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Hundreds of Geoglifos Discovered in the Amazon
2010.01.20 - Geoglifos
is the term applied in Brazil to geometric earthworks discovered after
recent deforestation. 
Geoglyphs are not new in South American archaeology, but these are
different—massive earthworks of tropical forest soil rather than desert
surface alterations. The Amazon Geoglifos present geometric forms;
circles, squares, ellipses, octagons, and more, with individual forms
up to several hundred meters across. Some are connected by parallel
walls. Their distribution spans hundreds of kilometers, and much of the
area remains forested jungle.
Geoglifos have been discovered in Google
Earth exploring areas with recent high-resolution imagery updates.
(Click thumbnail images herein to view larger image files in a new
window.) Recent Brazilian news videos (five reports embedded below) on
the ground and from small planes clearly illustrates the impressive
scale, the massiveness of the amount of earth moved, and the unique
monumental quality of this ancient cultural expression.
Earthworks preservationists, researchers,
and recent archaeology
news
feeds called my attention to these constructs enough times to
finally prompt online research. I was surprised by their numbers and
scale. I quickly noticed many newly-discovered earthworks are already
damaged by modern roads. No wonder conservationists are raising alarms.
There seems to be no respect or recognition of the unique
archaeological remains. Have efforts been made to protect them? Do the
forms go unnoticed on the ground in the jungle because of their large
scale?
... more at permalink ...
VIDEOS and more: Hundreds of "Geoglifos" Discovered
in the Amazon
 Download
Google
Earth
Placemarks:
amazon_geoglifos.kmz
I posted a placemark file of the
geoglyphs I found. Recently local archaeologists thought, given the
known distribution and the amount of the area deforested so far, only
ten percent of the geoglifos were known. Some are visible in YouTube
videos that are not yet seen on Google Earth. Hundreds exist and more
will be visible and discoverd as new areas of Google Earth update with
hi-res images. I seek additional placemarks and data files. Please GPS
monuments you visit.
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