Editing Pre-Columbian era (section)

== South America ==
{{main|Pre-Columbian Peru|Inca Empire|Muisca Confederation}}
{{see also|Andean civilizations|Isthmo-Colombian Area}}
[[File:Gold Museum, Bogota (36145671394).jpg|thumb|left|[[Muisca raft]]. The figure refers to the ceremony of the legend of [[El Dorado]].]]
By the first millennium, South America's vast rainforests, mountains, plains, and coasts were the home of millions of people. Estimates vary, but 30–50 million are often given, and 100 million by some estimates. Some groups formed permanent settlements. Among those groups were [[Chibcha language|Chibcha]]-speaking peoples ("[[Muisca people|Muisca]]" or "Muysca"), Valdivia, [[Quimbaya culture|Quimbaya]], [[Calima culture|Calima]], [[Marajoara culture]], and the [[Tairona]]. The [[Muisca people|Muisca]] of [[Colombia]], postdating the [[Herrera Period]], [[Valdivia culture|Valdivia]] of [[Ecuador]], the [[Quechuas]], and the [[Aymara people|Aymara]] of [[Peru]] and [[Bolivia]] were the four most important sedentary Amerindian groups in South America. Since the 1970s, numerous [[geoglyph]]s have been discovered on [[deforestation|deforested]] land in the [[Amazon rainforest]], [[Brazil]], supporting Spanish accounts of complex and ancient Amazonian civilizations, such as [[Kuhikugu]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Romero |first=Simon |date=14 January 2012 |title=Once Hidden by Forest, Carvings in Land Attest to Amazon's Lost World |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/world/americas/land-carvings-attest-to-amazons-lost-world.html |access-date=6 July 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]] |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |journal=[[Antiquity (journal)|Antiquity]] |date=December 2009 |volume=83 |issue=322 |pages=1084–1095 |title=Pre-Columbian geometric earthworks in the upper Purús: a complex society in western Amazonia |first1=Martti |last1=Pärssinen |first2=Denise |last2=Schaan |first3=Alceu |last3=Ranzi |doi= 10.1017/s0003598x00099373|s2cid=55741813 }}</ref> The [[Upano Valley sites]] in present-day eastern Ecuador predate all known complex Amazonian societies.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Yuhas |first1=Alan |last2=Jiménez |first2=Jesus |date=23 January 2024 |title=Remnants of Sprawling Ancient Cities Are Found in the Amazon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/23/science/ecuador-amazon-cities-discovery.html |access-date=6 July 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]] |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The [[Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact theories|theory of pre-Columbian contact]] across the South Pacific Ocean between South America and [[Polynesia]] has received support from several lines of evidence, although solid confirmation remains elusive. A diffusion by human agents has been put forward to explain the pre-Columbian presence in [[Oceania]] of several [[plant cultivation|cultivated plant]] species native to South America, such as the [[bottle gourd]] (''Lagenaria siceraria'') or [[sweet potato]] (''Ipomoea batatas''). Direct archaeological evidence for such pre-Columbian contacts and transport has not emerged. Similarities noted in the names of edible roots in Maori and Ecuadorian languages ("kumari") and Melanesian and Chilean ("gaddu") have been inconclusive.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=[[Polynesian Society#Publications|Journal of the Polynesian Society]] |year=1923 |volume=32 |issue=128 |first=F. W. |last=Christian |page=255 |title=The Story of the Kumara |url=http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/?wid=1242 |access-date=15 December 2013 |archive-date=20 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170520233112/http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/?wid=1242 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

