LiDAR uncovers previously unknown Maya expanse

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In New York, archaeologists from the U.S., Europe, and Guatemala collaborated in a LiDAR survey of the jungles of northern Guatemala to map the remains of the Maya civilization. The team used LiDAR mapping technology that allowed digital deforestation to uncover thousands of new Maya structures previously undetected beneath smothering vegetation.

The survey of 2,100-square kilometers encompassed several major Maya sites, including the largest at Tikal, and El Zotz, where the team focused research. The LiDAR mapping revealed over 60,000 previously unknown structures in total, from unknown pyramids, palace structures, terraced fields, roadways, defensive walls and towers, and houses. Archaeologists are realizing that the ancient population centers they’ve spent decades studying are much bigger than they speculated.

The LiDAR data points to new areas where those answers may be found through fieldwork and excavation. There is still much to discover about the rise, peak, and fall of the Maya civilization.