Lasers reveal ancient urban sprawl hidden in the Amazon
A network of pre-Columbian canals and pyramids lurks within the thick forest
![lidar image of Cotoca site](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/052422_bb_amazon-urban-sprawl_feat.jpg?fit=1030%2C580&ssl=1)
This screenshot from a lidar-based 3-D animation shows the layout of Cotoca, a primary site in an ancient Amazonian urban network. Raised causeways radiate in different directions from platform mounds, pyramids and other structures.
H. Prümers/German Archaeological Institute