Aquiry civilization

The Aquiry civilization was a civilization located in Southwest Amazonia, in the region of the Acre River. It built extensive networks of roads and geometrical earthworks.

Rediscovery

In 2024, satellite imagery of recently deforested areas was used to map a network of earthworks, suggesting wide-scale and ancient human activity in the region. The study also suggested that investigating adjacent forested areas could lead to major discoveries.

A several years-long project involving many flyovers equipped with canopy-penetrating Lidar led to a major revision of the scale and potential influence of this civilization.

References

  1. ↑ Kalliola, Risto; PäRssinen, Martti; Ranzi, Alceu; Seppä, Iiro; Barbosa, Antonia Damasceno (2024). "Geography of ancient geometric earthworks and their builders in southwestern Amazonia". Acta Amazonica. 54 (4). doi:10.1590/1809-4392202203511. hdl:10138/592407. ISSN 1809-4392. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  2. ↑ Pärssinen, Martti; Kalliola, Risto; Ranzi, Alceu; Puttonen, Eetu; Lopes, Rhuan Carlos; Virtanen, Pirjo Kristiina; Apurinã, Francisco; Ruokolainen, Kalle; Hyyppä, Juha; Kukko, Antero; Campos, Mariana; de Novaes, Fabio; Oinonen, Markku; Barbosa, Antonia D.; Saunaluoma, Sanna; Ferreira, Evandro (29 July 2026). "Over 20,000 precolonial earthworks in the Southwest Amazonia". Nature. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10835-7. hdl:10138/636319. ISSN 0028-0836.