How a PhD student discovered a lost Mayan city hundreds of miles away
A new Mayan A city lost in the jungles of southern Mexico for centuries has been discovered on the computer of a doctoral student hundreds of miles away. Here’s the story of how he did it.
The settlement was named Valeriana named after a nearby freshwater lagoon, had all the features of a classic Mayan political capital: enclosed plazas, pyramids, ball courts, water reservoirs, and architectural layout suggests a foundation before 150 AD, according to a newly published report. learn in the magazine ancient times.
And how did Tulane University graduate Luke Auld-Thomas find it? The answer lies in lasers. Until recently, archeology was limited to what a researcher could observe from the ground and with their own eyes. However, technology that detects and measures distance using light, called lidarrevolutionized the field, allowing us to scan entire areas in search of archaeological sites hidden under dense vegetation or concrete.
Let’s travel back in time. It was 1848 and the governor of Petén, Guatemala, Modesto Méndez, along with Ambrosio Tut, an artist and chronicler of the time, rediscovered Tikal, one of the world’s most majestic archaeological sites. Mayan civilization. In the mid-19th century, little was known about this advanced culture that calculated the lunar, solar and Venus cycles and invented hieroglyphics and the concept of zero. with hardly any tools required.
The dense rainforest surrounding Tikal and the lack of roads make reaching the ruins extremely difficult. But the Guatemalan government nonetheless went deep into the heart of the Petén forest in search of its cultural heritage. Guided by local rumors, machetes in hand, along with tape measures and compasses, they entered the Petén forest on an almost impossible mission. Arriving at the site of Tikal, Méndez and his team were amazed by what they saw: huge temples and pyramids, most of which were covered by jungle. The most majestic structures are hidden by nature, towering above the canopy of trees. Tikal, although partially buried, retains its majesty and gives clues to the city’s enormous scale.
History repeats itself in 2024—but with some important variations. Instead of using a machete, Auld-Thomas armed himself with a search engine. WIRED spoke this week with him and Marcello Canuto, director of Tulane’s Institute for Central American Studies, about the discovery.
