New research published in the journal Nature has uncovered evidence of a vast pre-colonial civilisation that flourished across southwestern Amazonia. The Aquiry civilisation was a large, pre-colonial society that flourished from around 600BC until AD850, and spanned around 183,000 sq. The Aquiry were known for constructing massive geometric earthworks featuring deep ditches and high embankments, some connected by roads. Of the 432 Aquiry earthworks identified as part of the present study, only 36 had been previously recorded. Pärssinen adds: “Considering that our study area represents less than 3% of Greater Amazonia, one cannot help but wonder: what else remains hidden beneath the forest canopy?”