Discovered thousands of Mayan structures hidden in Guatemalan forests
Have you heard about a technology called “LiDAR”? It consists of a noninvasive method in which millions of laser pulses are emitted from aircraft over certain terrain. The pulses are then “bounced” back to the aircraft by the surfaces of the surveyed areas - and the wavelengths are read, interpreted and allow for the creation of detailed topographic maps which, in turn, may reveal the presence of structures that appear. they are hidden, for example, under dense forest vegetation.
And it was the use of this technology that revealed the existence of thousands of Mayan structures that had been hidden for centuries in the Guatemalan forests. According to BBC staff, a few days ago the discovery of over 60, 000 buildings, including fortifications, buildings, residences, roads, etc., in the Petén region was announced after a team of scientists used LiDAR to survey a densely vegetated area of approximately 2, 100 square kilometers.
Seeing through the woods
The identification of structures is being viewed by scientists as the greatest breakthrough in Mayan archeology in the last 150 years - and it has shattered the idea that Mayan cities and villages were mostly isolated and self-reliant. The mapping revealed that, contrary to popular belief, settlements were apparently interconnected, in some cases through complex road networks linking one locality to another, possibly to facilitate trade between different regions.
According to Brigit Katz of Smithsonian.com, the surveys further suggest that Mayan civilization was as advanced and sophisticated as the cultures that flourished in Greece and China in antiquity. Moreover, these findings all point to the fact that researchers may have misjudged their estimates of the actual size of the Mayan population and that it may actually have been three to four times larger than previously thought.
Extraordinary discovery
Scientists involved in identifying the structures explained that the survey brings to light three thousand years of Mayan occupation in Central America, and it will take years of study and research for all findings to be properly interpreted and cataloged. But for the moment, between the buildings, the team found impressive defensive features such as wall systems, fortifications and moats.
The team also identified a seven-story pyramid that was found completely overgrown with vegetation and thus remained “invisible” in the middle of the forest for centuries. Archaeologists have also found between roads linking one locality with another elevated road that could be used even during the rainiest periods.
Rewriting History
It was believed that the Mayan civilization reached its apogee about 1, 500 years ago and had an estimated population of 5 million people. Moreover, scientists thought that this culture was distributed in a territory whose area would be twice the size of England during the Middle Ages.
However, the identification of these more than 60, 000 buildings suggests that the Mayan civilization was comprised of a population of 10 to 15 million people and was far more complex, technologically advanced, and surprising than previously thought. The cool thing is that the team responsible for discovering these structures plans to map another 13, 000 square kilometers of forest - meaning there may be a lot more “hidden” under the woods to be found!
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