In the jungle of the Yucatan Peninsula, archaeologists have discovered more than 60,000 buildings.
The jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula hide many mysteries, and only recently one of them has been solved. Scientists have discovered many Mayan buildings in the wilds. In this they were helped by modern technological tools, in particular lidar. It is a special device that creates a two-dimensional or three-dimensional picture of the environment. It sends rays of light into space, they pass freely through trees, but are reflected from hard surfaces such as stone walls. The author of the article on the Science Alert portal told about the amazing discovery.
As a result, 18 archaeologists scanned over 2000 sq. kilometers of jungle. The results were stunning - more often a total of 61,480 different buildings were found, which are connected by hundreds of kilometers of roads. Fortifications were discovered in the west, so scientists concluded that the Maya were ready to repel attacks. Researchers have suggested that between 530 and 830 AD, approximately 80 to 120 people lived per square kilometer in this area, that is, the total Mayan population in this area reached 11 million.
The only question archaeologists are now asking is "how could we have missed this?" The study's lead author, Marcelo Canuto, compared himself and his colleagues to nearsighted people who were finally given glasses.
Ekaterina GABEL