Scientists have found a hidden Mayan city (5 photos)

Geologists in northern Guatemala have discovered a major Mayan settlement. It extends over 1,700 square kilometers and dates back to middle and late preclassic period - from about 1000 to 250 BC AD.







Geologists have discovered a huge Mayan settlement in northern Guatemala over 1700 square kilometers in size. It is dated to middle and the late preclassic period - from about 1000 BC. up to 250 g. BC. The find was the result of aerial photography, which the researchers carried out from an aircraft using lidar, a device for detecting light and range determination, in which the reflected light of lasers used to create aerial photographs of the landscape. This technology especially useful in places such as karst rainforests the Mirador-Calakmul Basin in Guatemala, where lasers can penetrate through the dense canopy of trees.

Using scan data, the team found more than 1,000 settlements scattered throughout the region that were interconnected about 160 kilometers long, along which the Maya probably were walking. They also discovered the remains of several large platforms and pyramids, as well as canals and reservoirs for collecting water.





“Lidar data for the first time made it possible to detect an area that was politically and economically integrated. This has never happened before observed elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere,” says co-author Research Carlos Morales-Aguilar (opens in new tab), Research Fellow Department of Geography and Environment at the University of Texas at Austin. - Now we can see the entire landscape of the Mayan region in this part Guatemala".



Scientists have proposed an answer to the question of what made this region so tempting that the Maya wanted to settle there. "For the Maya karst Mirador-Calakmul Basin was the perfect location, says co-author research by Ross Ansley, a geologist at the Institute for Geological Research in Houston. - The Maya settled in this region because it had the right combination of uplands for settlement and lowlands for Agriculture. The hills served as a source of limestone, their the main building material, and sushi for life. Lowlands in are mostly seasonal swamps. , or bachos, which provided space for wetland agriculture lands, as well as soil rich in organic matter for use in terraced agriculture.



Previously, researchers have already used lidar to scan parking lots. Maya in Guatemala. In 2015, as part of an initiative called the "Project Mirador Basin” two large-scale studies of the southern parts of the basin focusing on the ancient city of El Mirador. As a result, this the project allowed 1,703 square meters to be mapped in detail kilometers of this part of the country.

“When I created the first ground models of the ancient city El Mirador, I was amazed,” said Morales-Aguilar. - Was really exciting for the first time to observe a large number of artificial reservoirs, monumental pyramids, terraces, residential areas and small barrows".

Researchers hope lidar technology will help them explore parts of Guatemala that have remained a mystery for centuries. “Lidar has become a revolutionary instrument for archaeological research in this region, especially in rainforest areas where visibility is limited,” said Marcello Canuto, director Research Institute for Middle America at Tulane University. - During the shooting, we usually see a small part of the land, but the lidar allows us to see large linear objects. This project allowed us for the first time to consider the terrain in detail, and the fact that we have this data is critical for research.”