NEW ORLEANS — Recent discoveries made by archaeologists utilizing advanced laser-sensing technology have revealed what might be an ancient Mayan city hidden deep within the jungle in southern Mexico, as announced by officials on Wednesday.
Researchers have named this newfound city “Valeriana,” named after a nearby lagoon, and it is believed to have had a population density comparable to the more famous pre-Hispanic city of Calakmul located in the southern Yucatan Peninsula.
The findings published this week in the journal Antiquity suggest that large sections of what seems to be uninhabited jungle, between known Mayan sites, may have been heavily populated in the past.
Adriana Velázquez Morlet from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, who co-authored the report, commented, “Prior research has demonstrated that substantial areas in present-day Campeche were altered significantly by its ancient inhabitants. This recent study indicates that this lesser-known area was an urbanized environment.”
According to Mexico’s National Institute, approximately 6,479 structures have been identified through LiDAR imagery across an area of around 47 square miles (122 square kilometers). LiDAR technology employs thousands of laser pulses aimed from an aircraft to unveil topographical features that may not be visible to the naked eye.
These scans uncovered various structures, such as temple platforms, ceremonial ball courts, residential platforms, agricultural terraces, and what appears to be a dam. The discovered structures may date back to 250 to 900 A.D., with some indicating that settlement may have begun as early as a century earlier.
The breakthrough originated from a re-evaluation of a 2013 LiDAR survey that was primarily focused on assessing deforestation. During the analysis, Luke Auld-Thomas, then a graduate student at Tulane University, observed unusual formations in the dense jungle.
Marcello Canuto, Auld-Thomas’s advisor at Tulane, stated that the extensive data gathered will greatly enhance the narrative surrounding ancient Mayan civilization. This will bridge previously established knowledge of political and religious histories with fresh insights into the administration of ancient societies.
Canuto noted, “While our understanding of the ancient Maya, especially in lowland areas, has been enriched by their hieroglyphic records, this advancement in data will allow us to correlate that information with settlement patterns, societal organization, and commercial interactions.”
Susan D. Gillespie, an anthropology professor from the University of Florida who was not part of this research, pointed out that although LiDAR serves as a useful tool, many identified features would still require validation through on-site investigations.
She explained, “There is a likelihood that small natural rock formations, referred to locally as ‘chich,’ might have been misidentified as house mounds due to their similar size and shape. Therefore, the count of identified features should be considered tentative.”
Gillespie added a critical note, stating, “An important aspect to consider is the contemporaneity of the mapped features. While LiDAR reveals surface structures, it does not provide information on the timing of their use. Thus, a region might show a high density of structures, yet the extent of occupation at any given time cannot be determined solely through aerial survey data.”