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Cutting-edge LiDAR technology has revealed an astonishing secret concealed beneath the dense jungle canopy of Ecuador's Andean Chocó: hundreds of pre-Hispanic structures that dramatically expand our understanding of ancient occupation in this biodiverse region. An archaeological survey conducted in December 2025 by the Instituto Metropolitano de Patrimonio (IMP) in the San Francisco de Pachijal commune has transformed what researchers thought they knew about the area, uncovering more than 200 mounds and 100 terraces across approximately 600 hectares—yet this represents merely two percent of the Chocó Andino's vast 280,000-hectare expanse. Lidar Scans Reveal Many Lost Cities, Thousands of Earthworks in the Amazon Pre-Inca Tulipe and the Yumbo: Traders Ahead of their Time? Technological Breakthrough Multiplies Known Archaeological Sites The investigation, carried