LiDAR reveals 2,500-year-old network of cities in Ecuador's Upano Valley

July 09, 2026EcuadorRemote SensingShare

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Key facts

• LiDAR laser scanning was used in the Upano Valley, Ecuador, in the foothills of the Andes near the Sunay volcano, to peer through the rainforest canopy.
• Survey revealed more than 6,000 earthen platforms including homes, plazas, and ceremonial buildings.
• At least 15 settlements were identified: 5 large and 10 smaller, connected by wide, straight roads.
• Some roads were dug 10–13 feet into the earth, with one extending at least 15 miles; roads were cut straight through ravines and high ground rather than routed around obstacles.
• Findings were published in the journal Science.
• Lead researcher was French archaeologist Stéphen Rostain, who had worked the valley on foot for nearly 30 years; co-researcher José Iriarte was also involved.
• Settlements date to at least 2,500 years ago, more than 1,000 years older than any previously known complex society in the Amazon.
• Rostain termed the settlement pattern "garden urbanism" and described it as a revolution in understanding Amazon prehistory.
• Researchers estimate more than 90% of Amazon human history remains undiscovered.
• The findings validate British explorer Percy Fawcett's 1925 search for a "Lost City of Z."

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