Researchers conducting aerial LiDAR surveys over the Llanos de Mojos region of Bolivia have identified a massive network of 1,500-year-old 'ringed villages.' These settlements consist of circular residential platforms arranged around a central plaza, all interconnected by an elaborate system of elevated causeways and canals that stretch for several kilometers through the seasonally flooded savannah.
The data reveals a highly organized landscape of 'urban-agricultural' hubs that supported a dense population long before European contact. The discovery confirms that the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Amazon basin practiced sophisticated land-management and hydraulic engineering, creating a resilient urbanism that thrived in a challenging tropical environment.