Amazon Tribes in the News





Cluster of Ancient Lost Cities in The Amazon Is The Largest Ever Found   Science Alert - January 19, 2024

Researchers have detected a cluster of lost 2,500-year-old cities at the foothills of the Andes in the Amazon rainforest. Covering an area of 300-square-kilometers (115-square-miles), LIDAR mapped platforms, plazas, and streets arranged in a geometric pattern, interwoven with agricultural drainage, terraces, and incredibly long, straight roads that connected a number of urban sites.




'Man of the Hole': The last remaining member of an uncontacted indigenous tribe in Brazil has died, officials say. The man, whose name was not known, had lived in total isolation for the past 26 years   BBC - August 29, 2022

His body was found on 23 August in a hammock outside his straw hut. There were no signs of violence. He is thought to have died of natural causes at an estimated age of 60. The man was the last of an indigenous group living in the Tanaru indigenous area in the state of Rondonia, which borders Bolivia.




Lasers reveal 'lost' pre-Hispanic civilization deep in the Amazon   Live Science - May 26, 2022
Millions of lasers shot from a helicopter flying over the Amazon basin have revealed evidence of unknown settlements built by a "lost" pre-Hispanic civilization, resolving a long-standing scientific debate about whether the region could sustain a large population, a new study finds. The findings indicate the mysterious Casarabe people - who lived in the Llanos de Mojos region of the Amazon basin between A.D. 500 and 1400 - were much more numerous than previously thought, and that they had developed an extensive civilization that was finely adapted to the unique environment they lived in



Forgotten Ruins of 'Monumental' Amazonian Settlements Discovered in Bolivian Jungle   Science Alert - May 26, 2022
The sprawling ruins of Amazonian settlements once home to an Indigenous agriculturalist society with a penchant for cosmology have been uncovered in the Bolivian jungle, hidden beneath seemingly impenetrable vegetation. The 26 sites, roughly half of which were previously unknown to archaeologists, are yet another example of how the Amazon region was home to large, longstanding settlements and complex ancient societies before the Spanish invasion decimated the Americas.




Foragers settled in the Amazon rainforest 10,000 years ago as researchers find the remains of five humans who feasted on shellfish buried six feet underground in Bolivia   Daily Mail - April 25, 2019
People began forming settled societies in the Amazon rainforest as far back as 10,000 years ago, according to a new study. A treasure trove of prehistoric finds, including the remains of five humans, was found under six feet (two metres) of dirt at three sites in Bolivia. Teeth of the individuals were worn down, indicating they were mature adults, and it is believed they feasted on shellfish that populated the region at the time. Traces of humans in the region have been found dating back up to 17,000 years but these people wandered through the site and stopped only briefly.




Human settlements in Amazonia much older than previously thought   PhysOrg - April 25, 2019
Humans settled in southwestern Amazonia and even experimented with agriculture much earlier than previously thought.




Last Survivor of Uncontacted Tribe, 'Man of the Hole,' Is Spotted in the Amazon   Live Science - July 20, 2018
An isolated man believed to be the only surviving member of his tribe has been spotted in the Brazilian Amazon. FUNAI, Brazil's indigenous affairs department, which monitors uncontacted people, released video footage this week of the man, nicknamed "the Man of the Hole," chopping trees with an ax in the state of Rondonia. To protect him from external threats, FUNAI said it has been keeping tabs on the man from a distance for the last 22 years.




The remarkable Amazonian Bora Tribe can communicate their entire language using the rhythm and pitch of drum beats   Daily Mail - April 25, 2018
They use traditional manguare drums to transmit information over a distance of at least 12 miles (20km), researchers found. This unusual form of communication copies spoken language in many ways and different beats imitate specific words and sentences.




A lost world in the heart of the Amazon: Archaeologists discover 'deserted' rainforest was actually home to a million people living in fortified villages as early as 1250 AD   Daily Mail - March 27, 2018
arts of the Amazon previously thought to have been uninhabited were home to thriving populations of up to a million people from as early as 1250 AD, research shows. Archaeologists have uncovered evidence there were up to 1,500 fortified villages in the rainforest away from major rivers - two-thirds of which are yet to be discovered. By analyzing charcoal remains and excavated pottery, researchers found a 1,100-mile (1,800km) stretch of southern Amazonia that was continuously occupied from 1250 until 1500 AD. These thriving populations were then decimated by the arrival of European settlers and their diseases. People had assumed ancient communities had preferred to live near these waterways, but the new evidence shows this was not the case.


