing the growth of gathered plants along the route back to camp, or some such.

[@joelvburke]

@StefanMilo your enthusiasm for these topics is freaking adorable!

[@Dragons_Armory]

It's insane to think about cities- ancient cities in this part of the Amazons PLEASE MORE TO KEEP US UPDATED!!!

[@kekero540]

People really underestimate just how fast the rainforest can reclaim itself from cities.

[@OneOfTheFirstToWatchStarTrek]

LIDAR is revolutionary, disruptive, and - especially - vindication of oral traditions. It's so exciting!!! Thank you always for your curiosity, openness, and inclusiveness.

[@pcom9209]

WONDER since when Archaeologists started believing Scientific theories or accepting what is scientific ? According to them Humans got brains only 12000 yrs ago & Anything earlier than that , is conspiracy theory, be it science or mythology.

[@bendover9813]

*some* oral tradition that was already plausible, it just lacking evidence. Let’s be fair lol, It won’t be able to prove the Inuit sun/moon incest myths, or the story of Anansi from the Ashanti, or jotün in Scandinavia.

[@terraflow__bryanburdo4547]

Everything is political today. Simple appreciation or curiosity is not enough...it must be "stunning and brave!".

[@telebubba5527]

What do you mean by 'disruptive'? Because Lidar doesn't touch anything. It just hover over the ground and leaves everything as it was. So maybe you mean exactly the opposite: non-disruptive.

[@Nippleless_Cage]

​@@telebubba5527 You must have trouble with non-literal concepts. He clearly means it's disruptive to old conventions of thought in archaeology and similar fields.

[@lurkst3r]

The Olmec are so fascinating with their massive statues. It's so great to see Lidar bringing these old cultures back to life with its surveying. Great vod, please make more. Thank you!

[@user-tx9tv9pj8j]

MesoAmericans used both a 365-day solar calendar [18 months of 20 days each plus a 5-day-long 19th 'month'] and the 260-day 'ritual' calendar you described [called Tzolk’n in Yucatec Maya], running them concurrently, as if one calendar weren't enough to keep track of. The solar calendar has obvious utility, but most people don't realize that 260 days is roughly a human gestation period, so that a child born on 7 Deer was also considered to have been conceived on 7 Deer, so the 'ritual' calendar day might not just be part of a person's name but might lend a kind of 'astrological' significance to their life. Moreover, the solar & 'ritual' calendars realign & begin repeating [like hands on a clock] every 52 solar years, meaning a person who reaches this age has completed a full Calendar Round becoming a certain kind of elder. It is these 52-year periods which are tabulated in Long Count dates. It's also apparent from your video how deeply ingrained Base 20 counting is in MesoAmerica. Interesting stuff indeed!

[@frankrivera4625]

I’m glad you’re doing more of these Amazon series since most archeologists have shown very little lately. Keep up the good work.

[@MTreatVO]

I have been waiting with baited breath for updates on the cities in the amazon. The fact that one of my favorite youtubers posted a video about it is just, *kisses fingers* Brilliant.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

*bated breath sorry, I can’t help myself. Ignore it you wish. No criticism was implied.

[@Hubbard61]

Your enthusiasm and excitement is so authentic and makes the content more enthralling. Knowing you are just as excited as us, and not just repeating info that you think will get clicks.

[@matthewsheeran]

There are very many more incredible doscoveries buried underwater. If they can ever build the tech for that, then all the history textbooks would have to be rewritten!

[@kacperwoch4368]

7:10 I saw this LIDAR image and I immediately recognized the city as Łódź, Poland. The image is mirrored but if anyone's curious the coordinates are: 51°45'34.7"N 19°27'33.6"E

[@danv8718]

My man, long time follower here. You should do some research before taking betterhelp's money.

[@chrisva4268]

Been binging your videos and love your enthusiasm for past peoples who for so long have gone forgotten. LiDAR seems like an incredible tool, I watched a documentary that showed how they used it to discover Nan Madol, the ancient Micronesian city was much much larger than the temple remnants indicate

[@dananorth895]

It's certainly a surprize out of nowhere. The early laser spectrograph analysis could analyse plants and soil/rock. They found some plant life had a diferent color due to limestone, but limestone wasn't natural part of the soil. That's when they started finding structures/temples all over the place. They might have just as easily thrown a rock in any random direction. Lol When Lidar came out it didn't seem nearly so funtional. Great for landslide analysis/traces/history and tracking/prediction. And for ancient/current floods as well. The resolution is amazing. The space shuttle did penetrating radar scans around the earth from around 50° north to 50° south that are availible in the image files online. They've located ancient rivers, settlements even underground structures and caverns. I'd like to find the Labyrinth area in egypt to see if anything shows up. There appear to be underground rift from tomb/cavern of birds in nw. cliffs to n. side of central pyramid on Giza platou.

[@bentucker2301]

Your enthusiasm is infectious

[@wabisabi6875]

Bravo, Stefan, you outdo yourself every time!

