Categories: World News

Vast ancient Mayan city is found in a Mexican jungle — by accident


A research team then went on to discover a huge ancient city that they named “Valeriana” after a nearby freshwater lagoon.

The researchers say Valeriana, which may have been home to 30-50,000 people at its peak, probably collapsed between 800 A.D. and 1,000 A.D., for a complex set of reasons, including climate change.

“The growing consensus is that climate variability was a major factor causing stresses, adaptations and reactions, leading to more systemic unrest,” Canuto told NBC News on Tuesday.

It was partly because they were so densely populated and gradually, over a few generations, could not survive climate problems.

Ancient settlements in the Campeche region of Mexico. Luke Auld-Thomas / Antiquity via Cambridge University Press

LiDAR technology is a recent advancement over the past decade that has revolutionized archaeological research, especially in densely forested areas.

The technology is capable of revealing extensive, previously unseen layers of history embedded in remote regions that would otherwise be inaccessible.

By covering large expanses of ground with precision, LiDAR allows researchers to uncover hidden structures.

Canuto said this technology, which uses laser pulses to penetrate the forest canopy, capturing highly detailed images of the landscape beneath, has transformative power, describing it as a form of “digital deforestation,” he added.

There are no known images of the lost city, Canuto said, only LiDAR maps, because no one has ever been there with local residents, possibly suspecting that ruins may lie beneath the mounds of earth.

Although this study is the first to reveal Maya structures in east-central Campeche, archaeologists are finding areas with layers of human activity are more common than once thought, he said.

Canuto is hopeful that this discovery emphasizes the need for more field research alongside the large efforts to map the region using drones.

“It would be wonderful over the next 10, 20 years,” he said. “We should have double the amount of ground covered in LiDAR.”



Source link

Recent Posts

Can Colombia’s talks with the Comuneros del Sur help achieve ‘total peace’? | Conflict News

For Gómez-Suárez, if Colombia’s conflict is regional, then the solution should be too. He draws a contrast between his approach… Read More

7 hours ago

US hits Russia’s Gazprombank with sanctions – Financial Times

US hits Russia’s Gazprombank with sanctions  Financial TimesU.S. Sanctions Gazprombank, Dozens of Other Russian Institutions  The Wall Street JournalThe biggest remaining unsanctioned… Read More

13 hours ago

Inside Italy’s designer bag sweatshops | Fashion Industry

101 East goes undercover in Italy to expose the sweatshops making bags for some of the world’s leading luxury brands.The… Read More

17 hours ago

John Prescott, former UK deputy prime minister, has died, his family says

CNN  —  John Prescott, a former British deputy prime minister in Tony Blair’s Labour government, has died, his family said… Read More

22 hours ago

Civilian unlawfully embedded with IDF killed by Hezbollah in Lebanon – Israel News

An Israeli civilian who was brought into a southern Lebanese warzone was killed by enemy fire Wednesday, Binyamin Regional… Read More

1 day ago

What does the change in Russia’s nuclear policy mean for global security? | Russia-Ukraine war

President Vladimir Putin paves the way for broader use of atomic weapons.President Vladimir Putin has updated Russia’s nuclear doctrine. Now,… Read More

1 day ago

This website uses cookies.