Stonehenge of the Amazon: the civilization that built them was very advanced
A megalithic stone circle in Brazil from a thousand years ago indicates that ancient civilizations in the Amazon were more sophisticated than previously thought. The unusual arrangement of the stones could have been used as a place of worship, as well as for astronomical observations relating to crop cycles.
A megalithic stone circle in Brazil suggests that the indigenous peoples of the Amazon may have been more sophisticated than previously believed. Rego Grande, known as the 'Stonehenge of the Amazon', is located in the state of Amapà, near the town of Calcoene and takes its name from a nearby stream.
According to archaeologists, the unusual arrangement of the stones may have been used as a place of worship and for astronomical observations related to agricultural cycles.
The circle measures approximately 30 meters in diameter and is made up of 127 large granite blocks arranged in an upright position. Each of the blocks stands up to 4 meters high and weighs several tons.
The stones seem shaped in an irregular way, but someone saw the sketch of animals, such as a horse, and the profile of a human face.
The circle appears to have been placed to coincide with the winter solstice, when the sun is lowest. The shadow of one of the blocks, in fact, disappears when the sun is directly above it.
The site was discovered by the Swiss-Brazilian naturalist Emil Goeldi at the end of the 19th century, but it did not attract the attention of archaeologists of the time. The 'rediscovery' of the megaliths is due to Mr. Lailson Camelo da Silva.
Until a few years ago, archaeologists were convinced that the Amazon had not hosted advanced societies until colonization by Europeans. Rego Grande forces us to radically review this belief.
“We are starting to piece together the puzzle of human history in the Amazon basin, and what we found in Amapà is absolutely fascinating,” explains Mariana Cabral, an archaeologist at the Federal University of Minas Gerais.
The dating of the site is a matter of debate. While Stonehenge is placed between 3000 BC and 2000 BC, Rego Grande is thought to have been built around a thousand years ago, five hundred years before the arrival of Europeans.
But the site could be much older. Given the scarcity of information, some experts have urged caution so as not to reach hasty conclusions about the dating and true purpose of the site.
