LETTER FROM SAO PAULO
A curious little plane has been flying over the Amazon as of late. On the surface, there's nothing to distinguish it from other aircraft, apart from the very low altitude at which it flies. But on board, the aircraft carries a very special technology known as Lidar: a high-precision laser remote sensing process capable of "stripping back" the vegetation, revealing the secrets hidden beneath the canopy and – perhaps –helping to save it.
The gadget, operating on behalf of the Amazônia Revelada ("Revealed Amazonia") project, was launched in 2023 by Brazilian archaeologist Eduardo Góes Neves. This renowned 58-year-old professor from the University of São Paulo has spent more than half his life surveying the jungle in search of ruins. "But today, I don't just want to talk about 8,000-year-old ceramics. I want to act in the present!" the scientist explained.
"Lidar emits billions of waves per second, a small proportion of which pierce the forest and reach the ground, making it possible to identify elevations or human structures," he continued. Over the past year, almost 1,600 square kilometers have been mapped by this "digital deforestation" process, the equivalent of 15 times the surface area of Paris, from the mouth of the Amazon to the landlocked state of Acre.
Some 30 "sites" have been discovered. Geometric structures, raised fields, a wall and even an abandoned Portuguese village, dating from the 18th century, on the border with Bolivia. "Wherever we look, we find something!" Góes Neves said enthusiastically. For him the Amazon is anything but a virgin forest or a "wet desert:" "It's a biocultural heritage, an ecological basin and also a basin of civilizations, profoundly transformed by the indigenous peoples."
But the stated aim of the project is not limited to science: "It is also a reaction against the devastation of the Amazon," the archaeologist insisted. The Lidar overflight zones have been carefully selected to follow several front lines of the deforestation that is ravaging the jungle today. More than 100,000 fires have been identified in the rainforest since the beginning of the year, twice as many as in 2023.
The Brazilian constitution and a law that has been in force since 1961 require the authorities to protect archaeological sites. Amazônia Revelada's ambition is to forge new safeguard zones made up of portions of forest containing preserved remains. "In other words, the creation of a new layer of protection, which will be cultural in this case," Góes Neves explained.
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