Lasers reveal ancient urban sprawl hidden in the Amazon

A network of pre-Columbian canals and pyramids lurks within the thick forest

lidar image of Cotoca site

This screenshot from a lidar-based 3-D animation shows the layout of Cotoca, a primary site in an ancient Amazonian urban network. Raised causeways radiate in different directions from platform mounds, pyramids and other structures.

H. Prümers/German Archaeological Institute

A massive urban landscape that contained interconnected campsites, villages, towns and monumental centers thrived in the Amazon rainforest more than 600 years ago.