World

Ancient Maya city discovered in Mexican jungle

2023.06.21 01:14

4/4

© Reuters. A view shows a part of a stone from an altar after archaeologists from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) discovered an ancient Mayan city inside the Balamku ecological reserve in Campeche state, Mexico in this photo released a

2/4

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – A previously unknown ancient Maya city has been discovered in the jungles of southern Mexico, the country’s anthropology institute said on Tuesday, adding it was likely an important center more than a thousand years ago.

The city includes large pyramid-like buildings, stone columns, three plazas with “imposing buildings” and other structures arranged in almost-concentric circles, the INAH institute said.

INAH said the city, which it has named Ocomtun – meaning “stone column” in the Yucatec Maya language – would have been an important center for the peninsula’s central lowland region between 250 and 1000 AD.

It is located in the Balamku ecological reserve on the country’s Yucatan Peninsula and was discovered during a search of a largely unexplored stretch of jungle larger than Luxembourg. The search took place between March and June using aerial laser mapping (LiDAR) technology.

The Maya civilization, known for its advanced mathematical calendars, spanned southeast Mexico and parts of Central America. Widespread political collapse led to its decline centuries before the arrival of Spanish conquistadors, whose military campaigns saw the last stronghold fall in the late 17th century.

The Ocomtun site has a core area, located on high ground surrounded by extensive wetlands, that includes several pyramid-like structures up to 15 meters high, lead archaeologist Ivan Sprajc said in a statement.

The city also had a ball court. Pre-Hispanic ball games, widespread throughout the Maya region, consist of passing a rubber ball representing the sun across a court without the use of hands and getting it through a small stone hoop. The game is believed to have had an important religious purpose.

Sprajc said his team had also found central altars in an area closer to the La Riguena river, which may have been designed for community rituals, though more research is needed to understand the cultures that once lived there.

The site probably declined around 800 to 1000 AD judging from materials extracted from buildings, he said, adding this was likely a reflection of “ideological and population changes” that led to the collapse of Maya societies in that region by the 10th century.

Source link

Related Articles

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 81,996.97 2.38%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 1,904.74 1.66%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 0.999953 0.02%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 2.26 4.01%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 630.61 1.17%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 123.99 3.93%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 1.00 0.01%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.693531 3.65%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.166035 4.34%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.232646 5.91%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 1,903.13 1.60%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 81,838.93 2.38%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 9.75 0.10%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 3.60 3.82%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 13.63 3.48%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 0.999998 0.01%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.267967 2.23%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 2,275.14 2.12%
hedera-hashgraph
Hedera (HBAR) $ 0.184894 3.70%
pi-network
Pi Network (PI) $ 1.12 16.54%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 18.58 1.39%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000012 4.25%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 2.26 3.35%
mantra-dao
MANTRA (OM) $ 6.93 0.99%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 4.39 0.38%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 87.96 5.35%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 335.01 0.90%
bitget-token
Bitget Token (BGB) $ 4.62 3.86%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 0.999585 0.05%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 1,903.13 1.71%
binance-bridged-usdt-bnb-smart-chain
Binance Bridged USDT (BNB Smart Chain) (BSC-USD) $ 1.00 0.06%
hyperliquid
Hyperliquid (HYPE) $ 13.37 0.02%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 28.13 1.32%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 2,020.65 1.57%
monero
Monero (XMR) $ 207.27 1.69%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 6.29 0.66%
susds
sUSDS (SUSDS) $ 1.04 0.15%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 0.999775 0.03%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 5.29 1.69%
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 50.66 0.41%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 2.53 4.48%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000007 5.91%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 5.72 4.94%
mantle
Mantle (MNT) $ 0.804197 1.81%
gatechain-token
Gate (GT) $ 21.78 0.46%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 17.48 3.20%
tokenize-xchange
Tokenize Xchange (TKX) $ 32.93 1.93%
ondo-finance
Ondo (ONDO) $ 0.81858 5.28%
aave
Aave (AAVE) $ 169.45 3.77%
coinbase-wrapped-btc
Coinbase Wrapped BTC (CBBTC) $ 81,994.97 2.40%