A lost world in the heart of the Amazon: Archaeologists discover 'deserted' rainforest was actually home to a million people living in fortified villages as early as 1250 AD   Daily Mail - March 27, 2018




Indigenous South American group has healthiest arteries of all populations yet studied, providing clues to healthy lifestyle   Science Daily - March 18, 2017
An 80 year old from the Tsimane (pronounced chee-MAH-nay) group had the same vascular age as an American in their mid-fifties, suggests a new report. The Tsimane people -- a forager-horticulturalist population of the Bolivian Amazon -- have the lowest reported levels of vascular aging for any population, with coronary atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) being five times less common than in the US, the research shows.




Controversial gas from Peruvian Amazon arrives in UK   BBC - March 4, 2017
A tanker docking in the UK is transporting a controversial cargo of gas from the Peruvian Amazon. It is thought to be the first shipment to the UK from the Camisea project in rainforest 60 miles from Machu Picchu. Supporters of fracking say the UK should frack its own gas, rather than importing from sensitive regions like the Amazon. But opponents of fracking say the practice creates disturbance and pollution and fuels climate change. The tanker Gallina, owned by Shell, is scheduled to arrive at the Isle of Grain in Kent. The gas project at Camisea field has been hugely contentious.




Amazon forest shaped by pre-Columbian indigenous peoples   BBC - March 3, 2017
Indigenous peoples who inhabited the Amazon before the arrival of European colonizers planted a vast number of trees, a new study argues. They played an important role in the current composition of the forest, says the study. Researchers found that species used for food or building materials were far more common near ancient settlements. The Amazon is not nearly as untouched as it may seem Eighty-five species that produced Brazil nuts, cashew nuts, acai or rubber were also five times more likely to be dominant in mature forest than non-domesticated species. The scientists reached their conclusions by comparing data on tree composition from more than 1,000 locations in the Amazon with a map of archaeological sites.




History sheds light on Amazon's rich tree diversity   BBC - February 14, 2017
The rich diversity of trees in the Amazon could be the result of widespread dispersal over geological time, a study has suggested. Although the vast tropical area is now divided into regions, scientists suggest these areas did not evolve in isolation from one another. Modern fragmentation could be damaging the process that made the Amazon so important for plant biodiversity.




Hundreds of ancient earthworks built in the Amazon   PhysOrg - February 6, 2017
The Amazonian rainforest was transformed over two thousand years ago by ancient people who built hundreds of large, mysterious earthworks. Findings by Brazilian and UK experts provide new evidence for how indigenous people lived in the Amazon before European people arrived in the region. The ditched enclosures, in Acre state in the western Brazilian Amazon, were concealed for centuries by trees. Modern deforestation has allowed the discovery of more than 450 of these large geometrical geoglyphs. The function of these mysterious sites is still little understood - they are unlikely to be villages, since archaeologists recover very few artifacts during excavation. The layout doesn't suggest they were built for defensive reasons. It is thought they were used only sporadically, perhaps as ritual gathering places.




Researchers uncover evidence of people predating Amazonian rainforest   PhysOrg - July 8, 2014
A team of researchers with members from the U.K., Germany and Bolivia has found evidence that suggests that parts of Bolivia now covered with rainforest were drier and more savanna-like just 2000 to 3000 years ago, a time when people were already living in the area. Cutting of trees in the area recently revealed ditches dug by people thousands of years ago - each about a kilometer long and three meters deep by four meters wide. No one knows yet why the ditches were dug, or what purpose they served. But in this new effort, the researchers took core samples from sediments that had formed over thousands of years in nearby lakes. In examining the samples, the researchers were surprised to find grass pollen of the type typically found in the savanna, such as in Africa. The core samples also showed that people in the area were planting maize during the same time period.




Mysterious Earthen Rings Predate Amazon Rainforest   Live Science - July 7, 2014
A series of square, straight and ringlike ditches scattered throughout the Bolivian and Brazilian Amazon were there before the rainforest existed, a new study finds. These human-made structures remain a mystery: They may have been used for defense, drainage, or perhaps ceremonial or religious reasons. But the new research addresses another burning question: whether and how much prehistoric people altered the landscape in the Amazon before the arrival of Europeans.




