Oldest and Biggest Mayan Structure Discovered

Mayan Structure :

Mayan Civilization is one of the oldest civilizations on the planet. But their sudden disappearance from their habitat leaving behind the colossal structures of their religious importance has been baffling the researchers ever since the discovery of those incredible Mayan structures.

The mysterious Maya City of Tikal, Guatemala, Palenque in Mexico, and many more remain cold and mysterious with the answers hidden deep in the heart of each stone.

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Oldest Mayan structure revealed…

Archeologists with the hope of finding answers were researching at the newfound site, called Aguada Fénix in the state of Tabasco, at the base of the Gulf of Mexico, and their searching reaped the discovery of the oldest and biggest Mayan structure on record.

It’s an artificial plateau that measures 1.4 km (0.9 miles) long, 400 meters (0.2 miles) wide, and 10-15m high. And within this huge rectangular structure was a 400-meter-long platform which is the size of more than 4 American football fields combined which the experts believe was a place for the communal gathering of the Mayan people.

Airborne remote sensing allowed scientists to create a 3-D rendering of newly discovered Aguada Fénix…
Image credit: Takeshi Inomata

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This massive unfolding was done by a team of archeologists headed by the Professor of archeology, Takeshi Inomata of the University of Arizona in Tucson.

The team used Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) technology installed on a plane for aerial surveys. When the plane flew over an area, the device onboard fired millions of laser beams which easily passed through the thick vegetation to generate geographical 3D maps of the landscape which otherwise would have been an extremely difficult task by the traditional method.

Based on the LIDAR survey, the team excavated certain areas of the plateau (Mayan structure) to better understand the area and found jade and stone artifacts that were most probably used in the rituals at Aguada Fénix.

This elevated ceremonial area was built using clay and earth. On radio-carbon dating, it is estimated that this Mayan structure was built from around 1000-800 BC as per the report in Nature.

This strongly proves the hypothesis that the ancient Mayans as indigenous people could build colossal structures without being ruled over by emperors or governments.

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Also read: This Small Fish’s Ancestors Were Monsters in the Sea…

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Prf. Inomata said, “It forced us to change our understanding of the development of Maya Civilization and the development of human society in general.”

And the Mayan people started building these megastructures 100s of years earlier than previously thought.

But the answer to their sudden disappearance still remains a mystery. The experts are doing their best to answer this question one day.