Details of stunning Maya acropolises and sophisticated civilization revealed by laser scans
By Laura Geggel - Editor about 9 hours ago
This is the first evidence of terracing in the Puuc region.
A 3D digital image of Labna, an ancient Maya structure in the Puuc region. (Image credit: Courtesy of the Proyecto Arqueológico Regional de Bolonchén)
By shooting billions of lasers at the ground, scientists have uncovered evidence of a sophisticated civilization left by the ancient Maya who lived in the northern Yucatán Peninsula in what is now Mexico, a new study finds.
The laser survey revealed that in a region of the hilly northern Yucatán, known as the Puuc (pronounced "Pook"
, the Maya built remarkable structures, including artificial reservoirs, more than 1,200 ovens, a handful of terraces for farming and nearly 8,000 platforms where houses were built. The ancient Maya also quarried the rock there, the laser scan revealed.
"It seems to have been a very prosperous area because we have all these masonry [stone] houses," study lead researcher William Ringle, a professor emeritus of anthropology at Davidson College in North Carolina, told Live Science. "It seems like people had access to what they needed."
Moreover, the Maya in the Puuc built four large acropolises dating to the Middle Formative period (700 B.C. to 450 B.C.) and civic centers dating to A.D. 600 to 750, during the Late Classic. While these structures were already documented, an analysis of the laser data revealed that these Puuc communities had a distinct city layout that isn't seen in other Maya regions.
More:
https://www.livescience.com/lidar-maya-yucatan.html
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They are incredibly moving, and they do provoke deep wonder, unbearable curiosity, and astonishment for the civilizations which had to have been in place when they were constructed. They were absolutely NOT primitive technologically.
It almost appears now that LIDAR is available and so many structures are being discovered with ground-penetrating equipment, that we are actually only aware of a trace of the actual buildings, canals, roads, etc. which have been there for many centuries.
The ball courts are chilling, aren't they? The "game" was more than simple entertainment, considering some of the players lost their lives. Bloody serious, just like the Roman coliseum. All for the benefit of the elites. That has a familiar right, unfortunately. Apparently it was a fast game, as they were using a hard rubber ball which was supposed to fly through the stone rings on the sides.
It does make you ponder how humans can actually sacrifice their lives, their health while those in control suffer no real risk at all.
Here's a 360 degree Youtube reconstruction of the Copan site, which is interesting. Following, a link to a page of many thumbnails of other reconstructions of the area, really interesting:
Copan reconstruction illustrations:
https://tinyurl.com/42yjmy22
Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacán.
Modeled in collaboration with:
- Andrés Armesto
Reconstruction illustration taken from this link:
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/k4BYl0
Artists' reconstruction illustrations and photos of the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon, etc.
in Mexico City, formerly Teotihuacán
https://tinyurl.com/yu283nf4
I hope you get the time to return to these sites, or any of the many other pyramids. It seems like a far more interesting trip than most people seem driven to take. Like what a waste it would be simply going somewhere to work on your tan, anyway? Lying on the beach, shopping?
Thank you for your comments!