Huge 2,000-year-old Mayan civilization discovered in northern Guatemala

Huge 2,000-year-old Mayan civilization discovered in northern Guatemala

Bob Yirka

A team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in the U.S., working with a colleague from France and another from Guatemala, has discovered a very large 2,000-year-old Mayan civilization in northern Guatemala. In their paper published in the journal Ancient Mesoamerica, the group describes using LiDAR to conduct a survey of the area.

LiDAR is a detection system similar to radar but is based on laser light rather than sound signals. In recent years, it has been used to scan parts of dense tropical rain forests for signs of ancient civilizations. Lasers used in such systems are able to penetrate vegetative canopies over rain forests, revealing what is on the ground beneath them.

In this new effort, the researchers flew over parts of Guatemala as part of a mapping effort, when they came across what they describe as a vast ancient Maya civilization. In studying their maps, they were able to see that the ancient civilization was made up of more than 1,000 settlements covering approximately 650 square miles, most of which were linked by multiple causeways. The researchers were also able to see that the people who once lived in the settlements had been densely packed—a finding that goes against theories suggesting early Mesoamerican settlements tended to be sparsely populated.