Uncovering Amazonia: How statistics dismantled a myth.

This article focuses on a 2023 interdisciplinary study that used advanced statistical modeling to analyze over 960 observed pre-Columbian earthworks in the Amazon rainforest, revealing that more than 10,000 such earthworks likely remain undiscovered. The research, involving ecologists, archaeologists, geologists, and statisticians, applied a Bayesian model-based approach to presence-only data, enabling estimation of the total number and distribution of these ancient human-made structures and their relationship to environmental factors and domesticated plant species. The findings challenge the perception of the Amazon as an untouched wilderness by demonstrating extensive pre-Columbian human intervention, with implications for understanding the forest's ecological and cultural history. The study's methodological innovations and its large-scale, data-driven results garnered significant global media attention and highlight the value of interdisciplinary collaboration and statistical analysis in environmental and archaeological research.