[@benmcreynolds8581]

I find LIDAR, Satellite archeology, & UV-IR aerial imaging so fascinating to see the advancements and evolution it's helping progress in archeology as a whole.

[@DarenDuke]

Can you give Hancock a woop woop now?

[@lukecefer]

This really brightened my day Stefan. Thank you.

[@steveclark5357]

I love hearing the same exciting tone in your voice as when I learn something new, and you are humble , a true compliment to you, you are quite relatable stefan , thank you for your work , good stuff sir

[@atomdent]

Absolute blast watching you get so excited, Stephan! Makes for an awesome learning experience, your enthusiasm is 100% contagious!!Thank you!!

[@MartinUToob]

An archeologist viewing this video 4,000 years in the future: "We still are unable to decipher or understand most of the text, but it is clear that these peoples worshipped LIDAR. Given the number of mentions in the archeological record, it is unmistakable that LIDAR was central to these peopls existence. From bits and pieces, we can ascertain that the rising of the Sun & Moon, the movements of the stars, the very basis for the existence of life itself was attributed to LIDAR.....whatever that might be."

[@brawndothethirstmutilator9848]

If they’re examining online content, by quantity I’m pretty sure they would have to conclude that we followed some type of fertility cult with all the pr0n.

[@Nippleless_Cage]

😂 ​@@brawndothethirstmutilator9848

[@riteshyeddu9186]

@@brawndothethirstmutilator9848 lmaooo true!!!

[@f1mbultyr]

I love how exited you are talking about these things

[@ZheDong]

Amazing video as always Stefan!

[@carsonthething4519]

the chapter in 1491 about this topic blew my mind!

[@Margrreet]

Mine too!

[@franug]

Mine too! It's crazy to realize the Amazon is no pristine land; it is a managed forest!

[@jakeva9802]

Betterhelp is a scam, plz dont tarnish your reputation

[@Cobbido]

data gathering operation

[@Cocoanutty0]

It’s so sad to see KZbinrs accepting sponsorship from them again

[@BlueBirdsProductions]

Ngl this guy doesn't research his sponsors at all, he was promoting that scam for becoming a lord by owning land in Scotland too😂

[@crewrangergaming9582]

he got a reputation??

[@reginaldbentworth9159]

@@BlueBirdsProductionsconverse opinion. If the content is good enough I can excuse it.

[@marjus89]

What a banger of a treat this Friday evening! :)))

[@MarcoS-yp9qf]

absolutely fabulous production and information. Kudos.

[@Looshington]

Excellently done my friend! Appreciate the coverage and thoughtful analysis as always :)

[@robertbissett]

Great video! Way back, seven decades ago and more, we were told by the experts the Amazon was virgin forest, pristine, untouched, old growth. And it must be preserved in that state. Now we find out they didn't know what they were talking about, but had no doubts. A lesson in there for today somewhere. 😁

[@chillpillology]

it is the flood plain … not forest. quoting: The area covered by lidar represented just 0.08% of the Amazon rainforest, which spans approximately 2.6 million square miles (6.7 million square kilometers). But since the extent of the Amazon is so big, we can't just fly lidar over everything.

[@llanitedave]

Those urban cultures disappeared long enough ago that the Amazon forest had been given plenty of time to return to an old-growth state. And whatever lesson we take from that, the lesson is NOT that it's ok to ravage the landscape today.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

Most of it was. The Amazon River Basin is immense. The evidence points to arboriculture being the dominant method of food production, not agriculture. And the agriculture that was practiced was not tilled earth row-crops.

[@dananorth895]

Most of the populations appeared to be wiped out by contagious desease in the very earliest days of exploration. Many of what were considered to be natural growth trees and plants were in fact cultured food forest crops that went wild and spread across vast territory.

[@sergpie]

@@dananorth895 Disease likely played a massive role in the disappearance of these peoples, but I also hypothesize that, like several mesoamerican cultures/settlements, abandonment may be due also to excessive soil erosion due to the felling of trees in a localized areas with sensitive microclimates/biomes. The site of the great pyramids of Teotihuacan, are believed to have been abandoned for this very reason, as the vast forests that once surrounded the region, were cut down and turned to ash for mortar or used as lumber for support structures. Along with soil erosion during precipitation events, one of the side effects of this was a severe aridity subsequent to the razing of these forests.

[@Sereneis]

Tired of Better help

[@patrick_on_here9914]

If you double tap the right-hand side of the screen it fast forward 10 seconds. Doing this repeatedly you can skip through the advertisement rather quickly. Or if you’d prefer you can drag the red dot along the red stripe at the bottom of the video. The advertisement is even represented by its own segment, for your convenience

[@Heatherpoints]

I am very excited about this! Thank you

[@stiofanmacamhalghaidhau765]

another good one. love how consistently you echo my own enthusiasm and delight, in my case for what I call 'bumps in fields'... can't beat a good bump

[@MrUnimagenable]

Boycott better help, it doesn't help they sell your medical info

[@Cocoanutty0]

I wish more KZbinrs would do their due diligence

[@B_Machine]

Seems like every sponsorship is bad in one way or another. There's been so many.

