Ancient Mayan city found in the middle of the forest in Mexico – 06/23/2023 – Science

Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered the remains of an ancient Mayan city deep in the jungle of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Experts have found several pyramid-like structures measuring over 15 meters (50 feet) in height.

Pottery unearthed at the site seems to indicate that it was inhabited between 600 and 800 AD, a period known as the Late Classic.

Archaeologists named the site Ocomtún (Mayan for stone column).

The Maya are considered one of the great civilizations of the Western Hemisphere, famous for their pyramidal temples and large stone buildings in an area that is now southern Mexico, Guatemala and Belize.

These last vestiges were found in an ecological reserve in the State of Campeche, an area so dense with vegetation that it has been little explored.

Mexico’s National Institute of History and History (INAH) said its discovery was the result of fieldwork aimed at documenting the archeology of the central Maya lowlands, an area of ​​3,000 square kilometers of uninhabited jungle.

The INAH said that aerial laser scanning carried out by the University of Houston helped the research team detect “numerous concentrations of pre-Hispanic structures”.

Ivan Sprajc, who led the team, said he was very surprised to discover high ground surrounded by swamps.

On that high ground, they found several large buildings, including some pyramid-shaped ones measuring over 15 meters in height.

“The site would have served as an important regional hub,” Sprajc said in a statement released by the INAH.

The cylindrical stone columns that led the researchers to name the site Ocomtún were likely entrances to rooms in the upper parts of the buildings, the expert added.

According to the Sprajc, the site likely underwent considerable changes between 800 and 1000 AD before falling victim to the collapse of the lowland Maya civilization in the 10th century.