A huge Mayan settlement has been discovered beneath jungle vegetation in southeastern Mexico. Analyzing existing laser measurements (LiDAR for short) from an environmental organization, researchers in the state of Campeche identified 6,764 structures that were previously unknown.
Scientists from Tulane University in Louisiana examined a total of three areas not far from Calakmul, the most important Mayan site in the south of the Yucatán Peninsula. According to the study, two of the areas studied were sparsely populated, they report in the trade journal ‘Anitquity’.
Characteristics of a political capital
However, on an area of 16.6 square kilometers, they found a once densely populated city, which they named Valeriana – after a freshwater lagoon in the area. According to the researchers, this is a once large and densely populated community with the characteristics of a political capital from the Classic Maya culture (200 to 950 AD).
Using the laser scanning, two monumental architectural centers (see image above) were found. These are therefore two kilometers apart and were connected by a continuously populated area. The city also had a wide thoroughfare, an amphitheater and a water reservoir.
Classic Mayan culture developed in the first centuries AD in southeastern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador. Archaeological research has shown that the cities were abandoned within a relatively short time in the 8th and 9th centuries.
Maya had an accurate calendar
The possible causes have been discussed for decades. The Maya had a complex script, an accurate calendar and astronomical knowledge.
Source: Krone
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