3,000-year-old 'highway' system hidden in the forest

Guatemala US-Guatemala scientists discovered the world's first "highway" system, connecting hundreds of ancient Mayan cities.

A Mayan temple at the el Mirador archaeological site in the jungles of Guatemala. Photo: Reuters/Daniel Leclair — A Mayan temple at the el Mirador archaeological site in the jungles of Guatemala. Photo: *Reuters/Daniel Leclair*

The ancient "highway" system is about 177 km long, connecting 417 cities and changing the understanding of the Maya civilization, Business Insider reported on May 22. The discovery of a network of roads and cities, hydraulic systems and agricultural infrastructure shows that the communities living in Central America were more advanced than scientists previously thought. The new study was published in a journal of the University of Cambridge.

The ruins, located at the archaeological site of el Mirador, in a jungle in Guatemala, date back to 1,000 BC to the pre-classic period of the Maya. The Maya were once thought to be a nomadic, hunter-gatherer society. The new discovery changes that thinking, according to Richard Hansen, lead author of the study and an archaeologist at Idaho State University.

The jungle region where the ruins are located is only accessible by helicopter or by hiking 40 miles, past jaguars and snakes. “We now know that the Preclassic period was a very complex and sophisticated architectural period, with some of the largest structures in world history being built during this time,” Hansen said.

The US-Guatemala team has been mapping the area since 2015 using lidar technology – an archaeological mapping technique that uses lasers – to reveal minute details such as ancient vegetation. This method allowed them to see dams, reservoirs, pyramids, platforms, causeway networks, even ancient ball courts.

With further research, this could become a historical discovery as influential as the Egyptian pyramids, said study co-author Enrique Hernández, an archaeologist at the University of San Carlos.

Thu Thao (According to Business Insider )

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