A 2007 paper published in ''[[PNAS]]'' put forward [[DNA]] and archaeological evidence that domesticated [[chicken]]s had been introduced into South America via Polynesia by late pre-Columbian times.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Storey |first1=Alice A. |first2=José Miguel |last2=Ramírez |first3=Daniel |last3=Quiroz |first4=David V. |last4=Burley |first5=David J. |last5=Addison |first6=Richard |last6=Walter |first7=Atholl J. |last7=Anderson |first8=Terry L. |last8=Hunt |first9=J. Stephen |last9=Athens |first10=Leon |last10=Huynen |first11=Elizabeth A. |last11=Matisoo-Smith |display-authors=3 |date=June 2007 |title=Radiocarbon and DNA evidence for a pre-Columbian introduction of Polynesian chickens to Chile |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]] |volume=104 |issue=25 |pages=10335–10339 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0703993104 |pmc=1965514 |pmid=17556540 |bibcode=2007PNAS..10410335S |doi-access=free }}</ref> These findings were challenged by a later study published in the same journal, that cast doubt on the dating calibration used and presented alternative [[mtDNA]] analyses that disagreed with a Polynesian genetic origin.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gongora |first1=Jaime |first2=Nicolas J. |last2=Rawlence |first3=Victor A. |last3=Mobegi |first4=Han |last4=Jianlin |first5=Jose A. |last5=Alcalde |first6=Jose T. |last6=Matus |first7=Olivier |last7=Hanotte |first8=Chris |last8=Moran |first9=Jeremy J. |last9=Austin |first10=Sean |last10=Ulm |first11=Atholl J. |last11=Anderson |first12=Greger |last12=Larson |first13=Alan |last13=Cooper |display-authors=3 |date=29 July 2008 |title=Indo-European and Asian origins for Chilean and Pacific chickens revealed by mtDNA |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=105 |issue=30 |pages=10308–10313 |pmc=2492461 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0801991105 |pmid=18663216 |bibcode=2008PNAS..10510308G |doi-access=free }}
</ref> The origin and dating remain an open issue. Whether or not early Polynesian–American exchanges occurred, no compelling human-genetic, archaeological, cultural, or linguistic legacy of such contact has turned up.

===Norte Chico civilization===
{{Main|Norte Chico civilization}}
[[File:Caral-Supe in Peru.jpg|thumb|The ancient city of [[Caral]]]]
On the north-central coast of present-day [[Peru]], Norte Chico or Caral-Supe (as known in Peru) was a civilization that emerged around 3200 BCE (contemporary with urbanism's rise in [[Mesopotamia]]).<ref name="1491Book" /> It had a cluster of large-scale urban settlements of which the [[Sacred City of Caral]], in the Supe Valley, is one of the largest and best-studied sites. The civilization did not know machinery or pottery but still managed to develop trade, especially cotton and dehydrated fish. It was a hierarchical society that managed its ecosystems and had intercultural exchange. Its economy was heavily dependent on agriculture and fishing on the nearby coast.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Caral, cradle of the oldest civilization in America |url=https://www.peru.travel/en/masperu/caral-cradle-of-the-oldest-civilization-in-america#:~:text=With%20more%20than%205%20thousand,civilization%20in%20the%20American%20continent.&text=Between%20the%20years%203000%20and,to%20exchanged%20products%20and%20merchandise. |access-date=2 May 2022 |website=www.peru.travel}}</ref> It is considered one of the [[cradles of civilization]] in the world<ref name="1491Book" /> and Caral-Supe is the oldest known [[civilization]] in the [[Americas]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=Sacred City of Caral-Supe |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1269/ |access-date=2 May 2022 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref>

===Valdivia culture===
{{Main|Valdivia culture}}
The [[Valdivia culture]] was concentrated on the coast of [[Ecuador]]. Their existence was recently discovered by archeological findings. Their culture is among the oldest found in the Americas, spanning from 3500 to 1800 BCE. The Valdivia lived in a community of houses built in a circle or oval around a central plaza. They were sedentary people who lived off farming and fishing, though occasionally they hunted for deer. From the remains that have been found, scholars have determined that Valdivians cultivated [[maize]], [[kidney bean]]s, [[squash (plant)|squash]], [[cassava]], [[chili pepper]]s, and [[cotton]] plants, the last of which was used to make clothing. Valdivian pottery initially was rough and practical, but it became showy, delicate, and big over time. They generally used red and gray colors, and the polished dark red pottery is characteristic of the Valdivia period. In its ceramics and stone works, the Valdivia culture shows a progression from the most simple to much more complicated works.