Imperiled Amazon Indians Make 1st Contact with Outsiders   Live Science - July 3, 2014
Indigenous people with no prior contact to the outside world have just emerged from the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and made contact with a group of settled Indians, after being spotted migrating to evade illegal loggers, advocates say. The news, which was released, comes after sightings of the uncontacted Indians in Brazil near the border with Peru, according to the group Survival International. Officials with the organization had warned last month that the isolated tribes face threats of disease and violence as they moved into new territory and possibly encountered other people.




Can World's 'Most Threatened' Tribe Be Saved?   Live Science - April 25, 2012
A new international campaign hopes to save a group of people who have been dubbed "the most threatened tribe in the world" - the Awa tribe of Brazil - from encroaching outsiders who are gobbling up their land. The Awa live in the Brazilian state of Maranhao on lands set aside for their hunter-gatherer lifestyle. But according to the tribal advocacy group Survival International, which is leading the new campaign, the tribe is increasingly under threat by illegal settlement and logging on their lands. One reserve set aside for the tribe, the Awa Territory, is one-third deforested, its trees stripped by illegal logging operations, some with sawmills operating only miles from Awa land.




Existence of Uncontacted Amazon Tribe Confirmed   Live Science - June 25, 2011
Brazilian officials have confirmed the existence of approximately 200 Indians who live in the western Amazon with no contact with the outside world. This uncontacted tribe is not "lost" or unknown, according to tribal advocacy group Survival International. In fact, about 2,000 uncontacted Indians are suspected to live in the Javari Valley where the tribe's homes were seen from the air. But confirming the tribe's existence enables government authorities to monitor the area and protect the tribe's way of life.




Basic understanding of geometry not dependent on education: study   PhysOrg - May 24, 2011
In a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, psychologist Veronique Izard from the Universite Paris Descartes and her colleagues show how abstract geometric principles are understood despite a lack of formal education.




'Time' not necessarily deeply rooted in our brains   PhysOrg - May 21, 2011
Hidden away in the Amazonian rainforest a small tribe called the Amondawa have successfully managed what so many dream of being able to do - to ignore the pressures of time so successfully that they don't even have a word for it. It is the first time scientists have been able to prove 'time' is not a deeply entrenched human universal concept as previously thought. Team members including linguist Wany Sampaio and anthropologist Vera da Silva Sinha, spent eight weeks with the Amondawa researching how their language conveys concepts like 'next week' or 'last year'. There were no words for such concepts, only divisions of day and night and rainy and dry seasons. They also found nobody in the community has an age. Instead, they change their names to reflect their life stage and position within their society, so that for example a little child will give up their name to a newborn sibling, and take on a new one.




New images of remote Brazil tribe   BBC - January 31, 2011
New pictures have been released of an isolated tribe living in rainforest on the Brazil-Peru border. Brazil monitors many such tribes from the air, and they are known as "uncontacted" because they have only limited contact dealings with the outside world. Photographs of the same tribe were released to the world two years ago. Campaigners say the Panoan Indians are threatened by a rise in illegal logging on the Peruvian side of the border.




'Lost towns' discovered in Amazon BBC - August 29, 2008
A remote area of the Amazon river basin was once home to densely populated towns, Science journal reports. The Upper Xingu, in west Brazil, was once thought to be virgin forest, but in fact shows traces of extensive human activity. Researchers found evidence of a grid-like pattern of settlements connected by road networks and arranged around large central plazas. There are signs of farming, wetland management, and possibly fish farms. The settlements are now almost completely overgrown by rainforest. The ancient urban communities date back to before the first Europeans set foot in the Upper Xingu region of the Brazilian Amazon in the 15th Century.




Amazon 'stealth' logging revealed BBC - October 21, 2005
Scientists from Brazil and the US say new research suggests deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon has been underestimated by at least 60%. Deforestation in the Amazon is on such a massive scale that the only way of measuring it is by using satellites. The trouble has been that while traditional aerial images can show areas that have been completely destroyed, they do not reveal selective logging of valuable trees such as mahogany.




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