article_snippet: settlements or human-engineered landscapes. '
article_snippet: settlements that can be characterized as ancient cities based on their . spatial complexity, size and organization,' said  Colorado State University professors Christopher Fisher, who led the research. '
article_snippet: evidence that there was a densely settled region with a human modified . environment. '
article_snippet: These conclusions provide important new insights into the . pre-Hispanic settlement of this largely unexplored region.'