===Cañari people===
{{Main|Cañari}}
The Cañari were the indigenous natives of today's Ecuadorian provinces of [[Cañar Province|Cañar]] and [[Azuay Province|Azuay]]. They were an elaborate civilization with advanced architecture and complex religious beliefs. The Inca destroyed and burned most of their remains. The Cañari's old city was replaced twice, first by the Incan city of [[Tumebamba]] and later on the same site by the colonial city of [[Cuenca, Ecuador|Cuenca]]. The city was also believed to be the site of [[El Dorado]], the city of gold from the mythology of Colombia.

The Cañari were most notable for having repelled the Incan invasion with fierce resistance for many years until they fell to [[Tupac Yupanqui]]. Many of their descendants are still present in Cañar. The majority did not mix with the colonists or become Mestizos.

===Chavín civilization===
[[File:Museolarco.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Larco Museum]] houses the largest private collection of pre-Columbian art. [[Lima]], [[Peru]].]]
{{Main|Chavín culture}}
The Chavín, a Peruvian preliterate civilization, established a trade network and developed agriculture by 900 BCE, according to some estimates and archeological finds. Artifacts were found at a site called [[Chavín de Huántar]] in modern Peru at an elevation of {{Convert|3177|m|ft|sp=us}}. The Chavín civilization spanned from 900 to 300 BCE.

=== Muisca confederation ===
{{Main|Muisca people}}
The [[Chibcha language|Chibcha]]-speaking communities were the most numerous, the most territorially extended and the most socio-economically developed of the pre-Hispanic Colombians. By the 8th century, the indigenous people had established their civilization in the northern [[Andes]]. At one point, the Chibchas occupied part of what is now [[Panama]], and the high plains of the Eastern Sierra of [[Colombia]].

The areas that they occupied in Colombia were the present-day Departments of [[Santander Department|Santander]] (North and South), [[Boyacá Department|Boyacá]], and [[Cundinamarca Department|Cundinamarca]]. This is where the first farms and industries were developed. It is also where the independence movement originated. They are currently the richest areas in Colombia. The Chibcha developed the most populous zone between the [[Maya civilization|Maya]] region and the [[Inca Empire]]. Next to the [[Quechua people|Quechua]] of [[Peru]] and the [[Aymara people|Aymara]] in [[Bolivia]], the Chibcha of the eastern and north-eastern Highlands of Colombia developed the most notable culture among the [[sedentism|sedentary]] Indigenous peoples in South America.

In the Colombian Andes, the Chibcha comprised several tribes who spoke similar languages (Chibcha). They included the following: the [[Muisca people|Muisca]], [[Guane people|Guane]], [[Lache people|Lache]], [[Cofán people|Cofán]], and [[Chitarero people|Chitareros]].

=== Tairona confederation ===
{{Main|Tairona}}
[[File:Lost_City_Ruins.jpg|thumb|[[Ciudad Perdida]] ("The Lost City")]]
The Tairona civilization thrived in the [[Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta]] mountain range in northern [[Colombia]]. Studies suggest that the civilization thrived from the 1st century CE until the Spanish arrival in the 16th century. The descendants of the Tairona, such as the [[Kogi people|Kogi]] were one of the few indigenous groups in the Americas to have escaped full colonial conquest and retain a majority of their indigenous cultures.

===Moche civilization===
{{Main|Moche culture}}
The Moche thrived on the north coast of Peru from about 100 to 800 CE. The heritage of the Moche is seen in their elaborate burials. Some were recently excavated by [[UCLA]]'s [[Christopher B. Donnan]] in association with the [[National Geographic Society]].

As skilled artisans, the Moche were a technologically advanced people. They traded with distant peoples such as the Maya. What has been learned about the Moche is based on the study of their ceramic pottery; the carvings reveal details of their daily lives. The [[Larco Museum]] of [[Lima]], Peru, has an extensive collection of such ceramics. They show that the people practiced [[human sacrifice]], had blood-drinking rituals and that their religion incorporated non-procreative sexual practices (such as [[fellatio]]).

