In the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors got lost and traveled down the length of the Amazon. When they returned to Spain, they reported lost cities and huge populations--and they were completely disbelieved. Archaeological evidence has revealed that they were not just telling stories. A recent film made by National Geographic was aired in November 2008.
The archaeological discovery of large urban settlements within the Amazon basin sent shockwaves through the archaeological community. Further, Heckenberger and his associates have published widely on the results of the Amazon basin. This is some of the published literature about the sites.
Sources
Heckenberger, Michael J. 2005. The Ecology of Power: Culture, Place, and Personhood in the Southern Amazon, A.D. 1000-2000. Routledge, London.
Heckenberger, Michael J., et al. 2008 Pre-Columbian Urbanism, Anthropogenic Landscapes, and the Future of the Amazon. Science 321:1214-1217.
Heckenberger, Michael J., et al. 2003 Amazonia 1492: Pristine Forest or Cultural Parkland? Science 301(5640):1710-1714.
Heckenberger, Michael J., James B. Petersen, and Eduardo G. Neves 2001 Of Lost Civilizations and Primitive Tribes, Amazonia: Reply to Meggers. Latin American Antiquity 12(3):328-333.
Heckenberger, Michael J., James B. Petersen, and Eduardo G. Neves 1999 Village Size and Permanence in Amazonia: Two Archaeological Examples from Brazil. Latin American Antiquity 10(4):353-376.
Heckenberger, Michael J., J. C. Russell, Joshua R. Toney, and Morgan J. Schmidt 2007 The legacy of cultural landscapes in the Brazilian Amazon: implications for biodiversity. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 362(1478):197-208.
Meggers, Betty J. 2001 The Continuing Quest for El Dorado: Round Two. Latin American Antiquity 12(3):304-325.
Meggers, Betty J., Eduardo S. Brondizio, Michael J. Heckenberger, Carlos Faustos and Bruna Franchetto. 2003. Revisiting Amazonia Circa 1492. Science 302: 2067-2070
Wust, Irmhild and Cristiana Barreto 1999 The Ring Villages of Central Brazil: A Challenge for Amazonian Archaeology. Latin American Antiquity 10(1):3-23.
