turkeydance quotes The Telegraph: Hundreds of ancient earthworks resembling those at Stonehenge were built in the Amazon rainforest, scientists have discovered after flying drones over the area. The findings prove for the first time that prehistoric settlers in Brazil cleared large wooded areas to create huge enclosures meaning that the ‘pristine’ rainforest celebrated by ecologists is actually relatively new.

The researchers believe the monuments appeared roughly 2,000 years ago — so after Stonehenge (by about 2,500 years). “It is thought they were used only sporadically,” reports the BBC, “possibly as ritual gathering places similar to the Maya pyramids of Central America, or Britain’s own Stonehenge.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot – Hundreds of Stonehenge-Like Monuments Found In The Amazon Rainforest