=== Wari Empire ===
{{Main|Wari Empire}}
The Wari Empire was located in the western portion of Peru and existed from the 6th century to the 11th century. [[Wari ruins|Wari]], as the former capital city was called, is located 11&nbsp;km (6.8&nbsp;mi) northeast of the city of [[Ayacucho]]. This city was the center of a civilization that covered much of the highlands and coast of Peru. The best-preserved remnants, besides the [[Wari ruins|Wari Ruins]], are the recently discovered [[Northern Wari ruins]] near the city of [[Chiclayo, Peru|Chiclayo]], and Cerro Baul in [[Moquegua]]. Also well-known are the Wari ruins of ''Pikillaqta'' ("Flea Town"), a short distance southeast of the [[Cusco]] ''en route'' to [[Lake Titicaca]].

===Tiwanaku Empire===
[[File:Zonnepoort tiwanaku.jpg|thumb|Gate of the Sun in Tiwanaku]]
{{main|Tiwanaku Empire}}
The Tiwanaku empire was based in western [[Bolivia]] and extended into present-day [[Peru]] and [[Chile]] from 300 to 1000 CE. Tiwanaku is recognized by Andean scholars as one of the most important South American civilizations before the birth of the [[Inca Empire]] in Peru; it was the ritual and administrative capital of a major state power for approximately five hundred years. The ruins of the ancient city state are near the south-eastern shore of [[Lake Titicaca]] in [[Tiwanaku Municipality]], [[Ingavi Province]], [[La Paz Department, Bolivia|La Paz Department]], about {{convert|72|km|miles}} west of [[La Paz, Bolivia|La Paz]].

===Inca Empire===
{{Main|Inca Empire}}
Holding their capital at the great [[cougar]]-shaped city of [[Cusco]], Peru, the Inca civilization dominated the Andes region from 1438 to 1533. Known as ''Tawantinsuyu'', or "the land of the four regions", in [[Quechuan languages|Quechua]], the Inca civilization was highly distinct and developed. Inca rule extended to nearly a hundred linguistic or ethnic communities, some 9 to 14 million people connected by a 40,000-kilometer [[Inca road system|road system]]. Cities were built with precise stonework, constructed over many levels of mountain terrain. [[Terrace farming]] was a useful form of agriculture. There is evidence of excellent metalwork and even successful [[brain surgery]] in the Inca civilization.
{{wide image|95 - Machu Picchu - Juin 2009.jpg|600px|The iconic [[Machu Picchu]], symbol of the Inca civilization|center}}

=== Aymara kingdoms ===
{{Main|Aymara kingdoms}}
The Aymara kingdoms consisted of a confederation of separate diarchies that lasted from 1151 after the fall of Tiwanaku until 1477 when they were conquered by the Inca Empire. The Aymara kingdoms were primarily located in the [[Altiplano]] in Bolivia as well as some parts of Peru and [[Chile]].

===Arawaks and Caribs===
[[Archeologist]]s have discovered evidence of the earliest known inhabitants of the Venezuelan area in the form of [[leaf]]-shaped [[Lithic flake|flake]] [[tool]]s, together with [[Cutting|chopping]] and [[Plane (tool)|plano]]&ndash;[[wikt:convex|convex]] [[scraper (archaeology)|scraping]] implements exposed on the high riverine terraces of the [[Pedregal River]] in western [[Venezuela]].<ref name="Kipfer_2000_91">
{{Cite book|last=Kipfer|first=Barbara Ann|year=2000
|title=Encyclopedic Dictionary of archaeology
|publisher=Kluwer Academic/Plenum
|location=New York|isbn=0-306-46158-7|page=91
}}</ref> [[Late Pleistocene]] hunting artifacts, including [[spear]] tips, come from a similar site in northwestern Venezuela known as ''El Jobo''. According to [[radiocarbon dating]], these date from 13,000 to 7000 BCE.<ref name="Kipfer_2000_172">
Kipfer 2000, p. 172.
</ref>

[[Taima-Taima]], yellow Muaco, and El Jobo in Falcón are some of the sites that have yielded archeological material from these times.<ref>Silverman, Helaine; Isbell, William (Eds.) (2008): Handbook of South American Archaeology 1st ed. 2008. Corr. 2nd printing, XXVI, 1192, {{ISBN|978-0-387-74906-8}}. pp.  430,  433–434</ref> These groups co-existed with megafauna like [[megatherium]], [[Glyptodontidae|glyptodonts]], and [[toxodon]]ts.

