10 Unbelievable Discoveries That Were Made In The Jungle
10 Unbelievable Discoveries In The Jungle
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Intro
The jungles are and always have been mysterious. Even if they make up just 7 percent of the Earth’s land surface, with that number going down year after year, they are home to half of all living creatures on the planet. And what’s more, we don’t even know many of them. Nevertheless, the jungle can hide a lot of mysterious things. From huge rings that predate the amazon forest to the oldest forest tribes, today, we are looking at 10 unbelievable discoveries that were made in the jungle. Let’s begin:
Number 10. Mysterious rings
It has always been assumed that the Amazon Rainforest was a pristine environment before we began major mining and logging practices in the 19th century. However, new research is showing that there are mysterious ditches found scattered within the rainforest and they actually pre-date the rainforest itself. yes, you heard that right. the rings are OLDER than the forest. These massive structures are up to 5 meters deep and sometimes just as wide. The big questions have to do with it and how much prehistoric people altered the landscape of the Amazon before the arrival of Europeans. Researchers are still unsure of what the purposes of the rings were, if the use was for defense, drainage, water retention, ceremonial, or religious purposes. But we are constantly finding ways to better understand the history of this unique environment. Sediment cores taken from nearby lakes near the ditches took scientists by surprise when they saw that the oldest sediments didn’t come from a rainforest ecosystem but from a dry savannah. This tells us that the people who lived there at the time faced drastically different conditions than the ones we see today. Nature really is something, isn't it?
Number 9. Stone Spheres
Since the 1930s, farmers have noticed spherical stones scattered across forests in Southern Costa Rica. They found them while clearing the bushes to make room for banana plantations. The stones measure about 6 feet in diameter and weigh as much as 15 tons. These men passed them off as mere coincidence until news got to them that there was gold inside. After breaking them, they found nothing, but this fueled curiosity among them.
Archeologists launched an investigation, and soon after, they realized the spherical stones were manufactured around 1000 AD. Little is known about their creators because their culture disappeared soon after the Europeans arrived. However, archeological findings suggest that the creators lived in circular houses and created the stones using controlled fracture, sand grinding, and pecking. Most of them were arranged in alignment with the magnetic north. Although the spheres aren't perfect, they are impressive given that there was no advanced technology at the time. Some of the stone spheres are in public and private places in the country. Therefore, you need not go to the jungle to behold the expertise of this ancient civilization
Number 8. Ant Zombies
This is probably the most sinister thing about amazon. The Zombie ant is one of the most vicious attacking strategies you will ever hear about. With this species, it involves a mind-controlling parasite that recalls our segment involving suicide. In this case, the parasite is a fungus that takes over ants and directs them to areas where it can replicate and thrive. This hyper-parasitic microorganism mainly targets carpenter ants in the amazon. The insect is quickly infected when a microorganism on its exoskeleton. The fungus soon replicates throughout the ant, and eventually takes over half of the creature’s body mass. Experts say that the fungus is able to control its host by replacing the ant’s central nervous system with its own. Once it’s under control, the ant is directed to position itself on a leaf located about 10 inches above the colony’s trails where it seems to attempt suicide by hanging off of a leaf. While the insect perishes, it’s not due to its own wish. A stalk on the ant’s head erupts and allows spores to rain down over the ant colony trails. As the spores infect new hosts, the cycle repeats.