Upano — Kilamope East Plateau Lidar City (Sangay / Upano Valley)
Upano East Plateau · Kilamope East Settlement · Sangay Upano east bank
Formative to Regional Development (c.500 BCE – 800 CE)·Kilamope / Upano cultures·🇪🇨 Morona-Santiago, Upano River valley east plateau (Sangay canton), Ecuador
About
About Upano — Kilamope East Plateau Lidar City (Sangay / Upano Valley)
Eastern plateau extension of Upano Valley urban complex (Sangay-Kilamope-Kilamope) where interdisciplinary Rostain IKI lidar uncovered 15+ garden-urban centres across 300 km² with platforms, causeways and rectilinear fields. This eastern plateau node (east bank of Upano, 12 km east of classic Sangay) hosts twin platform plaza 2 ha with 20 mounds, causeway to river and drained-field grid under ash fall. Dated Kilamope 500 BCE–500 CE and Upano 500–800 CE (Maya contemporary). Existing DB Upano Valley focuses on Sangay classic; this entry isolates east plateau lidar block showing Upano's 300 km² full footprint.
Why it mattersOnly known Amazon-Andean transitional urbanism — platforms prove Amazon gateway sedentary hierarchy centuries before Inca; east plateau doubles known site extent and garden-city population model.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether east plateau is Kilamope or Upano cultural layer
- 02Causeway function vs flood-drainage
Theories
- 01East plateau predates western Sangay by 200 years (Kilamope)
- 02Lidar roads link five large centres in radial model
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.500 BCE Kilamope platform first
- Period
- Formative to Regional Development (c.500 BCE – 800 CE)
- Culture
- Kilamope / Upano cultures
- Purpose
- Garden-urbanism: terraced platforms for houses, drained-field manioc and causeway town network
- Abandoned
- c.800 CE (Sangay ash eruption and Upano migration)
- Rediscovered
- 2015 IRD systematic lidar + 2024 Science publication Rostain et al.
- Excavation
- Buried
c.500 BCE
Kilamope build first earthen platforms on east plateau
c.0–500 CE
Twin city and causeway network peak across 300 km²
c.800 CE
Sangay ash blanket forces Upano abandonment
2024
Rostain Science lidar reveals 15 settlements inc. east plateau
On the ground
Structures & features
2.0500° S · 78.0500° W · 900 m · 3 mapped features
Twin Platform Plaza (2 ha)
platform moundTwo rectangular residential-ceremonial platforms 80×40 m each with plaza gap
2.0480° S · 78.0500° WCauseway and Drained Field Grid (ash)
causewayCauseway 300 m to Upano river with rectilinear manioc drainage fields under ash
2.0520° S · 78.0520° WMound Annulus (20 mounds)
moundResidential mound cluster 8–12 m diameter around twin platform
2.0500° S · 78.0480° W