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Archaeology & History

Ancient Mayan cities found in Mexican jungle

By T.K. Randall
August 15, 2014 · Comment icon 35 comments

The region is filled with thick jungle. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Alejandro Linares Garcia
The ancient stone ruins were found during an expedition led by Slovenian archaeologist Ivan Sprajc.
Located in the Mexican state of Campeche, the newly discovered cities were hidden so deeply in the dense jungle that it was barely possible to access them on foot.

They were found near Chactun, another Mayan city that was found back in 2013 by Sprajc during a previous expedition. "Aerial photographs helped us in locating the sites," he said.
Among the newfound ruins are several pyramid temples, the remains of an ancient palace and a huge stone facade with an entrance made to resemble the jaws of a large creature. They were found within an area of jungle covering 1800 square miles that is notoriously difficult to explore.

"In the jungle you can be as little as 600 feet from a large site and do not even suspect it might be there; small mounds are all over the place, but they give you no idea about where an urban center might be," said Sprajc.

"Both cities open new questions about the diversity of Maya culture, the role of that largely unexplored area in the lowland Maya history, and its relations with other polities."

Source: Discovery News | Comments (35)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #26 Posted by coolguy 10 years ago
Very cool find iam sure there more of these that have not been found yet and they are covered with jungle
Comment icon #27 Posted by toyomotor 10 years ago
Don't be such a smartass and read the article. You might learn something. There is nothing more impenetratable than a closed mind.
Comment icon #28 Posted by jarjarbinks 10 years ago
it would be easier to find the catacombs tunnels that link every mayans site
Comment icon #29 Posted by Ichihara 10 years ago
There is nothing more impenetratable than a closed mind. openminded is good unless your brain pop out.
Comment icon #30 Posted by Yes_Man 10 years ago
openminded is good unless your brain pop out. you arn't funny
Comment icon #31 Posted by Silent Trinity 10 years ago
Nice find! Wonder how much more the vast jungle has to reveal! Is it just me though but in the photos on the original Discovery article...does it look like it has been burned? Possible a cause for its demise?
Comment icon #32 Posted by kartikg 10 years ago
Any books can be found? They wrote books right?
Comment icon #33 Posted by Calibeliever 10 years ago
Any books can be found? They wrote books right? Sadly most Mayan texts were destroyed by the Spanish. There are several codices that were copied and preserved such as the Dresden and the Madrid but I don't know if they qualify as books. The Popol Vuh survived because a Friar copied it down in the 1700s. Despite what our antagonistic friend above says, there are a lot of mysteries surrounding the Mayans. Namely, why did their society collapse?
Comment icon #34 Posted by John Wesley Boyd 10 years ago
Sadly most Mayan texts were destroyed by the Spanish. There are several codices that were copied and preserved such as the Dresden and the Madrid but I don't know if they qualify as books. The Popol Vuh survived because a Friar copied it down in the 1700s. Despite what our antagonistic friend above says, there are a lot of mysteries surrounding the Mayans. Namely, why did their society collapse? Best explanation so far is an ecological catastrophe, perhaps a prolonged drought. Kingdoms without access to underground water by cenotes went first, and the rest fought tooth and nail for dwindling r... [More]
Comment icon #35 Posted by John Wesley Boyd 10 years ago
Any books can be found? They wrote books right? This a link to a beautiful translation of the Popol Vuh, which contains the Mayan creation story and tales that are the heart of their Heroic Myth Cycle. These stories have been found referenced and in carved representation on the walls of the oldest of Mayan cities.http://www2.fiu.edu/~northupl/populvuh.html


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