[[File:palafito.jpg|left|thumb|190px|A [[palafito]] like the ones seen by [[Amerigo Vespucci]]]]It is not known how many people lived in Venezuela before the [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|Spanish Conquest]]; it may have been around a million people,<ref name=Wunder/> in addition to today's peoples included groups such as the [[Arawak]]s, [[Kalina people|Caribs]], and [[Timoto-cuicas]]. The number was much reduced after the Conquest, mainly through the spread of new diseases from Europe.<ref name=Wunder>Wunder, Sven (2003), ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=n2nQ0A8BmCYC&pg=PA130 Oil wealth and the fate of the forest: a comparative study of eight tropical countries]'', [[Routledge]]. p. 130.</ref> There were two main north–south axes of the pre-Columbian population, producing [[maize]] in the west and [[manioc]] in the east.<ref name=Wunder/> Large parts of the [[Llanos]] plains were cultivated through a combination of [[slash-and-burn]] and permanent settled agriculture basically maize and tobacco.<ref name=Wunder/> The indigenous peoples of Venezuela had already encountered crude [[oil]]s and asphalts that seeped up through the ground to the surface. Known to the locals as ''mene'', the thick, black liquid was primarily used for medicinal purposes, as an illumination source, and for the caulking of canoes.<ref>{{cite book | title=Chronology of Venezuelan Oil | year=1969 | publisher=Purnell and Sons | author=Anibal Martinez}}</ref>

In the 16th century when [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|Spanish colonization]] began in Venezuelan territory, the population of several [[Indigenous people of the Americas|indigenous peoples]] such as the [[Mariches]] (descendants of the [[Kalina people|Caribes]]) declined.

=== Diaguita confederation ===
{{Main|Diaguita}}
[[File:Ruinas_Quilmes.jpg|thumb|The [[Ruins of Quilmes]] in [[Tucumán Province]], Argentina.]]
The Diaguita consisted of several distinct chiefdoms across the [[Argentine Northwest]]. The Diaguita culture emerged around 1000 CE after the replacement of the [[Las Ánimas complex]].<ref name="MCLpueblosdiaguitas">{{citation |title=Pueblos diaguitas |url=http://www.memoriachilena.cl/602/w3-article-97190.html |work=Memoria chilena |access-date=30 January 2014 |publisher=[[Biblioteca Nacional de Chile]] |language=es}}</ref> The Diaguita resisted Spanish colonialism during the [[Calchaquí Wars]] until they were forced to surrender and submit to Spanish rule in 1667.<ref name="Lorandi1988">{{cite book |last=Lorandi |first=A.M.|author-link=Ana María Lorandi |title=La frontera del estado Inca |year=1988 |editor-last1=Dillehay |editor-first1=Tom |pages=197–214 |language=es |chapter=Los diaguitas y el tawantinsuyu: Una hipótesis de conflicto |editor-last2=Netherly |editor-first2=Patricia}}</ref>

=== Taíno ===
{{Main|Taíno}}
The Taíno people were fragmented into numerous chiefdoms across the [[Greater Antilles]], the [[Lucayan Archipelago]], and the northern [[Lesser Antilles]]. The Taíno were the first pre-Columbian people to encounter [[Christopher Columbus]] during his voyage in 1492.<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2018 |title=Taino |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> The Taíno would later be subject to slavery by the Spanish colonists under the ''[[encomienda]]'' system until they were deemed virtually extinct in 1565.

=== Huetar kingdoms ===
{{Main|Huetar people}}
The Huetar people were a major ethnic group that lived in Costa Rica. The Huetar were composed of several independent kingdoms, such as the [[Western Huetar Kingdom|western kingdom]] ruled by [[King Garabito|Garabito]] and the [[Eastern Huetar Kingdom|eastern kingdom]] ruled by [[El Guarco]] and [[Correque]]. After their annexation into Spanish administration, the descendants of the Huetar currently reside in the [[Quitirrisí]] [[Indigenous territory (Costa Rica)|reserve]].

