Jeff Lovett » Landscape

Strange Geoglyphs Discovered Beneath Clearcut Amazon

jlovett11211 — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:52:54 +0000

As reported by Treehugger

Strange Geoglyphs Discovered Beneath Clearcut Amazon

by Stephen Messenger, Porto Alegre, Brazil on 12.28.09

Because they are difficult to see from the ground, most geoglyphs went unnoticed by locals. Photo via Diego Gurgel

With the aid of satellite imagery from Google Earth, soon archeologists in Brazil will be finding more and more large geometric designs carved into the ground in the Amazon rainforest. The geoglyphs are believed to have been sculpted by ancient people from the Amazon region around 700 years ago, though their purpose is still unknown. So far, nearly 300 geoglyphs have been identified, but with advances in satellite imaging--and increased clearing of the jungle coverage--scientists are hoping to discover many more of these strange, geometric designs.

One of the factors that contributed to so many geoglyphs being undetected prior to the aid of satallites is their enormous size. According to leading geoglyph scientist Alceu Ranzi, his latest discoveries--five sets of geometric shapes, with circles, squares and lines--can measure more than a mile from one extreme to another.

You do not see them in field. There is a difference in the color of grass but is very thin. If there were no satellite images, there would be no possibility [of making these new discoveries].

Because they've been so hard to find, the first geoglyphs weren't discovered until the 1970s. Since then, scientists have been trying to piece together what significance they may have had to ancient Amazonians. What ever the purpose may have been, there's one thing that is certain: the ancient civilizations of the rainforest were more numerous and sophisticated than previously imagined.

According to a report from Globo, the new marks were only discovered because the jungle coverage had been removed to due to deforestation in the Amazon. These structures are deep, with grooves are as large as 12 meters wide and four deep, but it is believed that they were built when jungle abounded--which would make their construction all the more difficult.

Ranzi seems open to other possibilities:

Was it really forest [when the drawings were built] or did they occupy this area at a time of climate crisis, like that of 2005?

The world may never know what drove these ancient civilizations to carve the enormous geoglyphs, like the ones found recently using Google Earth. But, if it takes more clear-cutting in the Amazon rainforest to find out the answer, hopefully it will always remain a mystery.

Also reported by Ogle Earth:

Out of Brazil, a remarkable story, as reported by Treehugger blog: The deforestation of the Amazon has provided one unforeseen boon to archaeologists — the denuded ground has laid bare some amazing pre-Columbian geoglyphs, visible from the air, and thus on Google Earth:

One of the factors that contributed to so many geoglyphs being undetected prior to the aid of satallites is their enormous size. According to leading geoglyph scientist Alceu Ranzi, his latest discoveries — five sets of geometric shapes, with circles, squares and lines — can measure more than a mile from one extreme to another.

Treehugger doesn't provide locations of examples of these geoglyphs, but Globo Amazonia does. For the sake of convenience, here they are on Google Maps — click here to see them on Google Earth.

View Amazon geoglyphs in a larger map

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LCBD Porch Icon

jlovett11211 — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:14:32 +0000

The Little Cities of Black Diamonds is a micro-region in Southeast Ohio and the locus for my research. This area prospered greatly during the coal boom from the mid 19th century until its crash in the early 20th century.

The buildings in this micro-region have second story porches. These porches, and their decay, exemplify both the historical prosperity and the subsequent economic decline of the last 80 years.

Below is an iconic sketch based on these unique architectural elements.

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Little Cities of Black Diamonds Research Trip 01

jlovett11211 — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:54:49 +0000

I am conducting research trips in to the Little Cities of Black Diamonds (LCBD) in an attempt to collect visual and experiential data on the micro region's unique "finger print"

My first trip intentional venture into the region to gather data was motivated by the collection of photographic documentation of the cantilevered second story porches that seem to be unique to the micro-region.

This led me on a path from Athens through Nelsonville on US33 then north on OH78 through the towns of Butchel and Murray City. At Murry City I changed to OH216 north to New Straitsville, passing the Essex Mine Doser project and subsidence outlet on the way, which is always a treat. In New Straitsville, I accidentally deviated from my intended path to Shawnee by following OH93 south towards Logan. I realized my mistake and turned north on OH668 towards Junction City. This took me out of the LCBD micro region. The differences in landscape were there but subtle, the differences in architecture and town layout were dramatic. At Junction City, I turned on to OH37 east to New Lexington. New Lexington is the county seat for Perry county and a beautiful town, but still very different from the LCBD. From New Lexington I followed OH93 south to Shawnee. Shawnee is, in some ways the best preserved town from the coal mining boom of the late 19th and early 20th century and an excellent example of the nuances of the LCBD micro region. From Shawnee I drove OH155 through the small towns of Hemlock and Drake, both of which were very interesting and deserve further exploration when time permits, to the city of Corning. From Corning I followed the more familiar route OH13 south to Athens through the towns of Burr Oaks, Glouster, Trimble, Jacksonville and Cauncey.

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A Plastic River

jlovett11211 — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 14:44:32 +0000

Video of the log jam in the Hocking River that is collecting all the garbage that normally floats down the 20 something miles to the Ohio not quite 800 miles later it merges into the Mississippi River only 950 miles from it's new home in the Gulf of Mexico and the greater Ocean System.

Plastic River from Jeff Lovett on Vimeo.

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Norway 2007

jlovett11211 — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:50:02 +0000

Last Year, Marit and I spent nearly a month in Norway visiting her family. Our trip began in Oslo after a few days, we went to Vasskalven in the Oslo Fjord. From there we took a train across the southern tip of Norway and caught the Hurtigruten, a cruise / mail ship, in Bergen. The ship, over the course of 5 days, took us past the Arctic Circle to the northern tip of Norway just a few miles from Russia.

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