Ancient Remains Found In Bolivia: Could 10,400-Year-Old Settlements Prove Existence Of Amazon Peoples?

A new discovery by archeologists in the Bolivian Amazon suggests that humans lived in the region over 10,000 years ago. According to the archaeologists, mollusk shells were found in the middle of the Bolivian Amazon dating back 10,400 years ago, suggesting that hunter-gatherers lived there. The discovery, made near the city of Trinidad in the Beni province, is significant since it was previously believed that Bolivians did not live in the area until much later.

The finding was made by by an international scientific team lead by Italian geographer Umberto Lombardo of University of Bern and Bolivian archaeologist Jose Capriles of the University of San Andres in La Paz. The international team found the "shell mounds" while digging in three "forest islands" that were located on the pastures in the Moxos plains. According to Jose Capriles interview with Efe, the shell mounds were created when the hunter-gatherers discarded shells over 10,000 years ago.

According to the archaeologists, there were systematic digs conducted at the three shell mounds but there are many more mounds to go through, as there are hundreds of mounds spread across the islands. "The challenge for the research was to demonstrate that these accumulations had been made by human beings and not, let's say, by other agents, such as birds or other animals. The evidence appears to us to be very strong after much analysis," said Jose Capriles.

This archaeological project has raised many questions about the earliest human settlements in the Amazon. The dig will continue until 2014 so that the scientists will be able to gather more evidence and make an educated estimation on the earliest human settlement in the region. The project is being funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Other archeology related news: Olinguito Is New Species Found In 2013; Smithsonian Scientists Discover New Carnivorous Species In South America [PHOTOS]; Tomb Discovered In Peru: 1200-Year-Old 'Temple Of The Dead' Found Filled With Treasures [VIDEO]; and Kawahiva Tribe in Brazil Amazon Jungle Caught On Camera For First Time [VIDEO].