Article - Deep in the Amazon, researchers have uncovered a complex of ancient cities — using laser technology

Deep in the Amazon, researchers have uncovered a complex of ancient cities — using laser technology:

> "Wow" was all archaeologist Stéphen Rostain could say when LiDAR (light detection and ranging) laser technology revealed several ancient cities hidden deep in the Amazon rainforest.

I keep reading things like this. As technology is developed that can be used to look into the past, we continue to find surprising things about humanity that we previously hadn't considered. 

There are discoveries every year that push further back into the past the first use of tools, of agriculture, of large civilizations in areas we thought were populated by hunter gatherers. Is there any way to know how far back we go? How could you possibly know you have found the "earliest" of anything? All you know is it's the oldest thing you've found. And there could be a lot of evidence of previous civilizations and technologies that are simply gone due to the passage of time. 

One reason I want to live as long as possible is to be here to learn about all the fascinating discoveries that will be made by archeologists. In some way, it's more exciting that scientific advances that lead to better materials or new technologies.