=== Marajoara culture ===
{{Main|Marajoara culture}}
The Marajoara culture flourished on [[Marajó|Marajó Island]] at the mouth of the Amazon River in northern Brazil between 800 and 1400 CE. The Marajoara consisted of a complex society that built mounds and constructed sophisticated settlements. The indigenous people of the area adopted methods of large-scale agriculture through the use of ''[[terra preta]]'', which would support complex chiefdoms. Studies suggest that the civilization housed around 100,000 inhabitants.

=== Kuhikugu ===
{{Main|Kuhikugu}}
Located in the [[Xingu Indigenous Park]] in Brazil, Kuhikugu consisted of an urban complex that housed around 50,000 inhabitants and 20 settlements. The civilization was likely established by the ancestors of the [[Kuikuro]] people. The people also constructed roads, bridges, and trenches for defensive purposes and were purported to be farmers, as evidenced by the fields of cassava and the use of ''[[terra preta]]''. Like most other Amazonian civilizations, the disappearance of Kuhikugu was largely attributed to Old World diseases introduced by European colonists.<ref>{{cite web |date=28 August 2008 |title=Ancient Amazon Actually Highly Urbanized |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lost-amazon-cities |access-date=20 January 2021 |website=scientificamerican.com}}</ref>

===Cambeba===
{{Main|Cambeba people}}
Also known as the Omagua, Umana, and Kambeba, the Cambeba are an [[Indigenous peoples of Brazil|indigenous people]] in Brazil's [[Amazon basin]]. The Cambeba were a populous, organized society in the late pre-Columbian era whose population suffered a steep decline in the early years of the [[Columbian Exchange]]. The Spanish explorer [[Francisco de Orellana]] traversed the [[Amazon River]] during the 16th century and reported densely populated regions running hundreds of kilometers along the river. These populations left no lasting monuments, possibly because they used local wood as their construction material as stone was not locally available. While it is possible Orellana may have exaggerated the level of development among the Amazonians, their semi-nomadic descendants have the odd distinction among tribal indigenous societies of a hereditary, yet landless, [[aristocracy]]. Archaeological evidence has revealed the continued presence of semi-domesticated orchards, as well as vast areas of land enriched with ''[[terra preta]]''. Both of these discoveries, along with Cambeba ceramics discovered within the same archaeological levels suggest that a large and organized civilization existed in the area.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/03/AR2010090302302.html |title=Scientists find evidence discrediting theory Amazon was virtually unlivable |first=Juan |last=Forero |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |date=5 September 2010}}</ref>

=== Upano Valley cultures ===
{{Main|Upano Valley sites}}
In the [[Upano River]] valley of eastern [[Ecuador]], several cities were established by the Upano and Kilamope cultures around 500 BCE.<ref name="Sci.org">{{Cite journal |last=Wade |first=Lizzie |date=11 January 2024 |title=Laser mapping reveals oldest Amazonian cities, built 2500 years ago |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/laser-mapping-reveals-oldest-amazonian-cities-built-2500-years-ago |url-status=live |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |doi=10.1126/science.zzti03q |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240112000516/https://www.science.org/content/article/laser-mapping-reveals-oldest-amazonian-cities-built-2500-years-ago |archive-date=12 January 2024 |access-date=12 January 2024}}</ref><ref name="BBC">{{Cite web |last=Rannard |first=Georgina |date=11 January 2024 |title=Huge ancient lost city found in the Amazon |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67940671 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111234436/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67940671 |archive-date=11 January 2024 |access-date=12 January 2024 |website=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> The cities in the Upano Valley consisted of agricultural societies that cultivated crops such as [[corn]], [[manioc]] and [[sweet potato]]. The cities fell into decline around 600 CE.<ref name="Guardian2">{{Cite web |date=11 January 2024 |title=Valley of lost cities that flourished 2,000 years ago found in Amazon |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/jan/11/amazon-archaeology-lost-cities-ecuador |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240112002219/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/jan/11/amazon-archaeology-lost-cities-ecuador |archive-date=12 January 2024 |access-date=12 January 2024 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>