Wall Street JournalVast Maya Kingdom Is Revealed in Guatemalan Jungle Archaeologists identify a sprawling network of ancient ruins using laser mapping technology
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Airborn laser mapping technology was used in this project. (Lidar)
Nestled in the jungle of northern Guatemala, a vast network of interconnected Maya settlements built millennia ago has been mapped in unprecedented detail.
The civilization featured towering pyramids, palaces, terraces, ball courts and reservoirs connected by a sprawling web of causeways, an international group of archaeologists reported during a presentation at Francisco Marroquín University in Guatemala City this month.
Their findings reveal a “level of infrastructure that is just mind-boggling,” said Dr. Timothy Beach, a professor of geography at the University of Texas at Austin who wasn’t involved in the research.