The ancient Mayan civilization keeps remaining a mystery even after centuries of digging and further researches. Since it was the best-kept secret of the Central American jungle, it is still hard to come across buried artifacts in the lush green forests. But thanks to technological advances, a group of scientists have managed to map the area and identify more than 60,000 lost Mayan structures.
The technology which is a laser-based one is called LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and scientists used a plane to screen 800 square miles of the forest in Guatemala.
This massive action was organized by a non-profit called PACUNAM and with the help of LiDAR, the scientists had access to what lies below the trees and discover the hidden Mayan cities and settlements. It is speculated that the giant city could have had more than 20 million residents, a number that was previously estimated to only 1 or 2 million.
By this increase in number, the Mayan civilization would be as large as the Egyptian or the Chinese.
And since this is only a first attempt at revealing what lies in the deep Guatemalan jungle, more similar cities are still yet to be discovered by this great new technology that is still not yet fully exploited.
Peten jungle, Guatemala – After, Alberts pyramid find. LiDAR (Wild Blue Media)
Tikal National Park, Guatemala (Photo: Wild Blue Media/National Geographic)
