THE DISCOVERY
THE FIRST THING I FOUND
Serendipity & Life Imitating Art
In the gallery above you see the first thing I found. I had not expected to find anything, so when I saw the hole in the forest canopy with what looks like architecture, I was like WTF?
The Discovery
The discovery narrative itself begins with my late 1990's background in anthropology from Texas Tech University with an archaeological emphasis, including excavations & surveys. While in school I attended three different field schools and led a nonprofit organization providing archaeological field school scholarships to first-generation college students.
Years later, with Gracy Travel, I helped coordinate archaeological expeditions in Zimbabwe for Texas students and their professors focusing on rock art studies and the Ndebele culture in remote villages. While I'm not a professional archaeologist, I maintain deep respect for the discipline's methodological rigor.
The impetus for examining the Amazon region came from watching the April 2024 debate between lost civilization author Graham Hancock and archaeologist Flint Dibble on Joe Rogan's podcast. Despite their numerous disagreements, both acknowledged the Amazon's vast archaeological potential and its incredibly limited exploration. So, I decided to take a look for myself.
The site's location lies within the heart of primary jungle terrain, surrounded by serpentine waterways and wetland ecosystems, significantly distant from any documented human settlements—including both modern infrastructure and territories of uncontacted indigenous peoples. Within the expansive 35-mile-wide study area, only a single contemporary anthropogenic feature was identified, a homestead located on a tributary near a lake at the southern periphery of the site. It is positioned about 7 miles upstream from a potential archaeological feature exposed by the drought conditions.
The site is accessible by boat, but, I believe, by only 2 tributaries, it is mile's down river from the two big lakes before you reach the ruins. There are several tributaries/igarape's in the site but only two appear to be the entry's and exits. Very strategic.
The site is encompassed by seven tributaries, all of which reached historic low water levels during the drought, revealing ruins along their banks and within formerly inundated wetlands. Centuries of fluvial migration patterns have resulted in archaeological features appearing on both riverbanks, and in the river. Most notably what appears to be bisected wall structures and ruins now separated by a 100-foot-wide river channel. These walls either represent structures that were originally continuous and later split by the river's changing course, or they may have been purposefully constructed across the waterway. Or they are downed trees. The presence of these possible wall structures and ruins within the riverbed itself is clearly visible in the photographic evidence presented in the gallery below.
The site's profound isolation is characterized by several significant factors. Its geographic isolation is manifested in its position 150 by miles by boat to the nearest small town, and hundreds of miles from an urban center. The site is devoid of terrestrial transportation infrastructure or people. The dense rainforest canopy and complex riverine systems create formidable natural barriers to access. The topographical challenges are substantial, with primary rainforest coverage intersected by an intricate hydrological network.
The sheer scale of the Amazon rainforest, comparable to the contiguous United States, (it is about the same size) renders archaeological discovery exceptionally challenging. The confluence of higher-resolution imagery, canopy deterioration, drought conditions, and serendipity made this potential discovery possible—an outcome statistically improbable under normal circumstances.
Life Imitates Art
My skill set in satellite imagery analysis was initially developed working with Gracy Travel's water well initiatives in remote Zimbabwean villages, where identifying subtle anthropogenic features in satellite imagery proved essential for locating community wells and well repair sites. This skillset also found an unexpected application when I began writing a 500-page fiction novel\eBook about a hypothetical Denisovan civilization in Canada's Northwest Territories. The novel includes hundreds of Google Earth links to real locations, like a film set for the mind. I actually found the ruins of undocumented French colonial forts; one Canadian archaeologist told me.
I discovered a significant gap in the rainforest canopy that revealed what appeared to be architectural elements rising above the surrounding 60-100-foot tree line. (See above gallery for the first find.) Further examination uncovered consistent vegetation patterns stretching over a kilometer, accompanied by multiple canopy voids, geometric shapes, right angles, and additional architectural features.
Other finds strengthening this discovery
The unprecedented 2023 drought in the Amazon, while ecologically devastating, provided extraordinary archaeological insights. As water levels reached historic lows, previously submerged features emerged from the riverbanks. Along the Amazon and its tributaries, researchers documented hundreds of previously unknown rock art sites, including elaborate petroglyphs dating back thousands of years. The drought exposed ancient defensive structures, settlement remains, and what appear to be ceremonial sites along river systems that had been hidden beneath the water for centuries.
In a groundbreaking 2024 discovery in Ecuador's Upano Valley, researchers utilizing LiDAR technology uncovered evidence of extensive 2,500-year-old urban centers. These settlements, nestled in the eastern Andean foothills, represent the oldest and largest discovered complex of their kind in the region. The discovery revealed sophisticated urban planning, including intricate networks of farmland and roadways, fundamentally challenging previous assumptions about the scale and complexity of ancient Amazonian civilizations.
In Brazil, in the state of Mato Grosso, researchers have identified vast networks of villages and ceremonial centers connected by precisely engineered roads running for kilometers through the jungle, demonstrating sophisticated spatial planning and social organization. The Upper Tapajós Basin has revealed evidence of extensive pre-Columbian settlements, including artificial terraces, defensive ditches, and elaborate water management systems. Recent studies in the region have documented dozens of previously unknown settlement sites, some featuring earthen platforms up to 10 meters high.
Archaeological evidence from these sites suggests advanced societies with complex social organization, sophisticated agricultural systems, and the capability to modify landscapes on a massive scale.
Modern archaeological techniques have revealed that many areas of the Amazon previously thought to be "pristine wilderness" were in fact carefully managed landscapes shaped by human intervention over millennia. Satellite imagery, LiDAR scanning, and drought conditions have exposed extensive networks of raised fields, fish weirs, and managed forests that point to sophisticated resource management strategies. These discoveries are revolutionizing our understanding of pre-Columbian Amazonian societies, replacing the notion of small, isolated groups with evidence of large, interconnected populations capable of significant architectural and engineering achievements.
The 2023 drought also revealed extensive evidence of ancient riverine infrastructure, including elaborate systems of fish traps, artificial river channels, and what appear to be port facilities along major waterways. These discoveries suggest that ancient Amazonian societies developed sophisticated technologies for managing aquatic resources and maintaining extensive trade networks via river systems. The scale and complexity of these features indicate societies with advanced engineering capabilities and complex social organization, capable of mobilizing substantial labor forces for large-scale construction projects.
Am I seeing things?
To mitigate my possible confirmation bias, even though there appears to be plenty of archaeological smoke, did I find a fire?
I sought expert validation from my former professor (retired), a Harvard-trained Maya archaeologist with extensive jungle experience. His assessment—"these are very promising; you should go to confirm or debunk it in person— or with Lidar or aerial surveys". This assessment provided crucial validation. Further corroboration came from archaeological social media communities and artificial intelligence analyses, with multiple AI systems independently assessing an 85-95% probability of the features representing archaeological remains, based on over 100 photographs.
These encouraging evaluations prompted me to create this website to document and disseminate the findings for review and engagement.
Brent Holbert