[@zachjohnson6672]

Your excitement about the topic at hand in every video you make is so genuine and so endearing. Your channel is my only subscription that I watch every new video that you put out. I really love your content. Thanks so much.

[@KatherineHugs]

You present these videos in such a fascinating way. Keep it up!

[@Tauasa]

Love your channel Stefan! Thank you!

[@josephalaguna]

I love your passion on this Stefan. Your knowledge is motivating!

[@000hms]

I very much appreciate your content, Stefan. Thank you.

[@AndrewCavaletto]

Stefan, thank you for sharing your insights and research with us! You are a beautiful human ❤️

[@oakdogfu]

Beautiful production Stephan

[@Llerme]

Thanks Stefan! Great video

[@aske1602]

Thanks for the great video. Keep them coming please.

[@judithmccrea2601]

Good to see you!!😊

[@scottjustscott3730]

Awesome! Thanks for the drop, Stefan! This will make the next half hour at work suck a bit less.

[@jim.pearsall]

Your excitement makes me excited about this topic. Thank you so much. 🙏🏻😃

[@Ferpingr]

Amazing content as always!!❤

[@Idellphany]

Great video as always!

[@pcatful]

That one mound alignment predicted my birthday… Awesome! Love your work and this was a very wonderful episode !

[@sandraschick1916]

Your enthusiasm is so wonderful, honest, and refreshing! I love history as well. No one ever seems to appreciates my enthusiasm. So I wanted you to know that you are appreciated!! 💖😊💖

[@ruththinkingoutside.707]

Sweeeet! A new Stefan video! Awesome!

[@philhobs1]

Love your passion and enthusiasm, thank you for sharing these pieces of history that would be forgotten for many!

[@drbobinski1]

Love the information but more so your enthusiasm Stefan. You're the best. I have visited many of these regions over the years.

[@dersitzpinkler2027]

Awesome as always

[@jabberwoke1]

Excellent work as usual.

[@GMulls94]

Love these, keep it up!

[@AdamSmith-yc8iz]

You’re “incredible!” Thanks for sharing!

[@ozmosize]

I really enjoy your content Stefan, please keep it coming

[@sjohnson4882]

Thanks for the information! Fascinating!

[@therob4371]

The day is always better when one of your videos drops

[@ronaldmcronald8611]

Thank you for an amazing video! Thank you for improving your research and the format of your content! Keep up the good work.

[@user-ej8sy1gi3h]

Another fantastic video!

[@Beau-qk4vp]

My face lights up everytime i see you've posted i love your vids keep it up stefan

[@Thrainite]

Remember when the Amazon movie 'Lost City of Z' came out. I've been fascinated with the possibility ever since. Such an intriguing thing that captures the imagination. Not unlike Indiana Jones. lol

[@simonward-horner7605]

Bloody fascinating! Thanks!

[@billbarcher549]

love the beard stefan. Thinking about majoring in anthropology and your content is amazing!

[@djpenton779]

Great stuff. Your enthusiasm is infectious, Stefan. I usually catch your videos on nebula. Keep up the good work.

[@moscowcowboy_13]

First video, subscribed. I liked you right away, Stefan. You are such a nice and super smart guy, it is really enjoyable seeing you walk us through this amazing history.

[@-Hari-03]

hey stefan :) love your vids so much man, keep it up :)

[@scoobysnax9787]

Brilliant from start to finish & left me wanting more.

[@susanbergquist3550]

Really interesting, keep up the good work!

[@user-gi1vs9ue7r]

love your work bro.

[@leetester8612]

Great video. Thanks

[@matthewkehoe4015]

Great video, super fascinating stuff, this is my favorite channel on KZbin

[@DipityS]

So many questions - this is fascinating 😊

[@Petty_Mason]

I’d like to thank you for the vast improvements to your sound. I have severe misophonia and had to watch some of the older videos on mute w the cc on. I can watch on regular volume now and enjoy these much more. I’m curious about a misophonia and Neanderthal connection - love your channel

[@AnnaSibirskaja]

Incredible stuff! ❤

[@AffectiveApe]

Excellent presentation and video! Deeply researched, passionately presented, and the editing and visuals are way more entertaining than they have any business being. Awesome stuff!

[@sergiorodriguezballestero714]

Amazing video, as always Stefan!!! There is so much to discover yet! I wish we could have this LIDAR tech in 🇨🇷

[@berniemaopolski4870]

Really good episode as usual.

[@datnyga15]

Can’t wait to see what else we find, so interesting ❤

[@FrauWNiemand]

I can physically feel the excitement. More, please.

[@veliborb]

Another fantastic video, i was always fascinated about South America indigenous cultures, thanks a lot, Stefan ! Best regards from Montenegro!

[@christopherdawkins5392]

Really enjoy your content. Fun stuff.

[@pietervoogt]

Great video. I love your style, you always cheer me up. Also as a European I'm so relieved to get kilometers and meters instead of feet and miles.